Winter Backpacking to Mt. Rainier's Dead Horse Creek

View of Mt. Rainier from Dead Horse Creek

Snowshoe Backpacking in Mt. Rainier Park is an accomplishment that anyone can admire. Naturally I had to test my ability to not only survive cold conditions, but attempt to stay warm while doing so. My first thought in planning was to take a few minutes to research what other backpackers were suggesting on the internet. In turn, I made a list of a few things that I agreed I should have. Extra things such as a second full body sleeping pad, extra batteries, and snow boots.  I normally try to pack as light as possible, but on this trip, I quickly abandoned my thoughts of light travels for hopeful thoughts of worm and dry nights. I also agreed to go with  a team of roughly 40 other hikers. I hoped that this would give me some peace of mind about not being familiar with the area being hiked. I had a  little over a month to put everything together or be forced bail out.
My first purchases were from Amazon and consisted of a double layer full face fleece beanie, insulated slippers, and a back up stove burner. I borrowed a full body sleeping pad from Joey, my hiking buddy on this trip. I also arranged to rent some equipment at Whittaker Mountaineering. Whittaker is a mountaineering expedition shop in Ashford,WA. They put together expeditions from as close as Rainier to as far as Everest. Check them out if you plan to spend any time in the park. With a variety of services to offer, you can't go wrong choosing them.
On the day of the hike I slipped into my base layer consisting of synthetic "dry" long john top and bottom. Then put on my snowboarding  pants and a long sleeve cotton-less shirt. I tossed my coat in the back seat of my car, with the intention of strapping it to my bag at the trailhead, but ended up putting it on instead.

We made a quick stop at the Longmire Ranger Station to fill out permit information for my car and register where and how long we would be camping in the park. Then we were off to meet up with our group at the Dead Horse Creek Trailhead. As it turned out less than 20 packers showed up to do the hike. And many hikers were leaving a day early due to the Seattle Seahawks  being in the Super Bowl. I too, would be leaving a day earlier then I originally planned in order to watch the game.

A walk through the trees.

A hiker packing down snow around his tent.

A view of camp from the trail.

At the start of  the hike we quickly found ourselves questioning if we were on the right trail. Luckily Joey had done this trek the year before and pointed out right away that nothing looked the same to him. Although, I was wondering how he could know this? The only things we could see were snow, trees and clouds. We turned around and went back to the trailhead and started over again. This time we found the correct trail in a small fork to the right about 50 yards in from the trailhead. I hiked with Joey and two others while lead hikers plowed the path 50 feet ahead of us and the rest fell about 25 feet behind us. Thankfully, the hike was easy. In fact it only lasted about 30 minutes  before we were at our destination. That's when the real work began. Packing down snow and building trails in and around the tents is something that has to be done, preferably before dark. We also built a community area. It took me about an hour to pack down the snow so I wouldn't sink down to my knees when I stepped out of my tent or attempted to walk around it. Then I packed down a trail to my buddy Joey, in case either of us needed anything and lastly, I packed down snow to the Community area trail. Then I set up my tent and continued to pack down useful trails around the rest of the camp, like a trail to a tree to pee at. Something I would not want to be doing in the middle of the night. And a trail to my food. Some backpackers brought shovels with them and used them to dig out trails and campsites. They finished a lot faster then those who forfeited the luxury of having a shovel in camp, like me. And their camps had an all around more advanced structure than those of us who were using our feet. Next time I'll have a shovel strapped to my backpack.

My sleeping system

My insulated booties were the best investment!

