Trip Reports

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!

Lanham Lake is a very convenient snowshoe outing. You can park for free at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center and take advantage of their facilities. The trailhead is directly across from the building there. The first half of the trail was very well packed and easy going. Then we went past the outermost reach of the casual visitors, and had to break trail to the lake. Luckily I had been there a couple of years ago and had a pretty good idea of the route.

There was at least three or four feet of snow on the ground, and it has not consolidated at all. Travel was difficult, and we broke through to waist deep several times. I had Jack, my teenage son lead because he is young and vigorous, and most important, weighs a lot less than me.

We did find the lake and enjoyed pristine views of untouched snow. But if you break a trail, they will come. On the way back we met many shoers asking if the trail went all the way to the lake. It does now, at least until the next big dump.

First ski trip of season! Went up to second Kendall lake from Gold Creek SnoPark. Light snow when we started. Yesterday it was raining. Many snowshoers had broken the trail. Had tea at the viewpoint then headed over to lakes. 5or6' of snow at top. Telemarked the direct from lake to road and emerged into sun. Very crowed at the bottom. Wonderful start to season.

Annette Lake 3,600’ Snowshoe December 08 2001

The Trailhead is up I90 at Exit 47, Asahel Curtis. Turn right and cross the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River, and park at the access road. They are not plowing the road all the way to the Trailhead.

Joined by Tilmann Gneiting, Doerte, and I got started about 08:45 am. We knew we were in for a fine day, since we could see Little Tahoma, and most of Mount Rainier crossing Lake Washington. We walked the .5 miles to the real Annette Lake Trailhead, 1,900’, before putting on our snowshoes. It is 3.5 miles more to Lake Annette. We worked hard, breaking trail, the going slow. The trail stayed well above Humpback Creek and was not hard to follow until the very end.

As the day warmed up we had to put our Gortex jackets and hats on to stay dry. The great mounds of snow resting in the limbs of the big pines began to fall, sending clumps of snow and rain on our heads. We had fun listening to the sound of snow falling, “thump” “womp” “woosh” sounding like footsteps of a group of sasquatch.

We had wonderful views of Granite Mountain, 5,629’ to the north. The lookout was easy to see. We also looked across the valley to Humpback Mountain, 4,883’. There were six clearings to cross which gave us some avalanche concern, but we finally arrived at the Annette Lake, 3,600’, covered under 4 feet of silky powder. The snowshoes provided no float at all and we sank up to our waists in the snow!

Above us was Silver Peak, 5,605’ and Abiel Peak. The connecting ridge was blown clear of snow. Later in the season the ridge will be nicely corniced. We dreamed of the summits while we had lunch, but headed back down when the day’s weather began to move in.

The trip down was fast and easy. Rain began to fall so we headed for the cabin to warm up and have some coffee. 1,700’ gain, 8 miles, and six hours for the day.

After relentlessly ascending the Pilchuck road in my Rodeo, we finally made it to the trailhead around 745am. High clearance vehicles are necessary, as the snow starts at Heather Lake now. If you do not have a 4X4 with high clearance then do not go up this road. That type of enthusiasm made for a bittersome descent today. There were only 2 hikers (Myself and Joseph) and we saw at least 20 cars on the way down, stuck or whatever. For some reason that I will never understand, people parked their cars at the large turnouts and had campfires alongside the road. This means they planned to do this AND brought their own firewood! Luckily there was a guy with an older jeep that was like a large snomobile and helped a few people out of the jams they got in. It took us almost 45 minutes to go down the road! Absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. Anyway - on with the trail beta. We decided to break trail and head up the direct route that we enjoy so much! The snow was about 2-4' deep at the trailhead and got deeper the farther we ascended. The first part up to the first plateau was hard to ascend, even with snowshoes we were falling in tree moats, and struggling with the unconsolidated snow. Once over the first hump it got a little easier, and windblown snow was a welcome sight for us. It took us nearly one hour to ascend the first 1000', and once we reached the saddle between Pilchuck and Little Pilchuck it got interesting. Once again, the trail was gone, so we had to do the first traverse quite carefully as the fall would not be fun down the gulley. Once we made it around the otherside of the mountain things got easier, for a few minutes that is. We decided to head stright up the ridge towards the Frozen Lake scramble and got stuck in large snowdrifts, etc. By the time we reached the top (2hr 40) I realized that I had burned off all the ice cream I had ate the past few weeks! The lookout was unrecognizable, as it was completly covered in ice and snow. After finally getting the door open, we were greeted with a nice shelter. Getting to the door is a problem though, as the ice above the deck hangs down about 2 feet, and the snow and ice on the deck is about 1-2 feet, so you have to crawl across the deck and hope the ice does not come down and fall on you. The trail register was quite boring for the past few weeks, with hardly any action or adventure - but I got my fill for the day! The glissading' It wasn't that bad from the saddle down, but we need more people to pack the runs down! scott@nwog.org

The Mtn Loop Hwy is now closed at Deer Creek - about 1.5 miles west of Big Four. Although we were hoping for snow, it was continuous rain all day. There is about 18 or more inches of snow at the parking lot and it seems to increase the further in you go. We made it about half way before turning around since it was getting late. We did encounter two guys who said avalanches had covered the caves and were occuring about every five minutes or so (which we could clearly hear). There were also USFS folks posting avalanche warning signs. Snow shoes are definitely required!

It is touch and go getting to Heather Lake trailhead with deep snow on sideroad from Mt. Loop Hwy. Big tired vehicles have left the potential for high centering passenger cars with standard size tires. It was a toboggan ride which nearly put us in a ditch even though we were driving a Subaru Legacy with all wheel drive. The first half of the road is is pretty fair shape with not much snow which just sucks you into proceeding further up the road where there are no chances to turn around until the Heather trailhead. Be careful!

Two patrollers squelched up the muddy trail early this morning. But the stars and moon were out - did we make the Friday weather window' First time on this very steep trail which reminded us of the steep, forested Eldorado Creek trail. Encountered snow, finally wanting snowshoes near the crest of the long slope from the ground. Still, deep snow made the trudge to the boulderfield difficult, but then a frozen crust made life easier getting to the summit. We chanted from Green Eggs and Ham, knocking a foot-wide sheet of rime ice off the mailbox to get in. Even blades of grass were plastered with thick carapaces of ice - must have been ugly up here! Crisp, clear air, with views to Rainier and Baker. Even the Haystack was plastered in white. Good snow brought us down in 1.5 hours, no other souls.

Hiked to West Tiger 2 and West Tiger 3 via West Tiger 3 trail to Tiger Mt Railroad, Tiger Mt. Railroad to TMT, and TMT and cut off trail to West Tiger 2, then West Tiger 2 via cable trail to West Tiger 3 and down to High Point Trail head via West Tiger 3 trail.

Weather at start of hike was great, cloudy but no rain or wind. Started at 12:20 and arrived at summit of West Tiger 2 around 14:30 (2:30 PM). Weather at this point got worse, snow and wind at the summit with about 1.5 inches of old snow on ground. There is a blown down tree on the West Tiger Rail Road trail just after the first creek crossing (log bridge)off West Tiger 3 trail intersection. This blow down has been on trail since May but is not difficult to navagate. Some snow patches on Railroad Trail but nothing of significance. Last 3/4 of a mile before TMT of Railroad Trail could use some brushing (may be a good idea for me or others who like this quite strech of trail in the Alps) At 2500 feet real snow began but it was not icy and easy to walk on. From West Tiger 2 to West Tiger 3 some of the snow was slick due to temperature drop but this lasted only 0.2 miles and with ice axe or walking sticks should not be a problem.

Arrive at car at 16:20 (sunset)so hike took about 4 hours in total for 7 to 8 miles. Route down should be no problem even in darkness, as trail is an old road bed for last 1.2 miles. (2.2 miles down from summit West Tiger 3).

Summits were not crowded, snow changed to rain at 1800 foot level and heavy rain on last mile of West Tiger Trail. Generally trails were in good shape without high levels of standing water. Standing water is often a problem on these trails in winter season (my experience). Work on trails has helped with better drainage.

Alps are a great place to hike in winter and recommend them strongly to the many who want to keep skills in place during the gray season.

Headed out for the first ski trip of the year, and figured Amabilis Mountain was as good of a place as any.

There was a well packed trail up as far as the main fork in the road. There was lots of evidence of elk(') activity, however, both places where they had slept and sometimes annoying tracks plunging down to the ground under the ski/snowshoe track. Descending this section is a little tricky because it is bumpy and not wide enough to allow you to do much to slow down.

The trail was only broken above the fork (taking the left branch) for a very short distance before I had to start breaking fresh trail. For a while I could partly follow an elk track, although it wasn't quite wide enough for my skis. Most of the time I was sinking six inches or so, aside from the always pleasant (when you are dead tired from breaking trail) wind crust along the ridge in places. The downside, of course, was the wind... by the time I go to the top it had started snowing, and the blowing snow reduced visibility a lot.

After traversing the ridge, I headed back down the other road back to the fork, breaking new trail all the way.

There were at least a dozen vehicles in the sno-park, but I was surprised that no one had broken trail up to the ridge since the previous snowfall. Of course, with the snow that we are getting it won't be long before the trail will be snowed over again.

I like Amabilis Mountain for a non-threatening (easy route finding, once you have done it a few times and figured out how to connect the two roads at the top, low avalanche risk for most of the route) moderate workout. This trip took around six and a half hours, which is longer than usual, but breaking trail really slows you down, especially downhill. It is wonderful up there on a nice night.

