Granite Mountain, WA, USA
Having been off trails for more than a month and a half, I have missed mountains tremendously. So when our friend sent out a notice about an upcoming hike he was organizing, I jumped at the opportunity. I chose to disregard the fact that it was one of the crazy hikes that I was eyeing suspiciously in summer (3800 feet! almost 1000 feet per mile!!!), I was excited to hit the trails again, thinking to myself that I'd just turn around once I was tired...
We were warned by the organizer that last weekend the mountain next to this one had snow from the parking lot, so I dutifully donned my snow pants and gathered all of my warm gear. Upon arrival though, we were greeted by a completely snow-free parking lot. In fact, the snow hasn't appeared until 2 miles and 2000 feet of elevation in! Thank goodness for layers, or I wouldn't have made it...
We spent the first part of the hike really wondering whether it was worth it. Most of the time we were walking in dense forest, and the very rare clearings offered a view of the fog with the outline of the mountains that we were missing out on... "Gotta burn off the winter fat!" - declared we, and pushed on:
The first snow that we hit was really unexpected for me. I do understand the whole notion of changing elevation leading to different conditions, but seeing and experiencing it for yourself are completely different matters. First snow was rare, appearing only on the grass and branches of the trees...
Soon enough, though, we were walking in winter wonderland: with snow underneath our feet and snow all around us! It wasn't much snow, only a couple of centimeters, making everything not only beautiful, but also insanely slippery. It was my first time using my microspikes, but they have really helped on this slippery journey!
I don't get to see the mountains in the snow or snow for that matter often. So pardon me, while I indulge...
The lookout at the top was our destination for the day. To those following in our footsteps, I urge you: don't take the direct route like we did! There is a perfectly sane ascent the circles the mountain to the right, that will not involve you scrambling on icy rocks!
The final parts of the ascent were gorgeous:
And even more gorgeous was the view from the top: after an entire day of walking in the fog and getting only occasional glimpses of the blue sky, we have risen above the clouds and finally got a good look at the sweeping views around us!
And the devil is in the details, of course:
We even saw a halo!
I was completely exhausted by the time we reached the top, and I knew that going down would be really hard in such a state. Even worse: we have miscalculated the time and now had to hike as fast as we could in order to walk as little as possible after the sunset.
The sun was going down quickly on us, but not without the final act: it has colored the fog around us in the majestic orange, making me feel like I was part of some fairy tale...
The daredevils who made it:
Overall, I would describe this hike as: too long of a way up, too long of a way down. But I loved it and can't wait to go to the mountains again! :)
I must put a beware note in: this trail is prone to avalanches and there were a number of avalanche chutes that we crossed on a way up. I would highly discourage from going on this trail later in the season, once there is more snow there.
We were warned by the organizer that last weekend the mountain next to this one had snow from the parking lot, so I dutifully donned my snow pants and gathered all of my warm gear. Upon arrival though, we were greeted by a completely snow-free parking lot. In fact, the snow hasn't appeared until 2 miles and 2000 feet of elevation in! Thank goodness for layers, or I wouldn't have made it...
We spent the first part of the hike really wondering whether it was worth it. Most of the time we were walking in dense forest, and the very rare clearings offered a view of the fog with the outline of the mountains that we were missing out on... "Gotta burn off the winter fat!" - declared we, and pushed on:
The first snow that we hit was really unexpected for me. I do understand the whole notion of changing elevation leading to different conditions, but seeing and experiencing it for yourself are completely different matters. First snow was rare, appearing only on the grass and branches of the trees...
Soon enough, though, we were walking in winter wonderland: with snow underneath our feet and snow all around us! It wasn't much snow, only a couple of centimeters, making everything not only beautiful, but also insanely slippery. It was my first time using my microspikes, but they have really helped on this slippery journey!
I don't get to see the mountains in the snow or snow for that matter often. So pardon me, while I indulge...
The lookout at the top was our destination for the day. To those following in our footsteps, I urge you: don't take the direct route like we did! There is a perfectly sane ascent the circles the mountain to the right, that will not involve you scrambling on icy rocks!
The final parts of the ascent were gorgeous:
And even more gorgeous was the view from the top: after an entire day of walking in the fog and getting only occasional glimpses of the blue sky, we have risen above the clouds and finally got a good look at the sweeping views around us!
And the devil is in the details, of course:
We even saw a halo!
I was completely exhausted by the time we reached the top, and I knew that going down would be really hard in such a state. Even worse: we have miscalculated the time and now had to hike as fast as we could in order to walk as little as possible after the sunset.
The sun was going down quickly on us, but not without the final act: it has colored the fog around us in the majestic orange, making me feel like I was part of some fairy tale...
The daredevils who made it:
Overall, I would describe this hike as: too long of a way up, too long of a way down. But I loved it and can't wait to go to the mountains again! :)
I must put a beware note in: this trail is prone to avalanches and there were a number of avalanche chutes that we crossed on a way up. I would highly discourage from going on this trail later in the season, once there is more snow there.