One Hike A Week / 每週一徒

Two Labrador Retrievers and their human companion, one Cascades peak at a time.

5/13 - Preacher Mountain Snowshoe / 牧師山雪鞋行 Today was the day to do an epic hike in the Central Cascade area. I’ve had my eyes set on Preacher Mountain for a couple of weeks now, but was waiting for the perfect day to go and today was it. I managed to get two coworkers who haven’t hiked in a while to come with me. Only one other car in the lot when we got to the trailhead just before 7:30 AM. After crossing the Middle Fork bridge we discovered that there was trail blasting working being done on the trail. Apparently no one wanted to work on a Sunday, so we sneakily walked around the machinery to get to the hikers’ path just past the creek. We brought snowshoes but didn’t need them to get to the lake. After a brief lunch break, my two friends decided to call it a day and returned to the car as I continued onto the ridge to the summit. Snowshoes were very much needed from the ridge all the way to the summit. Some parts were slushy and some parts were steep, and the snowshoes did the trick. The summit looked as though it was full of cornices, a thick layer of snow sitting directly on top of the summit rocks. Had there been cornices, I would not have been able to get the awesome panoramic views I had hoped for. After spending forty-five minutes on top and got enough photos and a free tan, I set off for the long hike back to the car. Flickr: http://bit.ly/preacher-mountain

5/13 - Preacher Mountain Snowshoe / 牧師山雪鞋行

Today was the day to do an epic hike in the Central Cascade area. I’ve had my eyes set on Preacher Mountain for a couple of weeks now, but was waiting for the perfect day to go and today was it. I managed to get two coworkers who haven’t hiked in a while to come with me.

Only one other car in the lot when we got to the trailhead just before 7:30 AM. After crossing the Middle Fork bridge we discovered that there was trail blasting working being done on the trail. Apparently no one wanted to work on a Sunday, so we sneakily walked around the machinery to get to the hikers’ path just past the creek.

We brought snowshoes but didn’t need them to get to the lake. After a brief lunch break, my two friends decided to call it a day and returned to the car as I continued onto the ridge to the summit. Snowshoes were very much needed from the ridge all the way to the summit. Some parts were slushy and some parts were steep, and the snowshoes did the trick.

The summit looked as though it was full of cornices, a thick layer of snow sitting directly on top of the summit rocks. Had there been cornices, I would not have been able to get the awesome panoramic views I had hoped for. After spending forty-five minutes on top and got enough photos and a free tan, I set off for the long hike back to the car.

Flickr: http://bit.ly/preacher-mountain

♦ 2 weeks ago

5/12 - Mount Townsend Snowshoe / 湯森山雪鞋行 My choral group Choral Arts had a performance in Port Townsend with a afternoon call, so I took the boys up Mount Townsend beforehand. The goal was to be back to the car by 2 in order to make the call time. Service road 2812 beyond the last junction, just one mile before trailhead was still covered in snow. We didn’t want to risk of getting stuck trying to drive through the slush, so we walked the mile. Snowshoes were not needed until we arrived at the basin before shooting straight up the east gully. It could still be doable without the snowshoes but it would have taken us longer to get to the top. I would still pack them just in case. Judging from the snow conditions, it hadn’t snow for quite sometime and no one else had been here recently. We had the mountain too ourselves all morning. The views atop were quite spectacular on this clear day, first time seeing the Cascades from the Olympic Peninsula. It was a bit hazy farther out and it would have to be even clearer to see Canada. It felt strange to be this close to the Olympic Mountains that I normally see driving home on Highway 520. Definitely taking more trips to the Olympic Mountains this summer. Flickr: http://bit.ly/mt-townsend

5/12 - Mount Townsend Snowshoe / 湯森山雪鞋行

My choral group Choral Arts had a performance in Port Townsend with a afternoon call, so I took the boys up Mount Townsend beforehand. The goal was to be back to the car by 2 in order to make the call time.

Service road 2812 beyond the last junction, just one mile before trailhead was still covered in snow. We didn’t want to risk of getting stuck trying to drive through the slush, so we walked the mile. Snowshoes were not needed until we arrived at the basin before shooting straight up the east gully. It could still be doable without the snowshoes but it would have taken us longer to get to the top. I would still pack them just in case.