Once route I keep meaning to try but haven't yet is trying to head up the usual way, then connect up with the roads on the Kachess Lake side of the ridge, and head down and out that way. With two vehicles and enough people to break trail, it could be a nice route... although perhaps a bit boring near the end. This area is definitely a lot nicer looking in the winter...

I was looking for a snowfree, or at least just patchy, late season hike. I found this in the ""55 Hikes in Snoqualmie Pass"" book, and thought it fit the bill. Trail description was 8.5 miles rountrip, high point of 1750, with an elevation gain of 650.

There was snow on the road from about 900ft on. The trail was completely snow covered. We went in 4.25 miles, all on snow. When we stopped there was a good 18 inches of snow on the ground.

The book says this is a good April hike. I think I will go back when it is snowfree and I can see the trail.

Linda and Tom put together a snowshoe trip to Lake Valhalla to check out the trail to the lake. Paul and Mary came along and of course the dynamic duo, Eco Willy and Chicago Mary. We parked about ¼ mile from Smith Brook Rd, behind a group of snowmobiler's. Why can't they make a four-stroke engine that gives the guys enough torque to be fun, I'm sure it would cut down on the noise and oily clinging exhaust, now with that said I will not mention it again. Linda the optimist was quick to point out that they (snowmobiler's) do pack down the trail nicely. We headed up Smith Brook Rd for a couple of miles (to the third switch back, this is not the summer trail) and then headed up the creek staying on the right side of the creek. There was a faint trail to follow, the easiest way to tell if you where on the trail was if you sank to your armpits you weren't on the trail. This worked for awhile, about ¾ of a mile up you run out of any trail and you have to head straight up, keeping the clearing to your left. We plowed through the deep snow for awhile and turned around, went back to a pretty place by the creek and had lunch. Didn't make it to the lake, but its best not to be too goal oriented when you are snowshoeing in deep fresh snow. Did develop a new sport (snow bouldering). Find a very large boulder (12 to 20 feet high), must be covered with lots and lots of snow, but still give you a good 10 or more feet of vertical. Wrap up in waterproof cloths (batten down the hatches). And try to get to the top. Lots of fun! After the hike headed for Tijuana for some good food. Fun group, great day.

Decided on Heather Lake for a snow hike, as I had not been up there this year, and wanted something not to hard after cross country skiing the day before. When I got to the parking lot one mile off the Mtn. Loop Highway there were several vehicles already parked. Once heading up the trail I caught up to a grandfather and three of his young grand kids out for a day in the forest. There were several stream crossing on the way and places where water was running down the middle of the trail. After getting up the the line between the second growth and old growth forest snow was on the ground. The snow was packed down on the trail to the lake, which is now froze over.

After eatting my lunch, gramps and the 3 kids finally got to the lake. By now the kids cotton jeans where about half wet. They didn't have any gloves or hats either.

I put on my snowshoes for the loop around Heather Lake and you needed them. Most of the time I could stay on the surface of the three feet of snow, but once in a while I'd punch through. Someone had tried going part way along the lake, but they had only post holed. Only a few people had packed snowshoes up with them the explore the cirque on Mt. Pilchuck. Even saw a few bugs flying around or crawling on the snow.

By the time I headed back down from the lake, gramps and the kids had already left. They most have gotten down okay this time, as they were gone when I got to the parking lot. Hopefully some day parents will know not to send there kids out into the snowy mountains wearing cotton clothes.

I had first went up to Heather Lake way back in 1953 when my dad packed me up there on his back. See a photo in the Dec.'01 Backpacker magazine. He rigged a Trapper Nelson home made pack (built 1939) with a kids chair to take me on hikes and I have been going ever since those earlier years.

Three of us planned to hike to Horseshoe Lake by Goat Lake up a faint path from Trail #1005 Myrtle Lake (and Hester Lake) along Dingford Creek from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Forest Road 5620. And from there we hoped to scramble a few of those peaks that reach just above 5000 feet.

I'm glad we threw in snowshoes at the last second.

Road 56 (5620) is typically rough, with snow beginning at Taylor River approximately mile 15, though several rear wheel drive only vehicles were making it past that to Dingford Creek Trailhead at approximately mile 21 and beyond.

Trail #1005 at Forest Road 5620, 1400 feet, had a few inches of snow. Less than 1 mile of hiking in our boots up a steep series of switchbacks brought us to 10 inches of snow.

We put on snowshoes, nobody had preceded us through the snow. We failed to identify the stream from Goat and Horeshoe Lake; there was 2 to 3 feet of snow in that vicinity and any faint path was fully obscured by snow. Our hopes of those higher lakes were smothered by the abundance of soft snow on that fairly steep slope leading up from Myrtle Trail. Any attempt to ascend was quickly recognized as futile. And we were even using very large flotation old style snowshoes, not anything you can by from REI or on the internet. The new style of 'shoes would not have allowed travel in these conditions whatsoever.

So we continued along the main trail, keeping company with Dingford Creek. Soon the creek made no sound; too much snow covering and the trail pulls away from it. At 3 miles we arrived at the intersection with Trail #1005.1 Hester Lake. We selected to continue with Myrtle Lake because the snow was well over 3 feet deep and relatively soft and the trail to Myrtle was gentler; we could not ascend slopes nearly as steep as the way to Hester Lake.

Navigating was enjoyable but consistenly challenging, there were few clues to keep us on the 'trail.' And about 0.5 mile from Myrtle Lake we gave up; we couldn't find the trail, we couldn't find any reasonable solution to continue going higher - it was just too deep and steep, and it was nearly sunset.

Soon this won't be passable with extra snow - the first mile from the trailhead is too steep to ascend in snowshoes and besides, the terrain is prone to avalanches.

For twelve hours we had constant rain just above freezing temperature. In a single word, adventure!

Trailhead (1800') had about 1 foot of snow, there were some snowshoe tracks that lead up to about 3500 feet where the previous hikers had turned around. We broke trail from here on, and it was slow and rough. There was about 2-4 feet of fresh snow to plow through, and once we got up to 4700' we were pretty much done after we realized that the meadows would most likely be very rough to get through since that area gets dumped on w/o all the tree coverage. We found a nice area under the large rock area to get away from many of the elements as it was snowing pretty hard, but there was no wind like everyone expected up on the mtn loop. On our way down we ran into 2 other guys, but they said they were going to turn around at the spot that we did, after we broke all that trail! (We might have kept on going if they had broke trail for us). After a quick retreat to the car we wanted to go check out Pilchuck, but there were so many people looking to cut down trees that it created traffic jams on the Pilchuck Road! Oh well, got to go early to beat the greenhorn. scott@nwog.org

Went on my first snowshoeing trip on Saturday. Intended to see Ramona Falls on the west side of Mt. Hood but decided at the last minute to go east side. Erik, my guide and snowshoeing mentor, picked me up at 8:30 and we were on the trail (#643 I believe) just below Cooper Spur ski area by 10:00. Trip up to the warming hut was un-eventful other than after about a mile up the trail a 30 ft. tree fell in between us. By in between I mean Erik was only 5 feet ahead of me. It all happened like this: amidst a steady falling snow the wind suddenly picked up probably to about 15-20 mph. Snow started blowing and we both turned our heads down to the left to shield our faces. We then felt something falling on us, which we thought was snow from the branches. I then see Erik fall down the slight slope to the left. I notice branches on him and think ""wow, that wasn't snow falling on us, that was a branch"". I then follow the branch with my eyes over to the right to see the entire tree, root ball and all, lying in between us. Erik was scrambling to keep his head above the two feet of powder while I stood there in amazement thinking ""wow, that wasn't a branch falling on us, that was the whole damn tree"". We both chalked that experience up to ""cashing in a significant amount of karma"". Somehow we both escaped possible serious injury by a matter of feet. Amazing! So we make it up to the cabin, 3 miles, 2,200 ft. gain, and 1 blow down later, by 1:30. Ate some snacks in front of a luke warm woodstove and head back down at 2:00. I didn't know snowshoeing would be so exciting. Erik and I both agreed the lesson learned today was even in blowing snow keep an eye on those trees!

If ski trips are welcome:

The first ski of the season altho, I'm not sure any sports minded person would define some of the stuff I did today as skiing.

First, it was warmer than we had hoped for making the snow a bit heavy altho not as heavy as it might be in the home of Cascade Concrete (aka Cascade Cement). But there was a ton of it. Luckily, some other folks were in front of us but only four of them. Caught them in about a half mile since they were breaking trail. There was anywhere from 8 inches to about 14 or so inches of pretty dense snow. We then took the lead for a while and then gave and took the lead up for about 2.5 to 3 miles where everyone kind of ran out of stream and the weather was now damp and foggy.

The way down was also work - need to redevelop those ski legs. It was a bumpy, irregular surface making for problematic negotiation. Again, it was the first ski of the season and balance was not what I hope it will be.

All, in all, not a bad day and coming home to Seattle where the weather was trash, made us feel pretty good.

