Rattlesnake Mountain 2/25/2016

Just about sunrise

 

We did a really fun and vigorous hike today.  We parked one car by I-90 Exit 27 and then drove to Exit 32 – Rattlesnake Lake – and hiked up, across and down Rattlesnake Mountain.

We have done this a few times before and it is always fun.  We were shooting today to pretty much go right across without a break and within 4 hours.

Alas, there were so many blow downs starting around 2500 feet, with lots of snow at 2900 feet that we were slowed by having to navigate over/under/around, and by the fact that they threw us off the trail for awhile.  Final time was about 4:25.

Blow down
Blow down

But as always, awesome views:

Rattlesnake Lake and the mountains to the east
Rattlesnake Lake and the mountains to the east

We actually met up with some birds who seemed interested in being fed – Derek put his hand out and one of them swooped, looking for a treat.  Derek snapped some photos but they didn’t show the birds really well.  But we did have some company up there.

Here is a visualization of the hike:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/rattlesnake-mountain-2-25-2016/#.Vs9rj5Xltow

Rattlesnake Mountain
Rattlesnake Mountain

Update: that’s Rattlesnake Mountain, photographed from the north.  When we say we hiked Rattlesnake Mountain, that’s what it is about.