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Trip Report    

Olympia Jr. Mac conquers Mount Washington (Snoqualmie)

Five Olympia Jr. Mac Mountaineers along with 2 chaperones and a leader successfully completed a conditioning hike in preparation for a possible Mt. St. Helens attempt

Paul Kallmann Paul Kallmann
February 09, 2022
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • Snow/ice on the connector trail from the trailhead to the Iron Horse trail then no snow until about 2,800 feet up the rest of the way to the top.  Nice track present so snowshoes were not needed.  It was a microspike type of day.

We had 8 of us on the trip - 5 Olympia Jr. Mac Mountaineers -- (2 6th graders, 1 7th grader, 1 8th grader, and 1 9th grader) along with 2 chaperones and the trip leader.  We met at the trailhead, handed out microspikes to those who needed them, then had a brief meeting to discuss the plan for the day.  Then we were off with the Jr. Mac participants as the primary leaders.

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We put on our microspikes along the Iron Horse trail thinking we would have snow/ice along the entire trail, but that did not happen.  We did not see snow until around 2,800 feet.  We took breaks along the way.  There was some differences in conditioning levels amongst our participants, but we made the top at the 4 hour mark.  We were treated to clear skies and terrific views of Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, and Mt. Rainier.

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We had a casual lunch, took our obligatory summit photos, and then back to the car in about 3hrs 15 minutes.  Our Jr. Mac group ended up doing nearly 9 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. 

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