While I've reported snow on trail - that is the way it is suppose to be at this time of year

I was doing trail maintenance today along with others for V.O.W. on this trail a few miles east of Granite Falls off of Hwy 92 (Mtn. Loop Hwy.). A rainy 9am start but no wind as forecasted. The tread is in good shape down a series of switchbacks to the edge of the plain where the old town of Robe (founder,Truit Robe, homesteader) was located in the late 1800's-early 1900's. Wetlands can be seen to the west as you walk down the switchbacks, where a sawmill had its millpond floating with logs long ago. Nothing remains of the townsite with its 200 people. Shortly after reaching the flat ground at the base of the hillside you've come down, you are walking on a spur of the old Everett & Monte Cristo Railway. Then you shortly reach the beginning of a long straight stretch of trail- you are on the old E&MC mainline, heading southwesterly until it parallels the Stillaguamish River. This is the upstream beginning of the Robe Canyon, as the Stilly flows thru narrowing 200' cliffs, the water boiling a milky color thru rapids. The trail follows closely the river bank, in places the bank is beginning to cleave away, the canyon in a perpetual state of change. After a couple of minor creek crossings on rocks you come upon remnants of the railroad engineering thru the canyon: due to flooding washing away portions of the track, ties, rails and all, the ties were embedded in concrete. Now, all that remains are a couple ties and gaps where all the others were imbedded. As you follow the trail/railbed along and above the river below, you come upon a black gaping maw before you- Tunnel # 6 of the railroad- blasted and dug thru solid rock, a few hundred feet long and walkable with caution - rubble on the floor. You have to marvel at the thought that decades ago during fall floods the river was running THROUGH the tunnel you are walking thru- at least a good 20-30' above the Stilly's level this day, and it was running fairly high. Shortly you come upon the much shorter Tunnel #5, at whose far portal the trail ends officially at a massive landslide. This can be negotiated fairly easily at your own risk, and beyond you'll come upon where Tunnel # 4 once was (but was made an open cut by the railroad after too many cave-ins) and is now blocked by a large landslide. You can again climb over this obstacle but are then faced with inching along the narrow top of an old concrete retaining wall next to the surging river- where a fall could be serious indeed. Tunnel # 3 is further beyond but is partially caved and dangerous to enter. Most sane folks will stop where the trail officially ends-especially with kids! Kids will love this hike for the old tunnels and railroad track remnants as should adults who can try to picture the full-size, standard gauge trains inching their way along this canyon, steam pouring from the stacks. What history, and beauty! The trail is 4 mi RT. Join a workparty either working on the existing Robe Canyon Trail or the new, under-construction 6.6mi RT Lime Kiln Trail on the other side of the river! Hope is that eventually these two trails can be linked by a footbridge over the river to make an outstanding trail thru this beautiful area. Info: Steve Dean, coordinator/leader for VOW Robe Canyon workparties: 360-652-7181, steveandnancydean@msn.com

Nov 27th - 28th At the last second john and I decided to head up to Pilchuck that night in order fo us to have enought time to sport climb at Cascade Crags the next day. So we got to Granite Falls around 10pm, then up the road to the trailhead. We encountered snow at 1500', then large amounts of it up to the trailhead. We were obviously the only ones there and left the car at 1045pm in snowshoes (about 2 feet at the traihead). We followed the telemarker tracks for the first 1.5 miles until they turned back just below the saddle of Little Pilchuck and Mt Pilchuck. It was hard breaking trail as we were sinking in our snowshoes at least 2 feet as we ascended to the saddle. We got to the top around 1230am this morning and settled in as best we could. There was some snow in the lookout, but it did not pose a problem. The boulderfield just before the lookput is non existent as well now, and only a few steps to go up on the ladder. It was hard to sleep as the wind kept blowing open the door and letting snow in (everytime I got settled in this happened). We awoke to freezing temperatures and strong winds. I never thought that I would need wands on Pilchuck, but they could have helped this morning as there was no site of the trail due to the large dumping of snow. We folowed the landmarks that we knew, and made it down safely to find the car in good condition and only 6 inches of fresh in the lot. Not a soul up there, and no one had signed the summit log since Nov 25. scott@nwog.org

Four of us went to Tonga Ridge for some snowshoeing. We encountered increasing snow on the way up and parked where Road No. 310 goes up to the trailhead. We needed 4WD to get that far and were concerned about getting stuck on 310.

It was an easy hike up the road, and we put on snowshoes at the Tonga Ridge trailhead. There was about 15-18 inches of snow there. For the first half mile or so, we enjoyed a path broken by someone else. We continued on, breaking our own path along the trail. We stopped for lunch a little short of the junction with the trail to Fisher Lake. The snow was as deep as 30 inches, so breaking the trail was hard work, but with four of us on the trip, the path was worked in pretty well. Our return was much easier and took about half the time.

The trees were laden with fresh snow. The cloud cover was too low for any sensational views, but Tonga Ridge was a wonderful place to be today. Anyone looking for a nice snowshoe trip should hustle up there before the road is blocked by more snow and before our work breaking a path is buried in the next snow storm. Enjoy!

The snow has closed the state road from Heather Meadows by the Mt. Baker ski area up to Artist Point. Our group of ten snowshoers left the Mountaineer's Baker Lodge as the snow kept coming down. With all the new snow, we needed to take turns breaking trail. Even with snowshoes on, we still sunk in about a foot. Once up to the parking lot at the end of the road, the visibility was only about 100 yards in the blowing snow. No views today (Friday Nov. 23rd).

The weather cleared up on Saturday morning with the view of Mt. Shuksan from the lodge windows. Some of us who had gone up to Artist Point in Fridays snow storm, decided to go back up again. The snow trail was now packed with snowboarders, teleskiers, cross country skiers and more snowshoers. With only high clouds, the view out to Mt. Baker was open. Some of the boarders and skiers were going down Table Mountain. I snowshoed around the area from Artist Point before heading back to the lodge. If you haven't been up to this area in the Winter, check it out on a clear day for the great views.

This report covers only the trail portions on the North of Muddy Creek. (There is a loop portion on the South side which I didn't take.)

Within 500 feet down the trail, two large blowdowns easily passed. A third blowdown is past the suspension bridge (') which is a little trickier to pass, just take your time and you'll be fine. (I did a mini ""chimney-stemming"" with hand left on the rock wall, and right hand on the sloping log, and lower myself until I could put my feet down and continue.)

By the way this trail is fantastic, for in an hour from trailhead (all downhill :-) you sure get a lot of special effects: Suspension bridge, Steel ladder, many waterfalls, neat swirling solid lava flows in cross-section.

I continued on the Smith Creek trail (I did the North Side portion only) until the confluence where Muddy Creek hits Smith Creek. There was approx 600 feet here and there of mini-stream exactly running in the trail. Perhaps some well placed water bars/depressions would help. But not hard to sidestep the deeper (4"") portions of the water.

Don't know how long you'll be able to drive to the trailhead. No snow as of 11-24-2001. But it'll start accumulating at this elevation soon and it's on ly a matter of time.

p.s. For my return trail from the confluence, I headed North a little bit and took the closed/abandoned forest road back up. Good shape. Road exits 300 feet from the parking lot/real Lava Canyon trailhead. Though very few views in this forest road, it is easier hiking and secure footing.

Decided to try and find some snow worthy of snowshoes - and work off a little turkey - so we headed up the Davis Peak trail under dramatic, wintery skies. The trail is in excellent shape, with no blowdowns or erosion damage. By the 5000 foot level, we decided to quit carrying the snowshoes, as the fresh-but-heavy snow had become consistantly more than a foot deep. By the time we hit the south ridge crest, the wind was giving us a taste of what it would be like on the summit. Slogging up the final stretch, through often knee deep snow, kept everyone warm, but the ice plumes blowing up over the summit ridge suggested we might not be staying too long. It was very beautiful on top, with heavy ice and snow formations on every tree and rock. We never got a good look at Stuart, through the swirling clouds, but we could see north to Daniels, and quite a ways west and south. Soon the horizontal ice pellets began to sting, so we took a few quick pics, and started trotting down hill. Fall line descents in fresh snow - what a hoot! A very nice day, for late November, and more than a hint of winter!

First the road: the road from Lake Quinault to North Fork is open and in fair condition, kinda muddy in places with a few chuck-holes.

We hiked the North Fork Quinault River Trail about 5 miles up to Wild Rose Cr. We intended to go up to Halfway House just beyond this creek but would have had to wade across as the water level was too high to boulder hop. There were several places where the trail is under water, but after all, this is November. Aside from that the trail was in good condition and of course, the forest, streams and rivers are as beautiful as ever. The mushrooms along the trail look very happy! We saw several deer near Wolf Bar camp. There were several recent blow-downs across the trail but all were easy to get over or under.

Started out at 9:15am on dry trail. Weather overcast. Lots of switchbacks. Evidence of this summers fire was right to the trailhead. Lots of switchbacks. At 3700 ft found fresh snow on the trail. At 4600 ft was a large tree down w/lots of branches making it difficult to get around. Easiest way around is to the right. Snow got progressively deeper, about 12"" at 6000 ft, where we lost the trail. So we headed straight up to the ridge. On ridge about 2ft of snow. Snowshoes might have been nice for last mile, but we chose not to carry them. Weather deteriorated. There was rhyme ice and fresh snow on the trees, and fog after 6000ft. Temp on ridge probably 10 degrees, light wind and almost white out conditions.

Also, on the lower portion of the trail there were several places that appear badly eroded due to the fire.

