Lake Kathleen 12.24.08

With yet another day off work due to weather, and thankfully I am now on salary! What to do? I strapped on snowshoes to myself and the 3 yr old and we were off to find some powder. I didn't have to venture too far.


We crossed the road and headed for the rumored sledding hill. The hill was there but with so much snow it wasn't that much fun. As most 3 yr olds she lost interest so we soon found our way back home. With some extra time before the evenings festivities I thought I would break out the skis. I made sure to give them a good wax this time so that I would have a little more luck than earlier this week. I did a loop using some trails and some roads. I passed by Lake Kathleen which was frozen solid which shocked me. My lake which is slighlty higher in elevation and less than a mile away has NO ice at all. I am guessing it has to do with the lakes depths. My lake is much deeper which probably contributes to the longer freeze time. I was most pleased with my improvement on the skis I actually started to skate ski which I enjoyed immensely. It was nice that this time the snow hit here instead of somewhere else. I think we had nearly 8" inches today and it again snowing!




Approx 4 miles less than an hour house to house

North Fork Snoqualmie 12.2.08

With the big dump of snow I knew climbing probably wasn't going to happen but I still wanted to get out. I chose to break out the cross country skis in hopes of getting some miles in. I had no issues on making it to the North Fork Road and once on the road it had enough travel to make the going quite easy. I had some concern about dragging bottom on the center portion of the road so I pulled off sooner than I probalby needed to. I was able to make it just North of Fuller Mt. where I found a place to park. I don't do a lot of xcountry skiing so it is always an adventure. For this trip I am not sure I would call it skiing at all. Maybe a better descriptions would have been walking with skis on. I am by no means an expert on snow but this snow sucked. I don't think I slid more than a foot the entire ten miles I went. I had hoped to drive further and head toward the old Cascade Lookout but having to pull over so far South I was content to make my way to the new bridge spanning the North Fork. The snow seemed to become worse on the way out so I ended up just walking the last two miles to the car. All in all it was a good day out but I really need to look at more suitable equipment.




Approx 10 miles 3:30 car to car.

Lake Hancock Road 12.16.08

With the clear frosty weather I thought I would make a long day of it. I was able to get out of the house at a reasonable hour. I had planned on leaving the dogs at home due to the cold weather and blustery winds. When I awoke the temperature was 18 degrees and there wasn't any wind. With the improved conditions I piled the dogs in the back and was off. There was much less snow on the the North Fork Road so there were no issues to make it to the gate. I parked and put on layer upon layer to thwart the very cold temps. I now was on the well travelled main line pushing the pace. I was entertaining a summit of Hancock's Comb which involves nearly twenty miles round trip. I made better than expected time to the turn off just before Hancock Lake. Here the conditions turned from packed snow to untracked powder. The snow was manageable but slowed my pace to a point that put my day's objective in jeopardy. The beagle also struggled with the combination of very cold air temperatures and dragging his undercarriage through the snow. After pushing on for another mile, I decided that it was too much for the little guy. I enjoyed the unbroken sun on the way out very thankful that I was able to get out. I was able to get home in time to add some more family time.




Approx 11 miles 1500' of climb 4:30 car to car

Ugly Duckling 12.12.08

With an unexpected window of opportunity mated with some benign weather I thought I would give this one a go. I had hoped to get an early start but as usual that was a problem. Lucky for me my boss allowed me to come in a little later prompting me at least to make an effort. As I made my way over Snoqualmie Pass I really wasn't sure about the road conditions on East Lake Kachess Road or Gale Creek Road. I was hoping to at least be able to drive to the start of the GCR. I really was on more of a joy ride than anything else. As it is sometimes things just happened to work out perfectly. I was able to drive all the way to the spur road that I intended on using for my ascent. Well, now I felt pretty confident for success. In fact I am sure I could have driven nearly to my jump off point of the spur road. Not wanting to push my luck I parked and geared up. There was bare road and compact snow from previous snowmobile travel which made the walking pleasant. I could see enough to realize that snowshoes could stay stowed in the car. I hadn't bothered to print a map but I just chose each intersection that seemed to make the most sense. I followed a branch that dead ended and just left the road and climbed in the mostly open forest. The snow was bonded fairly well with the ground and made for good footing so the progress quickened. I crossed another spur road and continued climbing. Soon I was at the base of the summit block. Looking at the map you might guess it an easy walk up summit from every side which is not the case. I knew that the standard route is from the East ridge but me being me, thought it looked doable from the South. Which I am sure could be done but not by me with icy rock. I headed West just to see what was around the bend. There is no way to attack from there so I retreated and headed further East. I spied a route up on very crumbly, icy rock. I backed down after about 30' feet of unpleasantness. I resigned myself to just making for the East ridge which was a nice snowy slope to the tiny summit. I snapped some pictures and high tailed it to the car in order to make it to work. I decided that once back to the car I would continue on the road to connect to Snoqualmie Pass more directly. The climb over the small pass was nerve racking due to the very icy packed snow. Once over to the Snoqualmie Pass side there was much less snow and I was able to unclench. I ended up making it to work with plenty of time to spare. I am guessing that I will be the last car travelling this route until late spring.




Approx 6 miles 1800' of climb 2:15 car to car

Big Chief 12.2.08

With the shorter days and my inablility to get up early I was forced into something shortish. As it turns out it was a perfect trip. I wasn't able to get to sleep last night making me quite groggy this morning. I actually had to pull off Hy 2 and sleep for 30 minutes to avoid driving off the road. When I awoke I felt much better but the steady rain had stiffened making me want to turn around and go home. I decided to check out the snow conditions to satisfy my curiosity. I was shocked to see that there was very little snow. In fact there was much more open areas without snow than with snow. I forced myself to at least suit up and magically the rain stopped. I made my way up the PCT without issue making the pass between Steven's Pass Ski Area and The Mill Creek Road. At the pass I hung a left and followed the ridge. The ridge was bare in spots and had deep snow in others. The areas of deep snow was mushy and made for some slow going. I reached the most Eastern chairlift and hid beneath it to shelter myself from the substantial wind. I continued on the South side of the ridge and made my way through the easy traverse to 5675'. Once I crested 5675' it was an easy drop to the saddle and much easier than expected climb to Big Chief's summit. I didn't linger because of the strong winds. The way out was easy and soon I was back to the car.




Approx 7 miles 2500' of climb 4 hours car to car