tradition.

"So are we going to make this a tradition?" Julian asked, his toes numb after crawling into sleeping bags to warm up. "Well, this is the second year in a row we've done this so I say 'yes'," I replied back. "No no not just snow camping but at this secret spot we've found?" "Of course, that's part of it."

Last year I found this little place above Reflection Lakes and the crowds, a small level spot at the bottom of a bigger hill that we planned on using to sled down. We had a great view of Rainier across the lake and Mazama Ridge and back to Castle and Pinnacle Peaks (J's first climb). It was perfect.

***

So I grew up with traditions. Trying to think of some now. Oh, Friday nights when we would order take-out pizza from Pizza Hut my dad would ask who wanted to come and if the spot wasn't already spoken for I would go just to be able to put the pizza on my lap so my jeans would get all soggy from the moisture. Opening Christmas presents. We all took a turn, opening one present at a time, so we could see what everyone else got and make the process take longer. Each Christmas Eve going around the neighborhood checking out all the other houses and their lights to vote on what we thought should win the coveted Best Display award for that year. And lots of others.

And so I have instilled the whole tradition deal with Julian. On our birthdays we go for a bikeride. The rules are a) birthday boy chooses but b) it cannot be somewhere we have already gone biking. We watch the movie Polar Express and read the book every Christmas. We go camping at a particular spot in the North Cascades every June. We take a week in summer to make memories by roadtripping somewhere (the way I traveled growing up with my family).

And apparently now we go snow camping at our secret spot under Mt. Rainier every winter.

***

This time it started out a little differently, if only because it was so nice here at home. A string of warm, sunny weather in February sealed the deal for a snow camping trip this past weekend. And so we were off around noon on Saturday, me having finished (well, mostly) packing the night before. I was excited to again pack for an overnight trip into the mountains. It had been awhile. Last October, actually. We bring a sled, which hauls our gear and that I strap to my climbing harness with some sewn runners to drag behind me on the 2-mile trip to our spot.

Much to J's delight, we stopped at Subway (for some reason it's currently his favourite place to eat) in Eatonville for lunch then headed the rest of the way to the park and where we'd leave Stuart waiting for us to return the next day. We changed in the car, then took off up the avalanche slope above Narada Falls. No need to go around when you can just go straight up, right? Except towing a sled with I don't know how many pounds of gear made it a bit more of a challenge but we were up it in about fifteen minutes probably and then on the slog along the Ohanapecosh Road towards the lake.

We passed folks heading back since it was getting to be about 3 in the afternoon. I heard Julian say 'hello' to them all in his cheery way which I think surprises some. Wow, a kid out here actually enjoying himself and not having been dragged by his parents or something I don't know. Once we reached the lake, I could apparently still pick out the spot from down below just walking along the road. A certain tree standing out against a snowy hillside behind it and we headed up. Another quick grunt with the sled in tow found us on the little ledge at the base of our hill overlooking the lake. I got to work and Julian went off to play.

After clearing a flat spot with the combination of a shovel and snow saw I was able to pitch our tent. Julian in the meantime had discovered that the snow was too hard and crusty to really sled ride. He tried it sans sled and got moving so fast I had to catch him to keep him from flying over the edge into the trees below. This week of clear weather warm days and cool nights had frozen the snow into a sheet of ice. "We'll find a hill or something to sled ride on the way back" I promised him, which seemed to work cos then he was off to build a snow cave while I prepared dinner (his favourite ... Ramen ... and I mean that seriously this kid loves it when camping).

We ate quickly while the sun started to set. I pointed east to just above the top of the hill behind us. Mars. Then we each set up our cameras on the hill looking towards Rainier mine on a tripod his little Gorilla Pod strapped to our snow shovel and we took some photos of the mountain as it turned pink with the setting sun and the shadows draped further and further across the lake and the trees along Mazama Ridge. Before it got completely dark, I took the tripod and found a spot above our tent to try to shoot it glowing from the lantern inside with Rainier in the background. Julian popped out of his snow cave to come over and see what I was doing. I showed him the settings, teaching him more about photography each time we go out. It's cool he enjoys it.

Then we sat on the snow in the dark letting our eyes adjust to the moonlight and the stars. The half-moon cast shadows on the ice. I told him how I thought it good to get out like this to remind us of all we have. A home. With a furnace. Warmth, food, comfort. It was bitingly cold outside clear and crisp this February evening. Wow. Orion. Cassiopeia. The Big Dipper. The moon washed out the Milky Way but cast an incredible glow on Rainier so we could easily make it out in the dark. Julian took off back into his snow cave and I walked off a ways to stand in the night cold freezing cold just staring at the mountain (or The Mountain as some tend to think of it though I must admit a personal affinity much more for certain peaks in the North Cascades than this one they call Rainier). I saw headlamps sparkle high up on the Kautz Glacier and shouted for Julian to see. Then some more on the Muir snowfield. There were climbers up there all right. Must be even colder another mile higher.

Then we crawled into the tent. The lantern is a comfort but it was still cold. We spent some time just warming up after I brewed us some hot chocolate by boiling snow. We changed into warm, dry clothes and settled down for a round of über-mini Uno. I can't remember who won. Around nine we were tired. I turned off the lantern and we went to sleep. It was quiet. We'd find a hill to sled ride on the way back I reminded J (we did, and it was a blast). We'd make this a tradition we both agreed (we will, and it will be a blast).