The weatherperson said Saturday was going to be a cold, clear day, so we decided to take a little hike from Wyeth TH to Green Point Mtn. The campground was closed, so we parked outside the gates (first and only cars that day!) We started hiking at 7am Sat in 25 mph winds as the sun rose. The winds died down as we darted into the forest past the campground and onto the Wyeth trail:
Crossing Harphan Creek shortly after 7am:
Up the switchbacks, with temps around 30F, although it felt colder. Lots of pretty ice formations on this hike:
The ascent was dry. Lots of ice spikes jutting out from the trail. Our continued ascent through the morning:
We made it to the Wyeth/Green Point Ridge intersection in good time, but the winds reappeared in force, requiring us to don our balaclavas and other face gear:
Janice was rather animated at how cold it was. I couldn't quite make out her words - probably better that way:
It was very cold going up that last 700 feet to Green Point Ridge on Saturday! There were spots of packed snow/ice, maybe 1 inch deep, but nothing substantial. A little slippery - microspikes were optional here.
We get to Green Point (GP) Ridge - mostly 1-2 inches of hard packed snow/ice:
The air temp was about 24F up on the GP ridge. Fortunately, the trees protected us from the wind that howled above/around us. We got to Green Point Mtn summit at around 11:20am. It was clear, cold and fantastic. Defiance and Rainey Lake? Yes!
Mt Hood? Check! (Even Jefferson in the background - I think we could see North Sister beyond that?)
Adams and Rainier too (my photos could be better):
We could not stay long at the GP summit - too much wind. Have I mentioned it was cold also? Continued south and stopped at the fire lookout for a bite to eat - it was cold!
Descended northeast down Rainy Wathum where the wind thankfully stopped and the air temp rose 8F in about 3/4 of a mile - smiles all around!
Doesn't this remind you of ice cream, or maybe whipped cream? Did to me...
Stopped by Rainey Lake which was frozen over:
Walking on water?
Bits to make our own "Fortress of Solitude?"
More Rainey Lake views:
Over the short icy bridges adjacent to Rainey Lake:
Checking our "ice" topo map to confirm our route to North Lake. Good thing it is cold (28F) or we might be lost!
At North Lake - the lake is almost entirely iced over:
We offtrail it a little bit to get back onto Wyeth trail and head north in an effort to return before we run out of daylight. The forest gets spooky as the sun sets during our descent of Wyeth trail:
Defiance to our east as the daylight wanes:
At about 900 ft elevation, we saw this dented tanky-like thing just 50 feet offtrail:
Made it back before dark!
Hiking stats:
Distance covered: 19.4 miles
Total ascent: 5543 ft
Overall speed: 2.0 mph
Elapsed Time: 9:44:58
Low air temp: 24F
Green Point Ridge is still quite hikable - no snow issues on this hike. The lakes were simply beautiful.
