The invitation read "Join me on a strenuous hike up the winter route of Bearhead Mountain." Sounded like my kind of a hike. That the invitation came from my buddy Dave who hiked up to Camp Muir with me last summer, I knew I'd be in for an adventure. Two other friends met us in Orting for breakfast before we started the drive out to the trailhead. Dave proved to be an excellent tour guide as he pointed out features and remnants of towns along the road.
We reached snow just short of the trailhead but Dave just pushed right through to the parking area. We had originally thought we wouldn't need our snowshoes at first, but with the freezing temperatures ice lined the trail instead of secure snow. It didn't take us long of slipping and sliding before we called a truce and put on the snowshoes. From then our way became easier and we sped along to our first short break, Twin Lake. Yes that is singular.
From Twin Lake our climb began. The summer route is a moderate 4.5 mile climb. The winter route shortens this by 2 miles as we climb right up the spine of her back. We followed a cross-country route through the trees, using our bark-y friends to help us along. We came upon an open area and rapidly crossed to the next forested area to continue our climb. At some point through the trees, I looked up the hill ahead of me and froze. I would have to come down that in these conditions?
I love walking in my snowshoes and find them very comfortable in most conditions. However, on steep icy slopes, my confidence in my snowshoes falter. At this point one of our companions slipped and fell grabbing onto a sapling to stop her slide. I knew I wasn't going any further. Dave came back down to help me find a place to sit and wait for the group to return and I settled in for a cold stay. The sun hadn't yet reached my little stump and a breeze started blowing up over the ridge. I put on as many layers as I could and started to pace. Once my toes got cold I started swinging my feet and jumping up & down. Amazingly, my hands never got cold - my new double layer ragg wool mittens were working marvelously. Probably the best 12.00 I ever spent.
Finally Dave & the other returned making sure I knew I had made a good decision - the conditions only got worse above. But I still had to try to maneuver down steep slopes with my snowshoes. Dave recommended I put on my Yak Traks to see if they helped. All I can say is, they certainly did. Another wonderful investment for my outdoor life. We made fast time down the hill and I never slipped once. We gain stopped at Twin Lake for a few photo ops before making our way back out to the parking area - I in my Yak Traks and the rest in their snowshoes.
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