An early morning start with snowshoes strapped on our fancy new Deuter backpacks. It was a short walk up the old logging road beaten solid by hundreds of likeminded adventurers over the past few weeks. However, where the road begins a gentle incline at a switchback we diverged. Snowshoes on our feet, we started straight up the shoulder of the mountain.
No more easy road walking. We wove our way through the trees occasionally finding tracks from previous traveler, but generally breaking our own trail. If a question arose about which way to go, we opted to go up. The snow alternated between a thin rain crust of ice over a bottomless pit of powder and solid ice that would hold even me. We took turns leading, but occasionally the boy floated across a surface that claimed me. The dog, of course, had no issues at all and was in heaven running back and forth.
When we left the thick forest and emerged into an open area, we were high enough the snow was corny and wonderful. The views opened up and the sun beat down. I've always thought of this space as a sort of magical forest as it's usually a respite from the steep, dark climbing below. In reality it's a heavily logged area right beneath the show, but the snow makes everything better.
A final push and we were on our summit. Not a real summit, just a minor high point with amazing views to the south spoiled only by the freeway and ski areas. With nobody around, we lounged in the snow, Tink dug holes, and we recorded snow depths for the Community Snow Observations project.
I was still in a cast and a fall would be less than optimal so rather than follow our route up with all the nasty, steep ice, we descended until we could rejoin the road and all the other folks heading up. There was no need for the snowshoes on the packed trail so they went back on our packs. This was only a problem when we had to step aside for uphill travelers who had the right of way. (Yes. Even the few skiers we saw.)
On the upside, we saw lots of dogs heading up and probably made better time in spite of the increased distance to the car.
If you're wondering how we jury-rigged our snowshoes onto our packs, no MacGyvering necessary. Deuter's Freescape packs are designed for backcountry winter adventures and include attachments for skis, snowboards, and snowshoes (not to mention ice tools, rope, and avalanche rescue tools). HOS wears the Freescape Lite 26 and I carry the Freescape Pro 40+. (Both received as part of our enduring ambassadorship with Deuter!) Definitely worth checking them out and great upgrades to the Deuter Rise model I used previously.
📍On the lands of the Wenatchi people.
