There were small patches of snow at the TH and on the way up to the permit box the trees were raining icy water from the recent snowfall. Brrrrrrr
It would have helped to put on my slowshoes for most of the hike up to the timberline trail, but I'm always reluctant to don the ankle weights. I waited until I reached the first open view of hood when I was sinking in a good 10 inches. Hood was hidden in the clouds until I started to question the forecast then he made a perfectly timed appearance for some extra motivation.
Some thin clouds passed over making for a nice eerie ascent.
I put the snowshoes away for the the final climb and found it to be a bit easier covered in snow and ice than sand and rock.
The final traverse over to the high point was a little sketchy as the rocks under the snow were icy making random footholds break loose. I took my time here and made sure to kick solid steps onto rocks when possible.
For me Yocum Ridge and Barrett Spur are tied for the most beautiful views of hood, but wherever you are you just can't beat the views of hood with it's first few ice coverings of the season. I spent an hour and a half on top to soak it all in and was fortunate to have little wind up there. It was still quite chilly so I put on all my layers, wrapped up in my down quilt and brewed some tea.
Helens and Rainier were shining bright as a I made my way down.
I ended up stopping on three separate occasions on my drive back to watch the lovely sunset.
The snow has already claimed the high country, but I'm crossing my fingers for high freezing levels. C'mon mother nature. At least leave the roads clear!
