Snowshoeing in Paradise

It is spring here in the Northwest, which means daffodils, rain, tulips and longer days in Seattle.  Outisde of Seattle, in the mountains it means snow at 6,000 feet. 

On Saturday, my friend Hans and I drove out to Mt. Rainier early to enjoy a day of snowshoeing near Paradise.  There is a reason they call it Paradise.  It was a winter wonderland, just cold enough to be pleasantly warm while trekking over the 10 ft snow drifts.  We left Seattle around eight in the morning, coffee in our mugs, in hopes of finding a nice snow shoe.  We entered Mt Rainier national park around 11 and put our gear on.  I've always owned winter clothing, living in Chicago during the winter requires it.  I had several layers topped with a waterproof jacket and a pair of rain pants. My balaclava and sunglasses were also necessary.  I realize after this experience that I must Snow-Seal my hiking boots. 

We did about 3 miles in all of snowshoeing between pleasant tree coverage and open valleys with a bit of wind.  The snow was so pristine and soft.  Often the drifts resembled sand dunes or waves.  Though it was mostly cloudy, there were periods of clearing when the sun sparkled down on the evergreens in the distance.  I sunk about 6 inches into the snow with each footstep. Without my snowshoes it probably would have been a three feet sinking.  The snow was in drifts deeper than 12 feet.  Trekking around in this snow was not tedious but energizing and warming.

I was blissed out to be in the wilderness in the snow, finally, my first snow expedition of the season.  We passed a few others, but for the most part, it was quite empty. Hans was quite versed in following the safe tree line and not venturing into large open spaces with steep drifts that could collapse.  We stopped twice to picnic in the snow, butts plopped in the body encapsulating snow. 

Towards the end of our hike, we decided that it was super fun to make snow angels by falling into the snow, turning into planks and just letting go.  The snow caught us.  Together we formed over a dozen of snow imprints by falling either on our backs, fronts or sides.  Hans also did a few front flips landing on his back.  The snow was so deep and so supportive, there was little impact.  Having the snowshoes on made maneuvering into a jump a bit challenging, so after awhile we took them off.  Laughing more than I have in a long time, the falling and playing was so fun.  We were practicing and perfecting the falling and trusting the earth to hold us. It was quite wonderful. 

After getting completely covered in snow, we decided that we may get too wet and cold and must stop, though I have to admit stopping this play was difficult, as it was SO FUN. We walked out and took some photos next to the snowdrifts, had IPA's and unpeeled our wet gear as the sun began to shine more clearly.  Below are some of what Hans called "peekaboo views" of the beautiful mountains at Rainier:

The pictures do not fully capture what I saw up in the mountains. Sometimes your eye can take a better photograph, than any lens could.  In any case, the photos are a reminder of how wonderful snow can be.  A day of play in the snowy mountains is exactly what I needed. More to come...