Hiking with Missionaries

Yesterday our family had the opportunity to hike with a missionary family who lives and works in Thailand and Burma. The Eubanks are founders of the Free Burma Rangers....a humanitarian relief organization with the mission of bringing help to war-torn areas of Burma (now known as Myanmar). Our friends, Dave and Kara Miller, support them and told us about them. Shortly after we heard about them, I saw THIS on Compassion's blog. That's right....this family delivered the chapel message at Compassion headquarters.

Before I tell you more about the hike, take a moment to watch these videos and learn more about the ministry this family is involved in.

White Monkey is the oldest daughter. Her real name is Sahale, and she's now 10 years old.

The Eubank family climbs and hikes regularly, and we were eager to join them and get to know them better.

We woke up at 4:15 am so we could make the 3 hour drive north and be at the trailhead by 8 am. Driving through Mt. Rainier National Park was beautiful. The mountains there have a look of their own.

one of our first full views of Mt. Rainier

We saw a family of deer and this one stood still long enough for me to get a picture.

We met everyone else at the Reflection Lake trailhead. It took a while for everyone to show up (there were about 25 of us total), so we had some time to talk and get to know everyone.

Mt. Rainier and the aptly named Reflection Lake

Sydney and Kayleigh became quick friends with Peter (5), Suuzanne (9) and Sahale (10). Below is Sydney and Suuzanne at the beginning of the hike. Apparently this trail does not normally still have snow cover in August, but there was quite a bit of it, and we were not really prepared for snow hiking.

This seemed like a great place to stop and get a picture, but you can't see the majestic mountain behind us!

We were hiking up Pinnacle Peak which is the second highest peak of the Tatoosh Range (6562 ft). The views of Mt. Rainier were just amazing.

When we reached the saddle (the point between Plummer Peak and Pinnacle Peak) we took a group picture. I'll point out the Eubank family members...Karen (mom) is to the far left in blue. Standing to my left in green shirt and hat is Dave (dad). Peter (5) is standing to Kevin's left. To Peter's left is Suuzanne (9) and to her left is Sahale (10).

We rested a bit at the saddle, then continued on toward the summit. This picture below is looking up to the summit. The final ascent is a scramble and then rock climb. Kayleigh and I decided to stay back and let the rest of the group reach the summit. We scrambled up to a large rock (you can see it just under the green bushes on the left of this photo - right in the middle).

Kayleigh resting on our rock

From our resting point we had fantastic views of the Tatoosh mountains, with distant views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helen's.

This is a closer view of Unicorn Peak, which Kevin climbed in June. (The peak sticking up to the left is Unicorn)

This picture below is looking at Plummer Peak. We saw several people hiking the ridge (on the snow side), toward the summit.

Mt. Adams

Here are some closer looks up at the summit.

In addition to fantastic mountain views, we saw some beautiful wildflowers blooming and some wildlife.

We saw this marmot on our ascent, and Kayleigh and I saw two more while resting on our rock.

We also saw this mountain goat grazing on the slope of Pinnacle Peak.

When we returned to our car, we rested a bit. The kids were feeding these birds right out of their hands!

Suuzanne even caught one!

Eventually we all went to Scaleburger for hamburgers and milkshakes. Here's a photo of Kevin and Dave.

We had such a good time getting to know this family. We were inspired by their lives and their ministry. They live in northern Thailand - very close to where our little Orm (Compassion child) lives. Perhaps one day we'll get to visit them and meet Orm.

Here are a few videos for your enjoyment.

the marmot

the mountain goat