Snow YES! Summit NO!

The bright yellow "*" marks our destination for today! This is the no longer in use Cameron Lookout on the top of Mount Burke as seen from the trail head. It looks doable! Heaven knows, I have done stuff like this before, but it was in the middle of winter.

A couple of us summited this in the past but that didn't help when it came to finding our turn off point to start our ascent. My GPS gave me grief today, so packed it away in my backpack. We relied on the GemTrek Map and eventually after an extra 30 minutes of route finding, we found our route!

Shortly into the obvious switchbacks, they were no long obvious with the amount of snow and no trekkers having gone before us since the last big fall. From here on in, instead of route finding, we made our own route by post holing the balance of the way. A few took turns trail breaking, I lasted about 10 minutes when it came to my turn, so I wasn't much help.

We finally reached the tree line and the view opened up wide. We could once again see our destination and at this point we were questioning if in fact, it would be doable! We continued straight up ahead, very slowly, still post holing. The consensus was with it being early afternoon already, we should stop for lunch and maybe call our lunch spot our destination.

The lookout looked so close but yet so far and we realized it would be better to be safe then sorry and save the summit for another day. This is my non-summit shot! You can see the lookout, it is the little dark dot on the top of the mountain at the left of the photo.

We had gorgeous views as we dined, along with bits of blue sky and thankfully no wind.

We had fun taking some group shots after lunch then began our descent.

The texture of the snow had changed since our ascent and we all looked tipsy on the way down, slipping and sliding all over the place as we tried to follow our own foot tracks back. I realized I had enough snow and didn't care to be in it again until next winter. On the drive to Longview for a beverage and food, I told my friends I would be backing out of my hike planned for tomorrow. I just couldn't handle anymore post holing! I had lots to say about that! I wasn't the only one with lots to say!

I live for being out in the mountains! I appreciate the scenery and I always enjoy seeing wildlife at a safe distance. I like the fun folks, the chats we have, even the quiet times when we are too tired to chat. By the time I got home this evening, I already got over my post holing experience and my no need for more snow. I better get my gear together for tomorrow! I changed my mind and will go for more punishment!