Snoqualmie

Snow Day Snow Angel

We've had a bit of snow here recently in the PACNORWEST, and I've been itching to get out and use the snowshoes I got for Christmas.  On the holiday last Monday, a bunch of guys from my wardroom and I planned to go to Mount Rainier to do some snowshoeing and sledding.  Unfortunately, there was too much snow and they road up to Paradise remained closed that day.  Instead, we decided to go to The Summit at Snoqualmie, commonly referred to as simply "Snoqualmie."


I had no idea how big Snoqualmie is.  For some reason, I was thinking Snoqualmie would just have one central parking lot where we all pile out and head off to the ski slopes or to the tubing area or to the snowshoeing area.

Not so.

The place is ginormous and spread out across three exits off I-90 (exits 52, 53, and 54).  I'm glad I went with one of my shipmates who had been there before and led us directly to the Nordic center to rent snowshoes, because I never would have found it otherwise.  Well, I suppose if I was going by myself, I probably would have done more research on their website before driving up there.  The website clearly gives directions telling you which exit to use for which part of the resort you want to visit, and they have interactive maps of the place (click here for the maps).  

Let me just say up front that I'm really glad we went.  I took my boys, and we had a great time.  Now that I've been there once though, there are a few things I learned and probably would have done differently.  Our plan was first to go snowshoeing with the guys from my wardroom, and then head over to the tubing area, and it was a pretty good line-up of activities for our snow-fun day.

My boys in front of the Nordic rental center at Snoqualmie.

We got off I-90 at Exit 54 around 9:30-ish and got one of the last parking spots way in the back-forty of a HUGE parking lot.  We trudged through the parking lot snow and across the ski resort to the Nordic center where they rent snowshoes.  They DO have kid / youth-size snowshoes to rent there.

Traditional Blunoz family foot photo.

(Minus LW at home enjoying a day of peace and quiet.)

However, comparing the price I paid for rentals versus the price of new showshoes on the internet, if my kids used them TWICE it would have been more cost effective to have just bought them.  Plus, the rentals at the Nordic center don't come with poles.  They don't have any collapsible or kid-sized poles.  Most of the snowshoes for sale online come with poles.  Given the snow that dumped around our house this week and the 3 snow days the boys had off of school, I'm sure they would have used them just to walk around outside the house this week.

 Leaving the parking lot, heading out on the trail.

If I had gone alone, then I probably would have sunk another chunk of change into the trail passes to use the trails there around the Nordic center.  Luckily, going with someone who's been there before, he took us to a different area that was free and didn't require a trail pass.  It was back two exits off of Exit 52 at the northern end of the Alpenthal area, and it took some time back-tracking through the snowy roads to go there after we had rented our snowshoes.  If we had just bought our own snowshoes, then we could have gone directly there instead of going to the rental center.  Shoulda coulda woulda.

My boys on the trail with a cross-country skier passing by.

The trail we went on was well defined due to heavy use, but I never saw any clear trail markers on the trees to guide me if I had been the first person out there for the day.  There were a lot of cross country skiers and snowshoers out on the trail.

The boys and I did the snowshoeing thing for a little over an hour.  Then we got back in the car and headed down to the "central" area of Snoqualmie where the tubing area is located.  We ate lunch at the little grill / snack bar at the tubing area.  Lemme tell ya... It's pretty bad when your 10 year old son claims the prices are "highway robbery."  Considering he never actually pays for any of our meals, I was surprised he even noticed.  As for me, it gave me flashbacks to Disney - both in price and quality of food and service. 
Note to Self:  Next time, pack a lunch.

The boys at the entrance to the tubing area.

They sell tickets for the tubing area in 2-hour blocks.  We bought tickets for the 1:30 to 3:30 slot.  After eating our lunch, we actually started tubing about 2 p.m., so we were on the tubing runs for an hour and a half.  In that time, I think we probably flew down the hill about 7 times.

 My youngest son taking off down the hill.

My youngest son was dragging his feet and said he didn't want to go tubing.  I think he was just cold and needed some time to warm up in the snack bar area.  When he got to the bottom of the hill his first time, he bounced up and down with glee, saying, "Again!  Again!"  

My youngest son on the tow line back to the top.

 They DO have a tow-line that will tow you back up the hill on your tube, but the line of people waiting to get on the tow line was pretty long.  So the first 4 times, we just walked back up the hill.  (See the people on the right side of the picture above walking up alongside the tow line).  THAT was quite a workout.  ESPECIALLY the two times my youngest son's hand slipped, he let go of his tube, and it went flying back down to the bottom of the hill.  So I actually got to climb the hill 6 times after walking back down to get his tube and bring it back up. 

Going that fast down the hill on the tube, it was hard to keep my eyes open with the snow pelting me in the face.   
Note to self:  Next time, bring ski goggles.

