Weary snow hike, Tiger 3

View of adjacent hill near the summit of Tiger 3 trail

Soldier on

When I started out, I didn't think I would make it to the top. There were several times I stopped for breath and wanted to know whether to go on. I threw back some pepperoni and some trail mix and soldiered on. After three hours I gained the summit. 90 minutes later I was back at the trailhead.

Traction devices

The Yak Tracks worked even for steep areas, except where the snow lacked cohesion, and then I caught myself sliding -- but only when going downhill. I neglected to drink water throughout the hike, and toward the end, when I sat down at the Twins, I started getting a cramp in my right inner thigh when I tried to remove my microspikes. I quickly drank some water.

From probably a half mile -- at the Twins -- snow covered the trail.

Except for some patches under trees, packed snow covered the trail.

I didn't need to be wearing all the clothing I had on, and the long underwear may explain why my legs seemed sluggish. I did start to chill at the top when I rested momentarily for a snack. And I used hand warmers in my gloves. My hands had been quite warm until the summit.

One individual I met on the trail said he hadn't seen snow like that on Tiger 3 for 10 years.

Statistics for the day:

Distance: 3 miles
Elevation gain: At least 2,000 feet. 
Location: Tiger 3 
Conditions: Cold; powdery snow; packed trails; occasionally clear sky
Load: Probably 21 pounds
:

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 23.1 miles

Elevation gain: 7,320 feet

Snowshoeing Commonwealth Basin

Map of my return trek from the end of my hike at Snoqualmie pass to back to my Honda Fit.

This was a solo snowshoe training outing -- gaining more experience, particularly with the amount of clothing to wear. I had more than enough. It took a while to find a good spot for parking the car; my first try was pretty iffy, but it was the only one on the main street through the pass community. Afterward I tried the Fit's ability to make it up a sloping driveway and I discovered a neglected parking lot. I couldn't believe my good luck, but there were no  signs prohibiting parking. I walked from there about a half mile to the trailhead. There was actually a set of stairs carved out of the snow leading up off the highway, and a staging area where Forest Service volunteers were prepping a guided tour. Leading off from that spot were trails that had already been packed down by previous snow shoes. That was fortunate, because the snow was very powdery, and I was packing 20 pounds, putting me well over the 200-pound rating for my shoes.

View from a private street on prime real estate at the summit.

When I first parked in the last spot on the main street, I walked up a snow-covered street into a developed community, where a resident directed me to the point under the freeway leading to Alpental. I drove there and found out that my only parking choice was back on the summit street. Eventually I got lucky and found the nearly empty and slightly hidden parking lot.

Cars lined the main drag at the summit, taking up every obvious parking space.

In the photo above is a mountain that I have known since I attended college and drove back and forth between Seattle and Spokane. The trailhead to Commonwealth Basin is near the road that passes the base of that mountain.

A closer view of the mountain, near the trailhead.

Look closely and you will see how prior hikers packed down a path in the powdery snow.

Hidden hazard. That hole was about 15 feet deep.

One point of the hike was to learn about hazards. The photo above was taken very gingerly, because it shows one of several holes in a row leading up to one side of the trail, and there were others on the other side. The hole was perhaps 15 feet deep and indicated that I was actually hiking over a snow bridge. This picture was taken after another couple passed me on their ascent; one of the individuals was vision impaired -- virtually blind, so we made sure to keep him on the bridge over this mini chasm. Two out of five of us managed to take a tumble at this spot, but not directly on the bridge, which was probably a good thing. Is someone doing to walk over that bridge in warmer weather?

My snow shoes performed well, as long as I stayed on a packed trail. They  were even useful for climbing some steep parts of the trail. But they are not mountain show shoes, and I made a point of reversing direction when the hillside became more steep than a staircase. I met a gentleman with mountain shoes -- those cost twice what I paid.


On the return trip, just before rejoining the highway I followed a side trail and discovered people building an igloo. They were planning camping for the night. They had a snow shovel for carving out blocks of snow, which they had packed down by walking over the powder in their snow shoes.

