I went with a big group of folks on an overnight trip to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley on a sunny November weekend. Kevin had scoped out the area in full. He'd examined aerial photos, maps, and consulted the guidebooks. The result of his planning was a great place to camp at Crawford Lake, from which we could enjoy plenty of sunshine and views across the valley toward the great peaks of the region. I was especially excited to see some peaks whose descriptions in the Beckey guide caught my eye: Garfield, Bear's Breast, Summit Chief, Overcoat, and Chimney Rock.

My personal plans were a bit ambitious: hike up to Crawford Lake (only a couple thousand feet up to 5120' and about four miles in) the first day after driving to the trailhead, then run back down to the valley floor and three miles up to Dutch Miller Gap early the next day, do a little exploring, then pick up my pack on the valley trail on my way out. I probably could have done it, but the lure of a nice campsite was too strong, so I just loitered around the lake on day two.

The six of us got split up somewhere along the Middle Fork Road, but met up at the lake in the late afternoon. There was more snow at the lake than I was expecting, but it gave the place a beautiful alpine character. We dropped our packs and scrambled up to the ridge north of the lake to take in the view. By the time the stragglers arrived, the sun was casting a rich light on the peaks, so Kevin whipped out his tripod and hunted for good reflection shots off the frozen lake. After lingering over a tasty dinner, I crawled into my bivy sack.

I woke up to find my feet about six inches lower in the snow than the rest of my body. My bottle of hot water had melted the snow under my feet as I slept. It was a little chilly, as the sun hadn't hit our basin yet, but soon Lizzy, Mark, Sara, and I were up and on the way back up to the ridge. I had given up my exploratory ambitions in favor of more sleep and relaxation around the lake. We skated on the frozen tarns, soaked up the sun, and pulled some boulder problems on the white granite.

There are a lot of climbing possibilities in the valley, and I'm eager to go back. Overcoat has an aesthetic couloir splitting its north face. Summit Chief dominates the end of the valley and has a lot of rock to climb. I'm disappointed that I only got a teasing glimpse of Bear's Breast, and didn't get to see the big slab on the southeast side that I was so interested in.

On the way out, we hoped to soak at Goldmeyer Hot Springs, but a few people had to get back to town early. Kevin, Lizzy, and I took a few detours off the rough road back, though, stopping to get a look at Mt. Garfield. Kevin and I waded across the cold river (me in my bare feet, Kevin in sandals) so we could stand on the gravel bar in the middle, where we could get a clear shot over the birch trees. Numb scraped feet were worth it—the sun setting on Garfield was an awesome sight.