Middle of March and the weather forecast was predicting a sunny day on one of my days off from work. Getting out in the mountains to enjoy it was on the top of my list of things to do. But this time of year still means snow on most of our trails, and from early spring hikes in years past, I have discovered that some trails remain quite shadier and colder than others. We know that Ward Mountain gets sunshine, so that's where we decided to go. Since we were likely to need snowshoes at some point along the way, we strapped them to our packs and headed out for some afternoon fun on the mountain.

We checked the snow level at our break spot and found it to be about 3 feet deep at that point. It's funny how it doesn't seem like it when you are staying on top of it with skis or snowshoes. After a short break, we enjoyed zig-zagging our way back down the mountain on fresh snow without any tracks but the ones we were leaving behind us. The wind was a little chilly, but the sun balanced it out, and the views were beautiful. Oh, how I love being on the mountain! :)

I hope you enjoyed coming along on my mountain adventure. I'd love it if you would leave me a comment and hit the "like" button. See you in the next post. :)

As we left the Roaring Lion observation point, we entered a desolate area quite unlike the other burn areas we had been hiking through up to this point. We walked around a bit, just observing and taking it all in. It seemed so very strange; like something from a movie scene. It was like we were in another world of some sorts. And there was a hollowness to it, as there wasn't any vegetation to absorb the sound when we spoke. It sure had an unusual feeling to it. Kind of an eery feeling, but not in a scary kind of way.
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​We left the desolate area behind and began climbing in a wide open section with a broad eastern view of the valley below. The view in this photo is looking towards the northeast from above the overlook. Looking down on the overlook showed us that with each step we took we really were getting somewhere. Open views are great, but things were heating up with the sun getting stronger as the day went on and no shade here.

As we left "normalcy", we walked into another strange world, desolation area number two. This one was even more desolate than the first one in a way I can't really explain... you just have to experience it for yourself to know what I mean. It just has a certain look and feel that you can't quite capture with a camera. 

And this area was unusual in another way we hadn't experienced before. We observed a combination ash-dust devil that continued for several minutes as it spun its way around us in a complete circle, varying in intensity as it traveled. At one point in the beginning when it was on the trail ahead of us, it got thunderously loud for a bit, like a jet flying overhead. Then we saw its column of ash and dirt twisting high up in the sky. The ash-dust devil circled down and around, crossing the trail below where we had just hiked up. When it came up alongside of us at about 15 yards away, we could feel the circling wind and see bits of burnt bark flying off the trees. It crossed the trail above again and we returned to our hike, leaving the area and strange experience behind.  

On our way back down from the top later, we saw one small one as we passed through this area again. This time around it came even closer to us, about 8 feet away. ​This trip was definitely more of an adventure than we had anticipated.

Almost there! Beautiful views start opening up before us, and are such a nice reward for our hot hike in. 

Just ahead... top of Ward Mountain. Only a little bit more to go to see the full view that is waiting for us. (One of my daughters went ahead while the rest of us were looking at the remains of the old fire lookout; you can see her on top in this photo.)
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The summit is a large pile of rocks. No trail to follow ... you just find your own way wherever you want to go. 
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The girls and I make a pretty good hiking team. They're usually game for trying anything I'm willing to try, and we always have a wonderful time on our adventures together. We love to go hiking and backpacking with the guys (husband/dad, and son/brother) and with friends, but we frequently venture out on mountain treks as our own little group. 

​We ate lunch, wandered around taking lots of pictures and video, studied our maps to see what we could see from there, and just hung out and enjoyed the amazing views. :)
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While the smoke from wildfires hindered our views in every direction, it especially did to the south. Lake Como is somewhat visible in this photo through the smoke. This lake is highly used for water recreation in the valley at the base of the mountains. We could see a few motorized boats when we looked closely, but not the kayakers or swimmers. 

We did have a pretty nice view of Kidney Lake; a mountain lake that is accessible by hiking up Camas partway and then working your way up the side to it. We hiked into all three Camas Lakes last fall and talked about maybe doing Kidney Lake sometime. Now that we've seen it from above, it just might have to be added to our list. 
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I love spending time in the mountains, but coming back to the comforts of home after a long trek sure is pretty nice, too! 
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The burnt forest in early recovery. The new growth makes such a stark contrast against the blackened trees. Beautiful in its own kind of way. It's a story of survival unfolding before our eyes. 
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Time for our first break at a rock outcrop with a view. It was still early enough in the morning to enjoy the sun for a bit while we relaxed on the rocks and had a little snack to fuel the next part of our hike. 
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I love hanging out on rocks with a view! They're my favorite places for taking a break.

​Our youngest three girls have been hiking most of their lives and they love getting out in the mountains as much as I do, so we always have a great time wherever we go. 
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The trail got steeper as we continued hiking, so we took another break when we got to the Roaring Lion overlook, overlooking the Roaring Lion Drainage to the north. Views were similar to the first overlook, but this area had a much larger rocky area, including this interesting rock structure on the cliff nearby.
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* UPDATE​ *
The journey gets better... see more photos and read about
​the rest of this mountain adventure on my next post:
WARD MOUNTAIN SUMMIT HIKE - PART 2