With the bridge back over the Carbon River, the Clearwater Wilderness peaks are back for bagging. I had to be at work by 2pm so the closer the location, the more climbing time available. We drove up the 4WD road that ends at Surprise Lake. We were able to get about 50 yards up the road before being stopped by rough road and snow. Our route involved hiking the old road to the highest switchback at 3900 feet. Then travel through a harvest area (west) and large timber to gain the southeast ridge. At 5000 feet on the ridge, we opened up to the upper basin of grass, trees and talus. By this time, we had the snowshoes on in about 2-4 feet of snow. As we traversed the upper basin, up to the saddle between the summits, we encountered some harsh wind. At the saddle, we were being pelted by ice pellets with 30 second gusts at 40-50 mph. Traveling the ridge top West to the summit was difficult due to the wind and ice missiles. Although the wind was bad, the high cloud layer allowed us to see all peaks and Puget Sound. The only thing that wasn't out was the upper 4000 feet of Rainier. The wind on it's slopes looked extremely bad. We used our snowshoe tracks down but I was still 10 minutes late to work.

Me and my trusted guide set out at sunrise from the iced over 6' slush at the Pacific Crest trailhead to head up into the almost fresh snow. The tracks in the snow from hikers from the day before had the trail pretty well established for the first mile or so'but eventually the tracks dwindled to none shortly after going above 4000 foot elevation. Two feet plus of uncharacteristically soft snow made snow shoes a must at this point, but after the tracks ended, we (actually, uh I) decided that we were far enough into the snowy wilderness for this morning. A great winter hike!

Time for our annual Work-off-the-Turkey hike on Mt Si. As in past years we invited all of our friends and co-workers and at one time it looked like we might have 8 people going....but as we neared Turkey day the various excuses and reasons started flying in so this morning as in past years it was just Mike and I. The first half mile of the trail is very wet. Running and standing water all over the place. There was also a large blowdown that someone thankfully cut up while we were on the trail. Once you get past the half mile mark, the trail is in great shape. A bit damp but very few mud puddles or standing water. We started seeing patches of snow at the 3.5 mile marker. From there to the top the snow gradually increases until there is about an inch or two at the top. Very socked in today so we had no views and with a brisk breeze blowing we stayed long enough to change shirts, have a bite to eat and then headed back down. Lots of people heading up as we made our way back to the parking lot. Happy Thanksgiving to all. See you on the trail. SR

Rialto Beach to Ozette Lake: 11/22-24/01

Followed the travelogue in the Mountaineers' 100 Hikes in South Cascades and Olympics, Hike #99. It seems accurate and current.

If you are hiking solo like I was and need a shuttle call Cate DeShazer of West End Transport in Forks (360-374-2002 or 206-550-2861). For $0.75/mile she'll pick you up at either end of the trail and drive you to the other. I dropped my car at Ozette Lake Ranger Station. It cost me $48 to be driven to Rialto Beach near La Push. It is a very viable alternative for solo hikers and cheaper than driving two cars from Seattle if you figure true costs (mileage, ferry, etc).

There is a nice campsite just north (75 yards) of Hole-In-The-Wall. Since I started late the first day I decided to stop there even though it is only 1 1/2 miles from Rialto Beach.

Stopped at a creek about 1/4-1/2 mile south of Cedar Creek the second night at the site called the Starbuck Mine. There is a secluded, dark, clammy site in the trees on the north side of this creek. Probaly great in summer. A little dingy in November.

The campsites at Cedar Creek seem quite ""used"" and a little ""junky"".

The rope ladder at the Cedar Creek headlands is steep but solid.

The best campsites on the route seem to be at Norwegian Memorial. Be aware that there is a way to drive the logging roads just east of the National Park and hike down into the Memorial area. You might think you will be alone after trudging up or down the coast only to find several groups hunkered down in the woods. Good sites. Protected. Good place to weather a high wind storm, probably.

The coast between Norwegian Memorial and just south of Yellow Banks is sort of like walking on a field of basketballs or beach balls. Your choices are either that or cobble beach or slippery tide pools. Great tide pools if you take the time. Tedious hiking if you are trying to make time.

The hole in the rock at the headlands just north of Yellow Banks is interesting at low tide and I suppose could be even more so at a higher tide.

The walk from there to Sand Point is ""a walk on the beach"". The board walk into Ozette is as slippery as ever. I made 15 1/2 miles over beach rocks and logs safely and then slipped and pulled a leg muscle during the last 100 yards of the 3 miles of turnpike and boardwalk. Be careful.

I took 2-1/4 days and 2 nights. With better company it would have been a good trip for 4 days and 3 nights. It would have allowed for a more relaxed hike with more time to stop and smell the tide pools (sorry.....couldn't resist the bad pun).

My only advice to hikers is to use the tide charts and plan appropriately. It is a beautiful, awesome, gorgeous hike that should be a fun event......unless you don't pay attention to the tides.

Started kind of early at 730am with a large group for an ""appetite builder"" hike for T-Day. It has been along time since I took the regular trail since I enjoy the old trail by Little Si much more. It was wet, kinda wet, and really wet the whole time. New blow down within the first mile. Reached the summit at 9am to have a sandwich and head back down. Found a couple of way routes that made the descent much quicker - lots of tree and root belays, but lost a ton of elevation quickly. No visibility, but a good workout. scott@nwog.org

The hike from Ozzette Lake to Cape Alava is 3.3 miles. The trail is mostly on board walk. Large portions of the board walk have been renovated since I last hiked the trail in April 2001. The trail provides a good place to hike when the mountain trails are covered by snow.

The Ocean Beach at Cape Alava is a great place for bird watching. There were a large variety of birds. The deer along the beach are almost tame.

The only problems were fallen trees. There are three places that fallen trees block the path. Two of the places were easy to by pass. The other is in a low spot which could be a problem after heavy rain. One could get muddy getting around it.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that the board walk is slippery. Two of our party took hard falls.

It's been a while since I'd had a chance to go for a hike so my father, sister and a friend and I decided to head up to Schriebers Meadow. It's been around 3 years since I've been up here and last time I went was in late October.

We got lucky with the weather. It was raining on us lightly but very gently, so it could have been a lot worse. At the trailhead there were some small remainders of snow but fairly dry. The trail up to Railroad grade was very muddy and had a lot of water on the trail (i.e., the trail was a stream bed in a lot of places, which is understandable with all of the rain we've been having). After crossing the last creek, we hit the start of snow.

Luckily the snow was fairly wet and we didn't slip too much. After we got up to Railroad Grade the snow was a few feet deep and the heavier members of our party started popping through more and more.

Overall it was a great winter outing. We probably ended up doing just under 6 miles in around 3.5 hours. Unfortunately Mount Baker wasn't visible but it still is a great environment to enjoy nature in.

Red Mountain 5,890' November 18, 2001

On a climb of Kendall Peak the day before we had enjoyed such a amazing view of Red Mountain that I decided to see how far I could get toward the summit.

I left Guye Cabin at 10 am and headed up Commonwealth Basin. I wound up bushwhacking mostly. When I saw the trail it was a flowing creek. However, I was thrilled to see so much water in November. There was water everywhere as the unseasonably warm temperatures melted the snow. I had the illusion of a real wilderness and had great fun.

On the lower flank of Red Mountain , traversing to the east, I ran into two dayhikers, who looked at me like I was crazy, climbing a waterfall, when the trail was 30' away! Maybe I should update my 1973 edition of Becky' The trail was easier than bushwhacking and ascends to Red Mountain Pond, a beautiful little basin, mostly frozen and covered in snow.

The climbers trail ascends the slope to the summit. There is plenty of loose rock but the going was east until the final 200' on snow and ice. Another solo, Brian from Kirkland, joined with me to make a strong team. Crampons and ice axe were required to gain the summit 5,890'.

We spent about 8 minutes on the cold, windy summit, admiring the views and putting on warmer clothes. We were the third party of two for the day. I couldn't find a summit register. We had a fantastic view of Mount Thompson, and close-up views of Lundin Peak, Snoqualmie Mountain, and Kendall Peak. Brian had been on Kendall the Sunday before with the climber who had bagged his final Snoqulamie Peak (20).

We carefully started back down the 45 degree snow and ice. Brian and I made good time back to the trailhead, taking the old trail.

There is very little snow in the peaks for November 17, and what is there is icy and crusty. 2,890' elevation gain and about 6 miles, three hours to the summit and two hours return.

