Snowy Hikes are the Best Hikes

There was a magical day I lived back in 2016 with my friend Marie. We went up to hike Mt. LeConte on a 70 degree day in January just to find the entire trail covered in more than a foot of snow. The skies were blue, the air was crisp, and we were shedding layers of clothes with each mile we climbed.  I have forever coveted that day, knowing it isn't likely I would stumble upon another snowy hike that was warm enough for me tolerate.

Enter Rainier National Park in late June.

Mag-ic-al!  At least for me it was.

We drove to the Paradise corridor of the park with plans to hike the Skyline Loop Trail. 

While we maybe expected some snow, I think we were all surprised by how much ... and by how non-existent the trail would be.

We followed a narrow path of footprints for a while, which led us to a beautiful waterfall...  Beyond that point, it was each man for himself.  There was no trail to be found! Just a giant mountain standing at 14,000 feet high and some slippery slopes to climb.

We had varying levels of engagement from our little crew here - but for the most part, everyone was on their best behavior.  My suspicion is that they were all lectured into staying quiet and letting mommy have her day in the sky.

 

And that she did.

Can you even believe the crystal clear blue skies?  

Everyone was starting to wear down at this point...  but you could see a ridge just ahead and I really really wanted to get to the top.

Charlie went on a climbing adventure with me to go see what we could see.

Sam eventually joined us as well.

We found several ranges of more beautiful peaks

We also discovered it's way easier and less slippery to just run down the mountain than it is to try to carefully step.

It was truly a gift to get to experience this kind of day in this gorgeous national park with my favorite boys 💙 at least for me it was

This, here, is a gift for the whole family...  Sam has a really great habit of sneezing when he has to look too long in the direction of the sun...  I have so many pictures like the one above of him in mid-sneeze 😂

On our drive out of the park, we stopped at Reflection Lakes to get one last photo of this beautiful mountain.   It took a bit longer than it should have...  my darling youngest and his daddy were about 30 ft away from me trying to skip rocks, making all kinds of ripples across the entire lake... completely OBLIVIOUS of the 20 other people trying to get their perfect reflection picture.

The endless beauty of being a boy mom!