Trip Reports

Why go to a stark, barren place in winter? Well, number one, it's an amazing place any time. Number two, we had 1022 miles of sunshine. Number three, no snakes!

We headed to the Grand Coulee area and goofed around there a day or so. Grand Coulee in winter??? Yes! It's beautiful. Icicles dripping from the coulee walls, snow accentuating the contours, resting on the muliple layers of basalt. It's so silent that you can hear the wings of the birds beating in the wind as they fly by in the hundreds. The calls of geese echoing, echoing across the coulees. Hawks lazily riding the wind, the swish of wind whistling through the sagebrush, winter grasses, cattails, dogwood and ponderosas. These are just a few of the things that make Central Washington beautiful.

Wastucna Coulee south of the Palouse Falls warrants mention. It rivals any place in the state for beauty. Look for giant ripple marks near the town of Kahlota, left by the massive floods. Look carefully; they're so huge, it's difficult to see them ground-level.

We then headed to the Saddle Mountains. We chose to approach the Saddle Mountains from the South - highway 24, from Othello. I prefer the South side of the Saddles rather than the north. The south side shows it's soft contours. Sure, the dramatic cliffs are all an the north side, but so are the farms, silos, outbuildings and sadly, abandoned cars left on the side of the road. The south side is the Wahluke WRA, and there are no buildings, no litter, no signage; nothing but rolling hills, golden grasses, tumbleweeds and wind. Between milepost 60 and 61, turn north onto a one lane paved road. When you get near the top of the ridge, bear right, and drive to the end of the road. Then get out and walk along the bare, rolling ridgeline. You can see the deep channels left by the floods and the pothole lakes to the north, and to the south are Horse Heaven Hills, the Columbia glinting in the sun, to the west are the Boylstons, the Yakimas and the Cascades.

We had to adjust our eyes when we hit the west side of the Pass on the way home; the green is shocking after 3 days of golden grass and soft, dusty-green sagebrush.

We decided to try skiing Hex for MLK day since the snow was a bit too deep and unstable further west for fun turns. Yanna, Skip, Jack (the bipeds), Sasha, Max (the quadrupeds) headed up on a few inches of fresh snow over wet snow that was starting to freeze up. Barely enough cover at the road to make us feel OK about the tour. After a shortcut that turned into a longcut, we were back on route and made our way up the road, to another shortcut that actually WAS short (there are a few switchbacks in the road that are well worth cutting off), and we were on the ridge trail. Turns out they've been logging a bit up there since I was last on Hex about 4 years ago, which removed some of the most amazing large trees, and thus changed the character of the tour a bit. But the lower and upper parts of the ridge are still full of wonderful big old trees, and so we endured the newest clearcuts with moderately good humor - still a good tour to be sure.

The ski down was fantastic - plenty of powder on the upper portion where we made many fine turns, and just enough powder on the lower road to make for a smooth but quick return to the car. We saw fresh snowshoe tracks at the bottom, but we saw no people all day long.

Hex is a great ski tour when the snow is a little on the deep side to the west.

Decided to do Lake 22 after the recent snowfall. This makes for a great short snow shoe outing. We arrived around 1 pm to a virtually empty parking lot and a good 10 inches of unplowed snow. Was this ever deceptive! Strapping on the snow shoes, we ended up taking them off a quarter mile into the hike as the trail became snow free. For the most part, you really don't need them until you reach the open slope area. From there on, it's continuous snow up to the lake. Currently the snow on this slope is not deep enough to slide, however it's always best to use caution when approaching this area. The lake is completely covered and, although visibility was limited, we could hear avalanches coming down on the other side of the lake. We encountered four groups of people. They must have parked along the road. In all it was a beautiful day!

Started at 8:15 at the Kautz Creek trailhead. The rangers were requiring chains beyond this point so we picked our location well today. The trail is well packed to the creek crossing and beyond. We broke off the trail around 3100 feet traversing upward to the 4000 foot ridge on Tumtum's northwest side. Lots of new snow kept us at a crawl. The last 600 feet was deep power at too steep of a slope to have a good time. Summit at 11:15 with snow dumping everywhere. A viewless summit for a viewless day. The return was quick and I was back at work in Sumner by 2:15. Good bad day trip with no avalanche danger.

The Bullitt Access Trail is clear of obstructions. There are some areas with running water. There are many logs across the Chybinski Trail. There is a cinder-block building near the highest point of the trail. Sky was overcast and temperatures were moderate above 900 feet. Temperatures were cool below 900 feet.

We enjoyed a bracing walk up the Iron Horse- from the Twins Lakes entry to the east. The highlight was meeting some others using this trail today- three mountain goats!! The only other people we saw on the trail today were coming the other way, just then, and they saw four in this group. There were two adults and two kids! They came up from below the trail and then up the hill right next to the trestle over Change Creek! The 1"" of snow made it easy to enjoy their tracks too! We have not seen any along the trail before!

Hit the trail by 9am, after cancelling a Granite Mountain climb due to the high avalanche conditions. Made it on the road all the way to the one lane bridge about a 1/4 mile from the Denny Creek campground due to Snowplow snow walls.

Hiked on fresh snow up the road to the trailhead. Continued up the trail past I-90, and over the footbridges. These things must be very strong as they had a buildup of about 5 feet of snow on top of them (thats alot of weight). Passed by the first falls (keekwulee falls) and then made a few traverses past some avalanche danger slopes that had shown some previous debris slides. After ascending the first series of switchbacks (it was not hard to stay on trail from depressions, and we had good leaders - [ToTheTop and Jerry S])Once we reached the basin before Hemlock Pass we decided to stop and have lunch and call it the turn around point. Alison then fell into a snowbridge up to her waist. After we pulled her out we noticed it was about 15 feet down and the snowbridge was only about a foot deep. Good thing she did not fall through as the digging out process would have been hard. Some poor visibility, wind and snow, but all in all - we were all happy we got out! scott@nwog.org

Arrived at the trail head about 0930, started up to Heather Lake about 1000 hrs. Light snow on the trail right from the beginning as I climbed higher up the snow started to get deeper, about 3/4 of the way I put on my snow shoes and got to the Lake about 1130, After about 20 minutes at the lake it started to snow real hard, headed back down alot of people were coming up and had packed down the trail so after a little ways you could take off the snow shoes. The end of the trail at the lake is easy to lose as it was totally snow covered. A great day for a little hike in the snow.

Hiked with my buddy Doug up the Boulder River trail, perhaps two miles.

Some slush on the road but not a problem. Two cars already there when we arrived.

The first mile of trail is standing water and slush with stretches of bare dirt and mud. My toes got plenty wet but Dougs new boots kept his feet dry. There was a blowdown that required stooping and a little clambering.

The second mile was more snowy but obvious and not difficult or very slick.

A great winter hike on a drizzly, misty day. Big trees were gorgeous and the waterfalls impressive. This was my second time and heck, I'd go again. -Dox

Just tried to go snowshoeing at Barclay Lake. After turning onto Forest Service Road # 6024, we got about 50 yards, just after crossing over the railroad tracks when we were stopped by a tree that had fallen directly across the path, couldn't go any further, and didn't feel like snowshoeing the 4 miles just to get to the trail head. Unfortunately, we left our chain saw at home. Maybe next time.

Skied up Umptanum Ridge from just W of the Umptanum Falls trailhead. Here a road comes in from the south. With skins, climbed onto the broad spur E of the road and carried on to the ridge top in a hammering wind. Lower, the snow was thin with some bare spots and much sage and bitterbrush. We followed an old jeep track to where the ridge steepens. Higher up, sun and wind had left a hard crust on a thicker snowpack. From the top, we could look down into both Ellensburg and, to the SE through Selah Gap, Yakima. It was a fun descent down the road which we could mostly ski back to the car, passed at one point by two 4x4 vehicles out on a tour of their own. This is a magnificent flower hike in the spring to a scenic highlight of Central Washington.

Spent Sunday morning hiking around Squwak mountain . I started at the Mountainside access point and went up the central creek trail coming back down Phil's creek trail and the Eastside trail, (a very nice loop as described in Mr. Manning's 55 hikes around Snoqualmie Pass book. It was pretty windy and there was some new blow down on the trail. Saw a good sized alder crack and go over just a half mile or so from the trail head. There was still snow from several days before covering the top 400 or 500 vertical feet of the mountain. It was pretty darn sloppy, (read popsicles for toes.) The top was completely socked in, couldn't even see the top of the microwave towers and pretty darn windy up there too. Phil's creek trail was very slippery, a hiking stick would have helped, (or a tobogan...) There is a new, good sized mud slide on the return trip along the Eastside trail, but mother nature slid a nice stump right in the middle to hold on to while pulling you boots out of the mud. This is a very nice loop for a morning or afternoon; quiet, lots of great scenery and close.

The weather report indicated snow levels down to 1500', so it was time to snowshoe on Tiger. Started at the Tiger Summit trailhead around 3:30 PM. Within less than a mile there was a noticeable amount snow on the road (which is closed to motorized vehicles this time of year). At 2000', the snow covered the entire road and snowshoes were donned. Quite a bit of fresh powder soon presented itself, though it was noticeably sticky on the snowshoes. Made a right turn at the 2400' level and had a nice breeze pushing me up to the next Y at 2600'. Turned left and made the final push for the summit. Snow was getting quite deep at this point. Even with the snowshoes, I was sinking 8-10"". Sheets of snow covered the trees on the road to the summit, causing their branches to droop. The sight was incredible. Gracefully arched trees reflecting light to create a cathedral-like effect. The deep snow absorbed all sound and the tranquility was sublime. For a minute I could have been in the Black Forest, the subject of a Grimm tale. Who would think to bring a camera on a dark, stormy day like this?

I reached the summit (3004') right as it started getting dark, so I didn't stay long. My flashlight had to be deployed soon after starting the descent. No problems coming down in the dark, except for a very thick fog that rolled in for the last half mile of the hike. I had trouble seeing more than 10-15 feet in front of me. I could not even make out the road. I found my way back by holding my flashlight close to the ground and following the drainage ditch. GPS showed me that I was on track. Even though I was ""only"" on Tiger, practically ""in the city"", this was a reminder that things can go wrong very quickly even a few hundred yards from safety. A surprising little twist to an overall excellent outing.

After an epic adventure just to the trailhead (crazy snowplows/drunk women hopping logs in ford explorers, etc) we got going at the deer creek barricades at about 630am. It was a long slog as there was about 6 inches of new snow and we were making fresh tracks. It was wet and heavy. We made it to the Dickerman trailhead (4 miles from the barricades) in about 1hr 45min. For the previous few days we specualted that the road and the first mile or two was snow free as we were making tracks that uncovered dirt on the trail. The one thing that stinks about the Dickerman Trail in the winter is that alot of the deciduous trees lean over the trail and causes havoc with your pack if you carry any other gear such as ice axe or wands (I had both) It was easy going up until mile 1.5 where it was getting deeper, yet lighter. Navigation was not difficult until mile 2.5 where we had to turn around due to snow conditions. On the traverses across the 3 gulches we found a layer of ice that was covered with multiple inches of fresh snow. With snowshoes it was real difficult as each step you had to self belay and got real tiring after awhile (getting the spike in the ice). There is some moderate exposure after crossing the gulches as there are some cliffs that drop off after the trees that are about 5 yards down off the trail. After slipping several times and getting worn out by this mother of a mountain we turned around, crossed the gulches, and had some lunch. The descent was quick, and the walk out on the Mtp Loop Highway back to the trailhead (4 miles) was espeically long. I am now 1 out of 4 for winter ascents on this mountain. Make sure to start real early if you want to bag this one in a day. scott@nwog.org

Enjoyed the short snowshoe up to Lanham Lake beginning at the Stevens Ski Nordic Center. We were second group of people heading up...started about 10am and loads of folks came about a half hour to an hour later.

Icy beginning to trail, after gaining the powerline ridge and crossing cross country ski trails we hit lots of new snow about 6-8 inches deep, before entering the valley. The trail was easy to follow along the creek, and a valley that's not very wide - not much chance of getting lost.

We finally hit the lake about noon and had a short lunch. The sun gods were with us as we had driven through snow on the way up, and hiked through clouds, but for 15 glorious minutes we sampled the sun while eating...with great views of the surrounding mountain tops and ridges! After lunch we walked about the lake. No one had done that yet so it was fresh snow - the lake wasn't completely frozen solid it appeared in the south end.

As we headed back down we decided to break lots of new trails and had great fun working our way through new snow and getting quite a workout going down. The valley's tight enough your not going to get lost with the creek for a reference point.

This snowshoe is a good one for people starting out - not terribly long, but with enough elevation gain you get a workout. Adding the chance to go through new snow made it that much more fun. And there was a party that was camping overnight too - sounded like a great place for that. But start early or it will be like Grand Central Station (or Pike's Market)later in the day.

The forest was a winter wonderland of snow laden trees as we snowshoed the June Lake Loop in steady snow showers with the air temperature right at freezing.

We drove to the Marble Mountain Sno-Park on the south side of Mount St. Helens, via State Highway 503 from Woodland to Cougar, then east 6.7 miles on Forest Road 90, left on Forest Road 83 and another 8 miles to the sno-park at 2,700 feet. This large sno-park is heavily used by snowmobiles so we left Portland at 7:30 a.m. to be sure to get a parking space.

