Over Night Stay at Snow Bowl Hut on 3-24-14

On Monday, I took a trip up to Snow Bowl at the Mt. Tahoma Trails.  I had planned to meet my friends, John and Sharon there.  It was a beautiful, sunny day.   A great day to be out in the woods. Ted could not come on this one as he has had some foot problems.  

I thought I would start early as I wanted to enjoy every part of this beautiful day.   I had got my backpack ready the night before, so off I went.  I got to the trail head abut 10:00 a.m., took my 25 lb. pack and IPod and off I went.  It is a steep 3 1/2 miles up to Snow Bowl.

It was great when I finally got up there.   There was a couple already there with their 3 year old son.   He was adorable!   They were getting ready to go skiing and they had a little chariot with skis to take their son in.   Off they went, and I had the hut to myself, temporarily.   I got all settled in.

The Mt. Tahoma Trails have three huts and a yurt.  A person can make reservations to stay in them.  People can hike, snowshoe or ski up to the huts or yurt for the day and if someone wants to spend the night, then a reservation can be made.   They are $15.00 per night.  Each hut allows a certain number of people who can stay there.  At Snow Bowl, ten people can be accommodated.  Availability can be checked on the internet.    Snow Bowl was full for Monday night, but me and my friends, were the only ones staying Tuesday night.

Early that afternoon, Jerry and Mary showed up.  They had snowshoed up to High Hut for the day.  It was so nice chatting with them.  They love to  hike and snowshoe.  They are amazing for a couple in their 80's!  I love seeing people in their 80's out hiking and snowshoeing for long distances.  It helps me think that I can be doing what I love to do at their age.

The couple with their 3 year old returned and I enjoyed talking with them.  They have an organic farm and since I buy organic foods, I learned more about organic farming.

My friends, John and Sharon did not show up until after 7:00 p.m.  John had a painting job to finish.  But another couple who were spending the night showed up just before my friends did.  Really liked them also.  We named them the Navy couple as they both were in the Navy.  We all had a great time getting to know one another as we made dinner.  It was a beautiful afternoon and great company.


The upstairs part of the hut is for sleeping.   There are a couple bunk beds and thick mats to sleep on.   Very comfortable.   Nine and 1/2 (the 3 year old) of us slept up there on Monday night.  The snoring wasn't too bad, ha!  On Tuesday night, me and my friends had the hut all to ourselves!

On Tuesday morning, it was a different day and different weather.  It was cloudy, and snowing lightly.  But we decided to snowshoe up to High Hut after breakfast.   John did not want to go, he wanted to stay and rest.   So Sharon and I put on our rain gear and took off.   It was snowing lightly, but not bad.  On the way up, we ran into the people who had stayed the night at High Hut, coming down.   Then a couple of snow boarders startled us as they were coming down, and fast.   We did not know which way to go, but they missed us!  It would have been very unpleasant if they would have hit us!   When we got up to High Hut, it was windy and snowing.  It was nice coming into a nice warm hut and we had it all to ourselves.   I got the tea kettle going and Sharon and I got our lunches out as we watched the snow and wind outside.   We were surprised to see John  show up.  He was worried about us.  After lunch, John and I played cards while Sharon took a nap.   It was so nice there.  The Navy couple showed up, as they planned to spend the night there.  They would have the hut all to themselves, very romantic!  We left the hut about 3:00 p.m.

 When we got back to Snow Bowl, we were wet on the outside, but dry under.   So we put our wet gear on nice racks they had available.   Everyone else who had been there, left.   We made dinner and watched the snow and the wind.   John and I played cards while Sharon read, then it was bed time.   We had the whole upstairs to ourselves.   I chose to sleep on one of the bunk beds.    After a good nights sleep, we got up and made breakfast.   It was still snowing slightly, but not bad.   We got all of our gear together to head out for home.   We had a wonderful time and met some really nice people and look forward to our next stay here.   Would highly recommend staying at the huts, they are soooo nice.

So happy to see Snow Bowl.  Another hill to go up and get my pack off!

Snow Bowl is at an elevation of 4,250 feet, what a wonderful place to stay.

Bathroom or outhouse.   Is pretty nice inside. 

 Even has a light that automatically comes on at night.

  

We get our water by putting snow in the white buckets and then put snow in the large steel pots and the propane heater melts the snow that we use for cooking and washing.  There is a water

filter in the kitchen for drinking water.

View of Mt. Rainier from the living room of the hut.

Kitchen and dining room in the hut.  Those who stay there clean up after their selves

and take back their own garbage.  The kitchen is fully equipped with cooking utensils

and dishes, cups as well as so many other things.  It is great!  And there is a stove and oven.

Part of the living room.  I loved the sofa on the left, very comfortable. 

 There are games, books available.

Other side of the living room.

Bruno, a donor who helped rebuild Snow Bowl hut, after the first one burnt down years ago.

Map of the trails and location of other huts and yurt.

Sleeping area, it is a really large area.

Monday was a beautiful day.  Great view of the mountain.

Almost 5 feet of snow, also, you can almost see High Hut, dot on the upper left, which we planned

to go up to on Tuesday.   Three miles from Snow Bowl hut.

Snow Bowl Hut from the back.   Our outdoor restroom.  Seemed far away when having to

go in the middle of the night!  ha!

