Mount Townsend — Thursday, Mar. 10, 2016

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

This is an amazing hike! So amazing this is my second attempt at the summit in a month.. And I failed again! You can get about a half mile from the trailhead before you'll have to park on the side. No worries there, it's an easy walk the rest of the way through slushy snow. Better safe than sorry, though. The snow starts right at the trail head, but I didn't put the snow shoe's on for a mile up or so. Near Camp Windy, the trail is completely gone. If you know the hike well, then you may be able to navigate, but there were so many avalanche chutes to cross, it started getting too risky. Still, I had amazing views and the pup had fun in the snow (no small dogs. Way too deep for them.) but I had to turn around about a half mile from the summit. To those newer to snow-shoeing, understand the risks of crossing avalanche chutes, know how to read snow packs, and turn around if your gut tells you to!