From the sno-park, we hiked east on Pine Marten Trail 245 for 1.1 miles to the junction with the June Lake Trail. The Pine Marten Trail parallels snow-covered Road 83, giving muscle-powered snow travelers a way to avoid the snow machines racing up and down the road. In the couple of places where we had to take to the road to cross branches of Swift Creek, we were fortunate to do so when snowmobiles weren't in the area. We turned away from the road onto June Lake Trail 216B and began climbing gently but steadily for 1.5 miles to June Lake at 3,160 feet. The forest is uninteresting plantations replacing 30-year-old clearcuts, but occasional views are available down to June Lake Creek.

June Lake, a small pond created when a lava flow blocked a creek, still was open water, attesting to our warmer than normal winter. Some years it is frozen over and covered by snow so that's its difficult to tell where the lake actually begins. We took a quick break for water and snacks, then turned onto Pika Trail 244D, which climbs across the lava flow and up the west ridge to the Swift Creek Trail in .5 mile. We turned uphill on Swift Creek Trail 244, followed it around the base of the Worm Lava Flows and intersected the Loowit Trail, then continued to a stand of trees to be used as a windbreak for our lunch stop at about 3,600 feet.

After lunch, we headed down the Swift Creek Trail for 3.3 miles back to the Marble Mountain Sno-Park. This direct, steady descent follows an old logging road long ago converted to a winter trail. Our total distance was about 8 miles.

Well, I-90 was closed down for about an hour this morning between about 9:30 and 10:30am.

We broke trail to the top distributed over a number of folks that kind of met doing the ski trip. A few inches down below to probably 8 inches to a foot at the top. Since we had lost an hour we hit near the top and turned around leaving the others to do the cross-over. We headed back down our route for a fast ski.

No grooming today which is sometimes a blessing. There was softer snow outside the tracks rather than the plowed/packed skate track to the junction. It was fast coming down on my wax skis. The waxless folks had to ""pedal"" more (G)

There was a sucker hole when we started but not much visibility once we were moving up. It was blowing and snowing at the top and the whole way back down.

A good workout. Yes, there is snow on the trail - that's the way it is supposed to be.

I was almost to the trailhead when I realized I forgot the water bottles. Luckily in the back seat was a 1 gallon empty apple juice container. I hoped to find a good water source on the trail. It was partly snowing upon arrival at the Carbon River Entrance. I parked at 8:15 and started down the little nature loop trail. Soon the unmaintained Boundary trail was on the right. Up, up, up during a heavy snowfall and where is all the snow accumulation? It just kept climbing with no snow except the inch or so that fell the night before. I was very thirsty when I came upon a large creek to fill the jug. Sure was good! Before I knew it, I was approaching the ridge top at 4500 feet where the trail drops down into the Tolmie Creek drainage. Only at this point was there any significant snow accumulation. I was on the ridge to Florence in just over 2 hours. I continued along the ridge (Alki Crest) toward Florence. Some ups and down, a reentrance into the park and without much effort, I was at the last 100 feet. This section still had exposed rocks. The south summit seemed shorter so I quickly traversed to the true summit. The true summit had a lot more exposed rocks to climb on. No views but the snow did stop falling while I was on top. I got a brief glimpse of the ridge down to Sweet Peak but no views of the tree covered peak. I dropped back down and over the false summit. Continuing down, I took a North turn to follow the ridge to Sweet. No difficulties to the saddle below Sweet. The ascent of Sweet was quick and painless. The summit is in the woods but there is an apex of 3 ridges coming together to one spot with some rocks. To get back, I followed my tracks back down to the saddle. Then I dropped West into the drainage until 3800 feet where I found the trail back to the Ranger Station. Florence summit was at noon. Sweet was at 12:40. Back to car at 1:50. This trip took several hours less time than I thought it would.

Took Annette Lake trail to about 3500 ft. It was snowing and below freezing by a few degrees. Then headed up hill, due west. Once we were off the trail, we needed snowshoes at first, and then crampons and and ice axe. Slopes approached 70 degrees as we got close to the ridge. Topped out on the ridge well above the shoulder. Ridge was corniced, and varied from icy- to deep, wind-deposited powder - to rotten refrozen snow. It tend to be Narrow and rocky. Felt very exposed in places. We tended to the right on the ridge to avoid the lee deposited snow (cornices), but visibility was low so it may have been safer to err to the left on the uncorniced areas as that slope is at least visible and unobstructed. Seemed that many parts of the ridge on the right (east side) were very steep below the immediate slopes. Although it was hard to tell with limited visibility. We made a weather call (increasing snow, wind, decreasing visibility) about 50 feet below the actual summit.

On the descent we made our back along the ridge and south past where we had first come on to the ridge, all the way down to where it rounds to a shoulder and then down to the fairly level notch or saddle area. From there, we headed east. This was much easier grade for descent than the way up. Nice going most of the way. After descending through densely growing small conifers for 30 minutes, we came upon the annette lake trail a hunred yards before it cross the iron-horse trail.

Started at about 7:00am and ended around 3:pm. Plan for more time on the ridge as the traverse is slow going.

jasonthoffman@hotmail.com

This peak is south of Russian Butte and is identified on the USGS Bandera map as Peak 5454. It offers a substantial elevation gain of 5,000' with little avalanche risk. Plus it is close to Seattle. Travel I-90 east getting off at Exit 34. Turn left at the bottom and 1/2 mile further turn right onto the Middle Fork of Snoqualmie Road. Several miles later the pavement will end. 1/4 mile further on the right will be the start of the Granite Creek logging road at ~700 feet elevation. I mountain biked up about 3 miles until the snow stopped me at 1,700 feet. If you have a mountain bike it is the way to go as the monotony on the way out is turned into an exilarating quick ride out. The Granite Creek logging road continues to go way up to almost 5,000 feet. I stayed on it until 4,200' and then just went straight up to connect with point 5124. This saves about 1 mile of road travel. At Point 5124 you stay on the ridge travelling NE until it connects with the summit at 5,454. There is a slight downclimb of about 150 feet between those two points. On this day it was quite foggy with visability about 200 feet. I had hoped to get pictures of Russian Butte which is due north. Left the car at 8:15AM and summited at 1:25PM. Back to the car at 3:45PM.

The snowshoe route up Mowich Lake Road is well traveled but on this day I had it to myself. At 11:30 I hit the trail at the Paul Peak parking area under an overcast sky. An abundance of waterfalls, seeping rock faces and icicles made for a pleasant trip as did the snow which began falling. I chose to stay on the road and save the red flagged shortcuts (see carbon river report jan 13)for the descent. I fell into a good rhythm and was surprised to find myself at the Mowich Lake turnaround at 1:10. The far end of the lake was obscured by the shroud of falling snow which was increasing in intensity. Sometimes when the lowlands are covered in clouds or mist Rainier offers sunshine with elevation. Today was not one of those times. I headed back to the truck, taking advantage of two of the well marked shortcuts with their ""over the river and through the woods"" feeling. I reached the trailhead at 2:30. The fresh snow made the six inch deep snow/ice ruts seem more slippery than on the way in. Bring a 4X4 or walk the last half mile to the trailhead. Happy Trails!

A friend and I took the day off from work and went for a shoeing experience.The weather could not have been better!We arrived at the parking lot and got underway by 10 am.The trail is easy to follow and is more like a road than a trail for the first half mile.As you start to gain elevation hug the left side of the valley and climb the trail to the lake.There was fresh snow up there and was beautiful.We made our way around the lake and had lunch in the sun all the while being entertained by the masses of back country skiers and boarders coming down the mountain on the other side of the valley.When it is time to return to civilization I recommend taking the Snow Lake trail. You will be able to avoid the crowd and won't need to worry about being run over by a snow board.By taking this trail down you will come out by the ski lifts and walk the road back to your vehicle.P.S. There were signs of fresh avalanches on the ridge between Source and Snow Lakes!Be carful and good hiking!

We had sought to take the Damnation Creek Road, a spur off of the Thorton Lakes Road (marked on the USGS map) as an approach to Damnation Peak. We ran into vehicle-stopping snow a mile before the fork. The road is considerably overgrown now and does not make for pleasant travel. Portions had only light foliage to brush out of the way, but there are plenty dense sections of alder sprigs and small conifers coming up. There are also a few slides over the path about a mile in. There were several deer tracks over the snow, but the snow was not deep enough to ski through.

It is probably best to let this route return to wilderness. It is not very scenic anyway, since all the nice trees near the road have been cut. Virgin forest however is present a stone's throw up slope. For a better cross-county approach into the area, it might be good to try the forested ridge running north from the Thorton road...

Okay, so I am a Pichuck addict, and have nothing better to do. With recent job layoffs, I have found the time to do this stuff more often. We were supposed to do a 2 day Dickerman trip, but a late start made us hit Pilchuck instead. We left the trailhead at 3:30pm after a nice drive up the Pilchuck road. Blue skies greeted us, and warm weather that was graciously accepted on our part. We hit the saddle at 5pm and decided to pitch camp there. After digging out a shelter and putting up a wind wall, we got nestled into our tent. It was Rob's first field test of his 2 wall Hilleberg tent. All I can say is that they are fantastic cold weather tents! At 9pm we went out and ventured beneath the cliffs of Pilchuck and found Frozen Lake (or where it's supposed to be). There was alot of avalanche debris from the cliffs above, but the colder temps made travleing safe. It took some real muscle to make it up there as we had to ascend a few icy 30-40 degree slopes, but the purely clear skies and the stars made it so incredible. We got back to the tent and went to bed to awake to more great weather. We headed up around the backside of the mountain (real icy, crampons/ice axe recommended)and had a great time with the use of our crampons since the day before left us having a not so good time on the traverse. The summit provided gorgeous views of Baker, Shuksan, Pugh, Sloan, Glacier Peak, Rainier, American Border Peak, Three Fingers, and Whitehorse. The descent was great as well, with perfect snow conditions - and the glissade down was fun as always, but the 55lb packs didn't make it as fun as it should have. Go to Pilchuck! scott@nwog.org

Decided to head out a little east to take advantage of rumored sun for the day...turned out to be great choice as there was fog in the snoqualmie pass all day, but bright sun on Hex.

Parked at the turnout across Newport Creek from the beginning of road 116 - the start of the snow shoe. First mile was on hard snow with 1-2"" of new stuff on ground, some people simply walked up in shoes. At trail head for Hex Mt off of the road the snow got much deeper - 6-8"" or so of new stuff with great sunshine.

The trail isn't hard to follow - basically up the ridge line to the top - not a big deal even without tracks to follow. There were areas of drifting snow and areas scoured to ice from wind, but it was a calm day. Ran into a set of snowmobilers at one point on the ridge where their trail turns around with a great view.

After about 2.5 miles got into trees which were wonderful - blue sky above, flocked trees around a lots of new snow, quiet. There were a set of snowshoers ahead of me, and a set of skiers.

At top of Hex could see Rainier, Stuart and surrounding areas. Skiers at top went down some bowls back to trail head - I had lunch and enjoyed the view. Thought about heading down via Bear Creek - but didn't think I had enough time.

The way back was fun, stepping down in all that new snow was a treat, soft - only took half the time it took to go up! With a mile to go on the road I took my snowshoes off and walked on the packed snow.

Wonderful day - great snow shoe - about 2500 elevation, 7 miles roundtrip - and so different from areas further west. Much more open.

snow on the trail 6""-12"" at various spots. a lot of fallen trees, water on the trails. Talked to some snowshoers who thought there wasnt enough snow as compared to years past. still a good day hike. My four year old son did fine.

The road up to the trailhead is now 90% free of snow. W/O a 4WD you can get up to 1-2 miles before the trailhead. With a 4WD with low clearance you can get with in 1/4 mile, and all the way with good clearance. Joseph and I met Craig B (Beave). We left the trailhead about 8am and had a good time all the way up to the saddle (4600'). For some reason Jospeh and I took our snowshoes but left the crampons in the car. At the saddle and the rest of the way up was pretty icy, so all we had were our ice axes as Craig broke trail. The whole way we were setting tracks, so it was really pristine up there, just no views as visibility was bad. Once at the lookout, it is quite easy to gain access as it has completely melted out. Some boulders have revealed themselves as well. Had some nice glissading down from the saddle as well. Good times. Trip report and images are at: http://www.nwog.org/reports/011302pilchuck.htm So go to Pilchuck while you still can!

Figuring on a long day, we (two humans, two leashed dogs) were on the trail by 9:30. There was only one other car at the trailhead so already we felt better than if we were hiking Si. The snow was spotty for the first two or three miles, but by the time we were huffing up the switchbacks it was uniform over the trail about two inches deep.

Before we got to the top of the switchbacks we ran into the other party (four humans, two dogs) on its way down. They turned back when the snow was too deep for them. We didn't see anyone else until we were on the way back down.

At the knob above the clearcut there was four inches of new snow over several feet of crusty snow. The dogs didn't break through, but on occasion we did. We had one set of snowshoes which we switched back and forth for a bit to break trail, but it didn't prove to be that much of a help.

We reached the saddle at about 1:30, but the views were completely hidden by clouds. We were short on time and had trouble finding the trail to the summit so we called it a day and headed back. We saw a couple groups of casual hikers/walkers below the snow level, but no one seriously heading up high.

