June snowshoe adventure

This is me yesterday, June 22, with three friends starting our snowshoe adventure up to Skyline Divide. We never made it to the top, but some people who are sweltering in the heat might get cooled off a little by looking at all that snow.

We hiked up from the trailhead about a mile before deciding to strap on the snowshoes we had wisely added to our gear. I still don't have any, but I borrowed Al's spare set. That's Al in the orange, with Marjan and Frank busily strapping on their snowshoes.

Al suggested to the Senior Trailblazers that we do this hike on Tuesday before the trip up to Church Mountain on Thursday. I won't be able to go on that one, since I've got a dentist appointment right in the middle of the day, so I was happy to be able to join three others on Tuesday. It is a fairly short hike (around two miles) to the summit of Skyline Divide, but we lost the trail in the deep snow and tried to make our way through the steep brush. While I was hanging onto a steep slope wondering how in the world I would be able to get back down, my water bottle came loose and crashed back down into the snow. I decided to join it, since clinging onto the side of a mountain with strange things strapped to my feet was NOT my idea of fun. Plus the weather had not cleared and all that work would not have given us a view.

As we began our descent from the snow, of course the weather began to clear a little. This is a view of Church Mountain across the valley, which the Trailblazers will attempt without me tomorrow. As you can see, they will not be able to get to the summit there either, since the snow is still quite deep. But it's sure beautiful. And we did have a great day, it didn't rain, even if the sun didn't come out in the Cascades until around 4:00 pm.

The flowers are beginning to come out in the High Country, though, as you can see from this beautiful waterfall at the end of the hike, on our way back down the road. It's a different world here, since you can go from sunshine and summer into winter in less than an hour. I love this place!
:-)