Girl's Trip to Start the Year off Right

 

I know we are just a couple weeks in, but so far the "hatsuhinode" is working. The weather turned out perfect for the girl's weekend we planned back when we failed at getting to Grace Lakes.

 

The idea for this trip came as we debated whether we should just keep driving if we couldn't get a parking spot at Yodelin and go all the way to Lake Wenatchee State Park. During that discussion it was decided we definitely needed to do it, but another time when we could continue east to Leavenworth after our snowshoe and make a full weekend out of it. 

Roping my other friend, Debbie, into the plan meant we could split a hotel stay four ways, which is the only way to make staying right in town affordable. 

Of course, staying in town meant a night of walking everywhere - first to the square where we just missed the fire dancing show because we spent too much time wine tasting - and then to Ducks and Drakes to show off how badly we play pool. Though somehow I ended up showing off my bad dancing skills instead...go figure.

I had someone leave a comment on my last girl's trip post that I "won't get many miles in at a bar," to which I should have replied "So?" Nobody's paying me to hike, and going to a bar after being on trail happens to be one of my favorite things.

Anyway, despite not feeling super great on Sunday morning, we couldn't resist a stop at the new Leavenworth Adventure Park where my hatsuhinode luck continued and nobody got barfed on. 

I was too cheap to buy my picture, haha

I know I haven't written one thing about the snowshoe, but my "things to know" list about the Nason Ridge snowshoe is below for those interested. I'll end here with my hiking blessing: "Happy trails in this new year - filled with friends, laughter, silliness and a bar at the end of the day if you'd like." 

THINGS TO KNOW:

1) There is a snow park pass required which is $25...another good reason to go with a group. You can pay in the lot by using the QR code on a sign by the outhouse. 

2) There are easier options here, but Nason Ridge is the biggest bang for your buck. And it's really not hard, though it is a steady gain of 1200 feet in just under 3 miles to the warming hut. We did get a little confused by the Washington Trails Association's page saying it was 3.6 miles round trip, but they are only counting to "Big Red" which is tree you can't miss. But you really do need to push on to the warming hut at least.

3) It would be fun to keep going if you had the time and energy. We didn't need our snowshoes at all, as this trail is very well traveled; but from the hut it's a different story. My All-trails app showed trails going all over the place, and we did see a few tracks. We put on the snowshoes and messed around a little, and it was worth going up a little hill for an even better view.(Short YouTube video here) The Washington Trails page even suggests skiing down to your car the 9 miles on the obvious groomed trail you will see from the hut. 

4) Don't confuse this snowshoe with the Nason Ridge hike. Same ridge, but very different adventures.  

Hello 2025

Do you ever feel like maybe life is actually just a crazy fever dream? Like we are all going to wake up at some point and say, "Wow, that was really weird!"

I'm actually super grateful for 2024 - it was a wonderful year. But there have been big "WTF?" moments too. So starting off 2025 by ascending Mount Weird felt apropos. Why not embrace the insanity.

On the opposite side of that thought was wanting to celebrate "hatsuhinode" which is the Japanese tradition of watching the sunrise on the new year. It's believed to bring good luck and symbolizes renewal and aspiration. Life might be crazy, but it can't hurt to hope for a good kind of crazy.

And so my friend, Randi, met me in the pitch dark at 6:45 am to hoof it up to the Heybrook Lookout to welcome the first light of 2025. It's only a mile, but with 980 feet in elevation I knew it'd take me close to an hour. 

It was just the two of us, and Sammy, with our chairs and blankets and thermos's filled with good cheer as we awaited the glowing orb to crest the mountain top with shining glory and good fortune. 

Randi's "blanket"...I need one!!

Wah wah...the sunrise was kind of a dud. So much for that...on to Mount Weird! Ha ha, I mean, it was still a fun way to start the year, and a big thank you to Randi for her willingness to do it with me.

But she was off to do her Polar Plunge (a big no thank you for me) and I was headed up to Welldigger's Ass. Yep, that is how you start up Mount Weird. Whoever named these places was definitely having a fever dream. 

