January 15, 2005, Hyak Sno-park, X-C

These are desperate times. Jill needed some exercise after 2 weeks with a cold, so we dug our X-C gear out and headed for the sno-park at Hyak. This was definitely a busy place even with temps around 10 degrees with a brisk east wind. The ski areas at Snoqualmie Pass were packed and they were using the Hyak parking lot for the downhill skiers who arrived in the afternoon.They were loading x-c skiers for access to the upper trail system. <br><br>The Parks dept has groomed traditional kick-n-glide tracks along the old rail grade and there was good coverage,at least today. The temps reminded me of central NY. I brought the fishscales but it would have been more enjoyable on my wax skis, a blue wax day. No need to dig pits, worry about a hoar layer or the December crust, the real danger was being whacked while passing a skier who has flailing skis and long poles. No turns, just kick-n-glide. About 1:30pm the snow flurries arrived and as we departed the freezing rain began a few miles west of the summit until around Hwy 18. It's not going to the pretty up there for awhile.<br><br>Zap