These peaks were climbed via a circle route over about 10 miles and 5,200' of altitude gain. It was drawn up by Stefan F. who lead the climb. The start and endpoint of the hike/climb is the trailhead for Boulder Lake, located at about 3,000' elevation on the Tenas Creek Road. Take I-5 North turning east onto SR 530 through Arlington and Darrington. Continue on the route when it turns north at Darrington. About 800' past the bridge over the Sauk River turn right onto the Suiattle River Road. Go 8.1 miles on this road until turning left onto FS 2660 which is the Tenas Creek Road. After 2.1 miles take the left fork and drive on that road for another 5.1 miles leaving the car in a large parking area on the right. The trailhead bulletin board is not easily visable from the road. The parking area is just before the road crosses Tenas Creek. The Boulder Lake trail is actually an unmaintained fisherman's trail to the lake. It has water coursing down the middle, many logs to climb over, and sometimes tough to follow. It will always be on the left side of the creek though and we followed it to the outflow for the lake. Once at the lake Hurricane Peak will be revealed. The route up is almost opposite the outflow on the farside. It starts as a broad avalanche slope lying to the right of a rocky nose about 150 vertical feet above the lake. We connected with this area by hiking clockwise around the lake, first the west side and then the north. The avalanche slope narrows to a chute that ends at a col. About 200 feet beneath the col angle right and upward travelling briefly through cedars which connect with SSE slopes that lead to the summit. The high reaches are lowangled without difficulty. There are prime views of nearby Chaval and east to Buckindy. Once there we dropped 400' to the east and made a southerly directed traverse to swing clockwise around Point 6222 connecting with the gentle NE ridge of Boulder Peak (6267'). This should not be confused with yet another Boulder Peak about six miles to the north near Granite and Jordon Lakes. The Boulder we climbed has a triangle on the USGS map indicating its prior use as a summit for triangulation by a surveying party. From Boulder we continued on a ridge route which connects with Huckleberry Mountain at 5856'. The low snow pack allowed us to locate the Huckleberry Mountain trail and follow it to about 5,000' where we then regained the Huckleberry Mt ridge. We followed on the rounded ridge and were surprised to find an abandoned trail up there. It is perhaps the old route to the lookout. Our objective was to climb the western terminus of Huckleberry Mountain at about 5,300' Our descent route was to loose altitude on a north ridge until 4,400' where we then hiked NE to return to our cars. Trip started at 7:00AM and ended at 4:45PM.

Took the long way up mount defiance, figuring all the recent rain would make mason lake access messy. The pratt lake way was nice, with lots of little streams and waterfalls thanks to the rain. It was real windy on the ridges and the wind made it feel real cold. No snow to defiance, just heavy frost and a bit on the north side. this was a long hike; i wouldnt recommend it as a Nov. day hike unless youre a real fast hiker (i ran part of the way). Ran into two other parties headed up defiance, both via Mason lake. Views were nice, but cold & windy! I like rainbow lake the best; peaceful and part frozen. Hope the snow comes to the passes soon, but ill be in the Oregon Cascades til the New Year so this is my last post til then. Remember...think snow!

November is traditionally the month where we become couch potatoes. Stuck between the hiking & skiing seasons we were always at a loss over what to do. It took an event that only happens once in a lifetime to shake us out of our doldrums, a warm sunny Saturday in November! There was also some Leonid thingy too, more on that later.

State Route 542 is still clear all the way to the Heather Meadows parking lot. From there the road up to Artist's point is covered in a think hard packed layer of snow, no addition footwear was required beyond a regular pair of hiking boots. For those in a hurry to get higher you could shortcut the switchbacks in the road via a well-trodden path. In the upper parking lot the snow was quite a bit deeper as one would discover if they ventured away from the pre-established trails. We followed a series of tracks along Artists Ridge and rarely post-holed.

We had been up this way numerous times before in the summer and were amazed how such familiar sights as Shuksan and Baker were transformed in the winter. Even the lesser peaks that rarely gather a second look were striking as the light frosting brought out the detail in their features. It was if you were in the heart of Alaska and not a just a mile away from the car. We tromped along the ridge to a col that directly faced Mt. Shuksan and set up camp. Shuksan is probably one of the most photographed mountains in all of Washington and with good reason. It perfectly captures the many colours of the setting sun and despite all those great photographs nothing beats seeing it in person. However as beautiful as it may be it wasn't the focus for this trip, we retired early and set the alarm for 1am.

'We don't know much about astronomy'' but when someone tells me that this will be the best meteor shower until 2099 we thought it was worth checking out. Wow, like nothing we have ever seen or likely will ever see again. Virtually every few seconds from all corners of the sky shooting stars emerged and just as quickly vanished from sight. Some seemed to explode with bright white intensity (fireballs we are told) and one fifteen minutes into the show put all the others to shame. Streaking out from behind Shuksan it left a trail the size of a jetliner, then once overhead it exploded with such intensity that it lit up the night sky (a shadow caster we are told).

What can beat that' Nothing really but waking up to Mt Baker bathed in early morning light was a treat and then glissading a short distance back to the truck was a blast. Best of all we know what we will be doing next November.

There are a few logs across the trail. There is a light covering of snow and frost on the trail above 3600 feet elevation. Some late pearly everlasting was seen. Skies were broken to scattered clouds and temperatures were cool to moderate.

This sounded like an appealing early-season snowshoe trip in the ""Snowshoe Routes-Wash."" guidebook by Dan Nelson, so I gave it a go on this chilly but fair late Nov. Sunday. All the F.S. access roads are in fine shape, no snow on the road to the trailhead. Driving directions: Take F.S.Rd. # 68 (Foss River Rd.) off eastbound SR 2 just past the Skykomish Ranger Station (closed-but toilet's open!). Proceed 3.5 mi, turn left on Rd. # 6830. Proceed 6.5 mi to junction with Rd. #310, turning right. Proceed 1.5 mi to trailhead or as far as your vehicle can take you depending on the snowline. Trail: it starts thru 2nd growth forest, shortly passing a wilderness sign & you enter old growth & occasional clearings (nice mtn. views west across the Foss River valley)as the trail passes just below the ridge crest, very gradually gaining 500 feet. 2 miles in you pass under the flank of Mt. Sawyer (5501')on your left. When you first see Sawyer at a clearing/meadow area it appears you can scramble steeply up to the rocky summit at an angle- it's approx. 700' above the trail. I didn't allow enough time for that, but would recommend it for the best views. The trail goes another mile, gradually more snow is encountered on the trail, pretty hard-packed after all the recent rain. Finally you reach a large clearing which I assume is Sawyer Pass, but the hoped-for views promised in the guidebook were disappointing-- obscured by the tree tops! Maybe the views were better a bit further on but I had to get going and turned around & had a bite to eat. Left trailhead 10am, nobody else there, reached 3 miles/turnaround at noon, passed 3 parties on the way back, arriving at trailhead at 1:15pm. Trail is in great shape up to the snowline. Never needed the snowshoes.

KEEP THINKING THIS IS MY LAST PEAK TO BAG THIS YEAR, AND YET SNOW-FREE HIKING WEATHER CONTINUES TO PREVAIL. BOTH TRAILS TO MASON LAKE AND ON TO MT. DEFIANCE ARE VIRTUALLY SNOW FREE: BETWEEN JUNCTION #1009 AND #1038 JUST BEYOND MASON LAKE, AND DEFIANCE, THERE IS ESTIMATED TRACE"" TO 1"" ON STEEPER AREAS AND THEN A FEW PATCHES GOING ACROSS FLOWER FIELD SOUTH SIDE OF DEFIANCE. TRAILS ABOVE 4000' HAVE PATCHY FROZEN GROUND.

VIEWS SOUTH FROM TOP AT ABOUT 5500' ON DEFIANCE ARE GORGEOUS: MT. ADAMS SEEN IN DISTANCE, RAINIER, AND ACROSS TO MCCLELLAN BUTTE; THE OLYMPICS SHINED, INCLUDING THE BROTHERS, AND THREE HILLS SW ABOUT 200 DEGREES WAY OFF IN DISTANCE: WHAT ARE THEY' AND, OF COURSE TALL COLUMBIA CTR. AND DOWNTOWN SEATTLE.

WIND BECAME FIERCE ON DEFIANCE: GLAD FOR LOTS OF WINTER GEAR; EVEN THE GATORS ARE PUT TO USE PROTECTING LEGS FROM WINDCHILL: WAS WARM AND FELT LIKE FAT CITY!!

TWO TRAILS AVAILABLE FROM CLOSED ROAD AND MASON CREEK: ABOUT 3 WIDE SWITCHBACKS ABOVE ROAD AT BEGINNING, A GULLY HEADS STRAIGHT UP THE HILL: THAT TURNS OUT TO BE THE ORIGINAL MAIN TRAIL. STRAIGHT AHEAD IS THE ALTERNATIVE CARVED OUT OF HEAVY FORESTED AREAS RIGHT NEXT TO MASON CREEK. LOTS OF DOWN TREES TO NAVIGATE. GRADIENT EASIER THEN OTHER MAIN TRAIL.

ARRIVING AT BOULDER FIELD GOING UP ON THIS TRAIL, IT CROSSES CREEK, AND WINDS UP ON THE NORTH SIDE OF FIELD, WHERE IT GOES STRAIGHT UP THE HILL: A REAL ""GULLYHUMPER""! BOULDERS WERE PRETTY SLICK HERE. NEXT TIME I WILL TAKE THE ALTERNATIVE, BUT REACHING BOULDER FIELD, STAY ON SOUTH SIDE CREEK, REACHING CAIRNS AND MAIN TRAIL.

A NOTE ABOUT MAIN TRAIL. I MET UP WITH ANOTHER HIKER WHO KNEW ABOUT HISTORY OF THIS TRAIL. WE TOOK THIS MAIN TRAIL ON RETURN TRIP, WHICH IS WELL MARKED FOR FIRST 2/3 COMING DOWN. CAIRNS ARE OBVIOUS AS YOU CROSS TWO FIELDS WITH SIGNS/ARROWS ALONG WAY. HOWEVER, LAST 1/3 GOES STRAIGHT DOWN. I'LL BLOW UP MY AIR MATTRESS TO RIDE DOWN FOR NEXT TIME: ANOTHER ""GULLYHUMPER.! EVIDENTLY FOREST SERVICE NEVER SAW CLOSURE ON COMPLETION OF A ""REAL"" TRAIL. HOWEVER, WORD HAS IT THERE ARE PLANS FOR POSSIBLE COMBINED BANDANA AND MASON LAKE TRAIL'' THIS WOULD BE A FANTASTIC ADDITION TO THE HIGH DEMAND I-90 HIKING CORRIDOR.

