I’m a fair-weather soul—so when the summer sun fades into the cool, dark days of fall and winter, that’s my cue to leave. But it was 2020, the year of COVID, of no travel and canceled plans, and I was in the Pacific Northwest far past the limits of summer.
Nonetheless, I had finally planned my escape.
Even though it was mid-November, there was only one way for me to bid farewell to Washington: with a final hike in the Cascade Mountains. Few trails are open that time of year, but we managed to find one accessible route. In the company of three of my oldest and dearest friends and their dogs, I tramped across trails of packed-down snow, surrounded by evergreens blanketed with glistening white powder.
The scene was pure magic—aside from my feet and hands, which had lost feeling within minutes of starting the hike. I have Raynaud’s, a condition that prevents blood from flowing to my feet and hands and causes them to go numb in cold temperatures, inspiring my dedication to chasing the sun and escaping winter.
We stopped for a picnic in the snow, at a lake partially frozen and completely surrounded by frozen pines. Oblivious to the biting cold, the dogs swam into the lake as we placed our obligatory hiking beers into the snow to chill. I removed my glove for just a moment to open a Reuben’s hazy IPA and pass it around. My fingers were frozen and numb as the satisfying sip warmed my insides, my final beer in the Cascades– for now.
Words + Photo by Alicia Erickson