After the Saturday Snow Plow Studs broke in the trail to Tamarack, I was determined to get to the summit on Sunday. Alan, a member of the Saturday snowshoe train, mentioned that several of his friends would be going up. We agreed that I would meet Glen and Erica for the first tram.
Crashed early Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning to discover that it was 6:20 AM -- I had forgotten to turn on my alarm. ARRGH!!! By some miracle I managed to get from Riverside to the tram for the last call. Alan told Glen to look for a blonde and told me to look for a very tall guy. Yep -- easy to pick out Glen. Plus, he had 36 inch snowshoes -- woo hoo!!!
It was a nice, brisk 20 degrees as we headed down the icy ramp to the ranger station -- at least it wasn't snowing or white out conditions when we started, though we did have snow flurries throughout the day. Headed out our track from the day before through the Sid Davis drainage into Tamarack. At this point, we diverted and started heading up to the base of the Miller Saddle. It became clear very quickly that there was not enough snow to cover the brush. On the other hand, stepping on the brush was preferrable to sinking into waist deep powder, so we continued up. Glen, Erica and I traded off breaking trail and wound up in the forest at the bottom of the Miller Saddle. We continued up, still negotiating brush, snow and rocks and finally reached the Miller Saddle. Woo hoo!
The best part was heading up the ridge with magical ice-covered trees in a white out. Every now and then the sun would try to break through, creating a moonlight glow in the clouds. Beautiful
When there was no more "up," we were at the summit with the classic ice-covered sign. Just as we started taking pictures, Randy and Ania popped up behind us. They had followed our track up through the snowy brush. We finished documenting the summit and headed for the hut. Glen made us tea and hot chocolate. I apologized for the bushwhack but Randy and Ania thanked us for breaking trail and noted that it was preferrable to sinking waist deep in snow 
As is typical of winter rest breaks in the hut, we started getting cold and headed out, following our track back down to the Miller saddle. We started down the main trail, which was knee deep or higher in fresh powder. Before long, we were back in the forest where the main trail intersects with old Tamarack. Continued on down and intersected our path from Saturday. Erica and Ania (the snow nymphs) started running downhill and jumping off rocks into snowbanks. (Note: these women are snow savvy). I had visions of winding up with more than a broken ankle had I followed suit
We thanked the Snow Plow Studs from Sat as we headed back to Tamarack and the drainage. As we discussed how much we hate the cement switchbacks, Ania noted that the ramp seems easy after Skyline but hard after coming downhill from San Jacinto. Hmm...good point. Enjoyed a brew at the tram before heading down. It was fun to introduce Glen and Erick to Las Casuelas.
One of the classic quotes of the day: Ericka handed me a bag of almonds and asked if I wanted to grab some nuts
An absolutely stellar day with my mountain brothers and sisters.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen