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June Lake, Mt. St.
Helens |
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March is here and before the snow is no longer, I asked Amber if she wanted to romp up to June Lake for the weekend. A prompt reply of "heck ya!" was made and we loaded up the gear before speeding off to Marble Mountain Snow Park. After arriving, I could not get over how much of the white stuff had dumped at the low 2700 foot elevation. We geared up and headed across the parking areas to get to the trailhead, smiles abound..
Amber seemed to be right in her grove as she was happiest I had seen her on a hike. Normally, we would go snowshoeing for the day and then tears, caused by the fact we had to go home, would flow before sleep would hit her like a brick. This time was different. We were going to stay the night, on the snow, at the base of an active volcano.
After hitting the trailhead, Amber found her groove and sped off. With me outweighing the little thing by 140 pounds, not including the 50 pounds of kit I had strapped to my back, I had to work fairly hard to keep up with her. The trees were drooping heavily with white, thick powder, occasionally falling off with a thump.
About 45 minutes into the hike, Amber decided that it was snack time and proceeded to much on granola bars, sprinkled with snow. I did not ask.
The sun came out in force, warming the snow, causing me to posthole to my thighs while wearing my 30 inch snowshoes. This was hard work as I wondered if it was such a good idea. Amber's pace soon slowed as I could keep up with a little less effort. Given that all the signs were covered in snow, we missed the 216B trail to June Lake.
Instead, we found a good sized hill, climbed to it's summit and set up camp there. We were on at least 15 feet of snow and with decent views, nothing more was needed. Things were certainly warm as the temperature hit a scorching 43 degrees Fahrenheit. After I set up camp, Amber stripped down to her base layers, taking off her sweaty thermals.
After the hard effort to get here, a nap was in order as there really wasn't anything else left to do. As much as Amber does not like to take mid-day naps, it is surprising how fast that little girl conks out.
After the nap, lunch and play time was in full swing. I cooked, she played. It is amazing how it always works out that way. As Amber stated piling snow along the tent, essentially making "Mount Amber", read for a bit, enjoying the mostly quiet of the woods. I say mostly because now and then I could hear the screaming 2 stroke engines down further towards the warming hut.
After reading a bit, I thought I would scout around while looking for anything interesting. I packed down some trails to a latrine area that Amber could use as the hottest part of the day was now passed. If I dare take my snowshoes off, I would sink to my chest.
Amber like my idea of practicing snow caving and so, that is what we did. I figured with my 3 foot long shovel buried a foot past it's handle at the base of a tree, while standing ten feet below the bottom of my tent, there was indeed at least 15 feet of snow we camped upon. We started to dig into the side of a mound of snow, sweating from the effort as Amber soon gave up saying something like this is too much work. It was too warm anyway with the cave dripping freely. I
The day wore on as Amber was in heaven. She would slide, dig, stomp, jump, and flop, while I read and cooked. With evening approaching, the weather started to make a turn for the worse as I huddled inside the tent. I could not convince Amber to come in with me as she was enjoying the now stiffening snow. She was also enjoying the company of a local Canadian Jay that seemed quite interested in what we were having for dinner.
It got dark and cold. As soon as the dark arrived so did the snow, pelting the tent from all sides. The winds picked up and Amber decided it was time to retreat. She fumbled into the tent with tears in her eyes asking if we could go home. Yes, once again, she had a case of home sickness. I explained to her that it would be very dangerous given the conditions and the distance. Not to mention the fact it would take over an hour to pack. About 30 minutes later, she was still. I thought she was asleep, but it turned out she was just listening to the snow hit the sides of the tent. The last words she said before sleep overcame her were, "It is so peaceful here Daddy."
The next morning, a celebration for my daughter's bravery was in order. With clouds far in the valley below, we had clear, blue skies overhead and howling coyotes below. I fired up the stove to melt snow for water and for hot chocolate. We ate breakfast while sipping the hot chocolate slowly, letting it warm us from our tummies outward. Soon after, I packed everything up as packing was easier now that the snow had solidified overnight.
We meandered out way back at times while trying to keep to a general direction. A while later after a lot of goofing off, we arrived at my truck. With clothes changed and gear loaded, we sped down 83 to Jacks Restaurant for lunch before the long, boring drive home.
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