This superb snowshoe trip begins at the White River West Sno-Park (4,223'), 7 miles east of Government Camp on Oregon Highway 35. The main attractions of this hugely popular area are open, gentle slopes and breathtaking views up White River Canyon to the White River Glacier on Mount Hood. It is one of the most popular and congested Nordic skiing and snow play areas on Mount Hood, but we have found that we leave most of the crowd behind after we have gone a mile.

Today, our Trails Club of Oregon group enjoyed bright sun, no wind, and mild temperatures. About 3 inches of powder overlay the packed ice created by last week's rain and warm temperatures. Mount Hood dominated the scene ahead as we hiked north from the Sno-Park on a tree-studded bench above the river valley. Our goal was the middle morraine in the center of the valley, with 1,400' feet of elevation gain to the high point.

We stayed on the bench until it merges with the west ridge, then descended to cross the White River on a snowbridge. It is important to stay away from the base of the steep west ridge since the slope is prone to avalanches. The toe of the morraine was directly ahead, and the real climbing began here. The wind-swept morraine was mostly ice, so our snowshoes functioned more for traction than flotation. We reached the high point on the morraine for lunch, applied more sunscreen and enjoyed the view south down the Cascades crest to Mount Jefferson and beyond to the Three Sisters. Clouds and fog blew in at the front of the next storm as we descended back to the Sno-Park and the conclusion of this 6 mile hike.

The Valley Connector and West Peak Trail junction with the Bullitt Fireplace Trail is as shown on the Green Trail map (as opposed to what was reported earlier). They are just buried under a mass of logs.

At 1.0 miles, the May Valley Trail leaves the road to the left at a hairpin curve. There is a sign that indicates the trail ends in 0.1 miles. This pertains to the side trail to the east that ends at a private property line. The May Valley Trail heads north along Bullitt Creek. There is some construction on the May Valley Trail. There are some muddy spots and brushy areas. No logs across the trail. The tread is narrow and there are brushy spots on the Perimeter Loop Trail. There are brushy spots along the West Peak Trail and there are many logs across the trail. There is a small transmitting station on West Peak. The West Peak Trail is buried under many logs where it meets the Bullitt Fireplace Trail. The Bullitt Fireplace and Central Peak Trails are clear except for one overhanging three on The Bullitt Fireplace Trail. The Valley Connector Trail has many logs across it. Skies were overcast and temperatures were moderate.

My favorite hiking partner and I went snowshoeing today on the Mowich Lake Rd. to the Lake . The drive to the TH was not a problem except the final half mile. It got deep fast. Hope you have a 4x4! The pit toilets were a nice touch! As you proceed up the road you will come upon a small red flag on the left side of the road. This indicates a short-cut to the road above. All you have to do is follow the red tin flags nailed about 15 ft.up on the trees. The only problem is that as soon as you go through the ditch you need to go hard right and climb along the road for a short while and look for the flags! It seems like you should go straight ahead,but don't! This will only send you up to where others wished they hadn't gone. Once you figure out the red flag thing you can cut off some milage and enjoy some beautiful winter forests. There are two more marked trails through the forest when you reach the end of this shortcut. It was a long hike. Start early.Happy hiking!

The road up to Whiskey Bend is in good shape and even some potholes have been filled in.

There are a few down trees but nothing difficult to step over. The Geyser Valley Trail just upstream from Goblin Gates has washed out into the Elwha River for about 50 feet or so but it's easy to pick up again by just following along the river. The Krause Bottom Trail between Humes Ranch and the bridge over the Elwha has also washed out and is in danger of eroding further into the Elwha. Again, it's easy to find the trail again by just walking through the grass and forest and looking for it.

It is obvious that the Elwha River was very high recently to have caused the above washouts.

As always though, this is an absolutely beautiful hike, even in (or especially in) the rain.

We snowshoed this beautiful forest trail and took advantage of our travel mode to do some cross-country exploration on this Trails Club of Oregon trip. The snow was icy from the warm temperatures and heavy rain earlier in the week, so we needed our snowshoes more for grip than for flotation.

The hike begins at the Frog Lake Sno-Park (3,952') on U.S. Highway 26 4.1 miles south of the intersection with Oregon Highway 35, southeast of Government Camp. We started out by snowshoeing north on the Pacific Crest Trail for 1.5 miles to the intersection with the Twin Lakes Trail. The PCT climbs gently but steadily through oldgrowth forest of western hemlocks. We turned east onto the Twin Lakes Trail, climbed about 100 yards to a pass over the ridge at 4,460' and then descended to Lower Twin Lake at 4,160'. This small lake sits deep in a forested basin and was solidly frozen and snow-covered. We paused briefly - just long enough for the gray jays to find us - before heading to Upper Twin Lake.

Rather than follow the trail to Upper Twin Lake (4,440'), we took the more direct route up the drainage of the outlet creek that connects the two lakes. We climbed about 240' in .3 mile, arriving on its southern shore, where we paused for lunch. Upper Twin Lake also was frozen and snow-covered. On a clear day, a view of Mount Hood is available from this location, but today we saw only leaden skies and falling snow.

Rather than follow the trail beyond Upper Twin Lake back to a junction with the PCT, which would have been long and boring through dog-hair second growth forest resulting from a long ago forest fire, we decided to explore climbing directly over the ridge bordering the west shore of the lake to reach the PCT on the other side. Switchbacking up the ridge warmed us up quickly and was very scenic as we traveled through more oldgrowth forest. We wound around to avoid patches of ""dog hair,"" descended and found ourselves quickly back at the PCT. We turned south and hiked about a mile to the junction where we had turned off, then continued back to the Sno-Park. We estimated that we went about 6.5 miles.

Oh my goodness! Could it possibly rain and snow anymore on a hike. We even were treated to a rare winter electrical storm. If I hadn't had the companionship of six others guys this outing would have been depressing as we were all soaked to the skin at the end. McClain Peak is prominent on the western edge of the Cascades when viewed from Seattle or Bellevue. It is just to the south of Phelps Mt which looks like a gray thumb due east of Kirkland. Beckey calls McClain ""Little Phelps."" Many maps incorrectly label McClain as Phelps. McClain will be the 5,162 foot tall peak on the map. Drive I-90 east to Exit 31, North Bend. Turn right at the stoplight in town and then two blocks east will be Ballaratt St. Turn left (north) there. Four miles north of North Bend will a Y. Take the uphill road which will have a large yellow gate (hopefully open). Drive on this road to connect with the North Fork of the Snoqualmie road. You should get a copy of the USGS map for the area. Take this until the snow stops you. Then hike up the road and turn left on FS road 5730. After about 1 mile a spur road angles up steeply to the right. That is the road to the now closed BlackHawk mine. Go up that road until the mine (the gravel on the road will become red in color). This is at about 2,600'. Then go right into the clearcut area and stay to the north of the large watercourse. At 4,000' traverse to the left and connect with the saddle between Phelps and McClain at 4,200'. Follow the ridge to 4,700 feet where it opens into a parklike setting with few trees. A steep SW directed buttress must be crossed at 4,800'. On the other side of this buttress is a steep avalanche chute which will connect you with the summit at 5,162 feet. Five members of our party roped for this section and two were comfortable with kicking steps and using ice axes. The summit was quite windy on this day and since views were non-existent we didn't linger. 8 hours from car to car.

I hadn't hauled the little guy out for a good long walk through the fresh air in some time, so an antsy 3.58098 year old and I decided to drive in to explore some in the Bellevue Wilderness, otherwise known as the Mercer Slough area. We parked at the trailhead and immediately began running down the trail leading south toward the blueberry farm once I told Christopher that there was a huge blueberry farm nearby. Alas, he was greatly disappointed to find the thousands of bushes not only off limits, but depressingly bare of berries in early January! Thus, after nearly having to abort the hike due to early disappointments, we finally pushed on deeper into the slough area. Spotting the first downy woodpecker in a cottonwood tree and gathering of ducks in a small pond got he juices flowing again. There was a huge flock of golden-crowned kinglets to enjoy, seven bushtits, two red-tailed hawks, and Christopher really enjoyed how close we got to a great-blue heron along the slough (""Daddy, why didn't you bring you BIG lens with you?"" Good question....). We crossed the slough/river on the cool bridge, and after a bit came back and hiked across the peat bog areas along the berry fields and back to the start. It was fun jumping on the peat and letting each other feel the ground vibrate from it! The morning was capped off with the excitement of getting to hear and see the train heading north along the tracks that pass along I-405. So if a hike isn't ever in store for the little fellow, I always can have a successful outing if I just make sure he can see a train!

Badly needing a breath of fresh air and SUNSHINE to brighten my spirits after a month of no hiking due to sinus surgery, I headed east hoping to escape the gloppy dark clouds of the west. The sun broke out by Ellensburg and I was well on my way to a great day in the Quincy Wildlife Area. Upon arrival at the north entrance I found that although the area is signed to be open road after 1/1/02 after hunting season, the gate was still closed. Alas, this made for a much more pleasant day of hiking anyhow as I got to slowly hike the road in past Quincy Lake, other lakes, and to Burke Lake. Stands of cottonwoods shined against the brilliantly polarized blue Eastern Washington sky! Each of these lakes was a worthy stop and photography experience in its own right: clumps of lonely grass reeds in deep blue water, cattails lining the shores of each lake, ice patterns in the waters of Burke Lake, etc....

Across from Burke Lake I headed down the unmarked path which takes you to the lip of the canyon that heads to Dusty Lake. Due to the melting snow of the week the three waterfalls pouring into the canyon were spectacular! The large beaver pond below the one falls was smooth and reflecting the basalt cliffs and waterfalls surrounding it, with the beaver lodge keenly placed well across the pond from where I was hiking. The views down the canyon as you cross the creek on a board were fascinating, and slowly Dusty Lake became more of the western scenery. Dropping down suddenly into the shade of the southern canyon walls made the air temperature feel at least 20 degrees colder as I hiked across the ice. But there was still sunshine along a portion of the Dusty Lake shoreline and my did my food taste good, and the photography was terrific! Reflection City!

I hiked back up and spent another 1/2 hour photographing around the waterfalls and beaver pond, and finally started back up for the road just as the sunlight left me for the day as the next approaching front started moving in. I startled a few belted kingfishers along Quincy Lake and a large gathering of quail near a feeding station near the Ancient Lakes trailhead. This turned out to be a better day than had I just hiked into Dusty Lake if I drove in since I now had a beautiful seven mile hike under my belt rather than the short three miles from the ""trailhead"". By the time I was driving home past Cle Elum it was snowing for much of the rest of the drive home, but I hiked in sunshine all day!

Made it to 3600 feet at the base of the meadow without any snow. Got up to almost the top of the rock outcrop, but a steep sidehill and icy snow was enough of a deterrent to decide the turnaround spot. The Bailey Range was out in all its snowy splendor. Any time you can gain 3600 feet in January without risking your life, it's a good day. Couple blowdowns blocking the trail, but no big deal.

I kept hoping the dense fog would lift by the time we climbed the 2000 feet to Mt. Walker's summit (it's at 2800 feet), but it did not. We ate lunch in the mist and remembered all the times we've been up here when we could see the fabulous views of the Olympics and--at the south summit--Puget Sound and the Cascades. But it was a good hike nonetheless,and for this season--a treat to find a trail with a lot of elevation that is not snow covered. In fact, there wasn't a drop of snow anywhere.

Road covered in snow at about 3.5 miles. We parked there and snowshoed up beyond the parking lot. Mixed rain and snow made it impossible to continue to the top. Very steep final approach was subject to avalanche. Probably could make the top with snowshoes, good conditions and a big day of effort. Easy access to road end..

Another beautiful day in the woods. You can park, 1/4 mile East, on a wide spot by the Stilly River.The Marten Creek trail, Really another abandoned road walk, is steep for the first mile. Huff and puff. It was dry. Patchy snow,well compacted, on the last mile.There was no need for snowshoes. Animal tracks, birds were singing. Thnks to those who move branches, big rocks or channel water to keep the trail clear.A couple nice views of Gordon Mt. and Three Fingers. One other party, giggling and cross-eyed with delight. Search for the mines in August. Rained hard on the way down.

Kendall Peaks Lakes 4,400' January 06, 2002

The Trail starts two miles east of Snoqualmie Pass at the Snow-Park at Exit 54 off I-90. The trail is a forest road and easy to follow. Many people come to play and sled at the lower reaches of the trail. The day was overcast, and the forecast was for a front to move through later in the day with the snow level rising to 5,000'.

Doerte and I walked happily along in the three inches of new snow that had fallen during the night. We saw a few parties, but not many considering how close we are to Seattle. After 2 miles we found a track that left the trail and ascended steeply into the forest. We hoped it would eventually join back up with the main route. It was hard work, but fun, to climb the steep slope through the big trees, covered white with snow. All the limbs of the trees hung heavily with snow. The route zig-zagged around the limbs.

Finally, we broke from the forest and climbed a crest to the top of a ridge. We seemed to be on a big hump in the middle of the valley. We knew we must be very close to the Kendall Peak Lakes, but we couldn't tell where they were. All we could see was fog and clouds. We continued down the track and finally stopped for a snack. A woolen solo snowshoer said to continue on 10 minutes and we would see the lake.

