chris_4352

Just did it last week. Things nobody tells you:

1. Start at 6am. Not 7, not 8. 6am. You want off the summit by noon when the weather turns.
2. The Blue Lake is genuinely eerie. Looks like someone dropped food coloring in a volcanic crater.
3. Carry more water than you think. I brought 1.5L and ran out halfway through descent.
4. Mountain shoes aren't strictly necessary but good hiking boots are. I saw someone in sneakers.
5. Shuttle buses book out weeks in advance. Book. Now.