Source LakeJust a short trip to my local winter play area, in search of new and different ways to get myself into and out of trouble!
Today, I had a very pleasant and unhurried day. I went to an area called Source Lake. If you look at some old photos that I sent, especially from Snoqualmie Mountain, Source Lake is at the bottom, between Chair Peak and Snoqualmie. I was checking out the trip for when we do the trip with the Ironmen of the church. I think it'll be fine, as long as we stay low and don't gain much elevation. This will make a good first-timer trip.
However, I didn't follow that advice. I made it to Source Lake in about an hour, and had time to spare. Looking around the basin, I could see the route to the Tooth (hidden at the moment.) and in front of me was Chair. To my left, at about 10 o'clock, was Bryant and Hemlock. The basin was full of avalanche debris, so I avoided that, so opted for the right-hand side, among the trees sloping upward at about a 40 to 45-degree angle.
The show was soft and deep here. Even with snowshoes on, I still sank at times up to my waist. I had to pick my way upward, looking for places where the snow was more consolidated. I found the solid parts about 50% of the time, so I thrashed around a bit, moving slowly upward.
Ahead of me (so I think) was a ridgeline that I intended to follow and make a circuit back to the truck. After about 45 minutes of this, I made it to within 50 feet of the ridge. But the slope was very steep and the snow alternately deep, then icy. At one point, as I fought to gain one more foothold, my other foot slipped and I started sliding down the hill. I didn't have my ice ax, so I quickly used my ski pole, as an ax, to help arrest the slip. I wasn't in any danger at all, just a lot of deep soft snow, and a hill that I wanted to climb. At the point I stopped, I changed direction and tried again. This time, I got above the previous point, but again stopped short for the same reasons.
Here I decided that this was far enough and prepared to go down.. Carefully removing my pack and assuring that everything stayed attached, I put on my rain pants and took off my snowshoes so I could glissade a bit down the steepest parts. As soon as my 'shoes were off, one step within my little platform again planted me 4 and a half feet in a snow hole! I clambered out and descended the hill until I could find a good spot to put the 'shoes back on. The hike out was uneventful.
The neat thing about the day is that the scenery was so pretty. Ice encrusted tree limbs from a recent snowstorm. 8 feet of snow on both sides framed the creeks that I crossed and there were ice/waterfalls. The sun made casual appearances that illuminated the upper sections of the surrounding peaks. Clouds were rolling in and out so that each moment created a new scene. |