I have a list, just like everyone else. One that never gets shorter, only longer after every adventure. It’s like a two-for-one deal: finish one trip and come home with ideas for two more. The list never ends.
There had also been a lot of chatter online recently from climbers and mountaineers throughout the West, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Their photos and trip reports brought back memories of summits on Mount Baker and Mount Rainier, along with a trip that included Mount Hood, South Sister, and Mount Shasta.
It got me thinking: what was I missing from this collection of iconic American volcanoes?
Mount Adams immediately came to mind.
Now would be the time to go grab that peak before conditions became less fun. I tried to find others to join me, but no one was available on such short notice. So I decided to go alone and repeat what I had done on Shasta three years earlier: a solo summit attempt.
DAY 1
This adventure began on a Tuesday afternoon in Utah. I took a few work meetings from the road, listen to a five-hour podcast on AI, and most importantly, caught Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final as I made my way to Baker City, a reasonable stopping point to break up this 11-hour drive.
I stayed at the Bridge Street Inn, an inexpensive yet clean and comfortable place where I had also stayed a few years earlier on my trip to Mount Hood.
DAY 2
Upon arriving in Trout Lake on Wednesday afternoon, I immediately drove to the trailhead to see what I would encounter early the next morning. Rumors of a rough road and difficult access had been rattling around in my head. I had even rented a high-clearance vehicle to mitigate the challenges I expected before ever setting foot on the trail.
As it turned out, those warnings were pretty exaggerated. The road was fine—better than fine, actually.
The only potential issue for a low-clearance vehicle was navigating a few drainage dips carved into the road by the Forest Service to control runoff. I’m still glad I didn’t drive my own car, but the road conditions were much better than I had read about. Perhaps that would have been different after a few days of rain or following the height of snowmelt.
Route Reconnaissance
As I pulled into the parking area a little after 4pm, there were only about a half dozen cars there. Seeing so few vehicles surprised me and made me a bit nervous about climbing the mountain alone.
Just as I was about to get out and hike the first mile—as I generally do—two guys emerged from the woods and headed toward their campsite. I stopped them to ask about conditions when one of them took off his sun glasses and said, “John?”
I nearly fell over.
Here I was at a remote trailhead in Washington, and the first person I ran into was someone from Utah whom I had climbed Orizaba and Iztaccíhuatl with.
What are the odds?
They told me about the blizzard-like conditions they had encountered up high and their 14-hour round-trip experience.
Fourteen hours… yikes!
I quietly hoped my day wouldn’t look like that and trusted the reference point I already had from my solo summit of Shasta. With similar mileage and elevation gain, I anticipated Adams taking about the same amount of time.
Base Camp in Trout Lake
That night, I stayed at an Airbnb called the Trout Lake Vaulted Escape. It was quiet, comfortable, and conveniently located for accessing the South Climb route on Mt. Adams. I considered other nearby accommodations, including Trout Lake Valley Inn and Trout Lake Cozy Cabins, but based on price and availability, the Trout Lake Vaulted Escape made an excellent base camp before and after my climb.
Sure, I could have camped. But at my age, traveling alone, I’m happy to enjoy a few creature comforts. Besides, I had plans to spend Thursday night watching Game 2 with a Dr. Goodwin Olipop and a Home Run Inn frozen pizza from Safeway.
