Rattlesnake Ledge in Winter

I’ve been meaning to go up Rattlesnake Ledge for some time, and now that I have finally recovered enough from a recent medical procedure, it felt like a good time recently. It was beautiful, quiet, windy, and above all else peaceful.

I went up with a friend and my partner. We started at the parking lot pretty early, and slowly wound our way up. The hike was not particularly difficult given the scale of my work the prior year on long distance and high elevation hikes at Rainier, but being still on the tail end of medical recovery it certainly felt more tiring than usual. The snow was probably the biggest challenge of it all, but some microspikes for traction and poles was enough to remove most of the risk.

As we went along the trail, I was struck by how quiet it was. While this was my first time up, I had been nearby during the summer in the previous year, and had noted how absolutely packed it was. Winter hiking is usually pretty quiet, as many folks are unwilling to persist through the cold, snow, and bad traction, but this felt like even more quiet than usual.

As we neared the top and the ledge, the views became breathtaking. The stillness near the top of mountains in winter is always stunning to me, and this was no exception. As we arrived at the top, a few others were leaving, so it was just the three of us as we stepped out onto the ledge.

As soon as we stepped onto the ledge, the valley spread out before us, the air seemingly extra crisp from the cold and the weather. The wind immediately began hitting us hard, making us each much colder than we had been just below the ledge. We walked carefully across the terrain at the top, cautious not to slip and fall. We stayed long enough to sip some water, admire the view, take a few photos, and have a few quiet moments of contemplation.

We opted not to continue, being concerned about the lack of boot pack and colder temperatures as we went higher. Our traction remained sufficient for the hike back down, and we had no significant difficulties with the exception of my weak ankle rolling once again. I had hoped that the ankle had healed during my bed stay after recent medical care, but I realized as soon as it rolled that it had instead just grown weaker in that time. I will follow up with physical therapy on it soon.