We parked in front of the road closure ~MM134 on Hwy20. ~2100'. About a dozen cars. Saw a biker on the road (and again on our way out). We started walking at 9am. First on the road to Happy Creek Nature trail. Nice boardwalk, and then trail. We met a big group of Boy Scout hiking out with huge backpacks.
Trail disapears after ~1 mile. Snow starts, hard and crunchy, punching through sometimes.
Footprints going all directions. Confusing. Generally, keep to the left of Happy Creek, going up.
About 1.5 hours in, we reached our first steep hill. ~3200'-3800'. Below is a flat area large enough to accommodate a large Scout group.
What greeted us were many shoes hanging here and there. The skiers swapped into their gears here.
I was told this is a very popular ski destination in winter. Certainly quite many today.
We put on snowshoes. I don't like snowshoes on steep hill. This is steep.
Thankfully, the snow is slushy. After this is traversing a section of trees, without much snow, steep. I swapped into spikes.
Then snow again, and all the way up. I didn't put on snowshoes until here, while waiting for S and L to catch up. Ate a banana and some nuts. A fine view of Ross Lake, ~4200'. Still so many clouds.
The sun shone through the clouds from time to time. It was so warm in the sun. I could feel my legs sweat! Couldn't find my sunglasses. As we treaded higher, the clouds shifted and lifted more and more.
At around 5800', traversed to the left for a gentler approach to Ruby. Ross Lake is always in the view whenever you look back. A good excuse to take breaks often.
The last hill is steep. Thanks to the soft snow, it was safe.
The top ridge is almost flat. As I was marching to the summit, the clouds moved in again, blocking the fabulous view to the south and west.
Finally, ~3pm (after 6 hours), I made to the summit. There are rocks poking out of the snow to sit on. A small hut with a tall antenna and solar panel. I was famished. Eat both sandwiches I made last night. What a view, whenever the clouds lifted, we were busy snapping photos. Don't even know which direction to sit. It's a bit chilly here. We stayed for almost an hour, and headed down shortly before 4pm.
Coming down, we tried to pick steep hills in order to glissade. The snow was too soft so need very steep grade to pick up speed. We all packed away snowshoes, but they are bulky and created extra drag. Postholing a lot when we couldn't slide. At one point, I got one foot stuck in the snow. Took many minutes to extract it (used ice axe to dig my foot loose). L managed to fall head down once with his legs up in the sky. We all waited for each other to ensure that no one disappears into a tree well. All in all, thanks to the soft snow, we were all fine. Snow eventually got into my boots. Again a bit confusing in the trees. Once back on the trail, it was smooth sailing. I washed my spikes and gaiters in Happy Creek. We cut the trail short and came out to the highway at MM135. Walked the last mile out on the road. We reached the car ~7:35pm. A long hike!
Driving out on Hwy-20, we saw 1 deer, and then another. Then a black bear ran across the road. We were in awe. 5 minutes later, saw another black bear sitting by the road eating something. When we drove by, saw him looking at us. Amazing.
Stopped in Arlington at a Mexican restaurant called La Hacienda. Very good service. Food is a bit too salty. They open late. We arrived after 9:30pm. I ordered to-go and ate outside. It wasn't cold outside. I was dropped off with 2 others near Capitol Hill, and I had to walk 30 minutes home. Didn't get home until after mid-night.
More photos from others in my team.
