Seatle WA area, for New years

14ers in California and Washington state or any other peak in the USA
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
Steve Gio
Posts: 491
Joined: 5/29/2009
14ers: 19 
13ers: 8
Trip Reports (1)
 

Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by Steve Gio »

So I know there are some folks on here from Washington state so I am throwing a question out. What would you recommend for hikes, snowshoe trip of mountains for new years weekend? We may be heading up to visit friends for the holiday and they are not active outdoors types. I was thinking there must be some great hikes to do, whether on the Olympic peninsula or in the Rainier area. But having no experience I am looking for some input. Don't know what to expect for weather either.

Thanks mountain gods.

Steve
User avatar
Matt Lemke
Posts: 775
Joined: 1/9/2011
14ers: 58  8 
13ers: 116 11
Trip Reports (13)
 
Contact:

Re: Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by Matt Lemke »

The weather will likely be cloudy...with light snow or rain and mild temperatures...with little wind compared to Colorado...with excellent snow conditions and little avy danger.
Ahhhhh...reasons why I like Washington. Being a native to the Seattle area, I may be able to give you some pointers. What exactly are you looking for...summits? forest snowshoe hikes? frozen lakes?
Famous WA places?

I may be able to give you some pointers based on what you are looking for.
Lemke Climbs
The Pacific Coast to the Great Plains = My Playground
"Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping"
"When you come to face what you fear, let the creator guide you"
PattyCakes
Posts: 29
Joined: 10/23/2009
14ers: 42  3 
13ers: 27
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by PattyCakes »

What would you reconmend for a hike or backpacking trip in North Cascade National Park in summer time conditions? Thanks
User avatar
sstratta
Posts: 140
Joined: 12/17/2008
14ers: 57  11  14 
13ers: 121 11 9
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by sstratta »

If you want to go somewhere with good views from the parking lot (for those who don't want to hike/snowshoe/etc., and assuming the weather is clear) I'd head to Paradise in Mt. Rainier NP or Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP. The roads to these places are open throughout the winter (unless it snowed a lot the night before, in which case they might have a delayed opening the next day) and you can also do many snowshoe/XC skiing trips from the parking lot. The Staircase area of Olympic NP is also cool since the forest there is so lush. There's also some cool places to go around Snoqualmie Pass (closer to Seattle than Rainier and the Olympics) and Stevens Pass on Hwy 2. It's pretty rare to get good weather during the winter though, so I'd stick to lake/forest hikes unless you get lucky with a bluebird day and get some good views. I can recommend specific places and/or hikes if you specify the difficulty level you're looking for, or how far you want to drive, etc. Hope that helps!
User avatar
Matt Lemke
Posts: 775
Joined: 1/9/2011
14ers: 58  8 
13ers: 116 11
Trip Reports (13)
 
Contact:

Re: Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by Matt Lemke »

PattyCakes wrote:What would you reconmend for a hike or backpacking trip in North Cascade National Park in summer time conditions? Thanks
Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm would be a scenic (but busy) day hike. Depending on whether you want to stay on a trail or not Whatcom Pass is a long trail leading deep into the N Cascades with lots of opportunities for side trips like Copper Ridge and Mt. Ruth. Great views of the Picketts from this area. The only bad thing about this trail is all the time you do spend in the trees.
Lemke Climbs
The Pacific Coast to the Great Plains = My Playground
"Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping"
"When you come to face what you fear, let the creator guide you"
User avatar
Steve Gio
Posts: 491
Joined: 5/29/2009
14ers: 19 
13ers: 8
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by Steve Gio »

Sorry for the late reply, but thanks for the info. What I would be looking for is something within 1-1.5 hours from Seattle. A hike up a peak would be awsome but anything that gets us above tree line views would be a bonus. We are strong hikers but not climbers if that narrows it down. So snowshoeing, hiking or something to give us a good idea on the area. Cool suggestions so far. Thanks.
User avatar
Matt Lemke
Posts: 775
Joined: 1/9/2011
14ers: 58  8 
13ers: 116 11
Trip Reports (13)
 
Contact:

Re: Seatle WA area, for New years

Post by Matt Lemke »

Granite Mountain just north of I-90 near Snoqualmie Pass will get you above the trees and be a great snowshoe with just hiking skills required.

Make sure the avy danger is low though as there are some big chutes you'd have to cross.
I did this one on winter solstice last year and loved it.
3000 feet vertical topping out around 5629 feet

http://www.summitpost.org/granite-mount ... mie/150562" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lemke Climbs
The Pacific Coast to the Great Plains = My Playground
"Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping"
"When you come to face what you fear, let the creator guide you"
Post Reply