I had thought long and hard about my sleeping system, and I decided on it being the bunk system. I placed down a thin sheet of heat lining between the tent and my first thermo full body sleeping pad to trap the heat inside the tent. On top of that I put my second midsize thermo pad. And finally, on top of it, I placed my sleeping bag. (Note: If I had the chance to do this again. I would bring duct tape and wrap the pads and heat liner together. They slipped all over the place each time I moved.) Unfortunately the full body sleeping pad that I borrowed leaked, and I was left with just one midsize pad for the night with a heat liner. It was an ugly event! The weather forecast for that weekend boasted about temperatures in the teens to twenties with a clear sky. That meant that the snow would still be dry and that I would be fine in a 20 degree sleeping bag. But as it turned out, that night it was snowing and the temperature had reached -8 when I went to bed at 9. Already two really big mistakes! First, not bringing a 0 degree sleeping bag like I had been told. And second, trusting another hiker with equipment that he/she would not be using.
Once I finally got my tent up, I added to my layer of clothing. I put on an extra pair of long johns and a sweater under my snowboarding clothes plus an added pair of wool socks and switched out to a dry pair of gloves. I ended up wishing that I would have invested a few dollars and brought up half a dozen hand and feet warmers and three more pairs of  gloves as both of mine were wet within an hour of putting up my tent. And one pair was even waterproof!
Finally I was able to relax and make myself a really hot meal and some cocoa! I didn't realize however, how long it would take to not only melt snow but boil it! I was still sitting there waiting a half an hour later! But it was worth the effort and the time spent getting cold while waiting. I quickly ditched the cocoa and went with a Bourbon Cider instead.

The start of the "Bar".

After dinner I went into the community area to hang out with Joey. I was impressed to find that the guys had brought up loads of beer and made a kitchen, bar and seating area. And to top off all that, by the end of the night, they had also strung Christmas lights all around the bar and had them lit by battery. They made steps leading into the bar and carved out seats in the snow. These guys were really freaking awesome! Sorry, none of my night pictures turned out because I have a really crappy point and shoot camera that I take backpacking. I really need to replace it. It turns off if it gets cold, so I was really lucky to get these.

Socializing in the "Bar".

Sunset on Mt. Rainier

Once I had lost all feeling in my feet, I decided to go back to my tent and slip on my insulated booties. This is also when I found out that my bottom pad was leaking as it was completely deflated. I blew it up again and hoped that it would get me at least halfway though the night. Then decided to make myself a hot cup of cocoa to defrost with. I was told in the bar area that snow will boil faster if you place a lid under the gas can. I tried this method out and it worked. I got to drink a hot cup of cocoa 25 minutes later! After that I slipped in my sleeping bag with every last bit of clothing that I had on, plus my booties. Minus my snowboarding gloves as they were very wet by this point. Joey had gave me one hand warmer for my bag. I placed it as close to the middle of my back as I could. And then set up to read some Robert Frost.

Boiling coco at four in the morning.

By 4 o'clock in the morning I was shivering beyond control. I had to get up and move around. So I unzipped by bag, blew up my deflated sleeping pad again, and slid my feet into frozen solid boots. Then put on my frozen solid waterproof snowboarding gloves. By this time in the morning, with each breath I took, the condensation turned into ice crystals and fell down onto my lap. The entire inside of my tent was covered in ice and frozen stiff. I have never seen anything like this before. It was fascinating! And a bit scary. I could see why it is so easy to die in these types of conditions. The snow was crunchy under my steps and it was still falling. The outside of my tent was covered in several inches of fresh snow. I stood there going back and forth with myself about knocking it off. Thinking, I should leave it, it's  insulating the inside of my tent, if that's possible... Then, shake it off, I'm not sure the poles will be able to hold the weight of the snow. I shook it off. It was cold as f#$* anyway! I then lit my stove to boil snow and walked up and down the camp over and over again. I drank my cocoa while walking, and then walked up and down the camp some more. At around 6 o'clock I climbed back into my tent, blew puffs into the sleeping pad and climbed back into my sleeping bag. By 7 AM I was up reading my book and boiling snow for breakfast. And I have to say, I have never been so stinking pleased to have to leave. In fact, I was in the best spirits! I couldn't wait to be getting the hell out of there.
I'll do this trek again, but not until I have every last thing I need to stay warm. Including a portable heater!
With that being said, I did have a lot of fun and the views were beautiful. There were a lot of foxes around at night, so bring those bear vaults!

View of Rainier the next morning!

The south view