January Snow Camping in Mt. Rainer National Park Sat 20th - Sun 21st, 2024 

***WE HAVE REACHED THE GROUP SIZE LIMIT FOR CAMPING. IF YOU SIGN UP, YOU WILL BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST. YOU WILL BE CONTACTED IF THERE IS A SPOT AVAIABLE ON THE TRIP. THERE IS NO GROUP LIMIT FOR THE DAY HIKE.***

***NOTE THIS IS THE REGISTRAION FOR OVERNIGHT CAMPING. IF YOU ONLY WANT TO GO ON THE SNOWSHOE HIKE & MASS, RSVP HERE***

Welcome to our young adult's overnight snow camping trip; our Frassati Outdoor Ministry Team is excited about this unique opportunity for community spiritual growth and fellowship in the great outdoors. This is a great opportunity to experience the beauty of God’s creation, all while deepening your faith and connecting with peers. On this trip we'll have opportunities for Mass and communal prayer. You are invited to embrace the simplicity of the journey and leave behind anything that will distract you, like music or games on your cell. 

Our trip will bring us to Mowich Lake in Mt. Rainer National Park with beautiful views of sounding mountains. This trip will be challenging, as we will be snowshoeing 7.5 miles with packs on and camping on the snow. Temperatures at night in January can drop below freezing.

Trip Details and Trail Description: 

We are limited to 12 people due to Mt. Rainer National Park regulations, and cars will need a National Park Pass or an America the Beautiful Pass.

The camping permit is free, but please be prepared to give your driver money for gas ($5-$10) via Venmo or in the form of cash. You will also have to pay for your food (though we might cook dinner as a group and can divide this). You may also need to rent gear that you don't own, such as snowshoes (REI for $24, or the UW "Gear Garage Rental Center" for $23 ($19 for students)) and a 0° sleeping bag (UW "Gear Garage Rental Center" for $21 ($19.50 for students) also available at Ascent Outdoors and Feathered Friends).

We will meet at the UW Newman Center at 6:00AM. The drive to the trailhead is about 2 hours. We will then hike 3.7 miles (elevation gain 1,348 feet) to the lake. Weather-depending, Fr. Chrysostom will celebrate Mass for us by the lake, and then we will eat lunch. At this point, the people who have only signed-up for the hike (no overnight camping) and Fr. Chrysostom will head back to the trailhead. We will continue a short distance to the Mowich Lake Campsite and make camp. We will then take the rest of the day to explore the lake and surrounding trails. Sunset will be at 4:51PM, and dusk at 5:25PM. Sunday morning, dawn will be at 7:10AM, and sunrise will be at 7:43AM. We will break camp and head 3.7 miles back down the trail to the trailhead. 

You can find more information about the trail HERE 

See the gear section of the survey for description of equipment and clothing you should bring.

Pre-trip meeting at UW Newman

We will need to meet before the trip (date TBD) to go over specifics for the trip, review the trail and conditions, iron out details (missing gear, carpools etc.), and answer any concerns. A Zoom option will be available, if you cannot come in person, but we ask you make every effort to attend in person.

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Email *
First and Last Name
Cell number 
Have you been on a hiking or backpacking trip with Frassati before?
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Have you been overnight backpacking within the last 10 years? *
Fitness Level: Hiking with 30+ lbs on your back in snowshoes is different and more strenuous than hiking with a small backpack, and so requires a certain minimal level of physical fitness to prevent injury. Keeping up our group speed (which can only go as fast as the slowest person) also allows the us to arrive at camp within a reasonable timeframe. One way to gauge whether your level of fitness for this trip is adequate is to ask yourself if you can maintain a running speed of at least 11 min/mile for 4 miles. Though this is not a fool-proof way of measuring adequate fitness, it is helpful.  *
Do you have up-to-date First Aid, First Responder, or EMT Training?  *
Please review the equipment checklist. If you are missing something, ask your friends FIRST if you can borrow theirs, and if not, then please see questions below. Note, sharing tents help to reduce the space we need at camp making life easier; once we have the roster of people attending, we will discuss sharing tents (if people feel comfortable). 

Gear:
- Headlamp with extra batteries**
- 3 liters worth of water bottle/bladder.**
- Tent or sleeping hammock (should not weigh more than 5 lbs). 
- Backpack – at least 40+L **
-0
° 
Sleeping Bag **
- Sleeping Pad **
- Hiking Poles **
- Snowshoes with Tails **
- Backpacking pillow (optional)
- Waterproof pack cover (optional)
- Something you can use as a small daypack for exploring trails (optional)
- Knife (optional)
- Trowel and hand sanitizer for going #2 (recommended, but we also have a group trowel)
- Backpacking Snow Shovel

Kitchen/Food (see next question below):
- Lunch (no cooking please), breakfast, and dinner**
- Hot drinks (hot chocolate)
- Stove
- Fuel
- Pots/cups/utensils **

Clothing: 
- Hiking boots (NO casual shoes) 
- Boot gators (optional).
- Micro-spikes (optional)
- underwear (not cotton). 
- 1x pants to hike in (not cotton/jeans)
- Non-cotton shirt to hike in
- Mid-layer fleece/sweater
- Warm outer layer
- Waterproof/water resistant jacket ("outer shell")
- Sunglasses**
- Warm hat
- Gloves
- Hiking socks

Camp Clothes:
- 1x warm & clean legging/pants
- 1x long sleeved shirt
- Sox just for camp/sleeping
- Beanie (keeps head warm in camp & while sleeping)

Personal:
- Personal hygiene stuff (toothbrush/paste/floss, deodorant. Optional: a few baby wipes in a ziplock for a sponge bath; toilet paper and a ziplock with hand sanitizer)
- Sunscreen
- Prayer/reading matter (Rosary, Bible, etc.)
- Phone & battery bank
- Electrolyte drink mix/chews and some snacks
- A small trash bag
- A car comfort bag for the drive back - comfy shoes, water, snacks, wipes, clean clothes (Ask your driver if it is okay to store in their car at trailhead, as they may not want the risk of their car being broken into.)
- Personal First Aid kit (especially for foot care, ex. moleskin for blisters). 

Group Gear (aka, you don't need to have these):
- Water purification tablets or water filter
- Bear Spray/Bear Horn
- Trowel
- Backpacking First Aid Kit
Was there any gear with a double ** that you can't borrow from a friend (at least at this point) that you would like to borrow from us? (We do not have spare snowshoes, you will have to rent if you can not borrow from a friend.)
Food and Kitchen 
We will discuss our kitchen and food set up in our group meeting.
Carpooling *
If you can carpool others, how many seats do you have, including for yourself? Do you have a National Park Pass or an America the Beautiful Pass?
Do you have any health conditions that we should know about (e.g. carry an EpiPen for allergies, etc.)?
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