It was easy to become disoriented in the fog, and now it started to rain, turning the silky light powder into thick mashed potatoes! At the lower lake we had a good visit with two backcountry snowboarders, the only party we saw besides the woolen solo! We made our way to the middle Lake of the Kendall Peak Lakes, 4,400', on wet snow in a mad rain. Located in a small basin below Kendall Peak, 5,784', the three Kendall Peak Lakes are gorgeous any time of the year.

Once again, Doerte and I were having a typical day in the Pacific Northwest. Snow, rain, and no visibility! The rumored views were no where to be seen. But, it was a good day to field test our gear and see if that Gortex really works! We had a five minute break at the middle lake and then started back down in the rain. We couldn't see anything except the trail in front of us. Losing the trail would be a disaster.

The descent went fast and we were back on the main trail in an hour, and back at the truck in 30 more minutes, chilled and wet. Our gloves and pants were wet, feet, upper-bodies, and heads were dry. 4.5 hours, 1,800' elevation gain, and 9 miles.

A great hike with easy access and great winter scenery Deer creek road is closed to motor vehicles due to snow accumulation. It begins at about 1600 feet and ends at about 3100 feet about 5 miles each way.) We started out on a mixture of gravel and snow which transitioned to putting on the snow shoes within the first mile. We had nearly 4 feet of snow when we ended at the trail head for Lake Kelcema (1/2 mile more would have taken us to the lake, but we decided to quit there so we could finish before dark.) We saw plenty of wildlife tracks but we were too noisy to see any animals. There were only about 12 other people seen in the entire trip We had intermittent rain showers which appeared to be melting the snow quickly. Overall it was a good moderate hike, and down hill all the way home. To get there just follow the Mountain Loop Highway to just before (200 or 300 yards) it's blocked off for the Winter.

Jan 5-6 Hwy 2 to Stevens Pass - park on the left side of the lot, and if going overnight make sure to park in the last 2 rows towards the cabins, of course always ask to make sure you don't get towed. Hike up the trail towards the cabins and veer right after the first cabin. There are plenty of snowshoe tracks to follow, and noticed this morning on our way down that it was groomed for a few hundred feet as well. Follow the switchbacks which are quite wide all the way up to the ridge. There are a few beacon towers or microwave towers along the way as well. For some reason, the orange paintcan guy got to this trail as well. How could you not find your way on this trail' Even with lots of fresh snow it seems impossible to get lost. Anyway, we hiked past Skyline Lake and traversed north to a saddle where we found a good place to setup camp. Due to a cancellation of our climb up Mt Hood this weekend due to 55-80 mph winds at the Tiberline Lodge (elev 5900'), we thought we had to make use of our stuffed paks somewhere! So we dug out the shelter of all shelters (it was a palace) and set up the tent. It was a nice quiet evening with low winds and no snowfall. The lights of the Ski area lit up the valley, and not until 11pm did the snow and wind pick up, but not inside our shelter, it was calm and nice. We awoke at 6am to a gorgeous sunrise and stars, but that did not last long as the air started to get warm and tree bombs started to fall on us. We packed up camp and traversed down to Skyline Lake. From there we left our backs and tried to ascend a small butte at the North end of the lake about 200-300 feet higher. We found ourselves 10 feet below the summit but it was too steep w/o iceaxes so we had to retreat. Nice hike down, with only a few people on the trail. This is an ideal place to go backcountry skiing when there are low avalanche conditions. I will return soon to ski the distance. Photos to come soon at www.nwog.org.

Keechelus Ridge 4900' January 05, 2002

The trailhead is at Exit 62 on I-90, then drive back West a little more than a mile to the Price Creek Snow-Park, 2,800'. The Snow-Park was full of snowmobilers and we wondered if we were at the right place. There was only one other party of snowshoers.

Doerte and I started up the trail at 10 am on hard pack. We followed the forest service road, avoiding the snowmobiles (load and stinky) when they came by. We stayed on Road 124 until it appeared to descend, then headed cross-country up the ridge. It was beautiful in the glades and open areas. The big trees all had big white blankets covering them. The hard pack turned to a few inches of soft power.

By now we knew that the summit ahead of us would be a false one and keep plodding along. The visibility fell to only about 50' as we got above 4,500'. Doerte came upon a couple having lunch at the base of a stand of second growth. They were the only party we encountered since leaving the Trailhead. They had managed to avoid all of the dreaded snowmobiles by traveling crosscountry.

The Keechelus Ridge summit, 4,900', has big radio tower that we could barely see even while standing underneath it! Besides being in a cloud, it was covered in ice. We imagined all the wonderful views and panoramic vistas we would have on a clear day as we added a couple layers for the descent.

We had to be really careful to follow our tracks on the way down to be sure we stayed on route. It was a sea of white powder! The route down through the trees was fast and fun. We were surprised there were no skiers or snowboarders as the snow was perfect.

A great trip, even with the snowmobiles, and without the views. 8 miles, 2,100' elevation gain, over 5.5 hours.

Thanks to the people who put the little foot bridge in at the begining of the trail. I always thought that this was such a nice trail but crossing the stream in the begining was such a hassle when the water was up.

The snow is on and off past the falls. There are a few snow bridges to cross. I went to the lake without snow shoes but put snow shoes on for part of the hike back. I saw some snow falling on the other side of the lake. Allways fun to see.

The White Chuck Road had snow begining at the 4 mile marker, at the 6 mile marker the road has at least 8 inches, and by 7.5 miles we could drive no further. There was a good trail to snowshoe on up to the trailhead, after that ours were the only tracks. We camped at Fire Creek, where there was about 18-24"" of snow with drifts of 3-4 ft in some places. We got up the next morning and started towards Kennedy but turned around at Glacier Creek due to time constraints. At Glacier the snow level was around 20-26"".

Snowshoes are a MUST within 3 miles of the trailhead. Some blowdown, on the road and on the trail.

Pine and Cedar Lakes are located south of Bellingham in the Chuckanut Mountain range. Take the North Samish Lake exit from I5 and continue about 2.5 miles on the Old Samish Road to the signed parking lot and trailhead. Whatcom County Parks have obviously done a lot of work recently on this area since I was last here last Spring. The parking lot (which used to be a mud-hole) has been nicely gravelled and a portable toilet installed. The trail is much improved too, with lots of new run-off pipes and water-bars, etc. The trail is quite steep as it takes off on an old road, going relentlessly upward. At the one mile mark, a brand new section of trail goes off to the left, making some nice switchbacks through a pretty part of the forest I've never seen before. It allows you to avoid one of the steepest sections of the old trail. We went first to Pine Lake at 2.4 miles and then turned back to Cedar Lake (which is the first turnoff, at about 1.9 miles). After eating lunch at a sunny spot on the far side of the lake, we decided to walk around the lake and discovered some ribbons leading up to a brown box (which turned out to be a privy). But the ribbons continued and we kept following them up a small ridge and through then some very boggy areas until we found ourselves after about a half mile back at Pine Lake! But on the far side. The ribbons seem to mark remnants of very old trail, and patches where there is really no trail at all. We retraced our steps back to Cedar Lake and then climbed to the outlooks above the lake, another half-mile. The first one, towards Bellingham is now almost completely obscured by the trees (you used to have a great view!); the second one looks out towards Mount Baker and the Cascades. It was a cloudy day, but there was just enough sunshine to give us a good picture of Mount Baker and the Sisters. The third viewpoint is to the West and the islands in the Sound. It was a great day of hiking--perfect for winter walking without snow.

no snow, hooray!! good workout hike for after school/work. If you can't get out anywhere better, go ahead and go because trail conditions are good.

The recent reports of SUVs stuck on access roads convinced me to not drive all the way to the trailhead. I stopped at about 2300', mile 2.5, on FS 9030. Snowshoes were helpful for traction but not necessary until well past Talapus Lake. I followed the trail north from Talapus toward Ollalie, leaving the trail before the creek crossing and heading up the ridge to the west of Ollalie Lake. This is a shorter route than the trail circling Ollalie and heading toward Mason Lake but is pretty steep. At the top of the ridge I turned west and started up the long eastern ridge of Pratt Mountain. The climb becomes more gradual and there were views down to Talapus and Pratt Lakes as the trees thinned. The visibility was so poor that I couldn't see Bandera or any other nearby peaks, but from other descriptions the view on a clear day is to Rainier and the close part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The ridge is corniced in spots, and some sections had a thin layer of ice below the new snow, but I had no problem with traction using poles and MSR snowshoes. This route doesn't cross any avalanche paths as far as I could see, but traveling up the ridge to the summit could be dangerous in different snow conditions and would require different equipment and experience with winter backcountry travel. Avalanche danger was listed as low below 5000' today. The ridge flattens out and ends at 5099'. I thought about descending the steeper southwest side of the mountain to the valley above Talapus Lake but decided not to push my luck and I retraced my route. From where I parked, 8 mi RT, 2800', 4hrs. Plan on more time if it's clear and there are views, or if the snow is soft.

Other writeups accurately describe/located the trailhead to this peak. This brief writeup is to give current conditions on a popular hike. The snowshoes were left in the car and that proved to be a good decision. The snow we encountered along the entire hike was firm and crusty. There was a fresh layer of perhaps an inch placed down with todays light precipitation. An ice axe is still needed though as a fall would not be arrested on the upper slopes without it. Actually on this day I didn't even need my gaiters and they stayed unused in the pack. We made quick time on the peak with 4 hrs to ascend and descend.

My favorite hiking partner and I started the New Year by skipping the champagne and taking a beautiful snowshoe trip to, and above ,Source Lake early New Years Day. The trip is easy and so that means LOTS of people. The good news is that most of folks that do this trip don't begin until noon or later. So get there early and try to enjoy some sort of solitude. The climb to the saddle above and between Source and Snow Lake is very steep and difficult. Don,t bring Fido or the out of towners on this part. When we reached the top it was a different environment there. The wind was really blowing and goggles were needed. Check avalanche conditions before attempting this climb! The trip back to the parking lot was quick despite having to dodge the mass of humanity enjoying the first day of 2002. Peace,love,and good hiking to all in this New Year!

Getting There. Drive Highway 2 to Skykomish and turn left at FS 6066. The infamous Pilar, my friend Johnnie Nitro, Sarah (pilar's new wife) and myself drove 1.5 miles up the FS 6066 and parked at 1100 ft elevation. Our plan was follow the road up 5 miles then ascend to the north for 1.5 miles to Alpine Baldy at 5200 ft. The road made for easy going to about 3300 ft. We headed off the road through some clearcut then ascended some old growth to about 4700 ft using snowshoes all the way. After reaching the ridge we headed east up to 5000 ft following the treeline. At this point the terrain opens to a large bowl area. The wind was really screaming at this point. In fact it was so strong it nearly blew me over. I used my GPS and took a reading and found us at 5165 ft. The so called Alpine baldy was another 700 yards over a saddle and then up to a clump of trees but at the same elevation. It was 3:30pm and I said this is enough. We need to get down to the road by dark. Pilar reluctantly agreed. We descended quickly and were well on our way down the road by dark. This trip would have been quite easy if we had a snow mobile. It would have turned a 13 mile tromp with 4000 ft of elevation gain into a 3 mile 1800 ft climb. Matt G

As the report said previously, the trail is ice and compact snow from mile 3 on, with patches of dirt here and there. Thought that the old Si trail might have been better so we took that until it met up with the new trail and slipped just as much as others. Poles are required for this hike if you don't want to fall on the ol fanny. VERY WINDY up there. We got up to the top in my record time as I pushed harder then ever to get ready for a Mt Hood climb this weekend, and have been training hard for awhile since the list of peaks is growing for this winter/summer. AtT the base of the Haystack I put on my crampons and got out my ice axe to ascend the ice/snow/rock gulley to the top of the haystack. It was perfect snow for doing this, as I ascended straight up on the left side, but once at the top of the saddle just a few feet from the summit the wind was blowing harder than i can ever remember - my lips were actually flapping in the wind! We decided that we did not want to get blown off so we descended. Not a problem with crampons and an ice axe - might not be fun w/o these tools. Went slow down the upper trail as my wife did not bring crampons. No rain, so it was a nice day :-) scott@nwog.org

Get off Hwy 2 at Money Creek Campground. Drive up the Money Creek road looking for Forest Road 6422 to your left just before the crossing of the river. The 5 of us in the Geep didn't get far before we had to park and start walking around 8:30. The old road had some nice tracks to about 3000 feet. This helped get us up the long switchbacking road much quicker than breaking our own trail. At the point the snowshoe tracks stopped, we went East, up to the ridge. Soon the ridge entered the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. We continued the ridge South until we traversed down, over than up to the Northeast ridge of Cleveland. (Good advise Pilar). Nice final ascent to the summit. No real difficulties, all on snowshoes. Great views...we just beat the coming storm. Had our annual Jan. 1st firework show on the summit. Coming down, I was joined by Michael for a quick summit of Temple. Temple is so flat on top we were not sure where the top was. Going down, cut all switchbacks. We met the others at the car just before dark.

The Trails Club of Oregon once again upheld its annual tradition of a New Years Day hike to Nesika, its lodge in the Columbia River Gorge. There were 14 of us. Two couples hiked in yesterday and spent New Year's Eve at Nesika, so fires were blazing in the fireplace, woodstove, and kitchen range when we arrived.