After parking at the Yodelin parking area after Steven's Pass, you only need to hike the short road to the upper parking and you'll find the trail in the left hand corner. I renewed my Alltrails subscription because I was worried about navigation (you'll find it under "Yodilin Ski Tour") but it was pretty straightforward. 

Second snow face - Somebody on this trail had a sense of humor

I was able to use my micro-spikes for the first half mile or so, but definitely needed my snowshoes for the last half mile. This trail does not mess around with a steady thousand foot gain, so I was huffing and puffing it. But I really wanted to say I stood upon the top of the weirdest of mountains to welcome this weirdest of years.

 Instead, I waved the white flag right here. (Screenshot below) Too many clouds with too much elevation and too little aspiration granted from the mediocre sunrise. Maybe next year. May your 2025 trails be happy, with only the best kind of weirdness.

Snow Overload

I didn't expect to go on another snowshoe so soon after last week's adventure, but I'm going gangbusters now that I finally have a decent set of snowshoes! (Thank you, Debbie :)) And poor overworked Heidi was pleading for a day in the mountains, so how could I say no?

Artist Point is kind of the go to in these parts, but having already done it several times, I was campaigning for something new. The snowshoe internet searches brought me to "Grace Lakes" which sounded like a perfect fit. A simple 4 mile round trip up and back - easy peasy, right? Well, I can tell you the first thing that wasn't easy about this plan is finding parking at Steven's Pass on a weekend. None of us wanted to navigate the new reservation system, and we foolishly thought that "lot four" (where the trail starts) wouldn't be full if we got there at 8:30 am. Plus it seemed that maybe the winter storm advisory warning would keep some folks away?

 That would be a no, and another no. Cars everywhere...in the ditch...spun out and blocking lanes...backed up for miles. Well, until we got over the pass, and then it looked like this...

Eek! But Heidi's trusty Ms Frizzle didn't falter and we found a spot in the lower lot that is about 10 minutes down the mountain. The bus shuttle got us back up to the main lot, where we needed to meander our way through the hordes of snowboarders and skiers to the start of the trail; adding a good two miles total to our day. 

Lone snowshoers in a sea of skiers

Once we officially started the trail we found it was decently packed down as it brings you up to some very cute cabins that can be rented out. But as soon as we left those behind, the snow got deep fast.

Easy peasy so far! Especially for free loader Sammy

Still okay

Getting difficult

We were following someone's tracks (never saw who) but the further we went, the deeper the snow got. There were places I sank in to my thighs! Falling down felt like I was being swallowed up. But we kept trying, until eventually these mystery tracks went straight up into the woods -- clearly away from the actual trail.

Help!

It only took a few feet of breaking trail in the close to two feet of new powder to realize that we wouldn't be seeing Grace Lakes this day. I don't even think we were a mile in! But it was time to wave the white flag - a beer at the lodge's Pacific Cantina was calling our names.

We done

Consolation Prize

But it's a good thing we called it quits early because the traffic going back on Hwy 2 is a nightmare that only gets worse the later it gets. So much for easy peasy. 

Ugh

But it was all worth it to hang out with good friends. Happy "a little more than you bargained for" trails.

 

Thanksgiving Sufferfest on the Crater Lake Rim

I have hosted Thanksgiving and cooked a turkey for close to 25 years. This year I needed a break. My husband agreed we should go on a little road trip for the four day holiday, but when I suggested snow backpacking in 14 degree weather, he only made a grunting noise...so I took that as a no.

But here's the thing; Ken knows how to suffer probably better than anyone I know. And though alpine climbing was never his thing, he did attempt a Rainier summit in his teens where he got stuck in a tent for three days during a snow storm. (One of many near death experiences...the best one you can read about here) Even so, I was pretty certain near freezing in a tent was most likely a situation he didn't want to live through more than once. 

They disintegrated when he put them on the heater!

But low and behold, I found he had dug out his old boots from the attic. And though clearly they were not going to work, he told me he had gone ahead and bought some new boots. So it was a "yes" after all! Crater Lake here we come!!

