Should have packed the rain boots...

Pat and I started out on what we thought was going to be an early Sunday morning snow shoe adventure up to Lake 22 and back January 29th. FedEx had finally dropped off the new shoes I ordered through Costco and my brother Cliff had a pair that I was able to borrow for Pat. Having worked the night before, I felt it was necessary to swing in to the mini-mart that morning to pick up some much needed beverages for the trip. A quick rendezvous at the house and we would be off.

Mountain beverages

With the gear quickly loaded up in the truck we were off to the Mt Loop Highway. A simple 30 minute drive takes you from my front door, through two roundabouts and the only 4 way stop in Granite Falls, over a bridge and past a few random trailers and chalets to the Baker-Snoqualamie National Forest. Its pretty nice living so close to a bad ass outdoor shit.

Not three minutes went by after passing the Verlot Ranger Station that it had become apparent that both Zeus and Jupiter decided to have a water fight over our heads (later found out via Jeff Renner that there was 1.7" of rain that day). Looking at each other with the same "you serious Clark?" look on our faces we both knew we were going to get wet.

We got geared up in the truck and hit the trail head towards Lake 22. The snow on the ground was very wet and we quickly noticed that it couldn't have been any colder then 40 degrees outside. About and hour into the hike, we hit a clearing and met some hikers coming down that were completely drenched (not as if we were dry) and had mentioned that they wished they had snow shoes because it would had made it much easier. What a perfect opportunity to try ours out!

The shoes definitely made a difference. Of course by this time my Gortex boots had met their match and were starting to soak through (Pats leather boots had reached the same point 15 steps past the trail head). Starting up the last set of switch-backs leading to the lake, we realized that this trail just traverses back and forth over 22 Creek. By this point every step we took ended up with our foot submerged in water. The heavy rain and melting snow made the entire mountain face a river with compact snow over it.

Wading through this mountainous pool, we weren't 15 minutes from our destination when Pat noticed his boot had become detached from the sole! In the blink of an eye, Pats leather boots turned into nothing more then house slippers... our trip was over. Good thing he is becoming a medical professional though, because he did have medical tape that we were able to use to secure his boot and sole together for the way down.

Yes, that is a waterfall behind Pat

The way down proved to be even wetter then the way up; although by this point we just didn't care. The snow shoes helped make the trip faster but they didn't seem to keep us from falling into the creek several times. One of the foot bridges we went over on the way up was almost impossible to find on the way down because it to had become a river and was engulfed with running water. By the time we hit the truck our hands had the same texture as they would after 3 hours in a hot tub.

The good part about this trip was it truly tested our gear for water proofing. Trust me when I say there aren't going to be conditions any wetter than this without wearing flippers and a mask. The pants that I had just bought kept me dry for the most part with just some dampness around the zippers and seams. The boots, as I had mentioned aren't meant for all day submersion. However they actually held water out, and on the flip side of that, held water in. I think they got wet because of the water that was running down between my pants and gators. My military issue waterproof coat kept me dry. I was very happy to find this out. I bet I could wear that baby in the shower and not get wet (pretty much what we just did). The Marmot Gortex jacket I loaned Pat stopped wicking water after a while on the outside and looked a little damp on the inside. We will have to do more testing on that again to see if the Gortex isn't holding up (it's 15 years old) or if that dampness was from Pats sweat and water running down the neck and sleeves. The skin type long underwear did exactly what it was supposed to and pulled all the moisture off my body and onto my middle layer fleece. The wool socks stayed warm even when drenched.

Pouring the water out of my shoe

All in all a good day. Miserable and wet, but good. Next time we will pack shit-kickers and umbrellas instead of snow shoes and beanies.