Mount Benson from Westwood

December 19, 2019

~ submitted by Bill Jackson

We met at the Arbot Rd parking area at the leisurely time of 9:30 and got back almost exactly 5 hrs later, with no rest breaks.

We followed the mix of trails and roads from the northwest end of the lake. Weather was just wet enough to justify rain clothes, and stayed pretty much the same on the way up. No distant views, but a couple of nice foggy scenes over the valley. There isn’t much snow on the ground right now.  The same as it was a month or so ago; just starting at the junction before Te’tuxw’tun Trail.

Right at the summit a stiff cold wind limited time to a couple of quick cell pics and chased us back into the trees. Coming down was wetter and cooler than going up, so our total of rest breaks for the day was about 3 or 4  minutes standing for lunch.

A better day than staying home! And a good day for gear testing. 1) I need new rain clothes 2) the rest of my clothing worked well, not excessively cold when damp. Thanks for the pleasant company, Goody!