Snow Bowl in the evening.   So beautiful!  Took pictures after dinner

while taking a nice walk, while waiting for my friends to show up.

My friends, coming up the trail about 7:00 p.m.  

Sharon preparing dinner and her husband, John.

Sharon snowshoeing up the hill to High Hut.   It was snowing and windy.   

It has an elevation of over 5,000 feet.

High Hut, cannot see Mt. Rainier, very cloudy.  Really nice hut.

My friends, Sharon and John.

Looking out the window from High Hut.   Snow and wind.  Normally there is

a great view of Mt. Rainier.

Me getting the tea kettle going for some nice hot cocoa.

Brief view of the valley from High Hut.

Wednesday morning, time to go back home.  

Me and my friend, Sharon.   Had an amazing time at the hut.   Time to go home,

looking forward to our next visit!

My Day With the Haugen Kids on 3-20-14

 Vena asked if I could watch the kids while she worked at the church on Thursday.  Of course, I said, sure!!!  I am always eager to spend time with my grandkids, Aleah, Eli and Ethan.   Vena was starting a new job at her church in maintenance and would be gone most of the day.

I arrived about 10:30 a.m. and was so happy to see them all.  Vena had a little time to chat, and then off she went.  I spent some time with Ethan while Aleah and Eli worked on school.  Ethan and I read  a couple of his books.  One was kind of scarey!  ha!  Then Ethan wanted to go outside for a walk.  I said sure!

Backpack to Lower Enchantments on 9-7-12

Ted and I had an amazing opportunity to backpack the lower

Enchantments in Leavenworth, Washington.  For several years I have been putting into the Enchantment lottery to be able to camp in the core of the Enchantments.   But have never gotten it. So Ted and I decided to take our chances and go see if we could get a permit.   A certain number of permits are allowed for lottery each morning at the Park Ranger's office in Leavenworth.  We put in for Snow Lakes as we felt we would have a better opportunity for that one as so many people wanted the Enchantment Core.   There was another person who put in for Snow Lakes also.  When the ranger picked our name, we were so excited.   It was the beginning of an amazing journey into the lower Enchantments!

We backpacked about 7.5 miles the first day close to the Upper Snow Lakes.   It was a long day, but so happy to finally set up camp.  It was quiet where we camped, no crowds, very peaceful!  And the Lake was amazing!!!  We had a great view of The Temple rock formations.

The next day, we took our time getting up and having breakfast and basking in the beautiful scenery.  Then got ready for our trip up the lower Enchantments.  Happy we did not have full packs because Ted had to practically lift me up on some of the boulders we had to climb.   We ran into a couple of goats.  They kept watching us, but never bothered us.  Pretty cute!

When we got to Lake Viviane, it was so beautiful!  So very clear.  Hard to describe how beautiful it was.   Just wanted to stay there all day, but knew there was more awesomeness up and down the trail.   We did run into some backpackers who had come up from Aasgard Pass and had camped in the upper Enchantments and were slowly coming back.  Want to do that some day.  We also ran into a group of nurses who worked together.  They sure had huge packs!  They were struggling!  I think it was more than they expected. 

After hiking to Leprechaun, Sprite and Perfection Lake, it was time to go back.  Did not want to come back in the dark.  So we reluctantly came back with lots of beautiful pictures in our minds of where we had just been.  We spent another night at Snow Lakes.  We had a nice nights sleep until we woke up to people talking and walking around in the dark.  It was finally quiet, we thought they must have found a spot to camp.   In the morning, we saw a small tent by the lake.   Ted went down there and spoke with the couple.   They had an accent and apparently the guy sprained his ankle and was in much pain.   They were slowly coming down.  Wow, they still  had a ways to go.  That day, Ted and I packed up and headed to Nada Lake to camp out.   We found a wonderful spot and just relaxed before we backpacked out the next day.     This will be a backpack to remember, lots of adventure, beautiful scenery and great company.  We thank God for creating such scenery, just for us to enjoy.   Thank you sooo much, God!!!

Snow Lake and The Temple above us.  

One happy camper on Snow Lake.  We had it all to ourselves!

Goats we ran into going up to lower Enchantments.   A mama and its little one!

Me at Lake Viviane, beautiful!

Taking a break on warm rocks next to the lake.

The Temple above Lake Viviane.

Leprechaun and Sprite Lake.   Did not see any Leprechauns!

Ted enjoying Leprechaun Lake.  Awesome Day!

Beautiful waterfall cascading from huge rocks.

The water was so clear you can see the fish!

Beautiful scenery along the trail.

Beautiful, serene, so peaceful looking.

I think I could live there!  ha!

Perfection Lake

Another view of the lake with Little Annapurna in the background.

Better view of Little Annapurna.  Would love to climb it.

Coming back from Perfection Lake, beautiful afternoon.

My handsome husband.  He carries lots of my stuff!

Upper Enchantments.   Did not have time to go up there, but will some day!

Snow Lakes below, where we are camped

Wow, good size rocks we had to come down toward Lake Viviane.

Amazed to see a little daisy.  Where did that come from? 

Me at Nada Lake, we camped out there coming out.

Saving Ted from the huge boulder coming down!

Ted holding it up also! ha!

Beautiful Nada Lake in the afternoon, what a great trip!