The first time we climbed Washington, we had a kinda-sorta same thing happen. We got "lost" after the Westside Trail went under the Cog, so we decided just to rock hop up to the top. As most of you know, climbing over those sharp boulders can be a real pain. While we were so close to the top, we could see the buildings (before the huge Summit Buildings were in place), it still took forever. Then, my 6-year old brother had the squirts, so it wasn't looking like the hike out was going to be a picnic and it was getting a bit late.
We tried to hop the Cog, but there was 7 of us and they wanted to charge like $30/ea. We were going to send my mother and brother down, and the rest of us were going to hoof it. But, since it was the last train of the day, and it was half-full, they let us on for a total of $20. It was pretty cool of them.
That being said, it was a horrible trip! Stops, starts, coal smoke in the eyes, brutal, brutal. My oldest brother ran down and still beat us to the car...