All-in-all, it was a great snow play day for me and my boys.  We added to the awesomeness of the day by bookending our fun in the snow with Krispy Kreme doughnuts on our way driving out to Snoqualmie and with Chipotle on our way driving back.  I'm not sure why neither Krispy Kremer nor Chipotle have crossed the Puget Sound to open a location on the Kitsap peninsula yet.  It was nice to get some while we were on the Seattle side of the water.

Olympic National Park - Hurricane Ridge Hike

It was a spectacularly beautiful weekend here in the Pacific Northwest.  I decided to get another use out of my National Park annual pass that expires this month and head over to check out Olympic National Park. 

When I sat down at my computer to do some research and figure out when and where to go, I was amazed by the size of the park.  It's bigger than the state of Rhode Island for cryin' out loud (777,000 acres in RI vs. 922,000 acres in ONP).  There are several different visitor centers at different places around the park.  I get the impression that each one is strategically located to show a very different aspect of the park - sub-alpine versus rain forest versus coastal). 

I decided to try Hurricane Ridge, at the Northern end of the park, about twenty miles south of Port Angeles, Washington.  I could tell from the webcam that there is still snow up there (there's a second webcam on the parking lot), but I couldn't find any useful gouge on whether I would need snowshoes or not.  The thought of renting snowshoes at Pacific Edge Outfitters again crossed my mind, but I remembered that the National Park visitor center on Mt. Rainier offered snow shoes for rent there.  The ONP website said they had snowshoes to rent, so I figured I would drive up there and rent them if I needed them. 

Scenery on the drive up from Port Angeles

Scenery on the drive up from Port Angeles

There was just a little bit of snow left over from "winter."

Well, come to find out, there are basically two seasons at Hurricane Ridge.  During the winter season, they rent skis, sleds, snowshoes, and run a ski lift and have a big booming business.  They even have park ranger led showshoe hikes.  The "winter" season ends around mid March.  Next, the "summer" season seems to start around mid July, and there are park ranger led hikes to admire beautiful flowers and stunning views. 

Apparently though, if you go in between the end of "winter" and the beginning of "summer" then you pretty much get to make do on your own.  Nothing is available to rent.  No park rangers provide any guided hikes.  It's all you.

Don't get me wrong.  I had a great time, and I'm very glad I went.  I was just surprised by the gap in activity offered at this park compared to most other national parks. 

I had lunch in the visitor center cafe, and it was very good.  Much better than the cafe at Mt. Rainier.  I had a ham and swiss on rye with sweet potato fries and it was delicious.

This was the view I got to enjoy from the cafe while eating my lunch.  Nope, no need to rent any showshoes or anything like that this time of year.

The park ranger at the visitor center told me they put out orange poles in the snow leading away from the parking lot to lead people to a scenic overlook.  She told me the snow was packed down enough that I didn't need snowshoes. 

Sure enough.

Oh, but don't walk past the LAST orange pole.

The view was indeed spectacular.  The photo doesn't do it justice.  In the foreground is Port Angeles, then the Strait of Juan de Fuca, then Victoria, British Columbia in the distance.

Obligatory Blunoz self-portrait

I hiked clockwise around the ridge.  This is looking back at where those avalanche warning signs were.

See the signs?

Aside from walking the short distance along the orange poles from the visitor center to the view point, most people were just walking the plowed Hurricane Ridge Road.  It was closed to vehicles and partially plowed, and it wound back and forth down the hill for a mile or so.  The view was much better from up on top of the snow on either side of the road than it was from on the pavement.  Since it was my first time there and I didn't have snowshoes or skis, I stayed close to the paved road.  I did see some people showing up with their own snowshoes go trekking off into the snow though, and it made me wish I had my own.  

For the portion of my hike that I did on the road, I kept thinking I was Luke Skywalker attacking the Death Star.  Then I came to the end of where the plow had been...

Use the Force, Luke!

After crossing over to the south side of the road, I found an area where the snow had melted.

Over on this side of the ridge, I had several of these pretty birds following me along from tree to tree.  I don't know if they were just naturally curious or if they've been fed by humans one too many times and were looking for a handout.

Overall, it was a gorgeous day, a very enjoyable drive, and a nice hike with stunning scenery.  This will certainly not be my last time to visit ONP.  Next time I'll just have to bring my own snowshoes, or come back in the summer season when the snow has melted.

Trip Stats on the GPS

Hike Stats:

Date: 4 June 2011

Start Time:  12:43 p.m.

Moving Time Elapsed:  1 hr 43 min

Stopped Time Elapsed:  30 min

Finish Time:  2:55 p.m.

Miles:  3.1 miles

Elevation gain: 443 feet

Temp:  Began approx 57F climbing to 64F when I drove back down.

Wind:  None.

Snowshoeing on Mount Rainier

Last week, I told my new shipmates that I wanted to start exploring the area with a hike on Saturday.  There was a sudden twinkle in their eyes and the gears in their noggins started churning on the plan for a most excellent outing to Mount Rainier National Park. 

