Name: The Solitude of Winter Hiking in Washington
Uploaded: 2024-05-28T10:04:14.000Z
Duration: 7 min 22 s
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You know how sometimes you go on a hike and you're like, there's no way this is gonna be worth it.

♪ You're gone now or you're coming back ♪ ♪ Yeah I know that, yeah I know that ♪

Today I've driven out to Banks Lake, which is in kind of the central Eastern Washington region.

And I'm going to be hiking up Steamboat Rock, which as the name suggests is a rock that kind of looks like a steamboat that's sitting here in the middle of the lake.

Several people have told me I need to come do this.

And I was always planning on coming and doing it in the summer.

But to be honest, I'm just kind of tired of waiting for summer.

And the great thing about doing things in the winter is no one's around.

And this is a really popular spot in the summertime, especially for camping.

Can you guys hear all of these birds behind me?

It's like I hit the record button and a hundred geese were like, let's go get in on that.

I want to say thank you to Backcountry for sponsoring today's video and keeping me warm.

I'm wearing the Arcteryx Zeta LT jacket, which for starters, I need an entire wardrobe in this color.

It goes perfectly over my insulating layer.

I'm also wearing the Fall Raven Abisko Trekking Tight from Backcountry, which I've told you guys about before.

These tights are amazing because they have this grippy technical material on the knees and on the bum.

So if you're sitting on rocks, scooting over rocks, climbing on things with your knees, those parts of the tights are reinforced.

Backcountry has gear heads available 24 seven to help you find exactly what you need for your next outdoor adventure.

They have all the big outdoor brands like North Face, Patagonia, Arcteryx, and they're partnered with the Nature Conservancy to help support its mission to protect lands and waters.

And you can donate to the Nature Conservancy when you're checking out on the site.

And they've given me a coupon code for you guys to get a discount.

If you use the code Allison15, you'll get 15% off your first purchase.

Some exclusions do apply, and I will have a link down below.

Well, I think the easy part is done because the trail just turned into this.

According to the map, that's the way to go.

That last stretch, I was literally on my hands and knees crawling up just a whole bunch of rocks.

So just a heads up, if you come to do this one, you're gonna be doing a little bit of rock scrambling.

This is deceptively hard, but the sun is starting to come out back there and I've got like 50 steps to go.

We've got some snowy hills over on this side.

And it's kind of cool that I am the only person on this rock right now.

I can see down to the parking lot and I can see my one lonely single car down in the parking lot.

So the name of the city that I'm in is Electric City, which for starters is just the coolest name ever for a city.

And I believe it has that name because this is where the historic Grand Coulee Dam is, which if you haven't heard of the Grand Coulee Dam, based on my very brief internet search to make sure I had this right, the Grand Coulee Dam was at one point the largest concrete structure in the world.

And it employed thousands of people during the depression era.

So it was like really, really big for jobs.

I believe its hydropower played a huge part in powering aluminum and airplane production.

And some people, I have no idea if this is true.

There are some people who say the Grand Coulee Dam is one of the key factors in the allies winning the war, is its ability to help production.

And the city got named Electric City, which is awesome.

It's starting to get just a little chilly up here.

I've just been taking some pictures as the sun is starting to dip.

I've been trying to think of some other outdoor adventures

A lot of the trails around here right now require snowshoes because the snow is too deep, but I've never tried snowshoeing.

And I've always imagined that snowshoeing is like walking with flippers on.

Like, you know, when you have to just keep your feet like pointed up and waddle around, which I know that can't be what it's like because people would have to be crazy to go walking through the mountains in flippers.

If you're a snowshoer, let me know what you think, or if there are any tips for starting out.

Also, I would love to know if any of you are solo hikers or backpackers.

There are a lot of hikes around here that I would really like to do, especially in Northern Idaho, like back into the mountains.

There are some like 10 mile hikes that are supposed to have really amazing views, but I know there's a lot of large wildlife back on those trails.

And usually you're fine if you're in a group because you're making noise and you're less likely to sneak up on and startle an animal, which is how a lot of attacks happen.

But when you're hiking by yourself, you're much more quiet.

You're much more likely to get really close to something before they realize you're there.

And I know you can carry bear spray, but I would just love to know if any of you are really avid solo hikers or backpackers, what precautions do you take with wildlife?

I love hiking by myself in like the desert or up in areas like this because I can see everything.

I feel like nothing's gonna sneak up on me.

But when I'm hiking in the woods and I hear a rustle in the trees,

Okay, getting down is way easier, obviously.

But yeah, going up that thing, that was a challenge.

I'm so ready for longer days again, because one thing that's difficult about hiking this time of year is you have to be headed down by like 3.30 at the latest because it gets dark and you probably don't wanna be hiking in the dark.

And in the summer, it's just so nice when you can still be up at a summit by like seven o'clock, eight o'clock at night.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed coming along with me today and seeing another spot in Washington that maybe you haven't heard about.

I've been really trying to find places near me that would be interesting to go shoot at.

And also, I would highly recommend making a trip here.