Who'dve Snown It?

Saturday morning were were off to hike either Ranger Falls/Green Lake or Grand Park through the Backdoor depending on what the rain was doing. Phyllis, Sue, Pam and I quickly decided on Grand Park and off we went. The weather geniuses were saying the snow level was at 8500 feet so either hike would likely be in the rain.

We were surprised that there was snow much lower on Forest Service road 73 on the way to our trailhead. We had little trouble negotiating it, but it was actively snowing and the trail was snow covered and we opted to head for a lower trailhead - Crystal Peak which Pam and I hiked 2 weeks ago and were treated to great fall colors.

A decent rain was coming down at the trailhead, but the first section is fully in the trees which help so off we went. We were less that one half a mile before we encountered snow on the trail and before one mile we were fully hiking in the snow.

 

What a difference 2 weeks makes sometimes! The reds and yellows and oranges were mostly covered by white. The same misty clouds shrouded the mountain views like 2 weeks prior, but we were plowing through up to 18 inches of snow on a trail that was dry and clear before.

Phyllis is a tree hugger afterall.

 

A dicey walk down a slippery boardwalk.

Our late trailhead arrival and plans for the evening kept us from making the peak, but we were able to get in more than 5 miles before we headed home.

Some food and showers and Pam and I were off to the Seattle Symphony's Mostly Mozart at Benaroya Hall. We took the bus from Tacoma and back which made the trip actually pretty nice. It was a late night for us - 11:30 or so - but all in all a great day with freinds.

Be very well and more soon...