Kendall Peak Road 11.28.03

Today was a day were I should have just stayed home. I left home with warm and heavy rains, I was sure I could make it to the Hyak snow park without too much difficulty. When I reached the snow park there were at least 20 cars parked, so I had to go a quarter mile and turn around. Much to my dismay the truck didn't take to the slushy road and I was stuck sideways in the middle of the road. Lucky for me someone hooked a tie strap to my front end and managed to get me turned around. My first instinct was to just go home not wanting to get stuck again. I noticed that there was ample parking underneath the overpass and the road was free of snow, so I parked. I mostly climb during the week so I was a little unprepared for the sheer amount of people along the way. About 20 minutes in I noticed that Baxter had shed his sweater, so I had to descend about 5 minutes to retieve it. I then returned to the climb until about 20 minutes later when I realized that somewhere along the way I had lost Baxter. Last week I lost the other dog Tanner, so this was something I really didn't want to go through again. I dropped about 5 minutes to point where Tanner was waiting. I could see tracks that left the road and where Baxter couldn't make it back up to the road. I was now faced with tracking my dog through the snow. Baxter is small and light enough to weave his way among the heavy brush that lines the logging road. I however, am not I had much difficulty in following in his footsteps. After floundering in chest deep snow for about 10 minutes I noticed a couple who were on the road and asked them to keep an eye out for the beagle. Lucky for me, they noticed Baxter just making it out onto the road. I then tried to make my way the 30 or so feet to regain the road. Every step I sunk until the snow was at eye level, I was forced to crawl the remaining distance. My heart was now not beating it was just a straight tone. I am sure the couple was amused with my escapades. To make things worse Baxter was so scared that he wouldn't come and would run away any time I made move in his direction. I prodded Tanner ahead until he made contact with Baxter and finally they both returned. Not wanting to tempt fate any further I returned to the truck and made my way home.