I drove to the South District of the Mount Tahoma Trails to hike up to High Hut today. I wasn't sure what the views would be like with a forecast of mostly cloudy. Was thrilled to see a peek of Rainier along the drive up this morning. The forest road was clear until the last 50 ft to the upper parking area. From the upper lot, it is 6 miles round trip with 1,700 ft of gain. The "trail" is a closed forest road. The huts are closed because of Covid, but the out houses are open and stocked.
There was snow covering the closed road from the gate. I met a MTTA ski patroller who told me I would be able to hike the whole way up without snowshoes as the road was well packed down. I made sure to stay to the side of the road and not create divers or other snags making the middle treacherous for skiers. Unfortunately other hikers/snowshoers had not been so cooperative.
snowman along the road side
There was color to the east from a lingering sunrise under the clouds.
I had a view of Mt Adams through the trees on the last mile of trail (zoom).
High Hut facing Mt Rainier
Mt Rainier from in front of High Hut
zoom of the top of Mt Rainier
View to the south from High Rock to
Mt St Helens
zoom of High Rock (the one of the right)
Mt Adams hiding behing a nearby peak (zoom)
zoom of the Goat Rocks
zoom of Mt St Helens
And far to the northwest: hazy Olympic Mountains across Puget Sound
watching the clouds move in between the nearby ridge lines as I hiked down
some color appearing in the sky before noon
frosty leaf in the parking area
No comments:
Post a Comment