Thursday, November 13, 2008

Ingalls Lake 11/09/2008


We braved our way through a monsoon only western part of Washington State can produce with hope of having better weather luck on the other side of the mountains and once again we succeeded.



There was some snow patches along the the last few miles but the actual road was clear and even though there were several parts significantly etched with potholes of various sizes, our passanger car had no difficulties reaching the trailhead.



The trail was clear nearly all the way to the pass with only occasional patches of snow to cross. The snow coverage became more solid once we crossed the pass and started to descend into the basin where we were surrounded by the beauty of rocky slopes stepping out of clouds and disappearing again as we proceeded further giving the basin amazingly mysterious feel.



We explored the basin throughly in a search of the lake... and finally found it,
mostly because we were lucky to meet a local hiker who pointed us to
the right direction.



Great day to be outside!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Davis Peak 11/02/2008

When the forecast calls for rain and you still can't wait for the
weekend to come so that you can get out, that's good. When despite
the downpour 4 of your friends feel the same way, that's even better.



We drove through rainstorm from North Bend all the way to Snoqualmie
Pass. The weather didn't change rapidly once we got on the East side
of the mountains but was improving gradually and before we reached
the trailhead, it stopped raining completely.



We only had to deal with occasional drizzle during our ascend and
enjoyed some views along the way. When nearing the summit the
temperature dropped a bit with the elevation we gained allowing for
tiny white snowflakes to sprinkle branches of surrounding trees and
the ground.



The wind picked up at the top but the circle of stones marking the
lookout site provided excellent refuge from this element where we
could sit and enjoy a cup of hot beverage.