Mt. Defiance Hike

Mt. Defiance Hike

GPS log overlayed on Google Earth:

 

Columbia Gorge from the Starvation Ridge
 

Warren Lake
  

Trail



The Peak 4900 ft (note the landmark)

Warren Lake Hike

For this particular morning hike, we woke up around 4.30 am and reached the traildhead around 6.00 am. After preparations, we started our ascent. The original target was to reach Warren Lake and then continue onwards to Mt. Defiance summit. Although it was February, the weather around the trailhead was clear and not raining. We were even able to spot the stars and played with the iPhone app showing all the constellations. Finally distinguishing and seeing the Big Dipper was great.

The initial part of the hike was very steep and hit me hard. Questions like "what am I doing here?, I should be sleeping in my warm bed" started to come to my mind. But immediately the view of the Columbia Gorge albeit dark was great. So, of course we continued. Around 2500 ft the snow started and there we spotted bear tracks and became a little bit nervous. The team decided to stick together and moved forward. We moved up to 3800 ft and the weather conditions got worse. It got very cold and the snow made it very difficult to move.  So, we decided to go back even before reaching the Warren Lake. After a good breakfast, the descent was tough on the knees but the scenery of the Columbia River and the Gorge near the end of the trail was stunning.

The GPS logs and some photos are below: