Ancient Lakes Round 2

So it has now become a tradition to backpack Ancient Lakes when the weather is finally warm enough on the eastern side of the state and it's still crappy on the western side. Such a nice, easy first backpacking outing of the season that it will need to be a tradition for as long as we are in Seattle! This was the first time backpacking a place for the second time for me, so it's really nice knowing the route and the camp spots and going back to something familiar. A group of 8 of us + 3 dogs  made our route from Seattle to Ancient Lakes, just under 3 hours away and left rain and gloom for sun and warmth. The hike in is just 2 miles, and then we found a spot on top of a hill to set up camp with great views to boot. It even had a great fireplace with rock "chairs" set up. I forgot to mention that all of us logged out a piece of wood, or if you're my husband you bring the whole bundle in your arms on the hike out and do a constant bicep curl for 40 minutes. This year we were prepared for an epic fire unlike the last. Most places in Washington it seems you can't have fires in the backcountry, so this was a real luxury. After setting up camp and eating lunch we decided to hike the loop we did last year as well. You think that after doing it last year the route would be clear, but it's actually quite confusing and just feels like you are off trail the entire time. We went up left of the big waterfall and climbed up a steep, loose rock section, that was rewarded with fantastic views at the top. We hiked further back to another waterfall and climbed up this section as well for even better views. We then meandered through the back around a lake, up more sketchy rocks and then down to what was a dried out lake last year and is now a small lake. Once we climbed out of that area we then could eventually see the massive area that all the tents were at and where we were camped. It was not as busy as last year when we went, so I think it is better to go before the mass of crowds make their way out there. We made dinner, hot toddy's, had a fire and s'mores, and great company made for an awesome night. The sun and warmth was a great reminder that the gloom of winter will not last forever in western Washington and that indeed summer will eventually come. It will still be a long time until we can make it into the high country for backpacking, but there are some great low land options in the mean time. Be careful with dogs out in this area though, Cooper brought home a tick for us- yuck! They are already out there. As the summer heats up this area gets rattlesnakes as well.

Beckler Peak

Mileage: 7.4/ EG 2,263 The day donned to opt outside.. by REI that is. I didn't need an excuse to go outside, but took advantage of the time nonetheless. My friend Caitlin and I had wanted to go to Colchuck lake to see the snow covered beauty, but a trail report a few days prior showed the road going up to it closed already. After that we thought about going to Artist Point to snowshow, but didn't want to drive so far. The first avalanche reports of the season came out the night before and the entire state was orange: which meant considerable. This meant that many hikes would be considered somewhat not safe with the conditions. Mt. Dickerman, which we were thinking of doing, was one of these. We opted for Beckler Peak as the conditions looked more safe. This was all decided at 10PM the night before. Gotta love winter hiking.

A side note about avalanches.. I knew absolutely nothing before going to an avalanche awareness class, which I recommend to anyone getting into winter hiking/ snowshoeing. The conditions can change fast day-to-day so it is important to check the reports to see where is safe to hike. Avalanches take many lives each year here in the PNW, so it is something to take very seriously. I would love to get my AIARE certification sometime.

The road leading up to the trailhead was in really good shape, for a change. We started hiking at 10 and saw a group already coming down, thanks for breaking trail for us! We brought our snowshoes with not sure if we would need them, but the boot path was compact enough to not need them. The hike was a good, consistent climb the whole time. Blue skies even peeked out above the white snow which was a beautiful contrast. The end was a hard climb to the very top. There was lots of snow at the top (probably 3 feet or so). The top gave views of snow topped peaks for as far as the eye could see. I have never felt snow was so beautiful as I have here in Washington. We sat up there for a long time with our ramen and hot cocoa. The trek down was fast and we were back to the car in no time.

Lake Valhalla

Mileage: 7/ EG 1500 Loved the snow so much that I had to come back for more the same weekend. 3 other girlfriends and myself headed to Lake Valhalla near Steven's Pass to enjoy some more of the fresh snow. The entire road leading up to the trail was covered in snow but still passable. The regular winter attire, as I'm learning, is a puffy down coat, hard shell rain coat, hat, good gloves, warm pants, rain pants, gaiters, poles, waterproof boots and microspikes. Much more than the average summer day hike.

The incline was gradual and never too difficult. This trail meets up with the PCT and then you make your way to the lake. We got to the lake and it was socked in. We had a few times where the fog would pass and we could see a beautiful mountain peak peek out. We sat on our insulated seats, ate hot ramen and then quickly turned around to make it back before dark, which we were successful at.

Mt. Catherine

It was right after the first big snow fall of the year and we were itching to play in it! We chose a short, random hike off of I90. Mileage: 3/ 1330 EG

The road heading up was pretty rough and washed out in some areas. The top half was covered in snow. The entire trail was covered in snow so we donned out gaiters and microspikes. We took too much time taking pictures of the snow and soaking it in. We made it to the top with socked in views, but we didn't care. We made it to back to the car and heading back down was super slippery. We skidded a bit and had to inch our way back down. A beautiful day in a winter wonderland.