Snowbird Hut Hike

The long and strenuous hike to the Snowbird Hut is one my favorite hikes of all. The Valley Wanderers had planned to hike there today and there was no way I could sit this one out, regardless of how tired I might still be. I was really tired when I woke up but the thought of getting to go back there, kept me alert enough to drive to the trailhead. I could tell I was dragging, but I was mostly sticking with the rest of the group. Once we leave the main Reed Lakes Trail, we take a left turn and head straight up a very steep narrow brushy trail to the top of a ridge to some ruins of the old Snowbird Mine. The rocky trail meanders for a while over rocks and scree to the main mine ruins, then it starts to climb. There is officially a trail there, but one needs to rely on their imagination with the help of the AllTrails iPhone app to actually follow it. It isn't marked except in a couple of spots. There are gigantic boulders to negotiate and it's very easy to get completely off the trail. That happened to us a few times. Then we just head towards the steep Glacier Pass at the far end of the valley and hope we find our way there. Bella was amazing, hopping from boulder to boulder. I got pretty tired and was starting to lag behind a little. A couple of times I couldn't even see the others in our group, but Bella would come running back down through the rocks to show me the way. There were also a couple of huge snowfields to cross that obscured whatever trail really does exist there. I arrived at Glacier Pass shortly after the rest of our group. We took a nice break there and admired the fantastic view down onto the glacier. After some snacks, and my much-appreciated Tootsie Roll emergency ration, we put on our micro spikes and slipped and slid down through the snow and rocks to the actual glacier below. It was not covered in snow like the last time I went there. Instead, it was more like solid ice and frozen mud. Bella took off straight down to it, leaving all of our group behind. But once on the ice, she got a little more hesitant. The ice was kind of sharp, and I wondered if it would bother her paws. But she did seem to do ok with it, although moved a bit slower. After a long icy trek down nearly the full length of the glacier, we came to the huge rock that is the marker for the trail up to the hut. Off with the spikes, then we climbed mostly straight up the rocks and scree, following remnants of what is probably an official trail. A gigantic boulder has a red arrow painted on it, that points the way to the hut. We turned that way and climbed a few boulders and finally could see the hut perched on top of the ridge. It was such a relief to finally reach it and stop rock scrambling. Bella was waiting for me at the top, ready for the treats she had certainly earned. We spent some time there and had some more lunch. The view there is otherworldly. I could imagine living in that tiny hut forever, just to see that view out my window every day. I went inside to check it out. It's very primitive but quite nice. There are bunk beds plus more beds in a half loft. I read that it can actually sleep up to 12 people. But they would need to be close buddies!

We reluctantly had to leave and start the long trek back down. It was easier than the trek in because most of it is downhill. The glacier walk though, is slightly uphill and there is the last steep snow slope to negotiate up to the top of Glacier Pass. Bella seemed to be having a little trouble on the ice, so I picked her up and carried her in my arms a couple of times to give her a rest. Once we got to the snowfield, she raced up it like it was dry land. We took a last big break in the pass and removed our spikes again. From there down it was a combination of long snowfields and gigantic boulder scrambles with a few creek crossings thrown in. Giant cumulous clouds were forming but the sun stayed with us for the most part. The lower we got, the more sunshine we had. We didn't get any rain from those clouds, thank goodness. Once down to the Reed Lakes Trail, Bella was starting to look tired. I picked her up a couple more times, but she walked on her own most of the way. 

I felt a little insane to take on such a tough 10-mile hike on my wobbly marathon legs, but it was so extraordinary that I'm glad I went for it.