They told me I would need snowshoes.

This excited me, because I've been wanting to try snowshoeing for a while, and I was disappointed there wasn't any snow on the ground when we arrived in NH for Christmas this year.

There is an excellent outdoor recreation place called Pacific Edge Outfitters at Naval Base Kitsap.  I stopped there on Friday and rented snowshoes and poles, plus some snow pants.  I thought the prices were pretty reasonable.  It cost me $20.75 to rent the gear for the weekend since they're closed on Sunday and I would have to return it on Monday.

We left the Kitsap area around 7 a.m. and started the approximate 2 1/2 hour drive to Paradise on the southern side of Mt. Rainier.  There was a pitstop at Starbucks, then a rendezvous with some members of our group at Krispy Kreme, then another pitstop at the Rainier Basecamp.  By the time we finally made it to Paradise, got suited up, and ready to set forth from the parking lot into the snow, it was 11:15 a.m. 

The snowbanks were about 3 times as tall as our truck.

View of the mountain from the parking lot.  Note how high the snow is on the lodge.

Tunnel entrance into the lodge.

It was pretty cold when we got there, too.  The thermometer on the truck said 31F.  I was glad I rented snow pants and brought my big snow boots.  There were 8 of us total.  Two members of our group had been here before and were experienced snow-hikers.  We got all bundled up in multiple layers of clothing and headed out.

 Time Stamp - Leaving Parking Lot

Snowshoe-Up!

I didn't keep detailed notes on the trail, but the initial timeline went something like this:
11:16 a.m.  Set out from Paradise Visitor's Center parking lot.
11:20 a.m.  Snowshoes on, commence trudging uphill through the snow.
11:21 a.m.  If I were on the elliptical or exercise bike at the gym, then it would have dinged, saying, "Target Heart-Rate Reached, Resistance will change to maintain heart-rate at XXX bpm."
11:22 a.m.  Sweating.  Took off winter hat.
11:23 a.m.  Still sweating.  Took off gloves.
11:24 a.m.  Sweating profusely.  If I were on the exercise bike at the gym, it would be making angry beeps at me, "Reduce pace to lower heartrate."
11:25 a.m.  Burning up.  Took off jacket and removed fleece liner.  Stuffed fleece liner in backbpack, put jacket shell back on.
11:26 a.m.  Doing better without the fleece, but still wishing I had NOT put on that long-underwear and heavy wool socks.  Unzipped jacket.

Actually, from then on it wasn't too bad.  Next time I will definitely not wear as many layers.

On the trail, heading up the Skyline Loop Path clockwise from the Paradise Visitor's Center.

I'm pretty sure that's the TOP of a very TALL tree.

Looking back the way we came.  

Can you see the footprints going waaaaay off into the distance up the hill?

Right here, we are hiking over this waterfall.

(Click the link to see what it looks like in summer.)

The scenery was spectacular throughout, and I'm very glad we went.  Unfortunately, the battery on my Garmin Forerunner is dead, so I don't have a link for you to see our trip stats on MyGarmin dashboard.  Using Google Earth, I think we went approximately 2.1 miles and climbed approximately 800 feet in elevation (starting around 5,400 feet and going up to about 6,200 feet). 

Time Stamp back in the parking lot.

(Elapsed time almost exactly 3 hours.)

We made it back to the Visitor's Center just in time for a Park Ranger to tell us about the National Park.  I have yet to be disappointed by listening to a Park Ranger, and this one was no exception.  His description of previous expeditions to the summit was both educational and entertaining.  They show a 21-minute video at quarter-past and quarter-til the hour, and the video was excellent, too. 

Aside: < rant > Will someone please explain to me why Pepsi has a stranglehold on the Pacific Northwest???  EVERYWHERE we go, it's always Pepsi.  You don't have to read my blog for long to know that I'm a Diet Coke addict, so this has been a frustrating part about moving to the area.  As much as I hate eating at McDonalds, I will now go through the McD's drive through simply because it is one of the few bastions of Coca-Cola products in the state of Washington.

Case-in-point:  The Cafe in the Paradise Visitor Center

Recommendation:  Bring food and beverages with you, or be ready to shell-out movie theater prices at the Visitor Center.  $3.23 for a soda the size of a medium at McD's, seriously???  < / rant >

To end on a positive note, we were able to stop at the REI in Tacoma on our way back and take advantage of some of their end-of-winter sale prices.  Then we had some dinner at a Mexican place I hadn't tried yet and was very good.  I owe some of you a review of the various Mexican restaurants I've tried so far on the peninsula though, so I'll cover that in another blog post to come.

In the meantime, if you would like some beginner info on snowshoeing, check out the REI website here.  Next on my snowshoeing to-do list is Hurricane Ridge.