Mount Ranier dominates the view with Cozy Ridge in the foreground:
To reach the "TH" we drove south from Randle on 23 to the junction with FR 21 near the confluence of Twin Creek and the Cispus River. We drove 21 eastward until we reached Cat Creek Road(7800) and parked our car near the junction at about 3,000 feet where patchy snow blocked the roadway. We hiked and snow-shoed with our slackpacks and followed 7800 as it climbed up the Cat Creek drainage to the north. Eventually the road climbed away from the creek to the east where we turned onto 7807 to reach Mud Lake and the final leg up to Hamilton Buttes. Lots of snow at the three way junction where three motorized trails meet(Yozoo, Hamilton Buttes and Blue Lake Butte) around 4,200 feet:
It's always fun to see the top of the sign:
After we hit Mud Lake around 4,900 feet we made the final slog to the summit using some of the old lookout road but mostly just picking our own approach. After choosing an awesome spot on the southern end of the summit we lounged in the sunshine to really take it all in. The views of Goat Rocks and the rugged summit ridge were amazing:
I was stoked!
Mt Adams looks massive from Hamilton Buttes:
Looking down off the cliffs on the west side of the summit:
The afternoon was pretty much spent staring at everything around us in amazement. Unfortunately for Jo that meant putting up with a constant onslaught of blabber about nothing(and everything!) from me when inside the tent
We had some delicious dinner before sunset and bundled up for the show. Joie is inside the tent in this one as the sun began waving good bye for the night:
Sometimes, watching this you just feel like the luckiest person alive:
One last shot before climbing into the tent and tarping out:
Well, second to last as I had to get one of the tent under the moon:
I hanged the food down below and we climbed into our sleeping bags for the night. I slept like a baby
But when the alarm rang around 5 am I crawled out to see some of the early morning colors:
Aaaah, back to the tent and a little bit more sleep before packing up(and ofcourse more pictures!)
Mud Lake was covered with deep snow down around 4,900 feet:
The clouds of yesterday had gone and the skies were clear and blue as we packed up. This shot is looking toward Mt Ranier with Wobbly Lake on the right:
Closer look at the beauty of Ranier over Cozy Ridge:
Mt Hood was visible down south:
And St Helens to the SW framed perfectly by Sunrise Peak(left) and McCoy Peak on the right:
Summit pano:
And one more of Ranier with some of the butte in the foreground:
In the days preceding our trip it was clear that some snow mobile riders had taken to the buttes(and the lake). Maybe some skiers too. Some of the places where these folks had left tracks made my stomach hurt:
After descending and cutting the road switchbacks we had lunch on the lake shore, which had been turned into a snowmobile racetrack in the previous week or so. These tracks were on the lake itself:
A little ways out on the lake:
I crossed the outlet stream(Timonium Creek) on a shaded snow bridge and looped around the lake back to Jojo:
The loop around the lake might have been my favorite part of the trip, just carving my own path through a snow covered woodland. It doesn't get better than that!
Back below the lake we refilled our water bottles with some fresh snow melt just spilling off the hillside. This creepy little guy was also doing some down hill travel on the road:
Anyone know what this is?
Once we got back to the car we changed cloths and enjoyed the nice afternoon at the Cat Creek Campground on the Cispus. I think I was just happy to be back on solid dirt
It's legal in Washington!
