Conventional wisdom, and TNAB common sense, state that the Thursday before a three day weekend equals low TNAB turnout, as in twos or threes. This is the background to the "hike holidays" you see on the website schedule for this year. Folks usually have big plans for the weekend and pass on the hike. However, there was a demand to hike this week, and it seemed best to return to Snoqualmie Mountain, since the original hike garnered only 5 TNAB'ers and poor visibility. I was expecting five or six...
4:55 PM, I arrive at Eastgate, barely able to find parking - what are all these people doing here? Within minutes, we have ten TNAB'ers, and one mascot (Rascal, Merrilee's apppropriately named pure bred hiker dog), ready to go. Outstanding! Assuming no one else is coming, we make our way out in what seemed record time. The group arrives at Alpental around 5:50 PM - we quickly make for the trail...
Weatherwise, it's 180 degrees from the first attempt three weeks ago- partly cloudy and warm. From what I've heard, the region's even drier at this point in time than it was last year ( a record dry year). That's good for hiking and motorcycling (my passions), but bad for forest fire danger. So on to the hiking - soon, the group is huffing and puffing up the steep, rocky, and dusty trail. The waterfall, fortunately, was still in full effect, offering cool comfort to hiker and hound alike.
Much like before, the summit was easily gained within 90 minutes. This time, though, there were views aplenty! Rainier dominated the view to the south, with Adams a nice sidelight. The view to the north was more obscure - Glacier Peak was with us, but Baker was only a shadow in the haze, if anything. The various peaks of the Snoqualmie Pass region were too numerous to count - if only Don was there to tell us what we were looking at!
It wasn't enough to just stand and enjoy the views - there was climbing to do! The short, narrow ridge protruding to the East of the summit proved too much for Jason and Mike to resist (Rascal was not allowed to join them, much to his disappointment). Their scrambling gave the rest of us plenty of photo ops - there should be several shots available on the website, once it's updated.
Just as the group is getting ready to start the descent, two more hikers appear at the summit - it's Chris and Darlene! Each had found their own way to the hike - they had just missed us by minutes in Eastgate and at Alpental. Now there were twelve on the hike! And as I was to find out later, there were two more more nearby - Don and Linda chose that night to hike Granite, summiting at a relatively similar time. Just goes to show, when TNAB'ers want to hike, they hike!
So now there's twelve of us, and we're off the mountain without the aid of headlamps. Thoughts quickly turn to beer (and food). Acting as one, we make a mad dash for the North Bend Bar & Grill, which stops serving food at 10:00 PM. We get there with minutes to spare, and are offered seating in the previously cordoned-off non-smoking section. Works for us! Soon Wildcat IPA and Mac&Jacks are flowing, with many a grilled entree to follow. Loud voices, laughter, - you just can plan good times like this! (Apologies to Don & Linda - if I had known at that time that you guys were out there, we would've made room for you to join us!).
Attendees: Alicia, Angela, Chris, Damon, Dan, Darlene, Drew, Larry, Jason, Mark, Merrilee, Mike (Snoqualmie Mtn) Don, Linda (Granite)
Congrats to Darlene and Merrilee - you're both TNAB vets now! That and $3.00 will get you a double tall latte... :)
Next Week: McClellan's Butte - this will be a "weather permitting" hike, it deserves good conditions. Long range forecast is decent...
On Deck: Melakwa Lakes/Kaleetan Peak - Overnight! Gorgeous scenery, stunning views, definitely worthy of the extra time. Make plans now...
Also: I will be planning to do a midweek daylight visit to Mt Pilchuck sometime in the next couple weeks. The views are 360 degrees and mapped out in the lookout cabin on top. Cascades, Puget Sound, etc. I want to avoid crowds as much as possible, hence the timing. Let me know if you're interested in joining me - it'd be worth calling in sick! :)
-Mark
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