Building an igloo out of snow packed down by tromping on powder in snow shoes

Statistics for the day:

Distance: 2.3 miles
Elevation gain: At least 220 feet. 
Location: Snoqualmie Pass 
Conditions: Cold; powdery snow; packed trails; occasionally clear sky
Load: Probably 21 pounds
:

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 20.1 miles

Elevation gain: 5,320 feet

First snow hike 2019: Tiger 3

On its first snow outing, the Fit showed good control, but it's not a CRV.

Today I took the plunge and drove the Fit to Tiger Mountain to explore its use in winter weather and to see how my changing eyesight would perform. This was my first snow hike (not counting my snow shoeing adventure in January at Mount Baker). I wore my larger backpack. Instead of snow shoes, I relied on microspikes over my Asolo hiking boots.

I didn't feel particularly energetic, but I made it to the 2.2 mile mark, after deciding to go on from the 1.1 mile marker. I could have summited, but I didn't want to get home late and fight for a parking spot, given the conditions. I ate light on the hike and drank little water; probably too little.

Events and reflections:

• The frigid silence was broken by the rapping of a woodpecker seeking his next meal in trees 30-40 feet above me.
• I had brought along a magnifying glass tied to my compass, and that made compass readings significantly easier.
• I wore my computer glasses with one lens removed. That helped for reading, but the lens fogged up from my steaming sweat and the cold air.
• The water tube in my platypus froze and I had to tuck it inside my shirt to thaw it out. The bladder was against my back and that may have kept it from freezing.
• Microspikes on my Asolo boots made hiking poles unnecessary. They were marvelous.
• I brought the wrong map -- Mount Si, instead of Tiger Mountain
• My nose ran constantly from the cold. I made great use of the "farmer blow and wished I had more kerchiefs.
• I maintained a pace of about 1 mph getting to the one-mile mark and to the 2-mile mark as well. Coming back I seem to have doubled my pace. 
• Afterward, in reviewing the topo map for the hike, I found my eyesight insufficient. I have to figure out how to compliment my lens implants.
• Telephone:  Photos to Larisa and Joanie; telecon with Joanie and with Roger. Roger said he has a hankerin' to take another run at Mount Adams. Is this the year we make it?
• Hand Warmers: I neglected to bring them. My hands got cold. But the rest of my body was comfortable, with balaklava, Puma baseball cap, red outdoor jacked buffered with long-sleeved down shirt, wool socks and long underwear.
• As I was hoofing it down hill to the trailhead, some sort of rodent ran right in front of it across the trail, leaving what appeared to be a small snow cave and entering another. It was there, and then gone. I don't think it was a marmot, or a pika. Maybe a mountain beaver.

Statistics for the day:

Distance: 4.4 miles
Elevation gain: At least 1,100 feet. 
Conditions: Cold,dry air, with mostly clear skies.
Load: Probably 12-15 pounds
:

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 17.8 miles

Elevation gain: 5,100 feet

Coal Creek Falls with Arlene

I presume this is Coal Creek, since those are the Coal Creek Falls.

Today wasn't a day for elevation gain. It was a light outing with a friend, Arlene Levy, who is getting back in shape while recovering from a broken hip that resulted from a freak fall while traveling. Yes, broken hips don't always result from osteoporosis. Sometimes they are caused by frisky dogs.

I thought this was going to be a slow-hiking day, but Arlene was pushing herself, and I have been sitting a lot lately while taking it easy following cataract surgery. I found myself working to keep up with her. Later, when a took a late-afternoon nap, I woke up in time to enjoy a nice charley horse in my left inner thigh. I had to clutch my leg muscles to reign it in.

It rained, and I learned that I really needed to have a cover for the light backpack I wore today, and into which I stuffed a down vest after overheating on the trail. I was also reminded that even for a light hike, a sweat band is handy to have along.

I call this long shot "destination," because the trail is pointing directly toward the falls.

I call this photo "Tombstones" because of the stumps that stand sentinel to the falls.

The hollow spot in the tree trunk would make a good shelter for a bear.

Statistics for the day:

Distance: 3.8 miles
Elevation gain: Not worth considering
Conditions: Cool, overcast, drizzle
Load: Not worth mentioning.
:

Statistics, year to date:

Distance: 13.4 miles

Elevation gain: 4,000 feet