Old Friends and Falling Snow Winter at White Salmon Creek Story and photos by John D’Onofrio The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of only one thing and one thing only. - Joseph Wood Krutch
I
am old enough to have experienced the profound benefit of long friendships.
annual excursion along these lines had become a custom, an obligatory rite of winter, a sacred duty. These fellows are all of an adventurous bent, easy-going and possessed of the requisite idiosyncrasies to keep things interesting and conversation scintillating.
The Valley of White Salmon Creek
The arc of a lifetime, when shared with folks who are special to you, is in some way measured and calibrated by these interactions. Things change. We change. But the joys of sharing the adventures that stir one’s soul with equally passionate people does not fade. A cadre of these old friends have made it a habit to join me on a winter outing each year, having long ago discovered a mutual appreciation for winter backpacking and snow camping, either on cross-country skis or snowshoes (the choice determined by both conditions and ambitions). An 18
The heartbeat of Cascadia
And so it was that after many years of these winter forays, we found ourselves facing a familiar quandary: We had finagled a weekend where our party of five could all get away and now we had to choose a destination. As usu
al, this involved an in-depth strategic planning session at Boundary Bay. On this occasion, the session lasted even longer than usual. We thought about Rainier (too far to drive), the Wells Creek Road (not enough elevation to insure good snow) and a variety of other potential destinations both familiar and unknown. Finally, we settled on White Salmon Creek, accessed by snowshoeing the White Salmon Road off of the Mt. Baker Highway. At the time, none of us had been out that way before and the prospect of enjoying the winter alpenglow on Mt. Shuksan was tantalizing. After copious pondering and much poring over topo maps, a plan began to take shape… When Friday night rolled around we found ourselves heading up the Mt. Baker Highway, filled with anticipation for a weekend of adventure. We camped beside the Nooksack River at a favorite >>> Go to AdventuresNW.com
to read ANW