Sammy can't wait! But he has fur ;)

I knew it was the forecast that had finally sold it - having the opportunity to visit this National Park on two bluebird days is a rarity. With several feet of fresh snow, there was just enough of a break in the weather to plow the road to Rim Village; except we still had to snowshoe there just the same because the rule is you must park your car at the ranger station where you obtain your permit. 

No worries, it's just about an extra mile on the Raven Trail. So after checking out the cute visitor center, using the restrooms, filling out the self issued permit and getting our gear all sorted out we were finally on our way at 2 pm.

A 600 foot gain in a mile and a third isn't too bad in normal situations, but after a full hour of up and up in the snow I was EXHAUSTED. Thankfully the gift shop was open, so we could take a little break in their second floor heated observation room. 

Don't make me leave!

Another full hour went by WAY too fast, and suddenly we had an employee coming up to tell us they were closed. "Can't we just get our sleeping bags out up here?" I jokingly asked...but no, of course not. We had to snowshoe another hour and find a spot to set up our tent.

 

Can you see the UFO? (Ha ha, though Crater Lake has it's stories!)

After finding the start of the Discovery Point trail and getting our snowshoes on with frozen fingers, it was obvious the temperature was going down fast, along with the sun. The snow kept it light enough for us not to need headlamps until we made it the short mile further, but it was definitely getting dark when we stopped to make camp.

5:02 pm...we need that tent up!

I did read the rule that said to put up your tent where it couldn't be seen from the trail. We appreciated that the park wants to keep a unobstructed nature feel for the other snowshoers, but damn that hill to get up out of sight looked REALLY steep. Figuring there would be no snowshoers to see us, we opted to be naughty. Sorry, not sorry because it was SO COLD and we needed to get in the tent ASAP.

FYI, getting a Durston non free standing tent up in the snow is not easy. Honestly, I was starting to panic a little. Thank God for Ken who kept a cool head and was able to get those stakes packed in enough to hold. But the tent was wonky for sure, and felt much smaller than usual. When we finally crawled in our bags, we couldn't even think about eating or doing anything except trying to warm up. Thank God I bought ALL the warmers...hand, body, foot, toe...and we used every one. 

I've had better pitches, for sure

After a LONG night, we saw some light in the sky. WE SURVIVED! Surprised to find cell reception, I sent out this snap. Maybe 6 degrees isn't totally accurate, but Ken did have ice on his bag. I suggest investing in something rated warmer than 23 if you want to attempt this, unless you know how to suffer like Ken.

Sammy says, "I'll keep you warm"

We know we're bad...sue us

As expected, we did not see a soul until we were nearly back to Rim Village. This is when we ran into a young man we had spoken with briefly the day before. We exchanged stories and IG handles (his is eliastcobb if you want to check out his amazing photography) and then we complained about how we still had another mile to get down to our car. "I'll give you a ride!" was his reply and "Hell yes!" was our answer. We needed to hurry and get to Odell Lodge to make our snowmobile appointment at 2 pm. 

My first time! We highly recommend Odell Lodge

The rest of our road trip had zero suffering save a bit more driving than we would prefer. But we broke it up with a stop at Smith Rock State Park where Ken could relive some of his glory days. How fun to find where he had broken off a piece of rock while bouldering there decades earlier. 

Ken says he kept the piece for years...maybe we'll still find it.

"A bunch of us climbers were hanging out here under this overhang to get out of the rain while taking turns solving some problems. I was going to do a fancy move when the rock broke and I got launched backwards down this hill - right in front of Allan Watts!" I may not know the big names of climbers, but I knew Ken got to experience Smith Rock in it's infancy. It's sad those days are over, but I believe Ken and I still have adventures left in us...just probably not ones that will need a zero degree bag. Happy "worth it once it's over" trails!

Ken took me on his last trip there...1988? We just slept right on the ground back then; tents were for sissies! ;)

I even did some climbing! I wasn't half bad...but Ken was exceptional.

 

Read the earlier link to his other near death experience; it's really good and explains more about his climbing days.