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| The boys were leading the way. |
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| Lincoln and Natasha |
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| Alex dons some snowshoes. |
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| Me |
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| The gang (Left: Alex, Natasha, Lincoln, Alastair, Bao, and Jason. Front: Me. Not Pictured Jan.) makes it to the summit! Not much in terms of views due to the weather, but still were having a great time! |
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| Jan and Lincoln |
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| Alastair attempts to make espresso! |
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| But he quickly learns the pitfalls of canister type fuels! |
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| Snack time! |
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| Natasha and Jason take a moments rest! |
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| Winter Wonderland! |
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| Having a great time! |
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| View from our coffee stop on the way home. |
Today was a windy snowy winter wonderland adventure up to Keechelus Ridge. I met some new friends and hiking partners and I got to finally test out my snowshoes (
MSR Lightning Axis). Despite my inexperience of hiking in snowshoes it turned out great, minus 1 fall which bruised my ego.
A small trail leads northwest from the Sno-Park for a 0.25 mile to Forest Road 4832. You can stick with the road, but a faster, more enjoyable route is to head cross-country up the slope. Therefore, you miss the road traffic which is used by many snowmobiles, dog sleds and xc skiers. The climb covers about a mile of distance before crossing another heavily used road, FR 4934, just below the ridge crest (4300 feet). Just cross the road and continue up to the ridge crest. The top is easily identifiable on the approach by tall radio relay towers.
Total Distance: 5.81 miles per my gps
WTA states that the trail is 6.4 mi round-trip, but I believe that is if you take the Forest Roads.
Total time: 5:00
Estimated speed: 1.16 mph
Elevation: 4900'
Elevation gain: 2100'
Driving Directions: To get there, from Seattle drive east on Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass to exit 62, signed Kachess Lake, about 10 miles east of the summit. After exiting the interstate, turn left, cross over the freeway, and turn left onto the freeway on-ramp and drive westbound I-90 for 1.5 miles to the Price Creek Westbound Sno-Park.
Looks wonderful! We are finally getting some rain and snow in Northern Calif.!! From the news it sounds like you guys are getting plastered with the white stuff. Maybe in a week or two I'll get to post some winter shots at my site.
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