lake ann
5/15/2015
Weather Forecast
Wed, 07.06
Thu, 08.06
Fri, 09.06
...ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WEDNESDAY... Dry and unstable conditions will be present over the Cascades again Wednesday. With daytime relative humidity values ranging between 25 to 35 percent, widespread Red Flag conditions are not expected. However, isolated locations or brief moments of critical fire weather conditions are possible.
(NWS Seattle (Northwest Washington))
...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR HOT, DRY AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONE 658... * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 658 West Slopes of the North Cascades Generally above 1500 Feet and Fire Weather Zone 659 West Slopes of the Central Cascades Generally above 1500 Feet. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 20 percent. * HAINES...6 or High. * IMPACTS...A dry and unstable air mass with warm temperatures can contribute to active fire behavior. In western Washington, significant growth on existing fires takes place under such conditions. If a fire were to begin, air quality may diminish in the surrounding area.
(NWS Seattle (Northwest Washington))
Gaia Map
Approximate Route Map
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My hike to Lake Ann started as one of those should have been bad days, which turned out to be a great day. With a lot of cloud cover keeping the mountains warm I left home around 3:30 am to try and catch some harder snow. The plan worked but I had forgotten my boots. Undeterred, I set off in the snow with my running shoes on my feet.
The start of the Lake Ann hike is Getting down into the valley, it was a breeze. I had expected this section to be much harder still covered in snow. I can see why the avalanche danger is such a consideration during wintertime though. The valley you hike through is little more than the bottom of some towering cliffs. It would be easy for an avalanche to sweep through here with the right conditions.
To get to Lake Ann, you must hike up from the valley to the shoulder of Mount Shuksan. This is where my day took a turn. As the snow was softening I began to punch through over and over again. Once or twice I ended up buried to my waist. Somehow I still managed to make it to the lake even in my runners.
My plan for the day had been to Climb Mount Ann and Mount Hann. But by the time I got halfway down the ridge, the snow had turned to slush. Being in running shoes with the daylight fading it felt time to abandon my goal. Either way I didn’t feel safe traversing under Mt. Hann. There are several recent avalanche debris fields to get by on the southeast side. Instead, I enjoyed a view of Lake Ann from above before Hiking back out.