Some days you’re out doing something that you’ve done many times before, then you’re suddenly placed in a new situation. Those are the days that you learn something new. Today was one of those days for us.
The day started out innocently enough with a nice flat mile or two before we began the climb up to Glacier Meadows. The climb was tiring for sure, but nothing overly difficult. We grabbed some more water at Martin Creek, and continued up to Elk Lake. From there we only had a quick 2.3 mile climb up to Glacier Meadows…
But it wasn’t a quick climb at all. About a mile up we started hitting some patchy snow. Again, nothing too deep or difficult right off the bat. However after maybe a quarter mile more we started hitting some snow fields, which were new to us. Luckily others had passed trough the area and left boot prints in the snow to follow. Oh yea… I forgot to mention that this trail has no makers. It’s pretty easy to follow when there’s no snow, but we hit some spots where the trail just ended at a wall of snow so you had to take an alternative path. Then there were the few snow fields that you had to carefully traverse across, because if you slipped, you’d slide right down the mountain. This was some new stuff to us, so we took it slow.
As we got higher we began to follow the contours of the mountain with a steep drop to our right. As we wound along the trail we encountered some loose rock, one kind of sketchy stream crossing, and a rickety cable ladder intended to help hikers get down a steep, loose stone slide…. which ended at another steep snow field.
After all that, the last half mile to Glacier Meadows was all in the snow, but in relatively flat woods. There was still a lot of snow at this elevation. The privy and shelters were both in about 4 foot holes of snow. In light of this, we decided against traveling any further up towards the glacier. We had some spectacular views on the way up, so we didn’t feel the need to keep trudging on through the snow.
After a quick snack, we donned our crampons for the hike down. We honestly should have worn them on the climb, but we weren’t sure how long we’d really need them. They were hugely helpful on the snow and ice as the extra traction gave us some confidence.
We had lunch under a blazing hot sun with Mount Olympus immediately before us at one of the viewpoints we had passed before. We hung out for a bit, as I was letting my shoes dry a bit after getting soaked in the snow. The climb down was faster, as we had the extra traction and had an easier time finding the tail.
We got back to Lewis Meadow around 3:30 and just relaxed by the river and in the hammock for the rest of the afternoon. That’s one of the best parts of the base camp style of backpacking… you set up once for multiple nights and just take day hikes. We didn’t have to do anything when we got back. We were treated to a bit of wildlife as we were sitting with our feet in the river… two deer, a young buck and a doe wandered into the river from right behind our campsite. They weren’t phased by us for one bit. They just walked into the water and headed down stream.
We’re in bed early again because that’s what hikers do. Tomorrow we’ll follow the trail back out to our car to end our first trip of the year.
Loving the photos (and the words). The snow definitely adds a whole new challenge. So much wildlife! What a great place to be living!
Awesome views. Odd seeing you hiking in snow with shorts on !
Pleasant surprise this morning to see peaks to pints back online. Loved your shots of the grandeur of the Pacific Northwest. Sorry the traffic sucked on the way back, but sounds like it was worth it. From a father’s point of view, I was pleased you all had the foresight to bring crampons.
Bear Bell’s Father
fantastic. hope you to are well.