Mailbox Peak is defiantly a winter scramble at this point, know the conditions and your groups ability before going higher than the old/new trail intersection.
A delightful day tromping through fresh snow and quiet woods.
A beautiful area with dramatic vistas (and a great workout at ~5200’ gain over ~13 miles). West Hurricane Hill (elev. 5000’, 47.99891°N 123.55827°W) is a wonderful substitute for the usual Hurricane Hill given winter conditions and the Elwha road outage.
Chasing Waterfalls on Nisqually Land- Stewardship
A wonderful trip around this island in nearly perfect conditions - mostly sunny with little wind. Sea lions and a humpback whale were observed along the east side of the island.
A great early morning loop hike with steep approach, packed snow at higher elevations (requiring microspikes), and a muddy and less steep descent back to the trailhead. ~7.5 miles and 1800' elevation gain in 5 hours including stops.
this was a really fun overnight trip - that we shared with the inaugural winter bikepacking trip...same route, different modes of snow travel, same camp - shared kitchen, food & companionship.
8am start, 32º, snow only 1-2" deep but refrozen following a sunny, warm day; hence, slippery.
First ever snow overnight bikepacking trip and first ever joint trip of cross-country skiing and bikepacking.
Fun weekend of paddling which was originally posted as surfing but we changed due to conditions.
A very beautiful trip in snowy scenery. Lots of wildlife and beautiful shorelines.
Very Pleasant, laid back place to XC Ski
Now that Echo Ridge grooming is on Nordic Pulse, planning the ski route was better than previous trips.
Counter-clockwise from Longmire. A few inches of new snow. Well-broken by us and two other parties to Ridge trail past the little tarn lake. Back out same way.
A great ‘imminent winter storm’ consolation workout at ~5000’ gain over ~13 miles. Originally scheduled for North Slide, this short commute alternate gave us beautiful weather plus an early arrival home (well before the evening storm’s arrival).
Hit snow immediately on the trail, needed micro-spikes due to ice at lower elevations and defiantly needed them at higher elevations. 6 to 8 inches of free snow 3 miles in and at the top.
Gorgeous day, and just in time before the incoming storm!
Successful trip. Microspikes and poles were essential, and bringing 1-2 ice axes helped to navigate the brief, steep slope just below the summit that is a rock step in the summer.
We skied Forest Road 54, some of the Sled Dogs trails, the Iron Mountain Cut-Off, and the Cascades to Palouse trail, all freshly groomed. Erling Stordahl trails had not been groomed since 2/19.