A Cold Night on Mazama Ridge

I know I'm probably over doing it with five snowshoes in seven weeks; what's gotten into me? It's never really been my thing, but I keep falling down the rabbit hole. Before you know it, I'm going to be making a snow cave!

Though it was not my intention to do another snow camp this season...November's adventure seemed like it would be enough "hypothermia mico-dosing" for awhile. (That's actually a thing, even though I'm just trying to be funny.) But Beth reached out saying she was itching to get out there, and how could I resist a trip with Beth? 

She suggested going to the same place we went last time, but as a general rule I don't re-do hikes. Too many trails and too little time. I suggested Rainier, since I miraculously didn't cheap out at Crater Lake and got the $80 America the Beautiful Pass instead of the $15 day pass. So you know now I have to get my money's worth. 

When she said she'd never actually been inside the national park, the deal was sealed. But which hike? It didn't take much internet searching to uncover lots of options, so I just focused on whatever folks were saying was "the best." If this was going to be Beth's first visit, it had better be epic!

Let me tell you, Mazama Ridge lived up to it's reputation and then some. Of course having two bluebird days helped out a lot, except the temps were even lower than we bargained for. I can't say for sure how low it got, but Beth's Garmin made the weirdest sound to notify it was "too cold." She looked up how cold it has to get for it to make that pathetic little whimper, and it's 10 degrees. 

That may be slighter warmer than Crater Lake's micro-dose, but it actually felt much colder. I guess it's true that dry cold is better. Still, I thought I was more prepared this time...I even bought a free standing tent to make things easier. Plus even MORE warmers, and an electric hand warmer to boot!

I'm sure it was on sale because it's white. What a dumb color for a tent! But I do like it. Mountain Hardware - such a random buy for me.

But I was still struggling to feel warm...meanwhile, I could hear Beth snoozing next door. Her secret? I guess I really do need to invest in a zero degree bag. (Mine is 15, so almost, but not quite.) And also maybe a "Honcho Poncho" as an extra blanket, though I don't think I could rock this look like Beth does. 

Ugh, I'm going to go broke falling down this rabbit hole. Anyway, a detailed itinerary is below like always. Happy "time to buy all the things" trails! 

Trail Log:

Day 1: Got to the Nisqually Entrance (only way to get in during winter months) at 11 am and only had to wait a couple minutes.

There is no timed entry from September to May, so that's a plus. Got our permits at Longmire from the slowest moving attendant in history--I think it's usually $10 per person but we got it free because he couldn't get the computer to cooperate. Permits are pretty much unlimited in the winter so you don't have to fight for them, so another plus. A hard sided container is needed to store your food because of small critters, and also this is a Wag Bag area. The good news is you can dispose of them on your way out at the bathroom tunnel bathrooms at Paradise.

Whoever made it so they had to put up the "keep the lid closed" sign...you are a dumb ass!!

You start the hike where they stop plowing the road - just past Paradise Inn. It's a well compacted walk for about a mile until you turn onto the actual trail.

From there it's about a mile with a 500 foot gain until you crest a hill. (video) I used my crampons up until this point. From here you need snowshoes and navigation. We went down just about a quarter mile until we found our spot and had our tents all set up by 3 pm. Then we set off with day packs, determined to get to the view point ending and ended up getting a little off track (video) because there are several misleading tracks and we ended up on one that petered out, but eventually we still made it.

Making our own way to Faraway rock

We made it back to our tents just as the sun was setting which was absolutely stunning. (video) Then it was as if someone closed the freezer door, the temps changed so quickly. Even though I had my bag warming up with my electric warmer in it, I still felt on the edge of being cold until morning - even after sticking warmers on myself all throughout the night. A total of 4 miles with about a thousand gain for the day. 

Day 2: I was awake for the sunrise, and opened both doors for the views.

I tried to manage my water, but it still ended up freezing (video) so I took some time thawing it carefully in my Jetboil. FYI, my old Zip Jetboil (the cheapest one) worked reasonably well in the temps while Beth's more expensive "winter" Jetboil Minimo completely failed. (It's actually only rated to 20 degrees! Alaskans would scoff!) Anyway, we only had the 2 miles back to the car and thought we might hit Alta Vista or another short trail out of Paradise, but we were pooped.

Paradise Inn is very much closed in winter, FYI

We did throw in the .7 mile loop of Trail of the Shadows which is across from Longmire. Interesting history there and well worth the stop. Leaving at around 1 pm we saw the line going in was at least a half mile long, so sometime before noon seems be the sweet spot this time of year if you are planning a visit.

Our stuffies wanted to soak in this hot springs relic, but it really wasn't warm

 

 

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.