3rd Annual Man Hike - Hidden Lake Peak

Message to the Crew

This is going to be good, really good.  In case you have forgotten or were unable to attend the last 2 Man Hikes, I have chronicled them on my blog: Lyman Lakes (2008) and Toleak Point (2009).  This year our destination is Hidden Lake Peak in the North Cascades.  You can find some pictures here.

This hike will be more work than Toleak Point but less work than Lyman Lakes.  It is 9 miles round trip starting at 3,300ft and ending at 6,900ft.  There will be no mosquitoes. There will be good conversation.  There will be good wine.

Mark your calendars for August 21-23 (Saturday-Monday) of this year (2010) and let me know if you are interested.

Planned Itinerary


Saturday (8/21) 06:30 - Meet at Krispy Kreme Donuts in Mt. Vernon, WA. Eat many donuts and pack some for later.
Saturday (8/21) 08:00 - Arrive at Trail Head.
Saturday (8/21) 14:00 - Arrive at Hidden Lake Peak.
Saturday (8/21) 14:30 - Make camp.
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Eating, laughing, hiking, fishing, sleeping, bear-slapping, exploring, wine tasting, and anything else people want to do.
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Monday (8/23) 9:00 - Break camp.
Monday (8/23) 13:00 - Eat at the Good Food Drive-In in Marblemount.  Yum. Yum.
Monday (8/23) 14:00 - Head for home.

The Trip
The bottom line is that we had a lot fun. Only 6 of us (Chase, Shawn, Sean, John, Crazy Phil, and myself) were able to make the journey, but we set out early on a August Saturday morning with adventure on our minds.

After fooding up in Mt. Vernon, we headed for the trail head. We were all smiles before we started hiking.

The trail was beautiful.

Five miserable hours later we reached our base camp and pitched our tents between the granite outcroppings.  The weather was starting to turn and what started as a pleasant 70 degree day, turned into a 40 degree day with the specter of rain.

 

 It's always worth packing good wine.

During the night it rained and rained and then snowed.  At ~5:00am the next morning, it was still snowing, and we held a conference from the protection of our tents that resulted in decision to make a hasty retreat.

Although we were forced out a day early, we all enjoyed the escape.