Hiking is not for everyone, but even those who love climbing to the top of mountains can have a pretty hard time when the day actually comes to do so. Pacific Northwest hiker Abby Nita shared her before and after from summiting Orgeon’s Mount Hood, the tallest peak in the state.
While it is possible to complete in one day, Mount Hood is by no means an easy climb. It can take around 6 hours to reach the summit from the parking lot, with most climbers starting around midnight to make it to the top by sunrise. Stay on the mountain too late in the day and the risk of ice and rock falls gets much higher.
You can see how excited Abby is in the before, eager to start the hike and reach the top, but the after shows a bit of a different story. Instead of joy, Abby is tears, talking about just how hard and scary the climb actually was. We certainly don’t blame her.
Hikes on Mount Hood come with a ton of risks including avalanches, deep holes and cracks in the mountain’s glaciers, icefalls and rockfalls, rapidly changing weather, and long sliding falls. Plus the high number of people on the mountain can create congestion, forcing mountaineers to stay on the mountain longer and increase their risk of experiencing icefalls and rockfalls.
This is a great example of the Type 1 Fun vs. Type 2 Fun concept, where Type 1 Fun is considered fun in the moment and Type 2 Fun is considered fun only in the aftermath. In talking to local news, Abby stated that she would be interested in hiking Mount Hood again, showing that despite the extreme lack of fun she had on the climb and in the immediate aftermath, she likely enjoyed the experience looking back at it.
If you’re interested in hiking Mount Hood for yourself, head to the National Forest Service website to learn more about required permits, suggested starting times, potential risks, guiding services, and anything else you may need before hitting the trail.
