Fast-forward to 8 pm Saturday night, you’re strapping on tire cables at 5500 feet heading towards Forest Falls, hoping that they at least scraped the main path in the parking lot so you can cram your 1999 Nissan Maxima into a comfortable resting place for the night. I had planned on sleeping in the tent a few hundred yards from the car at the day-use area, but ended up sleeping in the reclined passenger seat…not too bad, sleeping bag up to my waist, down jacket on plus a hat…good to go. Set the alarm for 330 am and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Adventure passes and Espresso Trail mix from Henrys (which, by the way, is the BUSINESS).
I strapped on the snowshoes at 4 am Sunday morning, and headed east along the southern edge of Mill Creek towards my ultimate goal: Galena Peak. In the trees, I had my headlamp blazing, but it was tough to see in the thick snow coming down. I also had my ice-axe out; been a little paranoid about the critters as of late.
The Evo Ascents plus 4” tails weren’t doing a whole lot to keep me above the snow – the powder was so light that I’d sink down 8 inches or so in the flat, and even more on the slopes. This was my first experience shoeing in a lot of fresh powder, and it takes a lot of strength to break the trail in such conditions. I had to take it very slow.
Later in the trail, but you get the idea
EARLY morning - long exposure
I eventually left the tree line and crossed down into the creek bed itself, the woods were a maze of drifts and fallen trees, and aside from having to negotiate several stream crossings, the bed was much easier to navigate. Even before the sun came up, you could get by in the snow with no head lamp. I loved it. My new favorite pastime, by the way, is guessing whether the snow above running water will hold you as you cross it or not. Penalty for failure is a frickin’ treat.
Car was around 6000 feet, and the route was pretty quiet until about 6800 feet or so. I think this is due to the shape of the valley walls to that point, and to the lack of sun at that early hour. I didn’t see or hear any evidence of rock/snow movement for the first several hours of travel, but that would soon change. As soon as the sun hit the south side of the valley, the giants came to life. More on that later, but I did pass a couple large old slides that were completely across Mill Creek, and were being undercut by the running water.
Speak of the Devil - fresh snow on top
The going was so tough and so beautiful, I respect so much the effort required to move through a large amount of loose powder. I wanted to get up to Galena Peak summit, but there was no way I was going to be able to make it.
Lone Wolf ( see: Idiot )
Route up the Gauntlet: not condition-appropriate
Another interesting looking route near Galena
Anything more than a 15-20 degree incline was a struggle…I resolved to just get to the headwall and see how I felt, dreading the trip back to the car as well. I didn’t know how much faster and easier going downhill on old tracks would be – that turned out to be a nice surprise.
As the sun warmed the mountains across the creek from me, the rocks began to fall. I’d sit and munch on my snacks, melting snow in the MSR reactor I brought along (which was everything HJ said it would be), and just watch and listen things come loose from the other side.
Showers of just rocks, then rocks and snow, and then full on slides would come down the narrow chutes lining the face of the gorge. I found myself just stopping and staring, but not quick enough to get the camera out for any action shots.
As the headwall came into view, the slides on the south face of the mountains were becoming larger and more frequent. It's creepy and awesome to watch the snow sliding down - giving thanks that you aren't directly below and being careful not to drop your trail mix in the powder below you.
High Creek
Treats! I want to be IN that.
I packed up the stove and continued on towards the headwall, always looking back to appreciate the view and my single track cutting through the virgin powder. So nice.
One added bonus was the weather - it would be sunny for 5 minutes, then a haze would fly up the canyon and cover you, then sunny again 10 minutes later. I wasn't worried about getting lost - even with no compass/GPS it would be tough to go anywhere but along the creek back to the car.
About 7600 feet, I decided that it probably wasn't the best idea to continue. There were active slides, the powder was deep, and I was running out of mix. With the headwall in sight, I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back towards Forest Falls.
As far as timing goes (and I wasn't trying to set any speed records) it took me about 8 hours to travel a few miles and 1600 feet going up, and about 2 hours to get back. One added bonus on the way back, a few sections of my tracks were covered in slides (good timing on my part), with one creek crossing now a nice and easy bridge of snow pile. Back at the car around 2 pm, I was greeted by a ton of families out having fun in the snow. Of course, there was the requisite piling of the snow on your minivan roof and/or building snowmen on the radio antennae of your car. I don't get it.
Things I learned:
1. Espresso Trail mix from Henrys...gots choc covered espresso beans in there, so you can get a little caffiene as you go
2. If you plan on moving fast, wait a couple days after a lot of powder (duh). I just wanted to experience it
3. MSR Evo Ascent...cool, but not great in fresh powder. Even with the tails, I didn't see the gain in float outweighing the extra bulk and weight of the bigger shoe. I've only shoed in MSR shoes, so I can't compare with other types.
4. Respect the mountain