Judging from the snow conditions, it hadn’t snow for quite sometime and no one else had been here recently. We had the mountain too ourselves all morning. The views atop were quite spectacular on this clear day, first time seeing the Cascades from the Olympic Peninsula. It was a bit hazy farther out and it would have to be even clearer to see Canada. It felt strange to be this close to the Olympic Mountains that I normally see driving home on Highway 520.

Definitely taking more trips to the Olympic Mountains this summer.

Flickr: http://bit.ly/mt-townsend

♦ 2 weeks ago

5/5 - Grindstone Mountain Snowshoe / 磨石山雪鞋行 After arriving at the Lennon Mountain trailhead at 9 AM I had a sudden change of heart. The cloudy and drizzling conditions were not enticing enough to get me up the mountain possibly with no views in the end. With no other nearby hiking options, I headed out to Leavenworth instead. I recently read about Grindstone Mountain in a few trip reports and had also heard about it from a couple of folks who did it last year. I remember taking photos of the mountain atop Bootjack Mountain and Solomon Mountain and just how spectacular it looked. It was hard to find a trip report with wintry shots or shots leading up to the ridge/pass. I relied on the route to the gap photo by EastKing from his 2010 trip report for the right place to descend to the other side. Not much view beyond the pass and the clouds decided to stay with us the entire time. We had a fun and interesting time looking for the true summit with the clouds rolling in and out. The summit was gusty and a complete whiteout just as expected, but not too terribly cold. I was a little shocked when I found the summit registry, thinking that it would have been buried deep in the snow. No views on top, so we stayed just enough time to get our group photos taken by the summit rocks and to sign the registry before quickly heading back down. It was a long day for all of us and the dogs were exhausted by the time we got back to the car, after the dark. Flickr: http://bit.ly/grindstone-mountain

5/5 - Grindstone Mountain Snowshoe / 磨石山雪鞋行

After arriving at the Lennon Mountain trailhead at 9 AM I had a sudden change of heart. The cloudy and drizzling conditions were not enticing enough to get me up the mountain possibly with no views in the end. With no other nearby hiking options, I headed out to Leavenworth instead.

I recently read about Grindstone Mountain in a few trip reports and had also heard about it from a couple of folks who did it last year. I remember taking photos of the mountain atop Bootjack Mountain and Solomon Mountain and just how spectacular it looked. It was hard to find a trip report with wintry shots or shots leading up to the ridge/pass. I relied on the route to the gap photo by EastKing from his 2010 trip report for the right place to descend to the other side.

Not much view beyond the pass and the clouds decided to stay with us the entire time. We had a fun and interesting time looking for the true summit with the clouds rolling in and out. The summit was gusty and a complete whiteout just as expected, but not too terribly cold. I was a little shocked when I found the summit registry, thinking that it would have been buried deep in the snow. No views on top, so we stayed just enough time to get our group photos taken by the summit rocks and to sign the registry before quickly heading back down.

It was a long day for all of us and the dogs were exhausted by the time we got back to the car, after the dark.

Flickr: http://bit.ly/grindstone-mountain

♦ 3 weeks ago

4/22 - Mailbox Part V / 信箱峯第五部 Today I didn’t have much time to spare so I revisited Mailbox Peak with the boys. Quite a few vehicles were parked at the trailhead when I arrived at a quarter after six. Snow began just below the boulder field but the boulders were clear of it. I found it easier going up the boulders than through the slushy trail. Mailbox was visible with about three feet of snow around it. Met the two parties who started at 5 AM in headlamps, then went back down after snapping a few shots. Flickr: http://bit.ly/mailbox-peak-v

4/22 - Mailbox Part V / 信箱峯第五部

Today I didn’t have much time to spare so I revisited Mailbox Peak with the boys. Quite a few vehicles were parked at the trailhead when I arrived at a quarter after six.

Snow began just below the boulder field but the boulders were clear of it. I found it easier going up the boulders than through the slushy trail. Mailbox was visible with about three feet of snow around it. Met the two parties who started at 5 AM in headlamps, then went back down after snapping a few shots.

Flickr: http://bit.ly/mailbox-peak-v

♦ 1 month ago