Snow Bowl birthday hut adventure!

 This is the second year of what I hope to make an annual adventure. The weather stunk and two out of the four of us needed to stay home due to illness, but Corrine and I braved the rain and drove up to the south sno park with Mt. Tahoma Trails.

 The plus of a rainy day is that we got to park a mile closer and skip a mile of climbing uphill! After about a mile of hiking we hit snow at 3600 feet. I left my snowshoes in the car because it was easier to just hike today.

 We continued through the rain in the woods but the climbing kept us warm.

 Reaching the high point and enjoying the prayer flags!

 We took a short break but cooled down quickly.

 This looked totally different with so little snow but we knew we were on the home stretch.

 My faithful friend braving the rainy day with me.

 We started downhill to the hut.

 There was a light dusting of snow but it got a little deeper when we got up out of the trees.

 Behind the hut, this little gazebo was made by a special volunteer Judy as a meditation space.

 I took some time to enjoy the gazebo.

 Inside the gazebo there were colorful prayer flags.

 The windows at all sides gave a great view on a sunnier day.

 The gazebo has all sorts of special touches.

 Outside the gazebo

 On the edge of the special place- people stacked rocks and left special touches.

 Here is a pole with the distance to the mountains.

 We had the big beautiful hut all to ourselves- played a board game- Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets trivia with a Quiddich game, relaxed by the fire, took naps, and read good books.

 What an amazing cozy space!

 MTTA huts feel like coming home! I love how many special touches the huts have.

 Melting snow on the stove for water.

 We cooked some delicious food.

 The extensive kitchen has everything you might need- even a collection of muffin tins. Propane and solar power.

 I slept upstairs and had a wonderful time. It was cozy and special to have the hut to ourselves.

 We braved the wind and rainy morning and hiked back down to the car. We met up with two friends, Keri and Joseph who brought us to Longmire where I enjoyed this yummy blackberry cobler.

We had a great visit and a short hike by the river. I can't wait until the next hut or yurt adventure! What a gem. Such a special place. I feel connected to myself, Mt. Rainier, and my friends and open to what these experiences have to teach me!

Sleeping Beauty Mt. Adams Fall Sunshine

On a beautiful sunny fall day I went for a long drive with Oreo dog and my friend Corrine to a great hike with views of Mt. Adams, Sleeping Beauty.

Oreo dog was ready to pull me up a mountain as always. We hiked through the woods- 1.6 miles of steep to some great rockery at the top.

We spent some time exploring the high rocks and basking in the sunshine and mountain views.

Mt. Adams was right in front of us.

It was a great view.

In the distance was Mt. St. Helens.

Here I am in my mountain revelry and delight!

Oreo was keeping track of Corrine behind me and other hikers at the top.

Mt. Rainier in the distance.

More Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. Adams up close.

On top of the world!

Enjoying the sunshine.

Oreo always wants to keep going. She was happy to join us.

Mt. Adams beauty.

Hey, why aren't we going somewhere?

We went over to the site of the fire lookout on the other side of the rocks, still enjoying the mountains and the sunshine.

I can't get enough of this view!

Looking across the rocky spine.

Oreo is queen of the mountain.

I could stay up here a lot longer but it was time to head back toward the trailhead and back to town.

I enjoyed the rocks on the way back down. My heart feels happy and full from this adventure. Loving the fall sunshine!

On Top of the World- Basking in the Fall Mt. View

It was a beautiful SUNNY October day. Oreo dog and I set out for the Mirror Lake trailhead on a Monday without the crowds with our friend Sarah who I have missed hiking with. I have been under an amazing amount of work stress so hiking with or without children has been a huge priority.

With Oreo dog pulling me up the hill we made it to Mirror Lake in record time.

We wandered around Mirror Lake. The reflection of snow covered Mt. Hood was lovely.

We continued up toward the top of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain stopping to enjoy the fall color.

When we got to the top we enjoyed the amazing view of Mt. Hood!

The panoramic mountain view was fantastic- Mt. Adams in the distance.

Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier could also be seen in the distance.

We savored in the view from the top and worked on cooking some lunch and making coffee.

Oreo dog tried to steal the lunch and drink the coffee as well as wanting to chase a chipmunk off the cliff. I held tightly to her leash.

Sarah enjoyed the view while Oreo dog could not figure out why we had stopped!

Mt. Jefferson?

Enjoying being so close to Mt. Hood.

Oreo dog and I hanging out at the mountain viewpoint.

Mt. St. Helens looking lovely in the distance.

We headed back down and enjoyed the fall colors reflecting on the lake.

What a wonderful fall day to let go of stress, catch up on future hopes, and bask in the mountain views.

We gave the lake one last look and headed down toward the car.

Oreo dog led the way. I gave her a B for hiking today because she is pulling hard after all the little animals but having a dog pull you up a mountain is not always a bad thing!