Snowshoe at Blewett Pass

The weather was better on the east side of the Cascades, so we headed to Blewett Pass in the Wenatchee National Forest for our snowshoe fun. We hiked for about 8 miles.

 We started by following the forest road on the west side of the pass

 once we neared the ridge line, we went off roared and hike up the ridge.

 We had great views to the North

 and as we hiked back, the clouds lifted over the Cascades

 and we could see Sawtooth ridge to the west.

Snowshoe to Keechelus Ridge

This hike starts right off of I-90 just East of Snoqualmie Pass. 

We snowshoes about 6.5 miles with 2100 ft elevation gain.

The trail starts in the forest, and climbs quickly. 

As we gained elevation we started getting out of the fog and had gorgeous views.

 As we neared Keechelus Ridge, we joined the forest road and shared it with snowmobilers.

Mt Rainier is seen in the background.

At the top of Keechelus Ridge, the Cascade Mountains to the North.

and far to the west we could see the Olympic Mountains through the gap in the Cascade Mountains 

  We had a quick descent once we returned to the steep hillside in the forest

as the snow was deep and soft.

Snowshoe at Hurricane Ridge

Beautiful day, we headed to Hurricane Ridge to snowshoe around.

We started out on the road toward Hurricane Hill.

 We had great views of the Olympic Mountains to the South

 and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the North

 There were x-coountry ski tracks, but we were the first snowshoers out this morning 

and had to make our own tracks.

 We climbed up the hill.

 Because of the large cornice on the right side of the ridge, and no clear trail to take through the steep parts, we decided to play it safe and snowshoe back to the Visitor Center

 We also snowshoed around the area near the visitor center enjoying the sun

 and had a great view of Mt Baker to the Northeast across Puget Sound

Snowshoe Narada Falls to Reflection Lakes to Paradise and back at Mt Rainier National Park

Lots of fresh snow, but acceptable Avalanche risk levels. We headed out to Mt Rainier.

Started at the parking lot at Narada Falls. A good place to start/end the hike

 as there are large heated restrooms available to change in.

 It seemed like we were in a winter wonderland.

 The trail does go through a couple of avalanche chute areas

 Much more snow than when I was at Reflection Lakes in November.

 After Reflection Lakes, we took the snow covered road to Paradise to enjoy some hot chocolate.

Then hiked back down to the Narada Falls parking lot. While we were returning, the snow stopped,

the clouds lifted a bit and we could enjoy the sight of some of the surrounding ridges.

Snowshoe along part of the Pacific Crest Trail Washington

We started our snowshoe trip at the Commonwealth Creek and Red Mtn trailhead on the Pacific Crest Trail. We followed tracks before us climbing up the trail in the forest.


It wasn't long before the tracks veered away from the regular trail of to the east. We decided to keep following these tracks. Soon we were rewarded with views of the surrounding mountains.

Lots of climbing, but the snow was packed in the tracks making for easy snowshoeing

 

Snoqualmie Pass was covered in fog & clouds, but we had marvelous views!

 We continued around the bluff heading east

 Enjoying the views, until we decided it was time to turn around.

 On the way back, the clouds lifted and we could see the skiers at Snoqualmie West.

Snowshoe near Longmire on Mt Rainier

Beautiful sunny day, we were hoping to snowshoe up towards Eagle Peak, but weren't able to find the trail in the fresh snow. From Longmire, we crossed the bridge over the Nisqually River.

 Looking back we had a great view of Mt Rainier

 We hike through the woods

 Passed and crossed several small creeks

 We reached a ridge line with no views due to the trees. When we no longer felt safe because of the many tree wells, we turned back. Enjoyed our day wandering in the woods.

This stellar jay was hoping for a handout.

Magnesia Falls Hike California

Located in Rancho Mirage California, the hike is only open to hikers Oct - Dec, 

to protect the Bighorn sheep

The hike is in a dry wadi

There are several scrambles up dry waterfalls

 The rocks are beautiful

 There are plenty of areas to rest to have a look around

 A place to climb up the side of the canyon 

 Beautiful day in the desert

 I think we climbed about 1000 ft overall