Hiking and Snow Shoeing at Mt. Rainier

I like my routine. And I like my own bed at night. But I also suffer from major FOMO {Fear Of Missing Out}. So when I was invited by a friend to join a group of mama's from my area to do some snow shoeing and hiking, I had to say yes. While I knew I'd enjoy the conversation and social time, I wasn't so sure about the adventure itself. But I said yes anyway.

The hike was through the Mount Tahoma Trails Association {MTTA} at the base of Mt. Rainier. And this past Friday, 10 of us drove up to start our overnight adventure.

We strapped on our 20 pound backpacks and off into the snow we went.

This is how we all dressed at the start of the hike...

It seemed logical.....when hiking in the snow, of course you'd dress for snowy weather! Well, the hike was mostly uphill. So I believe by mile 1, we had all shed our hats and coats. We were warm! Clearly we overdressed.

We had a 'no complaining' rule. And everyone surprisingly obeyed! {Even though I may have complained a little in my head....}

The scenery was incredible....

And conversation was never lacking.

Check out the size of my pack compared to everyone else in the pic below! I brought my favorite feather pillow {even though Dan tried to convince me otherwise}. And apparently it was a space hog in my pack! Because I really didn't overpack {for once in my life!}

It took us about 2 1/2 hours to complete the 4.2 mile hike.

That gray cloud in the above picture did disappear and left us with an incredible sunset. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures because every time I looked out the window, the sky was a different shade of yellow and orange.

Later that evening, the last two ladies hiked in and we enjoyed a fun dinner and even more conversation.

We all slept in the loft upstairs on mats and sleeping bags. It might not have been the best sleep ever, but that was a small price to pay to be part of this fun experience.

Then the next morning, we strapped our snow shoes on and hiked back down...