MASON AND LITTLE MASON LAKE SNOW AND ICE FREE TODAY.

FINALLY, A NICE TOUCH ON WAY HOME WERE THE KRISPIE KREAM DONUTS A NEWLY OPENED SHOP IN ISSAQUAH NEXT TO HOME DEPOT. THEY ARE GOOD, SO BOUGHT EXTRAS TO PAY OFF THOSE PEOPLE I""DESSERTED"" TO PLAY HOOKEY FOR THE DAY. LINES ARE STILL 3/4-11/2 HOUR LONG, BUT I CONSIDER THE WAIT A ONE-TIME EVENT. I'M AFRAID TO ASK WHAT THE CALORIE COUNT IS! ALL IN ALL, GREAT COOL DAY FOR TERRIFIC VIEWS!

Harvey Manning's Footsore books has a route called ""Pilchuck Vista"". It starts on the Pilchuck River road these days due to the road closure. I hopped on my mountain bike, amongst the motorized contingent that enjoys the same area, and road to point 706. Then up to point 1421 shortly before Hanson Lake. Here, took a right for a mile on nearly flat logging road until it climbs to 1640. The grunt from 706 to 1421 is just steeper than practical on a bike, except for those skilled in the art. There I stashed the bike.

Here's where Manning starts his trip, on unrideable logging roads carpeted in moss and grass. I passed a quite nice waterfall 15 minutes into the hike. Suprisingly it's pretty open to 2600' with few blowdowns and little brush. At 2640' I kept straight instead of switchbacking. Now the road was quite overgrown, but thankfully the devils club is leafless this time of year. At 3300' the road ends. According to the 100,000:1 USGS map, a trail used to go up the south side of Mt Pilchuck here. Alas, it appears to be gone. I did see some blazes at the 4000' level and the forest is quite open (once in the old growth). It's a pleasant scramble route to 4400' where I turned around.

Great views of Rainier, Olympics, Puget Sound, and Pugetropolis in the super clear air.

Made another attempt on this favorable hike. After trying to get up a few weeks before (started way too late and turned back on a ridge above Cave Ridge at about 5200') we had to go back and bag the peak before some serious avalanche dangers. The first part of the trail is rough and steep (Trail starts about 20' down the hill from the Snow Lakes Trail) but levels out at Cave Ridge. We decided to ascend the gully heading North East to a spot where we could ascend the East Face. After ascending true crappy conditions of 35 degree snow, dirt, rock, and heather - we got really annoyed as it was not the greatest conditions (although the sun was shining, and all I had brought were my goggles!). We crossed a ravine then up some 40-45 degree snow to a plateau at about 5800'. It was tough and slow as the new snow was heavy and wet. We put on the snowshoes and went up to the North Ridge that we only had to ascend for about 100 yards before reaching the summit. The day was beautiful, and many of the local peaks were out in splendor like Chair Peak, Red Mtn, Kendall Peak, and many more. Pictures and more information located at:http://www.summitpost.com/mountains/mountain_link.pl/mounta in_id/557 scott@nwog.org

Kendall Peak 5,784' November 17, 2001

Beginning at the Pacific Crest Trailhead, at 3,000' at Snoqualmie Pass, the trail to Kendall Peak is a little over 5 miles. The trail is in great condition and sees a lot of use. Often in the summer the parking lot is full and overflowing. On this beautiful Saturday in November there were only 4 cars.

Doerte and I took an ice axe and snowshoes, expecting to see some new snow after all the record rain in Seattle the previous week. The creeks and brooks were flowing and often the sound of water drowned out the drone of I90 below.

At about 5,000' the trail was covered with hard pack snow and ice, especially in shaded areas. The trail was dry in the sun. We had fine views of Red Mtn, Guye, Snoqualmie, Lundin, Chair, Tooth, Denny, and Bryant as the fog in the valley lifted and moved away.

The famous Kendall Katwalk was covered in icy hardpack, and all the hikers turned around here. An ice axe and crampons would be needed to get further on.

I looked for a route to the summit of Kendall but didn't see one. I started up kicking steps in the crusty snow and keeping a good belay with the axe. A couple of course adjustments and a traverse and I was on the summit of Kendall, 5,784'.

Amazingly, the summit register, placed in 1995 was not even full! The last entry from November 11, included a guy who had just finished climbing all 20 Snoqualmie Peaks!

A careful descent, and Doerte and I were on our way back down, enjoying the sunset, and arriving at the trailhead at dark. 3,384' elevation gain and 10 miles round trip.

We started on Saturday morning well below the overcast, but we saw so much blue sky on the way to the trailhead that we knew we'd get lucky! The gate was closed at the Mtn Loop Hwy - bonus mileage and gain. The trail was mostly snow free up to the basin below Stujack pass - just a few small blow-downs.

We put our gaitors on in the basin and hiked up through a few inches of new snow to the pass. Beautiful deep, cobalt blue skies - fabulous! After Stujack, we switched to ice-axes and within a few minutes added crampons. From there to the summit it became more sporting as we scrambled the ridge on rock and ice covered with a few inches of loose snow.

The last section above the ridge to the summit was more rock and ice lightly covered with loose snow. These were not the best conditions, but okay for experienced alpinists. Near the summit the snow started balling up in our crampons, but we just front-pointed and low-daggered into the underlaying ice for the last stretch to the summit.

Incredible views from the summit! And cold - my ice-axe leash froze into some wierd shape during the 15 minutes we spent on top. We scrambled back down to Stujack without any problems.

I definitely recommend the hike to Stujack - not enough snow to be a problem, plenty of exercise and incredible views! Stujack to the summit...only for experienced groups with ice-axes and crampons.

Up to 18"" snow on ground above 4800' (within 1/2 mile of TH). Longs pass trail obscured by snow. Ridge from Long's to Ingalls Pass passable, some ice on rock. Cornices building, but still small. Lee slopes already wind-scoured and icy in spots. Fortune snow-covered. Return through drainage without serious obstacles; leave 2 hours from Fortune to parking lot. We left more time because of unfamiliarity with the ground and got back to the car with 2 hours of daylight.

My curiosity got the best of me while pondering the spectacular grandeur of the west side of Mt. Rainier with its winter plaster of ice and snow. Having visited Klapatchie Park in August, I could only wonder what the setting would look like during the winter months, while contemplating the logistical difficulties of such an endeavor. So when I realized we had a favorable forecast for the weekend and a snow-free approach to our trailhead, I got excited.

With the West Side Road blocked at the highway, it is 11.2 miles to the St. Andrews Creek TH. We chose to cover this distance on mountain bikes, while toting our heavy packs and camera gear. The important thing to remember when attempting this exercise is not only the difficulty of having so much weight on your back while attempting to ride uphill, but how adding 50-60 lbs. of upper body weight creates an entirely new definition to the term 'saddle sore' over such a long haul. The benefit' Covering the 11.2 miles on the return in about 1.5 hrs (1 hr. for the climb back to Round Pass, 0.5 hr. for the remaining 8.5 miles)!

We found very little snow in Klapatchie Park, setting our tent up on about a 0.5' cover of snow. The trail was entirely snow free until just before entering the park meadows. Aurora Lake was mostly frozen over. We caught alpenglow on The Mountain and enjoyed a beautiful sunset to the west. Eventually all the lights came out in the Puyallup and Tacoma vicinity, with Seattle's off in the distance (hey, when the sun goes down at 5:00 you need something to do).

We awoke around 3:30 a.m. to view the spectacular meteor show we had read so much about. It was indeed incredible, as the tails would last for several seconds. What was even more fascinating was the radiant (where each meteor began) was right over Mt. Rainier! It almost appeared that The Mountain itself was shooting these fireworks off into the night sky in every direction.

The next morning we ventured over to St. Andrews Park, which had a few inches of snow on the ground. St. Andrews Lake was entirely frozen. Dale scurried up Aurora Peak to view The Mountain unobstructed, while Geoff photographed his silhouetted image from below. As was the case the day before, not a soul was seen in this wonderland. From the truck on, we had this entire area of the park to ourselves. It was a good trip.

Don

http://www.mountainscenes.com

Just a wee trip to the mountains to get a dose of winter and take in some tasty Leonids. Tried to summit on Friday but the promised freeze did not arrive, which found my dog struggling in the snow. A cold Saturday dawn was just what was needed. The snow surface was firm enough for both me and my dog.

Had to park .5 mile below Yellow Aster Butte TH due to an old growth log embedded in the roadbed. Snow starts in earnest at about 4800'. I measured 3' of snow in Twin Lakes Basin at 5200'. The depth at 6000' was over 5' with no signs of instability. Ice axe recommended. Heavy loads of snow on Larrabee, The Plieades, Goat, Shuksan, Tomyhoi, and Kulshan. A bald eagle soared around the summit once then descended toward Tomyhoi Lake.

The first night was spectacular; I have never seen such a sight. Streaks of red, green, blue lit the sky, startling me at times because of the shadows. What a show. I hardly slept. It was so worth the effort. Low temp of 18 degrees. I could see a parade of cars leaving the Mt. Baker Ski area 10 miles across valley in the pre-dawn darkness.

