[beaudaddy]

Mount Josephine: Located in the foothills of the North Cascades just north of Hamilton, Wa. ELEVATION: 3,957' PROMINENCE: 1,317' ROUND TRIP: 4+ miles & 1,500' elevation gain WHO: My son Coen (5 years old), Me (older) This was my son’s first overnight camping trip on the snow. It was also his first trip that took some effort to reach a summit. Since the weather looked so beautiful last week I knew I had to get into the mountains. I put all the chores of my new mini farm and heavy work schedule aside, and loaded up the gear to take my bud on a little Mancation. I knew Mt Josephine would be a good choice because it’s a safe road walk, pretty short and great views all the way to the top. The views north to Twin Sister, Baker and Shuksan are right in your face good. We headed out the 18th after I got off work. I was up there last year on the same day and I have to say that the snow was about 500' lower this year. This is no surprise from what I have been hearing lately, but it's crazy when you validate it first hand. This made the approach about 1/2 mile and 500' gain further this year. That's fine for me, but not a little 5 year old with an overnight pack...

Meet Coen

My Bud

Ready To Go!!!

Are We there? No, we just got out of the truck...

He made it up about 1 mile with his own pack before I took the burden of the two packs! The two overnight pack burden… Ahh, the pleasure of being a father. I told him to enjoy this moment while it lasts! The evening sun really kept the snow soft for the whole ascent. I didn't bring my snowshoes so I was postholing a bit. My son was staying on the top layer that was just starting to crust, wondering why I kept sinking... I quickly reminded him that it was the fact that I was carrying two freaking overnight packs... He got a kick out of that and spent most his time "trying" to posthole on our way up.

Postholing.

Ahhh, the warmth of the sun.

Alpenglow on the trail.

Goodbye Sun.

The plan was to camp on the summit, but we only made it to about 3,500' before the sun started to set. We found a real nice switchback in the road that gave a great view for the sunset and was also positioned so we could enjoy a sunrise they next morning.

Getting Dark and putting on gloves.

Burning Evening Sun.

Good place to camp with Twin Sister and all of Baker behind...

We quickly set up camp and settled in for the evening. The sunset was neat as it looked like a glowing fire ball releasing it color upon the surrounding peaks.

This spot will work with the last lick of sun on the horizon

Lincoln Peak rising behind TS Range.

Alpenglow on Lincoln, Colfax and Mt Baker.

Evening Alpenglow on Mt Shuksan.

My son Coen somehow snuck a video game into his pack; luckily the battery ran out promptly. I told him that the stars are far more entertaining then that dang game... He quickly agreed as we enjoyed a beautiful, clear night on the now frozen snow. It was amazing how quickly he fell asleep. So much quicker than when he is at home. Mountain Sleep… The best kind of sleep… Soon I dosed off to the howls of a pack of coyotes in the distance.

Goodnight.

I woke just a touch before 5am to hopefully catch a glimpse of the sunrise.

Looking out the tent before sunrise.

I walked around on the icy, textured snow trying to keep warm waiting in sweet anticipation.

Enjoying the morning warmth of the sun.

Views north from camp.

First Sun Over Camp.

Once the sun peaked over the North Cascades I was instantly warmed with a blanket of radiance. It’s always surprising how much warmer you feel once the sun is upon your face.

.Morning Sun From Camp

Morning Alpenglow on Mt Baker.

Morning Sun On The Twin Sister Range.

The morning alpenglow never gets old and seeing the sun beams dance in and out of the Twin Sister Range gave me pleasure after what has been such a gray spring. It was rejuvenating. Today would be the summit day. Most would agree that Josephine is just a small peak. It really is. But in my son’s eye it was Rainier. Old Jo looked pretty epic from where we stood. We loaded up on some food/drink and left the tent behind. The fed the kid some hot chocolate and that sure seemed to get him going...

Yum

Chocolate Milk High

Summit Day.

Snowy Road.

The snow was firm, which made it a bit more enjoyable. You know that perfect firm which makes your feet feel like they are being massaged. We made decent time on the final 500’ to the summit. It’s amazing how much snow there is for May. The last section before we topped out is pretty steep. Coen was excited about this because… well because he is a kid. Kids like challenges… climbing, scrambling, jumping, running, falling… it’s up to us to teach them how to do it safely.

Snow Travel

Snowy and little boy

Almost on the summit.

Steep at the end.

The steep snow section was about 30 ft and the runout was safe so there wouldn’t be any injuries due to a fall. He did really well on the steep snow and climbed over the final lip to the summit.

Coen Going Up!!!.

Topping Out.

Coen on the summit.

There was about 12’ of snow on the summit. The southern edge is a cliff and the snow has melted back a bit on that side. We hung out for a bit and I pointed out a few peaks to him until he started asking to many questions… Like, “who is Josephine? Did she live here? Is she dead? Was she a dog?” you know normal kid questions.

View West from the summit.

Sauk Mountain and North Cascades.

Summit Pyramid on Mt Shuksan.

Mt Baker peaking over Twin Sisters Range.

Twin Sister Range

Josephine Lake Below.

Glacier Peak, Whitechuck Mountain and Mt Pugh.

Going down, was, well going down. We packed everything up and you guessed it. I packed it all out.

2 overnight packs

Saw a couple flowers, bugs, birds, coyote and all sorts of “stuff”.

Trillium... Sign of Spring.

Drops of water.

Wild Bleeding Hearts

Trail Frog.

Witches Butter.

On our way home we stopped in Sedro Woolley at Hal’s Drive In for a burger and shake. If you have kids or just know any kids take them into the outdoors. It’s amazing to see their mind work with satisfaction and wonder.

[Backpacker Joe]

Great report and pics. Nice to see the little ones getting out.

[Barefoot Jake]

So bad ass. I cant wait to get out with my 6 year old this summer.

[Burke M]

Great report and seriously well done. Be proud you got the kiddo out there, he'll never forget it.

[Rainie Too!]

That TR warms my heart. Great Dad Beau!

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Great job, guys. And what a spectacular shot of the climbing route on Lincoln.

[aywolfpac]

Cool trip. Those are some great views of Baker, Sisters, etc.

[Stefan-K]

way to go dad! way to go Coen!

[peltoms]

Awesome campsite. Nice in trip adjustments. Summit shot of Shuksan amazing.

[Scrooge]

STUNNING!

Almost on the summit.

Great job, Dad. You've obviously been doing it right.

[Yet]

AWESOME! Your kid is adorable. And your pics are beautiful!

[Schmidt Alti-Babe]

The alpenglow pics are very nice!!

[moosefish]

Great trip. I haven't found the nerve to take my kids camping in the snow yet. Maybe I won't have a choice this year. Would this be a worthy destination for an overnight without snow?

[silence]

way to go guys! awesome trip and photos .. shuksan is gorgeous

[beaudaddy]

Thanks for the wonderful comments everyone! I've been busy and haven't had a chance to post any reports here for awhile. I hope to share more this summer! Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment. Hopefuly this report is useful for someone... Moosefish- I think in the summer you can drive pretty close to the summit with a jeep or small orv. The views would still be the same for the most part, but there could be some traffic up there. Its nice with the snow because it forces you to walk in and both times I have been there in the snow I haven't seen a single person. Kind of nice for not much effort. My point... I wouldn't do an overnight there without snow unless you don't mind other people driving by and usually when people can drive.... the crazies are attracted. Just keep an eye out for the next real nice day and take them snow camping... they would love it and you will see that it's surprisingly simple...