Note photos are not in order of happenings - I just haven't figured that out yet.  Mes photos ne sont pas en ordre.

The beginning - Le debut

My fashionable hat, mon chapeau du mode

The last time I backpacked I was 9 years old.  It was my mother, my brother, my cousin, her dog and I.  We were somewhere in the Wasatch Mountain in Utah and I got sick.  I mean throw-up headache sick.  Even with that it was a great trip.  I loved it.  My Mom is so very adventurous and did so much with her kids and now with my kids.  Fast forward 28 years.  Can you believe that - TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS!  I am once again hiking through the wilderness to find a campsite so that I can pee in the woods (no there aren't any toilets - not with walls at least), drink very stout coffee (enough to put hair on your chest - even though I don't want that), freeze my tail end off (a few pounds would be nice but no the whole thing) and become main course for the local mosquito population. I think that we missed the turn off to the trailhead twice. 

Glacier Lake - Lac Glacier

It did say that it wasn't very well marked, the book was right.  But find it we did.  John had my pack ready to go when he picked me up at the airport.  I was dropping the kiddos off at my mother's house (she is adventurous).  The weather was cool and the packs were full.  Our first day the goal was to reach Glacier Lake 5 miles in.  No problem - we've hiked that far it should take us with full (at least we think their full) packs about 3 hours. 

home sweet home, notre joli maison pour trois jours

Four and a half hours later we pull into this beautiful little campsite with a creek and a flat stretch of ground just perfect for our tent (thanks the Chris T at John's work).  We had made it! We did run into two gals that had been in the mountains for three weeks and decided that after a 12 hour rainstorm they didn't want to wait another day for their husbands to pick them up.  John and I thought that those gals were amazing but not the average backpacker (ha ha). We were feeling pretty proud of ourselves.  The tent goes fairly quickly and I make a bee-line for the inside to set up house (I was driven by the mosquitos).  John being the gentleman that he is, he carried an extra sleeping pad for me so that I'd be a little more insulated from the cold ground.  And cold it was.  There was a brief and I mean brief time period that the sun broke through the clouds which warmed up the tent but it quickly went behind the mountains. 

A little bit of sun - un peu du soliel

Dinner was ramen noodles with peas and chicken that John brought from home.  He had a spread sheet listing all the meals and snacks that we were to have over the course of the next three days.  After dinner, we hoisted our food ten feet high into a tree (that's to make sure the bear doesn't eat our salami) and being the very late hour of 7:30 we went to bed.

Homeward bound, le retour

 I think that we were awake more than we were asleep.  The clouds had drifted away and we were left with a very bright moon that shown into the tent for a good portion  of the night.  (Note to self - a better hat with earflaps that I can tie around my chin, glove liners and my fleece jacket.) 

another view from the summit, une autre vue au sommet

Thank you for having the foresight to bring my long underwear.  The next morning we could see our breath.  The coffee was the ticket and so were the packets of oatmeal and the sausage.  We were on the east side of the lake so we didn't get sun until the afternoon and stayed in the tent for a good while before venturing out (9:30). 

cute little pica, un joli petite pica

This day we were just going to hike to Pieper's Pass and maybe Deception Lakes but not summit Surprise Mountain.  Plans changed and we did summit. 

ready for dinner, nous sommes pret pour dinner

It was beautiful very much worth the sore knees going down 2000 feet to get to our camp.  We arrived to find someone's tent next to ours.  I think that we arrived around 5 pm and the mystery person was in their tent. 
In fact we didn't see him until 7 am the next moring.  He just hung out in his tent smoking something.  He was headed to Snoqualmie Pass.  Another couple camped near us and they had hiked 15 miles that day.  Their trip was going from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass (75 miles total!).  We were happy with our little 10 mile round trip.  Oh we are not backpackers yet, just wannabes.  This was just the first excursion to try it out.

On the way to the summit (still happy)  En route au sommet ( deja content)

Mon mari et mois avons randonnes en les montagnes pour trois jours.  Nous avons marches en 8.2 kilometers avant trouver notre place.  Nous sommes arrives au Lac Glacier.  C'est marveilleux parce que nous sommes tout seule et il y a l'eau qui coule pres de nous.  Nous sommes reconnaitre deux filles qui etait dans les montagnes pour trois semaine!  Nous pense qu'elles etaient etonnants!  Avec vitesse, nous avons construit notre tente. 

trail marker called cairon (karen)  c'est un cairon

Les moustiques nous trouvent et j'entre le tente vitement.  Apres dinner, le soleil vas derrier la montagne et nous sommes nous coucher toute suite.  C'est froids dans les montagnes et nous n'endormi pas tres bien mais parce que c'est le premiere nuit dans les bois.  La jour prochain, nous pouvons voir notre souffle.  Pendant la jour nous faisons un autre randonnes. 

the view from the summit  -  la vue au sommet

John was always checking the map, John regarde notre carte

Nous avons trimarde au sommet du Mount Surprise. La vue etait incroyable!  Quand nous avons retournes au tente, nous avons trouve un autre tente pres de nous.  Quelqu'un etait dans le tente et nous lui vue le matin prochain.  Il depart vite.  Un autre deux persons que nous parlons decider to fait un randonnes en 120 kilometres.  Pour nous, c'est impossible. 

At the summit of Surprise Mountain - au sommet du Mont Suprise

C'est presque vignt-huit annees que je le fait et c'est le premiere que John et moi faire ensemble.  Peut-etre que l'ete prochain, nous pouvons prendre les enfant pour 3 kilometre.

cooking breakfast, notre petite dejeuner