The hike begins at Multnomah Falls Lodge and climbs the Larch Mountain Trail 760 feet to the top of Multnomah Falls. The hike then continues up Multnomah Creek passing six more waterfalls between 10 feet and 100 feet high. At 3 miles, our route leaves the Larch Mountain Trail and follows Franklin Ridge out to Nesika Lodge on the Columbia River Gorge rim for a distance of 4 miles and 1,800 feet elevation gain.

Today, the first part of the hike, to the top of Multnomah Falls, was extremely windy. Once we crossed over the Gorge rim and dropped into the Multnomah Creek canyon, we were out of the wind. It rained lightly but steadily all day so the Goretex and umbrellas got a workout. Lots of water was coming down the creeks, so the waterfalls were spectacular. We didn't encounter snow on the trail until above the second bridge beyond the top of Multnomah Falls. The snow was never more than about 3/4 of an inch deep all the way to Nesika. The rain was washing much of it away. The hike became memorable and challenging when we encountered the ice left by last night's freezing rain that had fallen out towards the Gorge rim. The trail became a skating rink. We had to walk carefully, watch the ground and choose our steps well to avoid a tumble. The trees were coated with ice and bent down from the weight; it looked like a fantasy scene. When I paused to look up and around, I found the scene awesome.

With relief, we finally reached Nesika's warmth and dryness and enjoyed our lunch break out of the weather. Out here on the Gorge rim, the wind still was howling. The precipitation remained as rain, so by the time we departed for the return hike, the water on the ice was offering some traction. Our return hike was easier as the ice softened and melted. Ice chunks dropped from the trees, making the surface like walking on snowcones. As we retreated back from the Gorge rim, we soon left the freezing rain zone behind and descended back to Multnomah Falls Lodge.

Here's my non-trip report. I got to the Pilchuck turnoff of the Mtn. Loop Hwy. nice and early - about 9 AM so I was pretty excited.

The first obstacle was about 5 miles in: a major landslide. The road had been wiped out leaving a muddy, hole-ey, hazardous narrow path. Don't bother trying in a car (several were coming down). It is passable with 4wd so I white-knuckled it and pressed on. The snow gets pretty deep, pretty fast and soon I was using all but about an inch of the clearance on my Pathfinder.

About a mile from the parking lot I bottomed out and started spinning my wheels. I dug the car out with a shovel, ate my summit sandwich, had a tinkle, turned around and moseyed back down. LAME.

This road is still very doable with a high clearance vehicle, bigger tires, etc.

The hike up the road is quite tedious. The views from Central Peak aren't very good. Headed down the Bullitt Fireplace Trail and turned around at 1680 feet after realising the Green Trails map hadn't been field checked prior to publication. The Valley Connector and West Peak Trails are not as shown on the map (they are probably proposed trails). Will try to intercept them from the May Valley Trail to find the true alignment and condition of these trails (if they exist). Returned via the trails to the east of the South Access Road which were fair alternatives to the road. There are many branches, twigs and logs across the Central Peak and Bullitt Fireplace Trails. The Summit Trail is either new or has received some major reconstruction work recently. There is one large log across the Phils Creek Trail. There are many muddy spots on the Equestrian Loop Trail. Violets were seen. Skies were overcast with rain starting in the afternoon.

Sunday Dec.30 was a beautiful day for snowshoeing up to Talapus Lake.The snow on the trail was packed down and passable without snowshoes. Crampons may help walking the road because of the ice. The most memorable part of the day was helping a 4x4 out of a snow bank at the end of the road, at the trail head parking lot. Actually we didn't get him out by the time we had to get back to our vehicle. It was getting dark and the 4x4 was getting nowhere fast even with 6 or 7 people pushing. So, what I'm saying here is that just because you have a 4x4 with chains,a shovel,6 or 7 good samaritans to push, you very well may get stuck and block the road trapping yourself and any other vehicle above you. After reaching our vehicle and heading down the road we met a tow truck heading to the rescue.(cell phones do work in the mountains sometimes) The tow truck had no chains and when it reached the 4x4 I don't think it could help because the road was blocked! For all I know the 4x4,the trapped vehicle,and the tow truck are still there this morning.Let's try some common sense instead of ruining a beautiful day for a hike! P.S. I would like to know how the rescue played out.

Decided to do my winter trip to Lake 22 for a little snowshoeing at the lake. The summer crowds and bugs are long gone, so makes for a nicer hike. There were a few blown down trees across the trail before getting to the boulder field area. From the boulder field to the lake the trail is packed down with snow. In the last 3/4 mile, the snow bridges at the creeks are melted out, so you have to drop down and back up to cross them. The lake is frozen over with about 4 feet of snow. With the snow consolidated no snowshoes were needed for walking around the lake. A few avalanches were coming down off the cliffs of Mt. Pilchuck.

Only a few of the summer in the winter time hikers were going to Lake 22. The ones in tennis shoes, jeans and no packs. As I started back down to the trailhead, one guy was hiking up and sweating pretty good, with no pack of course. I asked if he was thirsty yet, but he just laughed and said, ""It only a short hike"". Guess he didn't mind getting dehydrated.

Glad I got to the trailhead early, since the crowd was huge by the time I returned. It was such a beautiful day, and I am glad I went before the rain came in again the following day. The trail was in good shape and did not see any snow on it until about a third of the way beyond the old road section. Even though the snow did become deeper, snowshoes were not required to get to the lake. Once there, at 12:00hrs, I strapped on the snowshoes and took a hike farther toward the back of the lake and up the slopes. There I placed the ridgerest on a nice curvature on the slope and took a nice lunch break. Listened to the sound of some minor slides off the mountain, as well as a lonely crow. The lake ice seems thin and good for an unexpected polar-bear swim. I headed down at 13:00 hrs and used the snowshoes travelling on and off the main trail. Almost fell in a stream, and I took a good fall when running downhill, but it was all fun. The snowshoes helped a lot on the descent in the slippery snowcovered trail. Once back at the trailhead, it was like rush-hour traffic. This is obviously a very popular hike all year long and the best way to enjoy the solitude is by leaving early and wandering off the lakeshore end of the trail.

This Mt. Townsend is located north of US 2 near Baring Mt. It should not be confused with the Mt. Townsend located on the Olympic Peninsula. Drive US 2 to the whistle-stop town of Baring. Take the very first left hand turn in the town (right across from the general store)which will place you onto the Barclay Lake Road. We drove up this road until 1400 feet when snow stopped our car. Then hike the remaining mile to get to the trailhead at 2,200'. The trail to Barclay Lake is a popular one so there is a convenient trough made by the many people before you. After about a mile the sole remaining log of the bridge will take you across Barclay Creek. The lake is encountered at 2,500'. We ventured out onto the lake as it is frozen at this time. The view of Mt. Baring is breathtaking. Looking to the NE one can see a saddle that looks just like the smile of a smiley button. Take a compass reading and jump into the old growth forest as that saddle connects with Paradise Meadow at 4,000'. One looses 100' of elevation to descend into the meadow. Even if we had stopped here the trip would have been a wonderful safe snowshoe romp. Merchant peak towers to the west and the meadow offers rambling potential, particularly near Eagle Lake. Mt. Townsend has low angles all along its southern slopes. For safety we stayed in the trees as long as possible and then gained the ridge at about 5,200'. Then we walked along the windswept ridge to the summit at 5,976'. For several hundred feet along the ridge the snow has been blow away right down to the junipers and rocky soil. The final 50' of elevation involves some exposure. I used crampons for the last 1/2 mile along the ridge. The clear slopes allowed us to practice ice axe arrests on the downclimb. It took us 6 hrs to summit and 3 1/2 hrs to descend.

WAITED FOR A CLEAR DAY TO TAKE IN MT. BAKER, HEATHER MEADOWS, AND SHOWSHOE UP TO ARTIST POINT FROM SKI AREA. THE PLANNING PAID OFF!! I WANTED TO TAKE MY DAUGHTER OUT FOR HER FIRST TIME SNOWSHOE TRIP. SHE KEPT ASKING DAD WHY WE COULDN'T JUST PICK A DAY A WEEK IN ADVANCE, AND GO FOR IT. I TOLD HER: NOT AT MT. BAKER !! (AS I'VE RUN INTO RAIN AND FOG QUITE OFTEN)SO WE WAITED UNTIL THE JET STREAM COOPERATED, AND WE WERE REWARDED WITH A PICTURE PERFECT DAY. STUNNING. THE HIKING, SNOWSHOEING, CROSS COUNTRY SKIING, AND YES TOBAGGONING OPPORTUNITIES WERE ALL THERE. AND, WHILE IT WAS CROWDED AROUND SKI LODGE AREAS, THE BACKCOUNTRY WAS RELATIVELY QUIET. AVALANCHE DANGER AROUND BAGLEY LAKES AREA IS LOW, AND IT WAS AN EASY OUTING UP TO ARTIST POINT, AND HUNTOON POINT TO SE OF ARTIST POINT PARKING LOT. LOTS OF TRACKS OUT TO PTARMIGAN RIDGE, AROUND TABLE MOUNTAIN, AND EVEN UP THE STEEP EAST APPROACHES TO TOP OF TABLE MOUNTAIN. LITTLE EVIDENCE OF AVALANCES. A SUPERB DAY ANYWHERE YOU GO WITH LOTS OF PLACES TO EXPLORE. MY NEXT SNOWSHOE OUTING WILL PROBABLY BE A LETDOWN WHEN COMPARED TO THIS. VIEWS ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO THREE FINGERS, WHITEHORSE, AND STUART RANGE TO SE, ETC. ETC.

A FEW TIPS: THE MSR CLASSIC SHOWSHOES WERE SUPERIOR AND THERE'S A GREAT LITTLE RENTAL PLACE IN GLACIER NEXT TO GROCERY STORE(IN SAME BUILDING)WITH GREAT ADVICE AND LOW RENTAL RATES. WE FOUND THE BEST PLACE TO START IS IN PARKING LOT BEHIND MAINTENANCE BUILDINGS WEST OF OLD DAY SKI LODGE AT BAKER. THERE'S A NICE CAT TRACK TO GET STARTED DOWN TO BAGLEY LAKES,AND VISITOR CENTER, WHERE THE 133"" SNOW BASE IS EVIDENT: YOU CAN EVEN HAVE FUN SNOWSHOEING OVER ROOF OF VISITORS CENTER!! GREAT AREAS TO TOBAGGON, TOO.

FOR A NICE FINISH, TRY STOPPING AT THE NEW WHITE SALMON SKI LODGE AT LOWER SKI AREA OF MT. BAKER FOR A REFRESHMENT ON THE WAY HOME. NICE PIECE OF WORK AND WELL WORTH THE STOP.

THIS AREA ON A CLEAR DAY IS HARD TO BEAT!!

As reported last week, there is a combination of ice and snow on the trail from just about Mile Post 3.

While a lot of people were doing it in sneakers and boots, after about two switchbacks worth, I donned (in the deck the hall spirit of things) my instep crampons and happily just walked rather than slid my way up to the basin and then the bench near the Haystack saddle.

Folks use care up there. A woman was trying to retrieve packs tossed off the haystack and got stranded on some cliffs on the backside of the Haystack. A guy helped her back to the trail.

It was sunny but quite breezy in the basin. Got more windy as the day wore on.

The insteps really helped on the way down. I know the guy behind me fell about 4 times, at least.

The usual muddy places and crowds later in the day.

I parked at the Summit ski area. There is a good hard-packed trail up Commonwealth Basin. I followed it mindlessly to about 4200 feet, until nervous tension directed me to steeper slopes on the left. Up steeply through trees and fog, where a strong wind provided an occasional glimpse of slopes above. A few glimpses of Cave Ridge convinced me that I was ""one mountain over"", and ascending slopes below Lundin. Alas! But I decided to go on anyway. Snowshoeing in deep, tiring snow, I was surprised to see a mini basin down on my left, and this told me I was on Big Red after all. Three ""Psychic Routefinder Pins"" were duly handed out. I removed snowshoes, and kicked steps up the 50 degree slope, ready to turn back if the snow didn't seem stable. But it was very good, and soon I topped out, careful to avoid walking on the big cornice over the north faces. Conditions on the summit were miserable, with clouds, wind and blowing snow. On the way down I was practically blind! But soon I was out of the maelstrom, and cantering back down the basin, where I met many snowshoe parties. Note: Only go here if snow conditions are stable, because I had to cross and climb many avalanche paths. 5 hours round trip.

Amabilis Mountain, 4,554' December 29, 2001

This one is from Dan Nelson's Snowshoe Routes book. The Trailhead is Exit 63 off I-90 at the Cabin Creek Exit. The only catch is that you need the $20 Sno-Park Permit and $20 Groomed Trail Permit ($41 total and get it before you leave town!) Even with this the Sno-Park was full.

We found we were the only snowshoers among hordes of Nordic Skiers. We were completely amazed at the amount of plaid, wool, and knickerbockers. I thought there was only synthetics for outdoor fashion! We started up the groomed trail North of I-90 and soon turned right on to Forest Road 4822 which immediately gains in steepness. Almost all of the Nordic skiers stay on Road 4826, with slight elevation gain to Kachess Lake.

