Overnighter at Copper Creek Hut (MTTA), 24-25 March 2012 --- 10 miles roundtrip with 1400 ft elev gain
It was a joyful overnigher with my brother (James), the PWC members, and their friends at the Copper Creek Hut as part of the Mt Tahoma Trail Association (MTTA). Unlike my previous visits to the MTTA huts, we had the fantastic views of the Mt Rainier on Saturday. It was my third trip there and probably the last one till next Winter. It was the 2nd trip for my brother, James, who have never backpacked before, did quite well. Next Winter, I am eager to visit again all the huts like the Yurt, Snow Balls (expects to open in 2012 winter), High Hurt, and Copper Creek Hut. We are truly lucky to live near the Mount Tahoma Trail Association (MTTA) who maintains the trails and the huts by all volunteers.
Thanks to everybody for sharing snacks, food, drinks, carpooling, etc. Eleven
of us spent the night at the Hut. I had the ski patrol quarters all by myself
! The others thought that the space was too cold but it was perfect for me.
For the pictures, I could not quite get everybody on the picture since
we were divided into 3 groups. Some met at the MTTA office at 1000 and
the others arrived late. Then, some left the hut earlier than the others.
So, there was no chance for me to take the whole group picture.
Day 1: Meet at the MTTA office at 1000, except for Megan and Joan.
a.
Rob, Valerie, Les, John, James, & I took the 92nd road. Surprisingly,
there were so much snow on the access road. We had to park 0.5 miles below
the B lot where we parked on the previous two trips. The worse thing
was that, on our return day, we had to walk down 0.5 miles to the car on the
dirt road.
b. Greg, Loreen, & Helen took the Road 45. The access road has been groomed but a lot steeper than the 92nd access road trail.
c. We arrived at the Hut at 1310. Les and I decided to ski toward the Puyallap Ridge Lookout at 1430 via Cal trail. The trail beyond the Mountain View was not groomed at all. We were the first on the logging road and started to break the trail. We skied about 5 miles roundtrip to a ridge top at 4800 ft elev where it was the highest point in the area. We had the spectacular views of the Mt Rainier. The mountain looked so majestic and huge. It was my first time seeing the Mt Rainier up close and so clear.
Day 2: Before people got up, for one hour at 0700, I skied down to the Junction (Road 45 and Road 92 trail) which was about 1.6 miles down from the Hut and return. It was a nice run. 0950, our original party left the Hut. Greg's party wanted to ski the upper area and would come down later. It was a blast XC skiing down the trail. Snow condition excellent that the trail was well within in my ski level even pulling the snow sled. Megan (skied) and Joan (snowshowed) left us a little earlier. Joan took the wrong turn to the Road 45 but the ski patrol gave her a ride to rejoin Megan. It was nice to have a happy ending.
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