They say that victory is never absolute, and failure is never total, B.S.!! Failure both sucks and is humiliating!! The 2002 trip was planned to be a coup de grace of adventure trips, climbing to the top of Mount Rainier. The boys trained for three straight weekends hiking up and down the sand dunes of Saugatuck, on the shore of lovely Lake Michigan. In fact Bone hiked with a 50 pound pack to Hell and back (Hell Michigan, that is), until Bone talked to someone at Rainier Mountaineering Inc (RMI) who stated, "it's no big deal!!", whereas Bone immediately stopped training and had himself a huge Chicago-style hot dog (hot peppers, yellow mustard, neon-green relish, kosher pickle, YUM!!). Unfortunately Rainier is a big deal, as the boys were soon to discover.
Day 2: Bone flunked outta School !!!
Day 3: The Boy's Separate "Funtime" Climb(s)
Day 4: "Everythings Goin' Downhill", the Trip Back