Elevation Gain: Approximately 3100 ft.
Time: 10:00 am - 6:15 pm
Weather: Warm, breezy, mostly sunny, a few clouds but not many.
About a year ago, a good friend handed me a copy of a trail book entry for one of his favorite hikes. It took me until this weekend to finally get out there, and I wish I had come sooner. I wanted to get up to this meadow on Monday or Tuesday of last week, but I had too much work to get ready for the first day of school on Wednesday. I decided it would be a good hike to take on this weekend. I sent the obligatory email to all my hiking friends, and one friend from work came along. She has been the other adult with Creighton and I in Dark Canyon each time I have been there three of the last four Februarys. She is an incredible woman, a strong hiker, and fierce friend. We met Elbe, WA at 7:30, and after a wrong turn and detour, we were at the trailhead by 10 am. The trailhead was packed. More cars than I have seen at a trailhead in a while. The trail book descriptions says to not let the crowds to deter you, and we charged ahead (we would have with or without the trail book's advice :).
For 2 hours, we hiked in the forest. In the second hour, we gained some good elevation, but we maintained a consistent pace. We came to a trail junction in a more open area, and I needed a snack. A few mosquitoes cut the break short, and we were moving back up the trail. Within 10 minutes and a few switchbacks we hit the real meadow. Lupine, indian paintbrush, mountain asters, and countless other flowers I cannot name covered a meadow that stretched for what felt like miles. The lupine smelled so heavenly. To the south Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens were pronounced in the sky. It was insanely beautiful, such beauty that it could pull tears from the eyes. We kept a steady pace up through the meadow. As we climbed, we came around a bit of a ridge, and Mt. Rainier was shining to the north west. It was dazzling as always. We kept moving, giddy from the mountain views and drunk on the essence of the wilderness. Soon enough, I hear a familiar voice say, "it's about time you made it up here." Sitting and taking a break was another friend from work, whom I forgot was going to be camping the entire weekend up in the meadow. We enjoyed some good conversation, then continued on up the trail. We got up were the trail starts to head over to Elk Pass, but Old Snowy was there to our right. It was about 2:30 pm and we said we would turn around at 3. We climbed and hit the summit by 2:40 pm. We sat and enjoyed snacks and incredible views. We began heading down after a good break. The hike down was a consistent, non-stop walk. We were at the car by 6:15pm.
Orchid: Hiking with my good friend.
Onion: Hard to find one on a day like this one.
Picture:
Google Map
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