Solo Mt Margaret Backcountry

17.5 miles of hiking • 4250' elevation gain • 2 nights

This trip tested my inner whatchamacallit for sure, pretty strenuous and I was alone. I started out from Norway Pass at mid-day, in foggy moisture expecting it to clear. It did not. It got worse, all my stuff got wet. I was the only idiot out there. Made it to a camp on the Boundary trail between Mt Marge and the Dome, and hunkered down for the night in my warm dry tent. The rain DID eventually stop overnight and I opened the tent flap in the morning to reveal the most amazing scenery all around me. A sea of fog covered Spirit lake and lazing elks, several herds were visible from one spot. MSH in your face, Rainier over one shoulder, and Adams over the next. The charm of hanging St Helens Lake below the bowl topped by Coldwater Peak, I've only seen it frozen. What a fantastic area, this stretch of the Boundary trail!

I scrambled around in the morning enjoying this incredible country without a heavy backpack for a few hours waiting for my stuff to dry, couldnt get enough of it, I was reluctant to leave..... but I had a new adventure awaiting.

I headed back east on the Boundary Trail past Mt Margaret and started on the Whittier Ridge Trail; aka the infamous Whittier Traverse. What a hoot! Scramblin fun! Wish I wasn't carrying 30 pounds on my back. My center of gravity was off, but the conditions were just perfect, the snow is gone. Took my time and I just lost the trail a couple times, found it after backtracking, or when lead astray by goat track, just head for the ridgetop!

Went down to the Lakes trail, and made it to my camp on Obscurity Lake and jumped in for a swim, heavenly!