It’s been 4 years since I’ve been back to the MTTA trail/hut system, before that horrid thing called COVID. When friends (thank you V&J!!) invited me along on their hut reservation, I jumped at the chance. The hut is fully heated and stocked, the only things one needs to bring are clothes, food, and sleeping bag.
Because I’d be driving on my own, and because there was a good chance of overnight snow, and because I simply *hate* putting chains on my car, I opted to park at the lower parking area, which added 1.3 miles to my hike up to the Snowbowl Hut. It’s pretty much alllll up up up, and on the way there I managed to strain a hip flexor quite badly, but it was worth it.
The light was magical that afternoon, with 360-degree views of Mt. Rainier, Goat Rocks, Mt. Adams, and Mt. St. Helens. We spent time at the gazebo just taking it all in, watching the light change by the minute, seeing beautiful lenticular clouds forming over Rainier and Helens, and simply spending time with good, good friends.
By sunset we were in white-out conditions with fresh snow, so those few afternoon hours of sunlight were precious and will carry me for quite some time. It was windy the following morning, with several inches of fresh snow, but when I headed back down to my car the wind kindly stopped. A wonderful way to spend 24 hours!
