Pam, Garry, Lisa, Phyllis and I headed up by Crystal Mt to attempt the Norse Peak Trail. We chose this hike since there are lots of backup plans nearby. We were surprised to find a trail that we could follow. We were in our snowshoes from the outset.
Norse Peak trail is like most of the trails we like - it has a nice elevation gain. The bulk of the 2800 feet of elevation gain is done in the first 3.5 miles. At that point you walk a ridge for the final mileage to the peak which was a fire lookout.
We were almost immediately greeted by explosions from the Crystal Mt area as there was avalanche work going on there. Norse Peak trail is narrow and mostly tree lined for the first 2.5 miles, but in more open areas there was some fairly deep snow we had to break trail over. It seemed like every time we were in exposed areas there was another explosion from across the way.
We were finally forced to turn around when at about 2 miles up we were no longer able to find the trail. Since we already had a great workout we headed back down and enjoyed a beverage at the Naches Tavern in Greenwater on our way down.
I decided not to carry my big camera and Pam's had a dead battery so there are no pictures to prove we were out at all so you'll have to take our word for it.
When we were deciding on a trail last week I was going back and forth between Granite Mt and Norse Peak. After catching the news on the avalanche at Granite I am sure we picked well.
Be very well and more soon....
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