Skies were clear the entire way up. About half a mile from the saddle the snow was a bit deeper and I would have benefited from snowshoes at this point. But I kept going and reached the saddle pretty easily around noon.
Me and one other hiker, Albert, had the area to ourselves. Clouds started rolling shortly after arriving. Albert and I chatted for a bit and I gave him some instruction on how to fit his new snowshoes, and cramp-ons. Best practices would be to fit these before you're on trail.
The obligatory college-aged group wearing jeans and tennis shoes arrived shortly after and immediately headed back down. No sun = cold on mountains in winter. Who knew!
Albert and I stomped around a bit with snowshoes. I would have liked to break trail up to Timber but was up against the clock. Albert shared some hot drink and we headed back down together. Clouds started rolling in and by the time we reached the lot visibility was less than 100 yards.
We exchanged email addresses and hope to hike again sometime. A great day of winter hiking in the local moutons left me refreshed and in the Christmas spirit.
