NDAV
SNOW IN THE OLYMPICS (1)
Last week I posted a picture of the snowy mountains from sea level, from the Dungeness beach.
There is free entrance to the national parks on Martin Luther King Day and the road to the top of Hurricane Ridge (17miles and alt. 5242 feet) is plowed so our hiking group goes up to snowshoe, something that I wanted to try.
The drive is up is always interesting especially when you start out in the lowlands where it is 40 degrees and the sun is just coming up and there is no snow.It is impossible to imagine what the weather conditions will be like at the top. I checked the web cam and current weather site and tried to dress accordingly.
When we arrived and tried to step outside we were promptly reminded we were in a parallel universe.....the wind was blowing so hard I suddenly understood why its called Hurricane Ridge! Since I didn't have face covering or snow goggles, I realized I couldn't snowshoe as planned, but fortunately I had brought my camera. Thought you'd like to see what winter looks like at the top of the world. I think you can see the swirling winds and blowing snow and maybe can imagine the stinging ice pellets that find and assault every area of uncovered skin. Despite this, there were 100's of brave folks up there,
skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, hiking, and yes, taking pictures. I was amazed at the many infants and toddlers whose parents were introducing them to the wonders of outside winter activities. Some were unenthusiastic!
SNOW IN THE OLYMPICS (1)
Last week I posted a picture of the snowy mountains from sea level, from the Dungeness beach.
There is free entrance to the national parks on Martin Luther King Day and the road to the top of Hurricane Ridge (17miles and alt. 5242 feet) is plowed so our hiking group goes up to snowshoe, something that I wanted to try.
The drive is up is always interesting especially when you start out in the lowlands where it is 40 degrees and the sun is just coming up and there is no snow.It is impossible to imagine what the weather conditions will be like at the top. I checked the web cam and current weather site and tried to dress accordingly.
When we arrived and tried to step outside we were promptly reminded we were in a parallel universe.....the wind was blowing so hard I suddenly understood why its called Hurricane Ridge! Since I didn't have face covering or snow goggles, I realized I couldn't snowshoe as planned, but fortunately I had brought my camera. Thought you'd like to see what winter looks like at the top of the world. I think you can see the swirling winds and blowing snow and maybe can imagine the stinging ice pellets that find and assault every area of uncovered skin. Despite this, there were 100's of brave folks up there,
skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, hiking, and yes, taking pictures. I was amazed at the many infants and toddlers whose parents were introducing them to the wonders of outside winter activities. Some were unenthusiastic!