Beautiful, sunshiny day hiking Hex Mountain. This was the least amount of snow I've seen here in December in quite some time. We carried snowshoes, but only used micro spikes, as the trail is very packed down all of the way to the summit.
The slopes of Hex were burned in the 2017 Jolly Mountain fire. The blackened Ponderosa pines created a dramatic contrast to the white snow and the blue skies. It was interesting how some trees were burnt to the core, and then there would be one tree in the very middle that was unscathed and still green. Even the Hex Mountain trail sign was singed at the base of the posts.
As we took in the gorgeous views from the summit (this might be the first time I’ve climbed Hex and had clear skies), I could see how the wildfire had swept over the surrounding hillsides. Rainier to the south, Hinman and Daniel to the northwest, and Stuart to the northeast were all visible from the top.
Instead of taking the trail back (there were a lot of people hiking here today), we decided to bushwhack down through the forest for a little added adventure…beautiful solitude and while we didn’t see any wildlife, there were many animal tracks in the snow.
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