Lets go Snow Shoein'

I left my house at 3:32 am which was just what I had planned to have time for gas, coffee, breakfast at Peg's and make it to the Highland Center by 8am. The ride was smooth with little traffic and a great view of the giant Full Beaver Moon. It really got interesting as the sun rose and the moon started to dip behind the mountains as I got farther north. Wish I could have got some photos of it but I am only using an iPhone at this point. While driving on 302 just before arriving at our meeting place this was my view. This gorgeous sky with the rainbow reflection. There is a name for it but none of us could remember.

We started out with Brenda emptying her pack and explaining what she carried and why. We talked about layering and de-layering to regulate your heat, water and how to keep it from freezing, footwear and everything in between. She had 2 friends come along as well so there were only 5 of us. A good amount of experience for Rachel and I to draw from.

After everyone got loaded up we headed across the street to Crawford Path . It is an over 100 year old path that was involved in the start of this whole crazy thing where people like to walk up mountains.
Our journey started at about 9:45am.
The thing about learning is there has to be stops while everyone figures stuff out and what better to do when you stop but look around, especially up.

Now I am not sure if it is because there was so much white everywhere but I don't have a better explanation for how blue the sky seemed. It was just jaw dropping.

After almost 3 miles we came out of the woods and into the wind and colder temperatures but the view.....
It was as if someone has just dropped piles of frosting on everything. Trees were heavy with it and it was the most pristine white I have ever seen.

When I left the Cape it was 15 degrees. It was maybe 10 at the trail head and I heard 0 at the Pierce summit. I need to add a thermometer to my pack. As I get better gear I am sure there is some gadget that can tell me all I need to know but gear is a process.

After a final stop to cover all skin and add any additional layers you might need we started the trek around the back side of Mt Pierce towards the summit. I am grateful to the others who took some really incredible photos showing the tougher parts. Not that it was tough hiking but the trees afforded us a lot of protection and now we were exposed for the short trip to the Summit.

I also got to ask someone else to take my picture with Mt Eisenhower and Washington in the background. That person was kind enough to also snap my picture as I tripped over my own snowshoe and fell squarely on my ass. I am okay with that, laughing is the best part. 

 


It was hard not to stay looking at this and all around for that matter for a very long time. In warmer weather this would have been my lunch spot and I definitely want to walk this ridge to Eisenhower again but for today as a group we decided to turn around and head back down. In a group you make the best decision for all involved and you stick together.
The photo below is obviously the Summit Selfie that is required plus a creepy photo bomb guy.
The photo to the side is the view from the Summit when we turned around.

Our fantastic leader for the day Brenda next to the Summit Cairn.

The descent and one of my favorite pictures of the day below.  The trip down was pretty quick. We made great time getting back to the lot at about 3:15. We traveled about 6.5 miles in about 5.5 hours. I'm pretty proud of that. We made many stops which took a little longer and still killed it. One of the greatest pieces of knowledge I found was "The only way to be a better Winter hiker is to keep hiking." This covers all hiking I would say.
Oh and throw your give a shit out the window. Don't compare your journeys to others. It will kill you and you will miss out on the greatest of what you are doing.