It was fun to gain some elevation, and we were rewarded with great views. At about the three-mile mark the grooming ends and the road forks. Either fork will go to the summit; most parties take the left fork. Some parties had lunch here. The left-hand fork continues to gain elevation, and the trail must now be broken. We also encountered increasingly cold, windy and foggy conditions has we gained elevation.

Gaining the Ridge rewarded us with views both north and south when the clouds permitted. The trees were frozen white with a thick blanket of ice, but the snow was a nice 12"" of power. There were nice runs between the trees that looked inviting. After several ""I think that's it just ahead"", we arrived at the true summit under winter conditions. Fog, snow, wind. It was great fun!

We had the mountain to ourselves, only on our way down did we encounter one solo lady. Staying on the road made for about 10 mile round trip and 2,100' of elevation gain over six hours, and a nice run down.

Knowledge of avalanche awareness and safety are essential on any trip in the Cascades during winter. Please don't forget to bring the 10 Essentials and check the Avalanche Forecast at http://www.seawfo.noaa.gov/products/SABSEA before you go!

Another attempt to beat Mother Nature on Mt. Ellinor. Much more solitude than my usual winter workout, Mt. Si. And better yet, much more ice axe use than on my other, Mt. Rose. Snow on road about 1.5 mi. short of the lower trail head, but thankfully, because of recent freeze-thaw, no snowshoes needed for ascent. Decided to bring crampons, and happy to have done so, since the snow was as hard as, and might have soon been, ice. Rather than going up the ""Chute"", went up the steeper couloir to the right, then traversed over to the left and upper chute. Someone elses ass-track, AKA glissade, left an incredibly hard (and therfore good cramponing)track to the upper basin. Summit was untread since last snows, and view was, as always, sublime. Too icy to enjoy most of glissade down. Like being in a Turkish prison, if you know what I mean. Many shortcuts in 2nd growth got back to the car by 3:30P.

Next time you're in need of an ocean 'fix' and you head to Long Beach, take the time to hike around Ledbetter State Park, at the tip of the spit.. It's a very beautiful park and is adjacent to Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. The trail begins in a beautiful forest of lodgepole pine, Oregon grape, holly, and millions of fern, and winds amongst the sand dunes leading down to the shallow beach. There is a length of beach strolling dotted with a few information boards describing the various wildlife there, and time of the year in which you can expect to see them. In the distance are the Willapa Hills, and the tip of Mt. Rainier is visible as well. The sign at the loop trailhead warns of possible trail flooding during the rainy season; but there is a trail that takes you off the fragile saltmarsh loop and back uphill onto the dunes and back to the trailhead, if this is the case.

Do yourself a favor, and tour the little pioneer town of Oysterville, just beyond Ocean Park and Nahcotta. You won't be sorry! Chat with the locals, too - in Oysterville and in Ocean Park. Getting to know the history of a place and those who love it enhance the enjoyment of any trip.

Continue to the lighthouses at Fort Canby State Park. There are several short loop trails atop the bluffs to poke around on. Deer are everywhere! The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse trail at the Interpretive Center was closed by the U.S. Coastguard. The North Head lighthouse trail is an Accessible trail, and is open. It's well worth the trip! Lighthouse tours are $1.

If you're lucky, while strolling on the beach near the jetty at Ft. Canby, you'll be treated to a double rainbow over the lighthouse. And if you're real lucky, the rainbows will be reflected in the wet sand on the beach. And if you're real REAL lucky, you won't have snapped your last picture about 5 minutes ago. I was real lucky.

Brad, Steve and I decided to snowshoe up to Lake Serene, however it turned out the snow was packed down enough that they were not required (this is probably fortunate as I think it would make a tough snowshoe). We ran into a little bit of snow and ice even at the beginning of the trail but it didn't deepen too much until we were into the stair section, still, there was little if any postholing. The weather was fairly mild, which made for nice hiking, but as we approached the lake a chilly wind was blowing out of the lake basin. It was nice to have hat, gloves, and a jacket to put on at this point. We found a sheltered spot and Steve got out his stove. Hot chocolate is always a great plus when you've reached your destination on a winter's day. As we left the lake we witnessed a beautiful sunset reflecting off the peaks to the northeast. Going back was alot easier and I was positive there were much fewer steps going down even though it was the same trail, however I wasn't counting so I couldn't be sure...

Okay, okay, so I do this hike way too may times, but I never get tired of it in the winter. After wrestling with the road up to the trailhead, and encountering a Search and Rescue Team at mile 2.0 on the road (they said they were going to find 2 guys that had to spend the night after getting their Jeep stuck)and they headed off in a snowmobile to find them - we we saw them (the jeep), at mile 6, about a mile from the trailhead or less, they had got stuck in an area that was not part of the road. Anyway, the route is in good condition up the first gulley (about a 4-5 foot base of consolidated snow), then ascends the left treeline up to Little Pilchuck and then to the Saddle at 4100'. From there the traverse is a little tricky as you have to ascend about a 10' wall of ice and snow that is about 80 degrees. No problem with an ice axe and good boots. We went all the way up w/o crampons, but put them on once at the summit. The traverse from the upper mountain ridge to the summit was pretty icy, but not dangerous as the runout is pretty safe. Stay clear of the cornices that are forming on the ridge as they are getting pretty large and hard to tell how far they go out, so stay behind the treeline, especially right near the summit. Since I was here the other day, I had wanted to go to the other side of the lookout to see if there was access by the door but was too lazy. So we put on our crampons and traversed around the lookout to find that it was clear, so we opened the shutter and voila! The summit register was pretty scarce, with logs from myself and someone named Rich Sather' It looks as he goes up Pilchuck as much as I do - email me rich if you see this by chance. The route down was fun, especially after we got to the saddle and glissaded almost the whole way down to the parking lot. BTW - please do not kick steps in glissade paths, it makes for a real bumpy ride and sometime and abrupt ending to a fun ride! Thanks! scott@nwog.org

Marek and I hiked the trail to Annette Lake. Snowshoes are not needed until the two avalanche gullies that are crossed. We left the trail just after the second one for a thrilling climb to the Northwest Ridge of Silver Peak. On a steep mostly forested ridge we cramponed up 55 degree slopes, avoiding icy rock outcrops. Light rain stopped and the clouds dispersed as we walked the ridge to the summit. Thence down to the saddle between Abiel and Silver. From here Abiel is a quick climb on a 40 degree slope. Down from the saddle on a snow ramp to Annette Lake, and out to the car in darkness. We only used snowshoes in the vicinity of the lake and the saddle above. This is a really cool area! We saw no other parties.

Revolution is Peak 5454 is North of Mailbox and South of Russian Butte. My 14 yr old apprentice Michael and I started before sunrise biking up Granite Creek Road. Just after a mile we left the bikes and started on foot. The road walk was made easier by tracks from another party. The road is a slog. The tracks stopped at the switchback. We snowshoed at that point getting better views as the road continues to travel southeast. After we reached 3500 feet, we were able to cut all switchbacks and snowshoe up to the ridge west of the false summit of 5124. I was very surprised to find a cabin here. It has the most incredible view of the Puget Sound and surrounding mountains. We ate lunch as all the clouds began to disappear. Revolution and Russian Butte were impressive from this view. After lunch, we walked up to point 5124 and followed the ridge over toward Revolution. At one spot on the ridge, a small cliff caused us to backtrack, drop down the east side 200 feet and traverse below it. Then we did an uphill traverse to the summit. The top was excellent. We didn't enjoy the perfect view for long...it was 3:07 P.M. We followed our tracks back, traversing below the ridge back to the cabin area. We dropped back down to walk the long Granite Creek Road. Most of this was done by headlamp. The most fun of the day was biking down the last mile with our headlamps on. Old crusty snow and branches on the road only caused one crash. We were out just before 7pm.

We managed to drive to within a half mile of the Mason Lake trailhead before we were stopped by deep snow. Out came the packs and the snowshoes and we hurried up the road making the large parking area several minutes later. We proceeded up the trail to the west then around the first switchback which swung us up and to the east. There are a few routes up to defiance from this trail (actually an old road): one could take a relatively indirect route up the nasty Mason Lake trail (no thanks!), or the brush-fest route up the Little Mason Lake/Mason Lake outlet, or the more open, but steep, route...straight up the hill to the summit. We chose the last of these routes and left the trail at the first, significant stream coming off the hill from the NE, actually, we began our ascent 50 yards west of this stream at a nice and inviting open area in the trees.

About 150' up from the trail we encountered the only dense thicket of second-growth (or any growth for that matter) on the entire ascent. By the time we were 250' from the trail, things had opened up; the route was steep, but we were able to cruise along at a nice clip. We trended essentially straight up the hill, with a subtle shift away from the stream as we got higher. At 3600' we encountered the first signs of the faint rib coming down from the Defiance summit ridge and knew we had it made as long as we were able to keep on its narrow crest. The higher we went the more surprised we were at how easy and free of avalanche hazards this route actually was. When we eventually made the ridge (elev. 4995') we were a mere 2000' west of the summit.

We walked the ridge a bit then headed off to the NE where we could grab the NW ridge and slow-poke-it up to the summit. The closer we got to Defiance the deeper and more arduous the snow got, it felt as if the last 100' vertical feet took us about an hour! Alas, three hours after leaving the car, we made the summit of Defiance with clear skies, extensive views, and a steady 30-40 mph wind. It was a real chore to have my gloves off for more than 30 seconds before my fingers would go numb, so it wasn't long before we'd gotten our pictures and decided to descend.

We decided to ""mix it up"" a little on the way back and go out via Little Mason Lake and its outlet. The initial 150' drop off the summit was steep, icy and treacherous, so we took our time going from tree pocket to tree pocket. We then walked along the ridge separating Lake Kulla Kulla and Little Mason Lake until 4600' where we dropped off the ridge and descended south to the outlet of Little Mason. It was a fast and furious descent amongst large talus blocks from the lake, but there was a high band of cliffs along the way, so we had to maintain some amount of control, just some though. At 3550' we passed through and over a swamp then headed westerly down toward the trail we had used several hours earlier. The route down along the Mason outlet was filled with blowdowns and dead and dying slide alder swaths, but still the route ""went"" and we made the trail about an hour before nightfall. After 10 minutes of walking we found our tracks from earlier in the day heading up the hill, several minutes after that we were back at the truck - just over 5.5 hours for the round trip. What a great trip considering we didn't get started until after 11 AM!

After watching the Mr. Hankey Christmas Special, a trip to Poo Poo Point seemed rather appropriate. The route is not entirely intuitive. Start on the West Tiger Mountain Trail and turn right on to the Bus Road. Turn left onto a side trail immediately after passing a rusted-out overturned bus. Turn left under the powerlines. The Poo Poo Point and Section Line Trails turn off to the left after about 0.3 miles. After about 3 miles, the Poo Poo Point Trail intersects the Railroad Grade Trail. From here, you can either proceed approximately straight ahead on the One View Trail or turn right onto the railroad grade to Poo Poo Point. The railroad grade turns into a trail which descends steeply to meet an old section of the West Side Road where you turn left. After 0.4 miles on the old road bed, there is a developed day facility at Poo Poo Point. There are some muddy spots at various points along the route. There is a large log across the Bus Road and a fallen tree overhanging the powerline. There are many logs across both the Poo Poo Point and One View Trails. No views from the high point of One View Trail at Hill 2267 but good views from Poo Poo Point. One hang-glider was seen. Sky was overcast with mostly moderate temperatures except cooler temperatures at lower elevations. For the best information about trails on Tiger Mountain, see Bill Longwell's ""Guide to Trails of Tiger Mountain."" He cuts right to the chase without a lot of political rhetoric you see in other guide books.

It's amazing how much you forget in 5 years. I hadn't hiked to Wallace Falls since sometime in 1997 or 1996, so after jonesin' for a good workout, I thought it time to return. I remember it being less steep though, but I guess all trails are always steeper than you remember. Pretty windy when we got to the trailhead at noon.

Hot footed up to the North Fork, stopping briefly at the new (since I was there last) ""Small Falls"" site. Neat little boardwalk leading out to a small 15 foot cascade about .2 mile upstream from where the Woody trail branches off of the RR grade.

Lots of water coming down the NF right now, more than I've ever seen at least. Clambering around near the Lower Falls, I spotted a pretty large waterfall in the gorge well below the trail which I hadn't seen before. Surprise # 1.

Up to the main falls viewpoint, used more film up, and kept going to the upper falls. Shorter hike than I remembered, I could have sworn it was like 3 1/2 miles to the upper falls, but the sign says 2.6, ah well. After eating my lunch of leftover pizza, I tested my new ND filter. I was able to get the shutter down as slow as 8 seconds for a shot of the Upper Falls (fun fun silly willy!).

On the way down, I was peaking off the trail into the gorge below the Upper Falls viewpoint and saw yet another waterfall, probably 75 feet tall (Surprise # 2), about 150 feet below the trail. The river split and formed two segments, probably 30 to 50 feet wide in all. Really a cool looking waterfall, but due to the lots and lots of trees and the gorge, it's all but impossible to photograph.

Around the North Fork on the way down, the wind really started to pick up, branches flailing everywhere, twigs falling left and right, I heard a few big branches snapping here and there. Really spooky atmosphere.

