Elevation Gain: 2000 ft.
Time: 10:30 am - 3:00 pm
Weather: Cool, overcast, and rainy day.
Today's hike was a great snowshoe walk up to the High Hut in the Mount Tahoma Trails System. I was here two weeks ago for two reasons: 1) for fun, 2) to scout the route for this snowshoe trip.
This was another hike with the Outdoor Club I have been helping start at work. This was a special hike for the club. We had 15 students, 6 teachers (including me), a parent, and a dog. It was by far the biggest hike in terms of preparation, amount of gear needed, and participation. Another reason this hike was so great was the fact that it has been raining all week, and today was no exception. It was also warming up, so the snow level was at 8000 ft. today, and avalanche danger was high just about everywhere. There were so many places we could have just canceled, but we didn't.
We met at 7:45 this morning and hit the road. By 9:40 we were in Ashford, and we got to chat with the great people at Whittaker Mountaineering. We made sure there was no threat of an avalanche, and then we bombed it out to the trailhead.
It was a great hike up. The rain and warmer temps made the snow compact and icy. The snowshoes were necessary to grip and there were some areas that you would have sunk down into without them, but the work of snowshoeing was not as rigorous as it could have been. Although, more rigorous snowshoeing means better snow. You take what mother nature gives you.
We made it to the hut by 12:30 pm, and we spent the next hour sitting by a propane fueled gas stove, making and drinking hot chocolate, drying out, eating lunch, laughing, and enjoying being 22 deep in the High Hut.
Left at 2:02 pm and was at the car by 3:08 pm. Great day!
Orchid: The snowball fight on the way down.
Onion: Rainy weather.
Picture:
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