We Made it to the CCC Cabin

Well, here we are, hiking to the CCC cabin.  I took some information about the cabin off the Washington Trails Association's website.

 Pass though both forest and meadow on the way to this heritage site on the aptly named Beauty Mountain within Mount Spokane State Park. During the Great Depression, this was the summer spike camp of Company 949 of the Civilian Conservation Corps, voted the best of the nation's CCC camps. 

Angie challenged us to do 5 things this summer we had never done.  I tried to find the cabin a couple of years ago.  No luck.  We ended up hiking in the wrong place in the rain.  Oh joy!  Everyone had a map this time just in case.  

Ahhh beautiful scenery all around. 

Angie was getting out of the way of the racers on the mountain.  Little did we know that there was a trail run on Mt. Spokane.  

What a view!!! God's wonder!

Huckleberries.  They weren't ripe yet but there will be people picking them soon.  They only grow in the wild. Can't grow them at home!  

Ant, lots of them.  

Look! We made it!!! Not huge signage but there it is!

We thought the cabin was locked.

We sat outside and had a nice person take pictures. 

This was pretty special.  A rainbow above us.  What was God telling us?  

This picture was taken seconds after the rainbow picture in the same position.  No rainbow.  God put it there.  I believe that.  Blessed.  

A family came by and the father asked if the cabin was locked.  We said yes.  I thought maybe the cabin was only open in the winter.  He said he would give the door a try and guess what!  It opened.  Guess we didn't give it a big enough push.  

We prayed over our state when we got to the top.  That was good, so good.  

It was a goal accomplished.  2.5 miles up and the same down of course.  I am thankful Angie and Talena joined me.  Now, will I want to do that same thing in the winter with snowshoes on?  Time will tell.  Thanks for a great hike.

A Beautiful Day in God's Creation

God provided a perfect day for snowshoeing with friends.  The sun was shining, the temperature was tolerable and the friends were the best! We did miss our friend Angie and I am sure she missed being in the white stuff.  I needed some assistance getting the strap on the back of my snowshoe.  Bending after not bending for six months tends to tighten up the back muscles.  Thank you friends. 

And here we go up the 1.5 mile gradual climb to the cabin! The first quarter mile is downhill and then the gradual uphill starts.  

Good friends are a gift from God!

So is sunshine on a winter's day! 

There were lots of opportunities for great pictures! 

Geez! Are we there yet?  The goal is to make it to the one room cabin.  It is stocked with wood for the wood stove. Maybe there would be a fire going when we got there.  We press on!

We made it.  I did better this time.  I am getting stronger day by day. 

Inside we go!  This means the snowshoes come off and I have to get them on again.  There was no fire going but it was a nice break.  As we were getting ready to leave a man arrived with wood in hand to start a fire in the wood stove. 

 Highlight for me! I got my snowshoes on with no assistance.  Let the healing continue. 

Now the gradual downhill starts!  So much easier. Until the end of course and the uphill starts again. 

Remember the downhill I mentioned in the beginning.  Well, after all the glorious downhill the last part of the journey back to the car is uphill.  It seems way longer than it really is!  

I see the gate.  We are almost done!

We did it!  A beautiful day with the precious gift of good friends!  Until next time!!

 

New Year 2021 Snowshoe Adventure

What a wonderful way to start off the the New Year 2021.  Snowshoeing with friends on Mt. Spokane in God's glorious creation.  Perfection! Laurie, Talena and Angie ready to gear up.

Personally, I like being under the snow falling off the trees as long as I have a hat on.  I got to experience it a couple of times.  So did Laurie. Angie and Talena did a good job of avoiding the snowfall.  There was some talk about not liking winter from someone. 

Talena bought brand new snowshoes and crack!  As she was putting on a snowshoe and one of the pieces that hold the straps broke.  She was positive about the whole issue and made it work.  The one concern was Spokane Discount would not take returns if the items were used.  Oh, there is more just wait!

Off we go! 

It was a perfect day.  The temperature was just right.  Not too cold.  The scenery was magnificent.  

Another issue, Talena lost the basket to her pole.  We looked for it on the way back but the snow was just too deep to see it.

Angie asked if Lauri had bandaids in her backpack.  She did.  I have learned in just a short time that Lauri is prepared for just about anything. I am impressed.  Angie's boot was rubbing and creating a blister on her heal! Lauri fixed Angie's heal problem.  Batting 1000 with solving problems (minus the basket).  First the broken snowshoe, then the basket and now the blister. 

Documenting the progress of a snow person.  I have also learned the Angie is very creative and likes to build things.  Here is the beginning of a snowman.  Turns out it was a snowgirl.  

You can't leave a snowgirl without arms so up climbed Angie in search of some twigs.  

Success!

You can't stop there apparently.  Laurie dug down next to this log to find some tiny rocks for eyes. No luck but she found something even better.  

Angel wings!   This little snow angel brought great joy to the children as they passed by!

The finished product.  I really thought this little snow angel needed a name.  Angie was up the trail a bit when I mentioned this creation needed a name.  She turned around and told me the snow angel's name. I didn't totally agree with the name but you can't argue with the creator. SUMMER! Who names a snow angel Summer?  You might know now who mentioned earlier that they didn't really like winter.  

Next little hiccup!  Well, not so little at this point but what I have learned about Talena is that she is positive and can roll with the punches.  Her pole broke.  She didn't put any pressure on it at all, it just broke!  

Angie was able to strap the broken pole parts on to her pack. 

We made it to the cabin. The half way point!!!   

Time to head back down to the car!  I was thankful that God protected my leg.  I am very thankful for these 3 friends who like to adventure in the outdoors.  Can't wait until next time! 

I am not done yet with the issues on this journey.  We made it safely back to the car and Talena gently tapped her functioning ski pole on her snowshoe to get the snow off of it.  The pole broke.  Unbelievable! There is a happy ending to the pole, snowshoe issues.  Talena got a full refund.  Ahhh, I so love happy endings. It as a great day!