The second night was a fright as the barometer fell contrary to the weather forecast I had gotten. Winds howled and the snow flew by 3a. I was up at 5a and packed by 6:30 as the snow changed to rain. I fled down the snowy slopes at first light. A crazy trip, but the meteors! My god the meteors! Very memorable.

We hiked from Ipsut Creek Campground to the Carbon Glacier and up the Wonderland Trail to Moraine Park. The road was snow-free, as was the trail up to about 4,000 ft. (well above the glacier). The trail up along the glacier is rough and rocky much of the way. At 5,500 feet, Moraine Park had about 4-5 in. of snow - enough for a wintry appearance. We noted that the Carbon River crossing for the Windy Gap Trail seems to be washed out. Hiking time was 5 hours up, and 4 hours down, at a leisurely pace. Three other parties were seen above the glacier, several more along the river.

Hit trail @ 10:30 on a beautiful, crisp autumn day. We started up and then up. After countless swithbacks we really started going up. Occaisional views of the fog shrouded valley below and glimpses of Shucksan kept us motivated along with spirited conversation and promises of spectacular panoramas at the pass. Hit snow about 4000 feet,slippery in spots but passable. Our efforts were not in vain as the ridge proved to be a spectacular, snow covered wonderland. Stunning views of Baker and Shuksan as well as many other snowy peaks. Spent several hours trekking untracked powder. Some postholing but not too bad. Back at vehicle by dusk and nary another person seen all day. Fall hiking is great!!!!

Hiked to the lookout. Lots of ice where water runs over the rocks on the trail.

Slept on the deck outside the lookout and saw lots of meteors. Perfectly clear night!

No snow on trail.

Ah, now today was redemption to get into the Teanaway after bailing out of the rainstorms of Monday here when I decided to drive toward Vantage to hike instead. Sun was shining bright, but it was COLD even at 10:00am as I hiked across the bridge over the North Fork Teanaway on ice.

It was to stay this way the first two hours of hiking as the low fall sun never reached the valley bottom along the creek. But what a creek to hike along! At the Jungle Creek trail junction 0.7 miles in I headed up the Johnson-Medra Trail to eventually hopefully get up to Medra Pass and further roaming. What a great creek valley bottom to hike through! A rare treat it was to actually hike a trail that stays by the creek rather than just be in the vicinity to hear it but never see it. Many times the trail is a few feet from the creek. Oh, and many times the trail is IN the creek. Four fords of the creek are required going each way, but I managed OK after a little thought at two of them. Early spring' Forget dry feet, but not too bad yet now. One magical grove of cottonwood trees that the creek flowed through provided a yellow-brown carpet of leaves on the forest floor that the creek passed right through--wow! A bit after the last of the four creek crossings going in the trail suddenly decides it is time to crank up about 1700' in 1.5 miles, and my body almost imploded. But I finally got up there to the 5300' Medra Pass area. No snow until about 5000' to hike through, and the last 1/4 mile to the ridge at the pass was on the north side and in 12-16"" of snow. It was easy hiking since it was very hard frozen snow. The lunchtime views were out of this world, with some snow, blue sky, and views up the North Fork Teanaway at every peak imaginable including a crystal white Mount Stuart. Views west were also nice, and I roamed up along the ridge toward Malcolm Mountain some before heading back, but was getting cold in the wind. Perfect clouds highlighted the photography of the views as if I had placed them there.

The hike back out was quick since I was cold and just felt like hiking fast down the steep grade. The four repeated creek crossings went well, and I stopped suddenly in a muddy area of the trail to see a huge bear track. Cool, I thought, I didn't see that coming in. Must have just overlooked it....hey, wait a minute, why is that bear track covering the back 2"" of my boot print!!!' It was a very neat thought to note I wasn't completely alone all day in that area after all. I did manage to whistle a bit loudly and whack a branch here and there when my visibility wasn't great up the trail in case I had company close by.... This was a fantastic hike on a very little used trail that is in excellent condition much of the way. Dry day in late November, not a person to be seen, and who would have thought that it would be snowfree entirely except the last 1/4 mile to the pass this late in the fall!!

The weather report said: ""scattered showers"" and we lucked out. The trail is in great shape, with only small streams in the trail bed between lower and upper Crystal lakes. Climbed mostly with the fog 50 feet overhead, but dry and not another soul. Ate a cold-fingered lunch at the Uppper Lake and enjoyed how different the scenery was from July. The lakes are totally clear, and the snow line is about 5800' (just above Upper Lake.) The Clark's Nutcrackers and Grey Jays harrassed us constantly as we ate. It started to snow as we finished and the walk down was magical with thumbnail sized flakes fluttering softly down in the silence. Got to the car in steady rain and felt rejuvenated by squeezing in one more hike.

This is our third or fourth time back. It is close to Seattle, yet doesn't feel like it. It has rained quite alot and I wanted to see how strong Franklin Falls was. It was fantastic! On the way back we enjoyed the mist in the trees. No sign of anyone else. Hiking back from the falls the trail was obstructed by fallen trees.

I was trying to get into the Teanaway for a photo hike for one project. However, it was raining pigs and chickens even in that typical rain shadow area, so I continued east to find drier weather and work on a different photo project in the desert lands. I headed out the Old Vantage Highway east of Klickatat, and pulled into the well signed Quilomene Wildlife Area's west-most access road area (although this first area north of the road is part of the Whiskey Dick Unit).

I drove in the rough road just a 1/4 mile and figured it was dumb to drive when the real experience is to hike out here. I hiked the road steeply another 1/4 mile and as I approached the first ridge hump I took off cross country to the east. The top of the ridge has an old jeep track on it, but this area was pretty bare so I instead stayed close to the edge of the sloping hill. Here I found large numbers of cactus that will require a return visit or ten next April for the bloom hunting!! This made my day to find these in such large quantities! I then kept just hiking up/down side gullies to this ridge eastward for another 1.5 miles or so, and ate some lunch by an old fenceline cutting across the area near the road that access the wildlife area further from the east (1.9 miles east along the highway is this access point).

From here I made a large loop out of my day, not having time to stomp all the way to Whiskey Dick Mountain to the NW. I dropped down into the large gulch where bird feeding stations are present, as well as habitat that must attract vast numbers of migrating songbird species each spring. Working my way back westward, I eventually climbed back up the steep sage/rabbitbrush/cheetgrass slopes to the original ridge, then back down to the parked rig. Even with party cloudy sky overhead, the ""bare"" fall desert sagelands were alive with textured colors of all sorts, making photography excellent! Seven quail were flushed out from a vast area of old growth sagebrush in a small gully. These plants had trunks on them 12-16"" in diameter, making them longtime survivors of many fires and likely at least 300-400 years old, or more! An enormous badger burrow was discovered with fresh tracks by it, and a back tunnel to it also. Coyote sign was everywhere. Raptors were soaring overhead in many directions. The desert...my favorite place to enjoy wildlife story telling!

Patchy snow up to 8 inches deep stopped the lower clearance rides about 5 miles from the Sawyer Pass trailhead. We made it to within 1.25 miles, finally stopped by a 40"" tree down across the road. We had passed an older fella walking the road about a mile or so before the tree. We wondered where he was headed being that he had no gear to speak of. No pack, no water, no food! His outfit amounted to jean pants, a jean jacket, a sweater, and running shoes! Suitable for a road walk I guess. He wandered passed us as we got all of our bulky gear together: stoves, snowshoes, rain gear, etc., etc., etc.!

Anyhow, we wandered the road for about 20 minutes before hitting the trailhead where we shot up the hill anxious to get the darn hike out of the way, so we could get down to Zeke’s! Up we went for 100’ through clearcut before coming to the wilderness boundary, still no snow on the trail. The trail was steep enough to get our attention and before long we found consistent snow around 4200’. Up we trudged around a few switchbacks and then along a gently ascending traverse to Sawyer Pass, or thereabouts. At the pass, we fumbled through 12 to 14 inches of snow trying to find the ideal place to begin our sidehill to Lower Fisher Lake. We didn’t really find it, er, actually we were looking for the trail too, didn’t find that either. We headed south across the open flat on solid snow then hit the trees where it was posthole city. We walked the toe of the slope at 4650’ until just below Fisher where we veered a bit to the left until stumbling into Lower Fisher Lake. The lake had a hazy layer of ice over it without any snow coverage, cool. There was a small island about 30 feet out from shore, so I told Craig that I’d give him $10 if he could make it out there (and back!) without breaking through. So out he went (I’m not kidding!), but after 2 steps he decided he’d like to see the other lakes we planned on getting to, so he retreated and I kept my money. We circled around the lake where we found the outfall from Fisher Lake, an easy 230 feet above. Up we climbed through 14"" of slushy stuff. Typical conditions for the entire trip, not quite enough snow to justify ""going clumsy"" with snowshoes, but just enough to get us asking ""Is it summer yet!'!"". Fisher Lake is a good sized lake and to our surprise was completely free of ice. As I ate a sandwich I was entertained by several small trout working the shallows and rising to catch pine needles.

