After the weekend, we bid Anton adieu and, feeling adventurous, headed with the Kujawas back to the Olympic NF and set out to climb Mt. Walker. The trails was 2 miles to the top with 2000 feet of ascent and the summit features panoramic views (on clear days) of the Olympic Mtns. and the Cascades across Puget Sound.
In my former life I would run up and down this in 45 min., but I'm quite out of shape these days, and our party included two pregnant ladies and two toddlers, with the remainder of us responsible for carrying the post-natals. I decided that our only hope of summitting was to bring lots of food and munch our way to the top. That plan only works if you remember to grab the feedbag as you're leaving the house. Oops.
Luckily, the Kujawas, who were at the start of a 6 week road trip, had one of everything in their truck, including some emergency rations.
It was a beautiful day and we hadn't seen much rain, so we were surprised to encounter this much snow at the base of the mountain.
We also saw some "machines"...
The trail quickly entered the woods, where only a gentle dusting had penetrated the canopy. The forest felt enchanted...
and the consistent climbing kept us warm (those of us who were walking, that is).
Micah fell asleep and we sped up to the top, where we scarfed saltines and sardines and beheld this:
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