We left early(ish) and arrived at the base of Wy'East before the trailhead had opened. It was already hot. Blech. Thankfully, there was snow right from the base though only in patches in the shade. It was perfect for snow hats.

Snow hats? Yeah. Snow hats. You know. When it's hot so you dig through the scuzzy surface snow to the pristine white below and fill your hat with it. It slowly melts keeping you cool even on the hottest days.

Snow hats are old hat (ha!) for me and Henry. But for our three year old companion it was revelatory. The idea of snow in his hat blew his little mind.

Of course, sometimes you can overdo it. In fact, our youngest companion was so stoked on the snow we spent a fair amount of time convincing him there'd be even more snow higher on the mountain. But it's hard to walk away from this snow for the promise of other snow.

Tink and Charlie were having a blast. They sprinted up and down the trail until we got to the snow. At the snow, Tink became her usual snow monster. Chuckles was more reserved. He preferred to lie down in the snow.

We pushed up through the snow to a highish point on the ridge and sat for snacks. I'd forgotten how important snacks are when hiking with littles. In between snacks, we taught him how to glissade. It was even more fun than snow hats.

While I had originally planned to go higher, it was pretty clear we were at a good spot to turn around. It's always better to stop early rather than late. Cement those good memories so they'll want to go again.

Our walk down wasn't anything special. We had a few more glissades and the dogs were their usual crazy selves. We ended on the deck outside Mt. Hood Meadows eating ice cream in the shade. It was a pretty darn perfect way to end the day.

📍On the lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people.