23 replies to this topic

[Igloo Ed]

It was Grannyheart and my neighbor friend that joined in a trip to Lake Haiyaha today on what turned out to be challenging yet rewarding day.
The snow was very nice in the morning with us only sinking in 6 inches or so in nice soft snow on a hard layer below.
It was a cold day with clouds but the clouds were thin and the sun was shining through enough to warm us a bit and there wasn't any wind.
Here's the crew coming up early in the morning:


When we reached the large open and steep snowfield just below the east face of Otis Peak we heard voices coming from across the canyon to the south. Looking we spotted some skiers getting ready to ski a steep slope:


We went up to Haiyaha and checked out the Stomp camp where we found so much snow that the igloos were completely buried and probing with my pole showed that there was at least four feet of snow over the igloos. The cave under the rock was completely buried too other than a small hole I was able to squeeze down into after digging out a bit of snow with my snowshoes.
On our way back out we passed Jim's Rock and Granny posed for a picture to get some scale to the size of the drift by the rock:


On our return trip, we came down Chaos Creek and had an interesting descent.

[Grannyheart]

WOW....what a day! I'm trying hard to get back into shape after way too many months of not hiking at all. Ed is SO willing to help me in any way he can. He knows how to get ME to push myself and HE likes to push me a little out of my comfort zone at times, which is a good thing, but also sometimes scary for me. I'm SO thankful for the patience I received today.

First thing I noticed this morning was how buried the trail sign was.....


There is SO much snow in the park this year! That was especially evident once we reached Haiyaha.....those pics in a little bit.
Here's Ed and Hugh heading along Ed's special route....


I don't know which stream or creek this is, but Ed and Hugh do. It's nice to see and hear the water moving....Spring IS coming, it's just taking a while....

[Grannyheart]

We really had wonderful weather today and the views were awesome.....as always.






This pic shows how high the snow is at Haiyaha. The long branch that's just above snow level here is usually quite a bit off the ground....


I've never been to Haiyaha without having to scamble over some rocks to make my way down to the lake. No rocks to scramble down today....just snow drifts. Here's Ed trying to make it easier for me to get down this one. OK, it still took some extra coaching from Ed to get me to get my feet to move. I was afraid of sliding off to the left or right which would have meant dropping down a bit onto some big boulders. This really wasn't dangerous at all....just uncomfortable for me. It's funny how one's mind can make mountains out of mole hills. Ed waited patiently and finally I moved one foot and was quickly down safely....no problem....just as Ed had told me would be the case.

[Allie]

Wow, with that much snow, think there will still be some come Sept.?

[Grannyheart]

When we finally got up to the igloo site. I figured the igloo would be buried, but I was sure surprised to find the cave completely snowed in....


Ed wanted to get a crate he left in the cave after the Stomp, so he took his snowshoe and started digging a way to get in. Before I knew it, he slid down....way down and then he was out of sight. I got nervous wondering how the heck he was gonna get back out. I waited and watched for a bit and then he reappeared at the entrance hole (slide). He handed the crate up to me and then worked his way out making hand and foot holds in the snow walls. It was pretty cool. I was VERY glad when he made it out safely.




After having some lunch, it was time to head back down.....of course, NOT the "normal" way. :) Ed decided we should go straight down to the lake from our stand on top of the igloo. Again, not something I was really comfortable with doing, but what the heck. Ed was once again pushing me a little beyond what I would usually want to do. It was a little bit scary for me going down, but like with everything else Ed gets me to try.....I was very pleased with myself after I made it down to the lake. This is looking back at where we came down....the RH side of the pic....

[John]

Golly, that looks fun! Thanks for posting!

[Grannyheart]

Here's a pic I took of Ed just before he took the pic of me standing up on the drift next to Jim's Rock. I don't know how this rock got named. Ya gonna fill me in, Ed?


We finally made our way off Haiyaha and we were headed back to the parking lot. We took a route that was.....well, let's just say VERY challenging for me. It was VERY steep for a VERY long time. Ed and Hugh had listened to me say "OMG!!!" many times throughout the day, but this time "OMG!!!" didn't even come close to expressing what I was feeling....but tears did. Hugh made it down the steep slope very quickly and he seemed to really enjoy it. Then he waited very patiently at the bottom while Ed did all he could to reassure me and guide me in making it down safely. What patient guys I was with today!!!! Ed took off his snowshoes and instructed me to do the same and he led me down following in his footsteps until I was safely at the bottom.

This is the little slope I was having a hard time with getting down.....(the pic doesn't show the steepness, of course).....


I had a bad dream last night. I tried not to think about it, but thoughts of it were in my head all day and I know that's what made everything so much more challenging than it really was. It's a great feeling when you work through tough stuff.......AND it's REALLY great when you have amazing people to help you through it.

Thanks Ed and Hugh for a really wonderful day!!!! I can't wait to find out what my next challenge will be. I'm both nervous and excited.

[rcw]

Great report and pictures. The snow is amazing.

[Igloo Ed]

rcw, on 02 May 2011 - 07:12 AM, said:

Great report and pictures. The snow is amazing.

Indeed!

[dianeh85]

OMG look at all that snow!!! Looks like ya'll had a great time frolicking and what a wonderful day to do it. The wind doesn't look like it was too much of an issue. Thanks for posting all these great photos. Love it!!

[jflo]

That is soooo awesome!! Great pics and report Ed and GH!! That looked really challenging... it is great to have such awesome people to hike with. Thanks for sharing your experience and feelings with us Grannyheart!!

[GLENNinPA]

Sweet is right! Good to see you out and about Granny! Can't wait, I'll be hiking that same area in 3 weeks!

[Qbert]

Grannyheart, on 01 May 2011 - 10:31 PM, said:

This is the little slope I was having a hard time with getting down.....(the pic doesn't show the steepness, of course).....

Is that the Chaos Cascades that you followed down? Beautiful!

[mistylady]

Oh, Granny, I am so glad you got to Haiyaha this year after all. There is so much more snow than when we were there during the STOMP! It sure looked like a great day for a fantastic hike with two really awesome guys. Keep on hiking, Granny!

[Igloo Ed]

Grannyheart, on 01 May 2011 - 10:31 PM, said:

It's a great feeling when you work through tough stuff...

Bingo!
Not the same as a frolic.
I'm proud of you Granny.