Another beautiful sunny day in February with very little snow and very low avalanche danger. We hiked up to Mount Beljica in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest just east of Ashford off of Hwy 706. The forest road was snow free, but lots of potholes. This hike is 4 miles round trip with 1100 ft of elevation gain. Because this trail enters the Glacier View Wilderness you need to stop at the trail head and fill out a permit. Most of the hike is in the forest.
The trail climbs 400 ft to Lake Christine. We didn't encounter snow until just before the lake. There were some loose rocks across the trail where we crossed avalanche chutes.
View of Lake Christine from the south looking toward Mount Beljica to the north.
Log bridge crossing the creek near the north end of Lake Christine.
1/2 mile from Lake Christine the trail, it is supposed to split. To the left, boot track up Mount Beljica, straight toward Beljica Meadows and Goat Lake. The boot tracks only went up Mount Beljica. We did some wandering around but couldn't find the trail to Goat Lake today.
The trail was mostly snow until near the top of Mount Beljica, snowshoes were not needed today.
Looking south from the saddle of Mount Beljica, in the distance Mt Adams, Mt Hood and Mt St Helens
Mt Adams
Mt Hood far to the south
Mt St Helens
Looking to the north and the top of Mount Beljica from the saddle.
Looking across Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains to the far northwest
From the top of Mount Beljica: the west side of Mount Rainier, and in the foreground Gobbler's Knob.
Panorama from west to south:
Bald eagle soaring above us while on top of Mount Beljica.
Beautiful hike! Gorgeous photos!
ReplyDelete