Sunday: It's Father's Day so I could sleep in and just chill... lol. That's not me. Also: Visiting the Mountain on Father's Day was another of my recovery goals.

I could only roust the boy at such an uncivilized hour so it was just the two of us arriving at the trailhead in Mount Rainier National Park. Already, the deep snow was melting fast and there was a constant sheet of water draining between cars. Most people were stopped to gawk at snow in June so once we got more than 100 feet from the cars we were all alone.

Although it felt blasphemous, our back was to the Mountain for the first part of the loop and then a minor peak was in the way. All that meant when we did get to the ridgeline I was all about the Mountain.

What else happened? We found the darkest watermelon snow I've ever seen, a marmot screamed at HOS and freaked him out, and we had a long and speedy glissade into the bowl below the ridge. In short, it was a wonderful Father's Day and another checkpoint on my way to recovery.