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Just one picture, of the camp, with Nathan trying to start a fire |
COLD. That's all I pretty much remember about this hike. Summer was over. Fall was next. It was the wet season and we were on the west side. It was a spur of the moment, get one last camp set up in the mountains somewhere hike. Looked on a map and saw Lower Crystal a short drive from the city with a short hike up (2.2 miles). I called up Nathan to see if he wanted to go, otherwise I was going solo. Gladly, he opted in even though the weather wasn't looking to good.
We got to the trailhead right along side Highway 410, which was nice. Starting off at 3500 feet, it wasn't too hard of a hike even though it was constant switchbacks the first 1.5 miles (gaining 1500 feet). The problem was the rain. I've climbed Rainier and understand what cold is with 40 mph winds at 10,500 feet... but 37 degree rain... man, that's just COLD. I hate being wet and cold. We got off to a late start in the day so we booked it up to the lake. I'm sure this would be a great hike in the summer. Apparently hikers can see a great view of Rainier from the trail and there's apparently a lower and upper lake at the top, none of which we saw because we were in a cloud. Fog and rain were all around. No lake (well, we could see the shore of Lower Crystal), no Rainier, no fire. We got to Lower Crystal Lake at 5800 feet and decided that there was no use in continuing the extra half mile to the upper lake since we would only be getting higher into the clouds with probably heavier rain. Plus it was almost dark and had just enough time to setup a camp site and eat in the remaining daylight. After eating and a vain attempt at starting a fire, we hit the sack.
We woke up the next morning, had breakfast and headed down. Pretty uneventful trip, pretty short but a good experience to have. There was some nice fellowship with a good friend and thats never a bad thing. Going solo would've sucked.
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The Crystal Lakes trail looking East. Crystal Mountain Ski resort is on the other side of the ridge behind the trail. (Click image above to download the Google Earth KMZ. For a little help click here.) |