We figured out long ago a person could snowshoe just about anywhere skiers went, and the Kendall Ridge and Kendall Peak Lakes area is a great destination close to home for both activities.
You can take an easy snowshoe tour, a cross-country ski trip as challenging as you want to make it, or snowshoe up and snowboard down.
For those reasons the area often is crowded, and you might have to dodge cross-country skiers, snowboarders or snowshoers.
The main access to the ridge is up an old logging road, and those big craters you might see on the way up are where skiers have tumbled
December 30, 1999
Sue Olson, Kathy Kelleher and I have developed a strategy for hiking in the winter. We meet at Kathy's house on Saturday mornings no matter what the weather. We usually have some idea of where we want to go and if the weather is bad we have an array of Plan B's to choose from.
Last weekend was typical. It was raining and though we wanted to snowshoe, the snow level was so high we'd be in rain no matter where we went. That morning, as I drank my coffee and listened to the latest depressing weather report, I hoped somebody would chicken out.
December 23, 1999
A hike can turn into a snowshoe trip in early December. If you insist on a hike without snow in it, don't go to the mountains, because the snow level is changing on a daily basis.
Hikers must be flexible when weather can change quickly and snow levels plummet or rise.
December 2, 1999
When November comes I remember Wagonwheel Lake.
Snow is falling in the mountains, but not enough to kick off skiing, snowshoeing and other winter sports. We're talking rain. It's that time of year when you might not be able to reach the trailhead because Highway 101 is flooded or washed out.
So this is my favorite month to sort slides, plan future snowshoe trips and hikes, and become an armchair mountaineer. The trouble with this is that if you spend more than a couple weekends in this fashion, you'll get out of shape. The only way to keep moving is to keep moving.
November 11, 1999
Fall arrived just in time for this hike. A recent Monday was cold and damp, unlike the recent balmy days.
It wasn't my first visit to this area. A few years ago my husband, John, and his Scout troop picked the Walt Bailey Trail for a weekend backpack.
It was one of those crisp, clear weekends with sky so blue it was downright gaudy through the fall foliage.
October 21, 1999
September finally has given us the golden days we missed over the summer. And yet, an autumnlike chill filled the air as we waited for everyone to show up at the trailhead for a Mountaineers club scramble of Fortune Peak in the Teanaway area.
Most members of the party were scrambling students who needed a summit to complete their scramble course requirements. Because of the heavy snowpack, this has been a difficult summer for students.
September 23, 1999
The Thornton Lakes Trail in North Cascades National Park is memorable in its own right, but now I'll probably remember it most for a big ball of snakes.
That's right, a ball of snakes, which we encountered on a rock, soaking up the sun. Even more surprising -- the snakes didn't panic at our approach.
We forgot all about Thornton Lakes and got busy with our cameras. Kathy Kelleher was the first to spot the snakes about a mile up the trail. As we got closer, they gracefully uncoiled and flowed like wine across the rock.
September 2, 1999
It was, as Jim Cavin said, "A hike to no place in particular in the middle of nowhere."
Our second attempt to scout out the Pratt River Trail from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River was foiled once again by bad weather. And once again we armed ourselves with hiking guides and maps and pointed the car east.
"Malcolm Mountain," I suggested, and Jim jumped at the opportunity to visit this seldom-hiked area. "I can even find it without the map, I've been there before," I boasted.
August 26, 1999
Plans to scout out the old Pratt River Trail near North Bend died a quick death when it began to rain. Jim Cavin and I did the only thing sane hikers can do in this situation -- we continued driving east.
After some dithering, we agreed upon a destination -- the Standup Creek Trail with a possible scramble of Earl Peak.
August 19, 1999
