Abenteuern des Bergführer Ken im Schnee

Adventures of Ken the Mountain Guide in the Snow… I did three short hikes recently…

10JAN2022: Antoine Peak, 3.72 miles, 2:09 minutes time, 840 ft elevation gain. This was my first adventure since childhood on snowshoes. It was a sunny day, and most of the time, I really didn’t need the snowshoes. If I got off the beaten path, then the snowshoes were very nice to have. There were only a few other people out that day.

21JAN2022: Mica Peak Trail, 4.63 miles, 2:05 minutes, 856 ft elevation gain. This day was partially sunny, and I used Kahtoola Exospikes on my hiking boots to survive the snow. I had tried to venture down a little-used trail near the summit of my hike, and was post-holing too much to continue for long and so turned back. On the lower elevations, it was nothing but mud or hard ice. The Kahtoolas worked great. Visibility was good. Next time, I’ll need to figure out a way to carry the snowshoes so that I might be more of an adventurer. I never encountered another soul on the trail.

24JAN2022; 5.08 miles, 2:15 minutes, 1270 ft elevation gain. Today was completely overcast, and I ended up in the clouds the further in I went. I also used the Kahtoola Exospikes, though on this adventure Microspikes would probably have been a better choice, as the trail was either hard ice or hardpack snow for the entire distance. It was also well below freezing temperature for the entire hike. With the clouds surrounding me and snow covering all the trees and ground, there was an ethereal sense of beauty. I wasn’t sure how far I would make and was surprised to have made it to the Rocks of Sharon. I would have done a loop but didn’t feel that the other trails were open. I encountered only one person and his dog on the trail.

With all of this snow, you’d wonder where global warming disappeared to. Greta doesn’t want you to think about this!!!!

Regardless of what Greta thinks, I will be doing a few more snow adventures, including heading up Mt. Spokane on snowshoes. I need to take advantage of the closeness to snow in this area, and play as much as possible.