Snowbound Camping

You remember Dad that time when you took us camping and it snowed and you didn't bring our snow clothes....

Time will tell how that remembrance will end for my children, I'll do my best to stake out my claim to the memory. :)

I am nothing if not a little stubborn, especially when it comes to taking my kids out doors. Because I have been hiking with Miles since he was 7 weeks old he is always excited to go out on the trail with me, Sofi and Kiah can take a bit more convincing. Stacey and Kiah were in San Francisco for a girls weekend and I was home with Miles and Sofi. Since I was working from home on Friday watching them I thought we'd go camping that weekend after Sofi got out of school. I had read the forecast and it was a mix of rain, and depending on the forecast snow was predicted for Snoqualmie Pass, though I had heard snow level and 5000 feet. So I grabbed my monster Jansport Whittaker pack stuffed it full of all the gear and I packed Miles and Sofi their packs, which only had their sleeping pads and their sleeping bag. I brought both of them raincoats and fleece shells. Their bottom layers were cotton pants and low cut hiking boots and socks.

When we arrived at North Bend exit 34 it was pouring down rain and I actually pulled off the exit and I debated turning around. But I was bound and determined we were going anyway and we'd have an adventure. By the time we reached the pass snow was sticking to the tree tops, though not the road. We pulled off of exit 54 and headed up on the logging roads to the Mount Margaret trail head. When we pulled into the parking lot it was snowing and there was an inch and a half accumulated on the road.

Apparently I hadn't take the snow part of the forecast seriously enough. However since I was on a mission for an adventure we loaded up anyway. Miles and Sofi were excited about the snow and we headed off up the logging road to where the "trail" takes off on another blocked logging road. They were having a great time bounding from tree to tree eating snow off the leaves. Given that the leaves had not completely fallen yet there were several places where the snow laden slide alder draped almost completely over road and I had to knock the snow off so we could pass through. Soon the logging road switched to a steeper path that switched back and forth up the hillside that had been logged years before.

Sofi and Miles began asking me how much further, after several "10 more minutes" we could finally see the ridge line where the logging stopped and the old growth began. I pointed out our objective and encouraged them, just a little bit more. This entire time the snow had continued falling, and it was a wet snow and their raincoats were getting a bit saturated and it was around 6 inches deep. The steepness of the trail was beginning to take its tole on their short legs and they were starting to get a bit wet and cold. Miles finally had it, threw his pack down and began crying that he wanted to go home. I had been carrying his pack for a while, as well as Sofi's and I shifted them to the top and on back of my pack. I picked Miles up, now sobbing uncontrollably that he was cold, shoving each foot and leg through my packs straps and locked my hands in front of me, so he sat upon them and put his arms around my neck. Slowly I began the step plod up the trail. As I did so, I noticed that in the hustle and bustle of getting out of the car, even though I had told him to put his coat on first and then his raincoat, he had only slipped on his raincoat over his long sleeve t-shirt, no wonder the poor kid was cold.

The snow now really started falling hard, and Sofi started complaining in full earnest. "How much farther Dad". "I hate this hike!" "I want to go home!". Miles would join her in their chorus of wanting turn around and go back home. Encouraging them, I kept pointing out how close the old growth tree line was. Finally we reached the portion of the ridge where the old Doug Firs grew, and we got a bit of relief from the falling snow as the heavy canopy closed over head. However the trail at this point was still not flat but continued climbing through the trees. Sofi was furious that we were in the trees and we were still not stopping and there was no where to camp. Both of them strongly cried (which much whining and tears) that they wanted to go home and that they were cold. We had gone about a mile and a half and were less than a tenth of a mile from a camping spot. I knew that the quickest way to get them warm was to find a campsite and get them out of the snow, their wet clothes and into a sleeping bag. Each switch back we came to Sofi insisted we camp there, I urged them on promising we were almost there. Finally we arrived to a flat place along the ridge where we could pitch our tent without rolling down the slope. I set Miles down and placed him and Sofi next to a tree, and in the falling snow I threw up the tent. My hands were numb with cold by the time I got the poles up and the fly snapped on. I grabbed Sofi and Miles and put them into the tent, threw in their sleeping bags and pads and got them both out of their wet clothes and into there bags. Within minutes they were warm and toasty and I went back outside to stake out the tent and pile snow around the edges to keep out any wind.

Back inside we had quite a bit of space and in the large vestibule I set up the pocket-rocket MSR stove and started boiling water for our MountainHouse Beef Stew. Sofi took this chance to remind me that "You should always be prepared Dad. You should have brought our snow clothes". I said yes I was wrong to not take their snow clothes and I was sorry, but she said she was warm now and glad she had come. Somewhere in the course of preparing the Mountain House Miles became adamant that he didn't like Mountain House and he wouldn't even try a bit. No amount of reason and logic would budge him :

Miles : "I don't like Mountain House"
me : "How do you know you don't like it you have never tried it"
Miles : "I DON"T LIKE IT"
me : "Try a bite, just one bite."
Miles : (screaming) : "I DON'T LIKE MOUNTAIN HOUSE. I WANT BEEF JERKY!"
me: "Try one bite, see its got beef jerky in it"
Miles : (crying and screaming) : "I WANT A SMORE!"
me : "Try one bite and you can have a smore"
Miles : (crying and screaming and hiding his face in his sleeping bag) : "I DON'T LIKE MOUNTAIN HOUSE"

More crying, and screaming. 3 1/2 year olds can be stubborn too.

I gave up and convinced him to eat some trailmix while Sofi and I slurped down the hot, salty yummy beef stew. Afterwards, since I had lost the roasting stick somewhere along the trail, I held a marshmallow in my hand over the stove's flame and browned it and then put it between to graham crackers with a Reeses peanut butter cup. (The very bestest way to have smores).

I then rigged some of the tie down strings between the vestibule pole and the tent poles and draped Sofi and Miles wet pants and socks over the stove flame and attempted to dry out their clothes for tomorrow. In the process my OR gloves fell off Sofi's pants and melted in the flames. :(

I told them bedtime stories and as they fell asleep I read my book as the stove finally ran out of gas and I settled in for the night. The next morning Sofi woke early while it was still dark (around 6:30) having to go to the bathroom, she was pretty excited about making yellow snow. :) I read while she snuggled back to sleep and around 7:30 as it got light we got up and started packing up. I slowly got them dressed and had them cram into one sleeping bag to stay warm while I stuffed everything into the pack. I didn't even bother trying to pack their packs, but just stuffed them down inside with everything else. I then had them stand under the same tree, instructing them to stay put and not play in the snow as I didn't want them getting wet before we started down the trail. As I packed up the tent, they of course started tromping through the snow, up the hill side and around through the trees. I regretted not bringing their snow gear again, as it would have been a more more relaxing time for them to be able to play dryly in the winter wonderland all around us.

We made our way down the trail, back through the switch backs and the logged forest. This time the journey went pretty quickly and no one complained in the slightest, though when Sofi and Miles saw the car they both let out a shout of happiness. I had been promising them that morning that we'd stop for hot chocolate at the drive up coffee stand at Snoqualmie Pass and we raced to the car, the first one there got hot chocolate first.


When we got in the car Sofi was whining about her feet being cold. Ten minutes later as we drove down the freeway sipping our hot chocalte she was complaining she was too hot. Life is full of extremes, we are often in end of one or the other and appreciative of neither. I had been stubborn about getting out, I had not taken the forecast to heart and hadn't really been prepared with the proper clothing. But no one lost any digits to frost bite and as we neared home Sofi said : "Thank you Daddy for taking us, I had a lot of fun". Hopefully those are the memories that stick. :)

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