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We pulled off of Hwy 12 and onto NF-1302 to air down:
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Our ascent began in very patchy snow, but we eventually gained enough elevation to have pretty full, albeit shallow, coverage:
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Around 1030hrs we were approaching maximum elevation for the day, and began to get some glimpses of blue sky and *gasp* the sun:
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It was at this point we decided to stop and soak it in for a minute, and also give Dryside some time to begin preparing the culinary masterpiece he provided for lunch:
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We trundled along the summit trail and stopped at a viewpoint that overlooked the canyon to North and provided our first glimpse of Mt. Rainier for the day:
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Here was our motley crew from the same vantage point looking back over what should be Naches/Yakima hidden in the dense fog below:
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With little in the way of snow to impede our progress, we rapidly made our way to the first intersection down toward Cowiche Mill road, and we decided to press on toward the end of NF-1302 in hopes of reaching the lookout structure:
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Nearing the end of the road, there is a spur road that takes you out to a viewpoint. The notable fact here is that viewpoint allows you to look South across the canyon toward Louie Way Gap... Some of you may recall the debacle we encountered a couple of years back (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7031) trying to find the mythical route between these two points, which I can now categorically prove DOES NOT EXIST, at least for 4-wheeled vehicles... Here is the trail marker that clarifies the trail is for motorscooters only:
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And here is a better overall shot of the chasm that lies between:
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All that said, the view from the not-so-grassy knoll was incredible:
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We made our way along the rim down to another viewpoint, with the lookout tower just a few hundred yards further off in the distance:
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This turned out to be a great place to have some lunch, and boy was it amazing with piping hot buffalo wings and just a little kick of warmth provided by the propane fire:
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With full bellies we made our way over to the lookout tower:
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At this point, Dryside took over navigating duties and plotted a course down the other side of the dirtpile to Cowiche Mill road. Sadly, this also involved leaving the glorious sunshine and dipping back down into the foggy abyss:
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We aired up at the parking lot just before hitting the pavement... What a mess:
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The expedition had been a complete success, yielding fully-charted route(s) over the top connecting Hwy 12 and Cowiche Mill road. There is still a maze of trails further East that I'd like to explore at some point, but that's for another day