Our next move was to complete the ""Lesser Ptarmigan Traverse"" (as it’s know in certain fly-fishing circles I frequent!) from Fisher over to the lower of the two Ptarmigan Lakes. This went quick as the snow actually thinned along the 300’ drop between lakes. Lower Ptarmigan was the highlight of the trip, no doubt there. Entirely covered with a thin, clear layer of ""veined"" ice the lower lake was like nothing I’d ever seen in the high country. We traversed the west shore of the lake working our way up and around cliffs and through thick brush. Just before the island we gained 40 feet up into the trees where we found hints (darn cairns!) of a way path. Continuing south, we opted for the rocks along the edge of the ice instead of the treacherous looking, snow-covered talus blocks outlining the more direct route to the upper lake. It didn’t take us long at all to get up to Upper Ptarmigan, the fourth lake of the day. Not nearly as scenic as the lower lake it almost looks as if there’s been a slide across the outlet causing the lake level to rise. Just my theory based on an intense 5 minutes of observation....um yeah.

Back out the way we came, we strayed a bit higher around Lower Ptarmigan making for a much easier route than on the way in. We dropped to the outlet which presented a speedy conduit in which to reach Lower Fisher. More (yes more) trudging through sloppy snow got us to the outlet of LF where we stopped for a minute to wonder how the ""jean-jacket-guy"" was coming along. We walked back out to the main trail intersecting it about 50 yards east of where we had left it earlier in the day. We ran the mile and a half of trail back down to the road then put in a final 20 minute walk back to the truck, now 5:15 P.M. The trip took us about 6.5 hours. A great 10.5 mile, 3600-ft November day.

As I sat in my truck enjoying my usual post-hike refreshment I noticed a weary figure appear out of the blackness. Initially startled, I soon recognized it to be the jeans dude. I just watched him as he struggled over the log and headed for my window. Before he could get to me, Craig (standing outside) asks him how his hike was. They talk for a bit, while I (in no hurry) finish my drink. Eventually, I venture out into the cold to see how he’s doing. Evidently, he had made it all the way to Deception Pass. His legs were soaking wet, how he could even lift his legs after all that is a mystery to me. He looked cold and pretty miserable, so of course I offered him a ride. Can’t imagine he would have lasted the night if something had happened to him. Turns out he was a retired college professor and reasonably intelligent which, admittedly, I had questioned once or twice. It wasn’t my place to interrogate him on his lack of gear (that’s not me anyway), but still I had to wonder where the common sense was in all of this. In any event, he survived and all was good in the end.

Since we got a late start, we bagged our plans for Mirror Lake and opted for Little Si. I think this is one of the best short hikes around. It packs a lot for such a short journey - valley bottom old growth, sheer clifs and decent views from the top. And all in 2.5 miles. Evidently, someone's been doing quite a bit of work on this trail. Since I was last there, the stretch at the base of the clifs has been re-graded. Kudos! On this wet and somewhat rainy day, the trail had no standing water or excessive mud.

The trail is snow-free all the way to the lake. Most of the leaves have fallen, and those still on the trees won't be there long.

Trail is in great shape, but then it should be with so many stairs limiting any chance of erosion.

It turned out to be a great day for hiking despite grim weather reports. We got back to the car, and as we turned onto Hwy 2 the first raindrops fell.

(Woe to the hiker coming down behind us in platform Sketcher tennis shoes - she probably got caught in the rain and I doubt those shoes have very good traction or ankle support on slippery rocks and roots.)

Despite unfavorable weather forecasts, we had a great day up on Tonga Ridge on Sunday. The road to Tonga Ridge is snow-free up to the last spur to the trailhead. The 2wd cars stopped a half mile from the trailhead and most of the 4wd stopped a quarter mile short. There was a foot or so of icy snow on the road and the first short climb of the trail, but once in the woods there was no snow at all except in places where you come out of the woods.

We headed up the spur trail to Mt. Sawyer, and hit heavy snow and post holing for the first time when it the spur swang around back to a westerly direction.

There were very nice views of snow-coverd peaks in all directions. Mt. Daniel and Mt. Hinman were particularly impressive, decked out in full white. It is a classic look for the season that is upon us.

Iron Peak 6,510' November 10, 2001

The Trailhead is located on the Teanaway River Road just a few miles form the end at the Esmerelda Basin Trailhead. There was snow on the road and it will soon be closed to vehicles past the free logging company campground.

Doerte and I left the Iron Peak Trailhead, 3920', and were in the snow in just a few minutes. We followed tracks but soon met the solo hiker coming down. He said he was breaking through the crust and it was frustrating. We continued on, and when his tracks ran out, we began busting trail up the switchbacks.

The snow was just firm enough to hold our weight for a second, then collapse. It was slow going. We soon had a great view of Mount Rainier and the Esmerelda Peaks across the valley. The Esmerelda Peaks would make a fine adventure!

The trail stays in the forest along a rounded rib and away from the creek, so the avalanche danger is nil. As we neared the saddle another solo joined us for the final push to the Iron Saddle at 6,100'. By now the snow was almost knee deep. Snowshoes would have been a nice touch.

We had reached our turnaround time of 2:00 pm and the final 400' to the summit would of taken another one to two hours. We had a nice talk and snacks on the saddle, then headed back down. The sun never got far from the horizon, and never seemed to be anywhere other than the south.

In the summer this would be an easy 4 hour round trip on a good trail, but on this day it was a struggle. Our elevation gain was 2,590', five miles round trip, over five hours.

Nate-Bomb joined me today. Mostly clear and warm. The color show is over and the monster ferns have all collapsed. A very enjoyable amount of fungus to be seen. The switchbacks up the south facing slope are mostly dry until 4500', with some bigger snow patches above 5000'. Excellent views from Big Tahoma and Dakobed. Look west for views of the big city. R/T 8+ miles, 3200' gain, 2:30 up and 2:00 down. Only two others on this usually lonely trail.

High clouds and about half a route of snow did not seem to deter folks from hiking Mt Dickerman today. There were about six cars when I arrived about 8:15am.

The snow starts just a bit after the waterfall - the place where it generally accumulates during the winter and that is discovered as we venture up it in May or June, conditions dependent.

Today, the snow was not too bad with some slippery areas in the morning but turned mostly slushy by afternoon. Everything close by was out once you got to the top but Baker was pretty obscured and Glacier Peak's top was hidden. It was actually not bad - just a bit breezy on top. I munched a bit and headed down. Others seem to have decided to stay a while.

The snow is not fully continuous from the falls but in the main, most of the trail was covered but except for two areas where the slopes beckoned UP, someone did a good job of following the trail. The trail is well-compressed snow and off-trail, pretty solid crust which is walkable in the main. There were some muddy spots but not much.

Depending on weather, this may be my last time till Spring.

Have a good one.

Trail to Mt Pilchuck is in relatively good shape - there is some water on the trail in several areas of melt from the recent snows. About halfway up, intermittent snowy areas begin, and there are some nasty iced-over slabs and steps. These can be navigated around, but are not fun. There are only about 3 or 4 really bad spots, but take care as there is a lot of ice other than the bad spots. Above the ice, the trail is mostly packed snow to the lookout. I did it in tennis shoes and just took care to test every icy step before weighting it.

For those who have not hiked Mt Pilchuck, it is one of the most ""built"" trails I have ever hiked - lots of structures (turnpikes, steps, water bars)... not exactly primitive. On a clear or hazy day (as today was), the views from the top are tremendous.

I'm not sure what the incoming weather is going to do to the trail, but today conditions were decent.

The lower part of the trail is completely bare and in great shape all the way to about 4,500'. At the ""tree line,"" above which avalanches keep the slopes bare, about a foot of new snow prevails all the way to the observation tower. The trail will continue to be hikable until avalanche danger arises.

Well, the weather gods smiled upon us and set the rain back a day so we had a nice warm dry fall day for a hike to the Duck. The trail was in good shape for the most part, although covered with crunchy leaves in places. We actually had views at the lunch spot on Big Hump and could see the ridge across the river with a promontory called St. Peter's Dome. This same ridge becomes the north ridge of The Brothers.

There is one old bridge out; the spot is blocked and ribboned. Hikers can drop down and cross safely above the bridge. And there was one blow-down lying length-wise along the trail which had dropped a few branches on the trail. Nothing serious.

There were a couple of other hiker groups, but everybody was congenial. There were lots of interesting mushrooms to examine along the path. I noticed some fine wild rhodies on Big Hump and a couple of patches of manzanita. It would probably be a nice spot for a spring hike when the rhodies are in bloom.

On the drive back towards Quilcene, I got a good view of Mt. Constance, up the Dosewallips. Pretty. Nice drive home. Days are getting real short, so get to the trailhead early enough in order to get out before dark, unless you enjoy walking with a headlamp or flashlight.

Enjoy!

This is a description of an alternative, direct scramble route to Goat Flats. It starts lower and is only flagged/boot beaten but it is much shorter and not muddy or rough as the regular trail. Beckey's climbing guide shows the approximate location on a sketch map on page 110.

Drive FS road 41 about 8 miles from the mountain loop hiway where a big concrete bridge crosses the S fork of Canyon Creek. About 0.1 mile after the bridge a bermed road takes off on the right (N). On foot, follow this abandoned road east , and in about 10 minutes rock hop across an unnamed creek. About 40 yards after the creek flagging on the left marks the start of the trail/route. It ascends fairly steeply (not nearly as steep as Mailbox!) thru 2nd growth and then virgin timber (BIG cedars) before emerging at Goat Flats.

An added bonus is no Forest Fee hassles as not a designated trailhead, altho there is plenty of roadside parking near the start. This alternative is most worthwhile when the regular trail has snow or you can't get to the TH because of snow on the road. It melts out much sooner because of south aspect and is virtually mud free. It is not for casual hikers because of its steepness, and tread is faint at times. More flagging in the upper part would be nice.