First mile is road, fit to drive. It's gated, so walk/bike around the gate. Then it becomes a trail for a bit, to a large river crossing (South Fork Sauk River). Going a bit further to a very big log. It was a bit slippery because it was wet, so walk very slowly. On the way back, DP dumped some rocks over the wide shallow part, and two of us tiptoed over. I got a bit wet. There, you can see the original broken bridge.
A bald eagle perched here. We only saw it because it stirred upon our arrival. It flew a bit futher and flew back. A treat. There's then a good bridge to walk across more water. After the river, it's road again, flat and wide. Good view occasionally (obscured by trees most of the time) to the mountains in front and behind.
Before you reach Monte Cristo town site, there is already abandonned cabins by the water. The town is 4 miles in, great setting, good view of surrounding mountains.Abandonned train track, foundation of Monte Cristo Lodge, even a bed frame, and all sorts of junk. Quite a few nice looking red cabins. Still chilly, frost on vegetation. Elevation ~2800'.
Continue straight through the town, over a little bridge, (a piece of paper with "Silver Lake" taped on the cabin at the east side of the bridge) and take Poodle Dog Pass trail. We couldn't find the other trail on the map (didn't look too hard). Now it's the real hike. It goes up steadily. Total snow cover above 4000', and views got better. 2 miles to the junction for the spur to go down to Silver Lake. Elevation ~4400'. Couldn't see the lake here. We didn't bother to go down. Took a break to put on micro-spikes and refuel. The trail was a bit icy at times. 10am.
Continued up towards Twin Lakes. On the way, we could see Silver Lake below. As we were closer to the ridge, the wind hit us. The trail leveled off. We all made to a saddle to cross the ridge. Took a longer photo break, great view here. Once on the north side, the wind was so fierce, standing steady took effort. Powdery snow covered everything, couldn't see the trail. Di put on snowshoes to break the trail. We still postholed behind him. It was tough going. 2 of us (in the other car) decided to turn back after crossing a steep slope. I took out ice axe just to help me steady myself, because I only use one hiking pole. The axe doesn't really bite, because the snow was too fluffy.
Finally we made over the south ridge under the east peak of Twin Peaks, where we could see the bright green Twin Lakes. Very pretty. Could see Rainier's faint head. Initially Di wanted to try to climb Columbia Peak. Of course with this wind and snow, he abandonned the idea. Even here, we need to hide behind trees from the wind. Taking a photo requires me to sit or kneel down. I punched my ice axe in the middle and tied myself to it, whenever I stood. Di tied his pack to his ice axe, and left it where we were hiding. He went down to the saddle and came back.
After the lunch, I asked Di when did he plan to turn back. He said ~2pm. So I went down to the saddle too hoping for a better view of the lake. All the way windy and postholing. Then I continued up to the west peak of Twin Peaks. Going up on the north side of the slope, more sheltered from the wind, and the snow was compact, much easier walking. The rest of the group also came. We took many photos here. Excellent 360° view. We headed down ~2pm.
The wind died down in the afternoon. We had no problem following our own track going back. I lost my Nalgene bottle gain (thankfully I always have spares). I brought a thermal bottle for this trip, so I didn't run out of water. Got back to the ghost town ~5:15pm. Saw another group of people there, about 6-8. On the way Gr noticed this hollowed tree with "teeth" throughout. The sun was setting as we walked the last few flat miles out. Had to use headlamp.
We were hoping to see dancing northern lights on our way home, because the road was pretty dark until Granite Falls. We saw nothing. They stopped at Monroe got some food, and Di dropped all 3 of us next to REI. It happened that all of us live close to downtown.
A long day, a long hike, but not much elevation gain (maybe 3000'-3500'). I felt fine, so on the drive back, I contacted O and V to join their climb on Sunday.
More photos from others in my group.
