Fourth of July - On Top of Old Snowy

Old Snowy is the jagged peak in the middle and yep, we climbed it.

For this fourth of July, Dan and I decided that it would be a great idea to go on a backpacking trip.

I'll preface this trip with the fact that in the 2 years that we have been married, we've never gone backpacking together. Dan's last time out was when he was 16 and in boy scouts. My first and only time was a weekend trip about 5 years ago to North Manitou Island with a few cousins.

We talked our friends Toby (who has only camped twice in his life, both this year) and Matt, who is a veteran to the whole outdoor thing.

After tossing ideas around of where to go, we decided on Goat Rocks area in Washington, between Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Ranier.

Matt going crazy over his Voodoo Donuts

With topo maps, packs, and dog ready to go, we took off on Saturday morning around 6am. Our first stop, Voodoo donuts for essential hiking fuel. As soon as we walked in the door, Matt's eyes glazed over and was in a trance like state. There, on the counter, were buckets of donuts for sale. Two for $5.

An hour later, Matt's freezer and our stomachs were stuffed to the brim with donuts, and we were on I-5 headed to Goat Rocks.

We arrived to the trailhead around 11am, donned our packs, and started up the 5.5 miles that were between us and basecamp. About three miles in, we encountered snow. At first it seemed like no big deal as it's common to come across melting snow on the trails in the mountains. But this snow covered everything between us and the mountain peak. The next 2 miles, we off-trailed it up the side of the mountain using our compass and topo maps to get to the tree line where we eventually set up camp. I have to say, that was the toughest and most exhausting hiking I've ever done in my life.

Toby at Basecamp. Est. Elevation, 6500 ft

I made Asian Salmon for dinner. Yummy! Even Yogi liked it.

On Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early to reach the summit of Old Snowy. On our way up to basecamp, the sun had warmed up the surface of the snow to make it all slushy and very difficult to get a solid foothold. After a night of freezing temps, we wanted the solid snow.

Me, Dan, Yogi, and Matt enjoying our 5 minute break from hiking on our way to say hi to Old Snowy.

After 2 hours of hiking straight up, we reached the summit. Yay! We used ice axes, every coat we packed, and our mad michigan snow hiking skills to get there.

Dan and I hiking up the last bit...almost there...

In the background of this picture, you can see a wonderful cloud. By the time we hit the ridgeline, we were bombarded by wind and our visibility dropped to about 20 or so feet. Pretty darn cool, however, it wasn't much of view from the top. On a side note, the cloud system was still hovering over when we hiked out the next day. It made for a windy and wet night of camping.

Thanks Dad for the bivy sack.

Dan at the summit of Old Snowy. Est Elevation 7,770ft

Dan and Toby decdided to go further up the ridgeline and reach the "summit" there. There were way too many loose rocks and huge drop offs for my comfort level.

All in all, we had a great time, even if we spent more time in our tents than hiking. We learned to call the forest station before we leave, and to pack an extra pair of socks.