Got back to the car around 4:30, and drove to Monroe for a well deserved diner at Mi Tierra (Mexican), who have really good salsa for future reference.

Trail is in great shape, no uncut windfalls, no mud, no water on the trail, no snow, no bugs and very few people out today.

Road is good except for a mudslide just past the Heather Lake trailhead. After that it is an excellent road compared to the last month. Left the trailhead late at around 1215pm. Lots of great tracks on the direct route that made the hike real easy, along with some real nice lines that skiiers and snowboarders made this week. After reaching the saddle (4200 feet), we used crampons on some slippery spots and the rest of the way to the top. Whomever did this route did a nice job as it ascends rather direct once on the upper mountain and then hits the ridgeline to the lookout. The lookout is totally covered and would take some work to dig it out for shelter, but since it was such a nice day we stayed on the summit and had lunch and had views of the surrounding area that I have not seen in over 2 months. Saw about 10 other folks on the trail, and quite a few sledders at the parking lot. Once again though, there were many people that should not have been on the Pilchuck road that were getting stuck and doing ridiculous things. scott@nwog.org

Gorgeous day on Fuller Mt. Short hike, only 4 miles RT, with only 900 ft. gain on Weyerhauser land. Nobody there but us! Trail starts on the 10 Creek Loop Trail directly across from Spur Gate 10 and crosses 10 Creek on easy log bridge. Trail then crosses an old road and keeps going for short distance further to another road -- turn left on this road for a short distance and then turn right North at ""Y"" -- proceed about 100yds from ""Y"" to small rock cairn and stick on left at base of mountain where trail continues through open forest to top. Highest point has no view so proceed to nearby promontary for views. Go to highest point on Fuller, then head north 100ft down shallow ravine and then east 300 ft to promontary. Promontory provides clear view of northwest side of Mt. Si and nearby mountains. Pleasant short trip

Trail is good to the lake, without snowshoes. Due to snow depth on Barclay Creek road, drove in only about 3 miles and hiked 1.5 miles to trailhead. See pictures: communities.msn.com/buckleytravelphotos

After the heavy snows of the last month, I was curious about the condition of one of the best trails for mid-winter conditioning, Mt Si. On this clear but windy and cold day, the trail was in great shape and free of all signs of snow up to 2500'. Beyond that point, the snow became steadily deeper, until by 3000' the trail was hard-packed snow and ice. At the basin below the Haystack, the snow appeared about 3-4' deep, and the steady gusts of wind encouraged only a brief stay, despite the bright sunshine.

Because of the heavy traffic on this trail, snow quickly is compacted into ice in the upper portion of the trail. Ski poles and crampons are highly recommended to navigate the icy higher reaches just below the basin. Four-point in-step crampons are the ideal tool for this hike in the winter.

My wife and I were rained out the previous weekend and we were looking for sun. Washington Online Weather said wait till Sunday so we planned a day hike to Olallie Lake from the Pratt Lake Trail Head, #1007. No snowshoes were needed until we turned west on #1039 to the outlet stream from Olallie Lake. At the stream it’s a short one-quarter mile north to the lake. The snow conditions were excellent on the trail and we hiked under blue skies the entire day. We crossed the snow bridge across the outlet, and the snow depth appeared to be four to five feet at the lake. Occasional rabbit tracks and gray jays were seen.

We drove the road to 2400 before turning around. Unfortunately, we got stuck nearby and spent the next 1.5 hours digging ourselves out of a snowbank. So much for shaving off time by driving the road. Once unstuck, we drove down to 1860 ft and parked. Others were able to drive up to 2580 before stopping. In fact, we helped dig out a 4x4 at that point. My advice is bring a shovel with an aluminum blade.

The trail is well packed and easy to follow to Talapus Lake. Once parked, it took us about 2.25 hours, including digging out the 4 x 4, to reach the lake. The track stopped at the lake, but we pressed on towards Olallie Lake. Though no track was discernable, we were able to follow the trail pretty easily by watching the blazes. We turned around at 3630, just shy of the lake. All in all it was an excellent outing.

First time up this trail... recommended as short (3 hr round-trip) winter hike, or a bad-weather-day workout.

Nice, clear morning... good time to head out to the mountains. Left trailhead at 9.45am... reached summit at 11.15am. Snow in the last 200 ft.

Good views from the summit... wind was starting to blow and clouds were rolling in. So we headed back down after a 5 min break.

Joe, Bill and I walked the Boulder River Trail on Saturday 12/22, partially as a recon to see how many trees are down. There are plenty. Most of them are beyond the 2.5 mile mark. After that point it looks like a war zone. There are probably 25 trees in all. Most of them are 12-24 inches in diameter but the associated debris makes getting through them difficult. Additionally, there have been two slides this year. One, shortly after the Wilderness Boundary, has been repaired and the other, a big rock just after the falls viewpoint has not.

The recon was only one reason for going. The other is that this is a marvellous trail. It's one of the few winter back country walks in western Washington. The old growth beyond the falls view is specatcular and when you hit a beautiful day like we did, the low sun through the green is a sight to behold.

I have wanted to try snowshoeing for a couple of seasons now but have kept putting it off. The wait was so worth it. I am afraid that this introduction to snow shoeing will make all other trips pale in comparison. Despite a rather nasty weather report, the weather was stunning. We started out from the upper Mt. Baker parking lot at about 11am. After spending about 5 minutes figuring out how show shoes work, we headed towards artist point, proceeding just outside the ski resort boundary at first. After stopping many times to soak in the scenery and take snapshots, we made it to Artist point at around 1pm. Views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan were enough to make you want to stay the night. The nasty weather in the forecast had Mt. Rainier socked in, otherwise that would have added to the view. After a quick lunch, we hiked back and forth along the ridge to observe the sights from different viewpoints - all were equally impressive. If you bring a digital camera, bring lots of batteries – I went through two sets.

If you go on this route, know your avalanche dangers. The route up to the point is fairly clear of dangers, but just off the main route are several spots that you could get into trouble. We saw evidence of several point releases and there are several well-known avalanche dangers in the area. The forest service sign at the ski boundary indicating that ""you or your heirs"" will be responsible for a minimum $500 rescue fee if you get into trouble tells the story.

Started late, but there was a real nice trail that had been beaten down by cross country skiiers and snowshoers. Quite an easy traverse that did not seem to gain much altitude at all, as we started at 3200 and stayed at 3600 for a few miles before we got into the main canyon that gave up awesome views of Chair Peak, and the Tooth. From there it was a quick ascent up to the ridge at about 4500 feet where we looked down on frozen and snowy Snow Lake (Hence the name') Lots of folks up there today, and a ton of people backcountry skiing in the gulleys and such under Chair Peak and other assorted mountains. Makes me wish I had brought my skiis, but I do not have Randomnee (sp') bindings yet. Very windy and cold up on the ridge, so we ate and then descended got back to the car very quickly. Lots of dogs on the trail as well as some guys in commando gear putting on crampons in powder! Not real sure what that was all about, but oh well. Very nice hike in the winter, but much nicer on the weekdays! scott@nwog.org

Yeah, I keep doing it but it does make a good training ski trip and for some reason this year, it is not very crowded (was that the wrong thing to post')

Started skiing in overcast weather around 30F at about 9:30am. A couple were right behind me. They took over when I took my first clothing break (layers and hat off) at the first switchback and maintained the lead a block or two all the way up. I did catch them once but they maintained the trailing breaking to the summit. Found we live about 8 blocks from one another. On the way up, we passed through the fog layer and near the top emerged into high clouds with some dramatic lighting as the sun cast rays through at various points. Nice and unlike Amabilis, there was really no wind.

We discussed returning on our already broken trail or completing the loop. The loop was the decision so we left the summit after lunch and headed east through the forest fringe to the other road system. It required breaking trail back down to the junction. If there there others (than us three) there was no real evidence of them. Breaking trail back to the junction was a bit of work but I owed them that for the up-track they had set.

A good trip down from the junction to the cars.

The road is now blocked 2 miles before trailhead giving the hot springs a 4 mile hike in. Snow starts 2 miles up the trail. My wife and I were able to ski parts of the last 2 miles but several bare spots were a problem. We camped in the campground, only a few inches of snow on the ground. It dumped another 3 inches overnight.

The short trail to Third Beach has 4 trees downed (and counting). They're easily crawled over, under, or around. Though there is a lot of water ponded on the trail, the trail is graveled so it isn't muddy at all. There's a creek to ford at the beach, but easily done by log hopping or wading. It's a wonderful place to go, and combined with a visit further south to the tidepools at Ruby Beach near Kalaloch, it's a great trip.

We spent the night around a roaring fire in the roaring wind telling each other math jokes, then dove into our tents when the rain let loose. We were hammered by a Really Big Storm all night.

Next AM was fair, yet still very windy. For just one little instant, while standing waay far from the water, I turned to face inland to catch my breath (the wind wouldn't let me breathe), and a rogue wave full of beach logs surrounded me. I was lucky it was only knee deep and I've gained a little weight over the last few months (just a little), or it would have carried me out, and my dead bones'd be wrapped up in the Chilean Memorial, or something. The logs in the wave big, long, and headed straight for me on their way back out to sea. I'm pretty sure I heard them snarl and gnash thier teeth, too.

Don't turn your back on the water, not even if you think there's ""no way in hell"" the water will rush that far in.

The sun came shining out, so we jumped in the car and headed for The Mountain. Up until now, we had been three season hikers, but all that was about to change. We rented snowshoes at Longmire, and headed up the Rampart Ridge Trail. There was a foot or two of snow, but it was well compacted because of previous heavy use over the weekend. By the time we finished with the switchbacks, there was even more snow and we needed to strap on our snowshoes. It was thrilling to float our way upward to the magnificent viewpoint of Mt. Ranier. At this point, the snow was very deep and the tracks disappeared. We had intended to walk along the ridge and make the loop, but it just looked too treacherous, so we had our lunch in the snow, turned around and came back. It turned out to be a great outing on a beautiful day.

Left late from the trailhead at around noon and headed up the Pratt Lake Trail to the Granite Mountain junction. Only 2 others in front of us, and a good trail up to the gulch at 3200 feet. We tried to pack light for an overnighter with a Walrus 2 man tent and 2 stoves and other cold weather gear. With the conditions of the mountain that I have heard recently we had all gear that we would ever need (Snowshoes, Crampons, Ice Axe, Picket) Once at the gulch there was only one set of tracks from someone that was about 1000 feet above us, as the hiker behind us did not have snowshoes which made for less than warranted hiking. As the gulley does a shotgun type of scenario, the trail we took crossed the main gulley before it split, then ascended the middle ridgeline (35-45 degree slopes), with the lower portion in some trees. The day was beautiful with blue skies and the sun warming our backs. At 4000 feet we had to take off the snowshoes and put on the crampons. At this time my calves were burning pretty bad since I only have the MSR Denali Classics, and with 45 lbs on my back it was pretty rough (Ryan had the Denali Ascents and had no problem). We decided to go straight for the false summit by shooting for the Pearly Gates of Granite (as they appeared like Mt Hood). It was long and rough, with real icy snow, and that freakishly long runout that the gulch has, and falling with a big pack with crampons is a less than desirable scenario for arresting. We made the false summit and were happy to see the lookout tower just ahead of us. We still had about 1 hour of daylight, so we decided to brave the elements and set up camp right next to the lookout tower on the east side. I spent some time creating a wall barrier of snow inside the framework of one side of the lookout tower to block the wind, so it might be up there for awhile, so if you see it up there, email me so I know it's still standing! (scott@nwog.org) There was virtually no wind and a beautiful sunset (images are available on summitpost.com under Granite Mountain). We were in our sleeping bags by 615pm, and ready for a good nights sleep. That never happened - we got bombarded by the storm, 40+mph winds blasted the tent all night, and snow kept burying a small portion of my side of the tent making it a 1.5 man tent. After much contemplation we finally got up around 930am (15 hours later!) to find whiteout conditions and winds that could knock us over. We hated the thought of having to break camp, especially after I left the vestibule open after a midnight bathroom break. So lots of gear was buried inside of the vestibule. ""Time for breakfast' I think not, let's get off this darn mountain!"" We got our packs ready and finally took down the tent and then the conditions worsened, we could not see down the route, no landmarks or anything. We knew that if we went straight down we would eventually hit I-90, and that the gulch traversed at 3200 feet, but how to get there' We decended with crampons and ice axe very slowly for the first 1000 feet as winds blew spindrift across the 35-45 degree slope. Were we in the gulch' We could not tell, but it was the last place we wanted to be with all the fresh snow that hit last night, making avalanche danger a little higher. We finally hit treeline and were ecstatic, now all we had to do was get down to the trail. We wound up crossing creeks and other terrain that I never remember seeing, and wound up on the Pratt Lake Trail at 3400 feet. This was exciting, we had made it, and safely. Once on the trail we sprinted with snowshoes on as far as we could through snow and mud until we had to carry them as to not waste time. Plenty of snow at the parking lot, and we zoomed out of there to get some coffee in Northbend. A true Epic climb!

