We were up and out the door at 2:45am and headed for the North Cascades Highway on a family mission. Only for very, very situations will I get up at this ungodly hour.
The drive is long and dramatically beautiful, but better in the daylight, however. We made it through the small town of Mazama 2.5 hours later (normally a 3 hour drive) and started up a washboard gravel forest road.
Hitting the trail at 6:13am, we were headed for the Goat Peak Lookout about 1.5 miles up. My husband, Gary, and his boys, Josh and Zach, were following me closely. Gary was hoping to set a pace where he wouldn’t sweat his shirt, normally he would be out in front. The day was supposed to hit 90 degrees, so even at the early hour that plan was tossed out shortly and he was carrying his shirt in his hand and slowing down. Sorry no picture but he has one of me asleep on the boat from our last backpacking trip and I’m positive drool is involved.
Family that had stayed in town the night before had started up an hour before us with another group of loved ones climbed just a few minutes behind. We were the only crazy people on the trail as the sun warmed the day. The boys, of course, were quickly ahead of their father and I.
There were small remnants of winter as we reached the ridge less than a mile up but the cooling effects of the snow were welcome. The boys, also, took this as an opportunity to practice their throwing skills.
We were soon met by Gary’s anxious daughter and fiance coming down to see how everyone was doing on their way up to the top. They joined us as we continued towards the summit.
Gary had his shirt back on by this point and was looking rather dapper as we reached the lookout for the morning’s celebration. The boys had long since ditched us for a snow patch ahead.
It was now 7:30 am and almost time for the festivities to get started. We had just a few minutes to meet family that had flown in from out of town and marvel at the stunning peaks off in the distance.
Designated “seating” had been arranged on the far side of the lookout and we settled down into position.
Here is where a lone songbird chirped nearby and the warm wind softly whispered, “Here comes the bride…”
And our outdoor loving family gained a son-in-law. Clearly I was not the photographer but you get the idea.
After a slew of group pictures of varying family members and a few friends, cookies and coffee, we were off and and heading down the mountain at 9:30am. This was only our FIRST celebration for the day.
We were back down to the cars with Gary’s younger daughter at 10:30am and after a quick stop at the Mazama Store for kombucha drinks and Goat’s Beard Mountain Supplies for a new sticker (my old one has disintegrated), we were driving back to Seattle 3.5 hours away (barring any traffic) at 11:30am.
Because someone had to be at Key Arena by 4pm to graduate from high school at 5pm.
Although I am hoping for a jammed packed summer, I’m hoping the rest of it will be a little bit more spread out! For more details on this hike, check out Goat Peak Lookout.
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