Mowich Lake '03,  Mt Rainier National Park,  Feb 8, 2003 - Feb 9, 2003     page 1 / 15

For several of the last few years I have gone on Troop 217's snow cave trip. We've gone into the hills, built snow caves, then spent the night in them---a great opportunity for the scouts, as well as the attending adults to see how these burrows can save our lives in the winter wilderness. Unfortunately, the 2002-03 winter has been an extremely dry one, so we altered our plans, left most of the cave building tools at home, and took a snowshoe trip to Mowich Lake, located on the northwest side of Mt. Rainier National Park.

We met at 7:00 AM, on Saturday morning, February 8. We loaded equipment and people into cars and trucks and headed up the hill. We parked at the Paul Peak trailhead, just inside the national park boundary, but outside the gate, which is closed each winter to motorized traffic.