Rendezvous Peak

 Our original plan was to hike the Muktuk-Marston Trail, a gentle trail that starts from the parking lot at the Arctic Valley Ski Area. But some of our little group of Valley Wanderers wanted to do the loop that climbs Rendezvous Peak, then heads down to Hunter Pass, and from there, go down the Muktuk Trail. We knew we would encounter some snow and ice, but felt it might be better to go up Rendezvous first then plan the long downhill descent on the gentle trail. Once we got to the saddle between Rendezvous and Mt Gordon Lyon, we found a lot of snow. We all started up but as it got steeper and more difficult, one of our group decided to turn back. Another joined her and they both climbed Mt Gordon Lyon as the rest of us kept on with our climb. It seemed to get steeper and steeper but was never dangerous. I was glad I had bought new winter hiking boots yesterday though, because they kept my feet nice and warm. We did end up doing a little bit of post-holing, but could often stay on top of the wind packed snow. And, yes, there was wind, lots of wind. It had warmed up from yesterday's teen temperatures, but was still in the low 20's. I kept my face covered with only my nose sticking out of my balaclava most of the time. When we got to the top of the mountain, the views were spectacular. But we found there was no trail leading down to the pass. Only Chris, our adventurous solo male member, decided to head out alone and find his way down to the pass. That route is quite steep even without snow, so the rest of us turned back the way we had come. Not everyone was excited about breaking trail through a couple of feet of windblown snow.

When we got down to the parking lot we walked a mile or two up the Muktuk Trail because a couple of the group had never hiked it. The lower part of that trail was free of snow. But we didn't want to take the time or effort to go all the way to Hunter Pass. It was nice and calm there too. Nothing like the biting winds up high. Our total mileage was 6.8 miles

Me on top of Rendezvous Peak 4084'