Summer Rising
Owyhigh Lakes and Governor's Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
The month of June always feels like a waiting game. The calendar says summer, and long days and warmer temperatures beckon me to the hiking trails. But snow lingers far into summer up in the high country, leaving many mountain trails inaccessible or dangerous until they are fully melted out. So as the days tick by, I monitor trail reports and snow level projections, reading comments from other hikers on where ice axes are still necessary for steep slopes, or warning of collapsing snow bridges and challenging water crossings.
Then finally the waiting comes to an end as the alpine areas shed their winter cloaks and begin the transition to summer. (Or in this case the sub-alpine areas, since this meadow sits at just over 5200 feet/1585 meters and I still had to cross some snow on the 8 mile roundtrip hike to get there.) But these are the trails that spark the greatest joy and delight in my heart - the meadows filled with flowers and sparkling lakes, ringed with mountain peaks and ridges. A joy made all the more precious by the limited hiking window in these areas, sometimes as little as 8-10 weeks from summer snow melt to first autumn snowfall.
And I always feel a bit giddy on my first hike of the season to these areas, as though my heart might explode with celebratory elation, as my eyes take in the sights I have longingly waited many months to see.
Summer Rising
Owyhigh Lakes and Governor's Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
The month of June always feels like a waiting game. The calendar says summer, and long days and warmer temperatures beckon me to the hiking trails. But snow lingers far into summer up in the high country, leaving many mountain trails inaccessible or dangerous until they are fully melted out. So as the days tick by, I monitor trail reports and snow level projections, reading comments from other hikers on where ice axes are still necessary for steep slopes, or warning of collapsing snow bridges and challenging water crossings.
Then finally the waiting comes to an end as the alpine areas shed their winter cloaks and begin the transition to summer. (Or in this case the sub-alpine areas, since this meadow sits at just over 5200 feet/1585 meters and I still had to cross some snow on the 8 mile roundtrip hike to get there.) But these are the trails that spark the greatest joy and delight in my heart - the meadows filled with flowers and sparkling lakes, ringed with mountain peaks and ridges. A joy made all the more precious by the limited hiking window in these areas, sometimes as little as 8-10 weeks from summer snow melt to first autumn snowfall.
And I always feel a bit giddy on my first hike of the season to these areas, as though my heart might explode with celebratory elation, as my eyes take in the sights I have longingly waited many months to see.