Rainy Sunday morning, might as well head up the mountain for some training. Big blow down at the beginning of the trail a few seconds after leaving the parking lot. One other is encountered as well at the halfway point past the first junction. Mud, mud, and more mud. No snow,..............bummer

Tried to go up to Pilchuck but 2 miles from the trailhead there was a Blazer blocking the road and had been abandoned! So we had to back down for 2 miles to be able to turn around and go to the Heather Lake trailhead (Elev 1500'). Trail was muddy and slushy in spots, but encountered good snowpack at the halfway point and had a great trip the rest of the way. Once at the Lake we started to posthole and put on the snowshoes and began the traverse around the lake. Lots of avalanche debris has come down, so don't think about camping near the lake. It is really tricky getting around the lake as we thought we were still on shore when Joseph poked through some ice and fell in up to his knees. He got out okay but needless to say he had cold feet for the remiander of the day! Tricky navigation at the far side of the lake as there are many snowbridges and such. Once we got around the lake we hopped over a stream that had a good amount of snowpack on each side and after I jumped the snowshoe bent backwards so when I landed I was dumped backwards into the freezing stream. As I yelled for Joseph to help me, he had a hard time not laughing. I am sure it was real hoot! Trail is in good shape though, learn from our mistakes. AND NEVER venture out on the ice as I have seen people do in the past, that is just plain stupid. scott@nwog.org

Snowed pretty much the whole time gaining force by around 1pm.

Took the main road up to the fork and the left fork to the bald top. It was snowing hard and windy and others who had obligation back in Seattle had already headed back down. So with a nod toward the traverse, I headed back down the same route. Great snow, actually and the freezing rain which was driving our turnaround time did not, thankfully, materialize.

When we started there were a about 4 other folks on the road but they all turned around near the fork. I had fully expected lots of others while I was heading down. I was surprised there was NO ONE else on the way up. Either the weather forecast prevented them from coming or the ridiculous EXTRA $20.00 for the groomed trail permit which buys you nothing up Amabilis Mountain deters folks. I should not complain - sometimes breaking trail provides a good training regime (G) And definitely, the fewer people meant that the trail was not torn up and thankfully, snowshoers did not follow and ruin our tracks.

Speaking of snowshoers - anyone got ideas for spreading the word that skiers need a nicely set track and snowshoe tracks really foul it up terribly''''

A good day.

We started from the Hyak ski lifts this morning in blowing snow, darkness and howling wind. I faked lameness, then dispepsia, finally hysteria, but my partner brooked no excuses. Snowshoeing to the great basin below Mt. Catherine was hard but warming work. We crossed the running creek on a sagging snowbridge, then continued up a switchbacking logging road on the NE side of the peak. Alas! We hit our turn around time: the Dawn Patrollers had morning meetings in the city! As consolation, we built a snow shelter in a tree well, then nibbled on summer sausage in our cosy redoubt. Very hard work getting back up and down, our deep tracks were already covered. In the parking lot snowboarders waited for the lift to open. A tip: this would have been better with skis.

On December 12 Chris, Mike, and I hiked the Bogachiel River as a recon for a trail maintenance project next summer. Just the right time to visit the rain forest. And it didn't disappoint us at all. We drove to Forks the night before in, believe it or not, dry and sunny conditions. But by morning it was raining. We had to sit in the car at the trailhead for a few minutes until it was light enough to start. My Hellytech kept me dry for about two minutes. The Forest Service portion of the trail has had a lot of new work with turnpikes about half the way. You'd walk on twenty feet of dry turnpike and then splash through the mud and water for another twenty feet and then repeat the process. You reach old growth just before the park boundary at 1.5 miles. There are some huge spruce trees along the trail. Mosquito Creek was a tough crossing and beyond it there were many small streams that tried your imagination for ways to cross. Mike was getting ready to step on a big rock at one crossing and the rock suddenly swam off. After that we began to see more and more salmon. I think they were dog salmon. We came to Indian Creek sooner than we expected but got to the Indian Creek Trail later. There are some huge Doug firs in this area. We turned around at Indian Creek Trail and headed back through many more puddles and larger stream crossings. After we re-crossed Mosquito Creek the rain let up (not stopped) long enough for us to have a quick lunch. The trail is a nice walk in the rain forest. The trees are worth the effort.

I only had a few hours of daylight but the weather said ""go for a hike"". A summit must be included in all hikes so I found the closest mountain possible...South Tiger Mountain. The trailhead was only 18 minutes from my home! I got out of my school final at 1:30, grabbed my daypack at my home and was at the trailhead by 2 p.m.. The trail starts at 560 feet near the Hwy 18Issaquah Hobart Rd. exit. The trailhead is about a hundred yards up the Tiger Mountain Rd SE. Look for the trail on the right and some shoulder parking on the left. I hiked 1.3 miles to Hobart Gap. Then I took a new road cut (through an upcoming harvest area) to some powerlines. Enjoyed the view, then continued on the trail that was at the top of the clearing. In another mile I was ready to break off the trail for the summit of South Tiger. Although the sun was shining, it was raining from the fresh snow melting in the trees. It only took a few minutes to reach the wooded summit. There was a nice place to camp up there. Then I noticed the firebowl, or was it' No, it was a USGS survey marker, and a register. This was a surprise. A summit register on a 2028 foot mountain. It was only 3:30, so I decided to continue on the S Tiger Mtn traverse. There turned out to be a small trail dropping down to the main Traverse trail. I continued north until reaching another new road cut. The new road covers much of the old trail. I followed the road down to the TMT trail access. The TMT took me back (2 miles) to Hobart Gap. Then another 1.3 miles down to the car. Got out around 5, just before total darkness. Excellent 3 hour trip.

Road closed at Deer Creek - we were the first ones to the gates. Snowshoes from the parking lot. About 2 miles to Big 4 Picnic area/Trailhead. Some of the trail had snowshoe tracks but they ended at the clearing by all the avalanche signs. As soon as we entered into the clearing we could hear the avalanches coming down. We broke trail and headed to the Northern section of the caves/cliffs as we were looking for some good beginner ice to play on with a friends new Ice Tools. Found a large Ice object near the cliffs that was about 25 feet high, so we set a deadman anchor and a belay station and had some fun. Met some other guys that we know from cascadeclimbers.com and had fun sharing stories with them. Just after we set a top rope I was below everyone near the cone from one cliff's worth of avalanches and heard a rumble above. I started to run as fast as I could with my snowshoes as the avalanche buried a ton of snow at the cone. It never got too close to me, but it all gave us a good scare. Never saw anyone else on the trail until we got to the Picnic area where it was stocked with Motorheads. That last stretch down the Mountain Loop Highway really stunk, literally! More than a dozen snowmobiles went back and forth and stuck that area up for us, and made me feel real sick once in awhile. Once back at the car it was like a circus with at least 50+ cars along the road with sledders and more. Fun day for sure. scott@nwog.org

It felt good to be out snowhoeing -- our first time this season. From now on, it looks like there will be many snowshoe trips. Mazama Ridge has always been one of my favorites, especially when you start early and beat the crowds. Breaking trail is a small price to pay for solitude. We were the first ones to get up on Mazama Ridge but were able to follow old tracks part of the way. It was just mere seconds, though, before the skiers materialized out of the foggy gloom to join us.

It would have been a good day for black and white film since the whole mountain seemed to be in black and white. Even the evergreens looked black against the white snow. The Mountain stay hidden from view all day and a stubborn cloud hung around on our way up and our way back. It was very still, not even the chatter of birds to break the silence. Too cold to linger, though, especially without the Mountain or the Tatoosh to focus on. It was good ""getting lost"" weather, the kind of weather in which you COULD get lost easily. And lots of snow. As of last Saturday 85 inches or so at Paradise and much more by now. Met a group of Mountaineers going up as we were coming down -- they, like ourselves, were having a fine time. It's just good to get OUT even when the weather isn't so great. We met several skiers coming down the Paradise Valley Road as we climbed back to the car.

Stopped at the Longmire Museum on the way out and saw all sorts of interesing things on the way home. Stopped at an artist's gallery (it's actually his whole yard) -- the guy's name is Kleppart or something like that -- he makes wonderful sculptures out of junk, machinery, bones, old wood. The display is quite amazing and worth a stop. It's near Elbe and believe me, you can't miss it. We also followed our curious noses to the old town of Mineral where we had never been before. Gosh, you'd never know it was there. A quiet little mining town tucked away about 3 miles from Elbe. Found an abandoned house/trailer with some fascinating stone towers with lanterns, almost hidden by brush. And, of course, on our way back to Eatonville the stubborn cloud lifted and The Mountain came out and as always, it was astoundingly beautiful, especially with alpenglow.

As for Mazama Ridge it's a good, moderate snowshow (or ski tour)and makes you work hard enough to have earned a gooey dessert somewhere on your way home. There's several ways to get to the ridge -- go down the Paradise Valley Road from the parking lot then climb up to the ridge after crossing the Paradise River, or go up from Paradise Lodge and cut across above the road. Or come up from Narada Falls, Reflection Lakes and make a loop. Look at the map (Green Trails Mount Rainier East) which will suggest many possibilities. As for the long drive, it's always worth it and only takes 2 hours to get to Longmire from Seattle, even in winter.

Getting in shape for our January trip to Scottish High Lakes, my wife and I decided to snowshoe to Talapus Lake. Our Subaru Loyale Wagon has great four-wheel drive, but not much ground clearance. We managed to get just past the two-mile marker on Forest Service Road 9030 before our car turned into a snowplow and stopped. We backed up about one quarter mile until we found a suitable spot and (I) dug out a turn-around so the car was off the road and facing down hill, (I've just purchased a second snow shovel as a secrete Christmas present for my wife.) As we walked to the trailhead two higher clearance four-wheeled drive vehicles passed us. They managed to make it to just before the three-mile marker. Under current conditions only the most ""macho"" four wheel drives will have a shot of getting to the trailhead.

Snow and trail conditions on #1039 to Talapus Lake were excellent. Approximately two-feet at the trailhead and trail #1039 was sufficiently compacted that some hikers didn't put on their snowshoes until the trail first reached Talapus Creek.

Just past the Alpine Lakes Wilderness sign the trail splits between the official route that crosses Talapus Creek and the winter route that travels West of the creek to the lake. If your ultimate destination is Olallie Lake, cross the stream as there did not appear to be a connected snow bridge that has formed across the outlet of Talapus Lake. We went this way and it is passable over the snow that coverers the wood bridges.

Patches of blue sky teased us during our hike and the temperature was just below freezing with no wind, a very beautiful day full of winter landscapes. There appeared to be approximately three feet of snow at Talapus Lake with deeper drifts elsewhere in and around the basin. We were aware of four other parties one of which went on to Olallie Lake. Encountered countless rabbit tracks. P.S. bring a snow shovel if you plan to travel any distance up forest service road 9030.

Our group of seven was headed up for a snow scramble to Phildelphia Mtn. near Lake Serene. The parking lot at 600' did not have any snow, but we started hiking on it with in the first half mile. Several creeks have water running across the trail and a new foot bridge has been built over the first creek. There were a couple of blow down trees to get under. The section of the trail that switch backs up through the old growth forest now has the steps covered in snow. The two boulder fields that we crossed before getting to the lake have some man size post holes that you get lost in, so you need to watch your step.

After getting to the lake, we straped on our snowshoes and heading easterly up the ridge to Phildelphia Mtn. A few spots were steep and all the new snow was pretty soft. As we headed up, the wind came up and it began to snow, but it soon stopped and the sun started coming out. Snowshoeing up along the ridge we had nice views to the north and could see Heybrook Lookout far below us. It was hard work snowshoeing up to the top of Phily Mtn.(4,258'), but we spotted some tracks, so weren't the first ones up in all the new snow. Looked to be Elk tracks, as they were larger then a Deer's. Why they would be way up on a mountain in the snow is a mystery.

With a quick lunch and some summit photos, it was back down to Lake Serene. The clouds had blow off Mt. Index so we had a nice view of the peak above the froze over lake. Going down the ridge was much better then going up it and we could snowshoe ski down some of the steeper areas. A short distance before getting back to the trail near the lake, I saw that some one had tried to hike up our snowshoe trail, but didn't get to far as they were post holing bad. Off came the snowshoes and the hike back down to the parking lot. The trip was 9 miles RT and 3,600' gain. If you hike up to the lake, bring your snowshoes for exploring around it, you will need them.

Not knowing the current snow level, I headed up Schweitzer Creek road (Forest Road 4020) off the Mountain Loop looking for enough powder to put snowshoes to use. At the bottom of road 4020 there are a few inches of snow, so either good snow tires or all wheel drive is a good idea. I made it to about 1800 feet before pulling off and parking. After straping on the snowshoes, I headed southeast on the road staying to the left where the road splits to form the loop. Significant recent snowfall has wipped out any sign of previous visitors, so beaking trail provided the workout I was looking for. The road climbs gently to 2800 feet in 2 1/2 miles from my parking spot. There are several clearings on the road that offer gorgeous views northeast across the Stillaguamish river valley that would make good turn around points or lunch spots. There is at least 3 feet of snow on the road at 2800 ft. I slipped past my turn around time since I was so close and continued on to Lake Evan on trail 704 that also leads to Boardman Lake. Lake Evan is less than 100 yds from the trailhead. The lake is frozen over and is snow covered. The route was 5 miles round trip and took about 4 hours with rest stops and brief lunch break. There is virtually no avalanch danger due to the thick forest bordering the road. What a perfect day!