Climbing Mt Rainier |
 Shortly before 7:00 am, we reached Mt Rainier’s crater. We stopped and took off our rucksacks. I was exhausted! I felt I couldn’t take another step, and I told the rest of the party – Eric, Melissa, and the two who’d joined our rope – to go on without me. Reaching the crater is regarded by some as summiting, and I reluctantly thought I’d have to adopt that line of reasoning too. After ten minutes or so, though, I pulled myself together, got to my feet, and began trudging slowly across the crater floor … |