Day Hike - Mount Erie, Sugerloaf, Heart Lake & Whistle Lake
Sat, Mar 7, 2020
We hiked a loop route that included the three summits , and great views . There was no rain.
We hiked a loop route that included the three summits , and great views . There was no rain.
Great snow conditions made for a great scramble, even if limited views.
A pretty trip in an accessible but surprisingly unfamiliar area of the Cascades.
A Mountain Workshop hike with Franklin-Pierce High School Adventure Club.
Tolmie State Park to southern end of McAllister Creek
Turned around due to deep powder and unprotectable snow.
It started out as a bluebird day and super warm. By the time we reached Camp Muir we noticed lowland clouds had settled in below us. We quickly ate and drank some food, added layers and transitioned to downhill mode, spending roughly 15-20 min total at Muir. The snow was super fun powder the entire way down. However, we encountered a severe whiteout around roughly 8-8.5k with only a few feet of visibility at times. A typical Rainier day (bluebird to whiteout). Thankfully, we had GPS tracks and were forced to leapfrog and navigate by gps until roughly 300 vertical ft above Paradise. Nothing alarming, just tedious. However, a GPS track was critical in our safe return. Note, that a lone snowshoer ended up being benighted near Panorama Point that evening and had SAR teams dispatched. It all ended well and just wanted to make note since it's relevant given that a seemingly beautiful day can turn quickly in the mountains. GPS or other solid navigation tools plus an extensive emergency plan is critical.
This was a great one-way tour of the southern sound with near perfect conditions of wind and tides.
Great Trip, good group and conditions.
An excellent winter scramble for conditioning, relatively close to home. Good chance to practice navigation as the route is not easily visible most of the way.
Unfortunately, I had to cancel this trip because no one from Seattle was willing to drive and support a carpool. I've had similar problems in the past.
A nice destination when conditions are bad elsewhere
A successful urban adventure exploring the Judkins Park neighborhood of Seattle.
A great snowshoe trailbreaking workout of ~3800’ elevation gain over 10 miles (round trip), plus an opportunity to see road revisions due to recent flooding.
Better weather was found on a loop trip to Amabilis, including a very short ski scramble to the top.
Trail goes through forest, clear cuts and re growth. Top is a road with cell towers. You cross some roads and hear target practice.
A rail trail hike near the North Fork Stillaguamish River.