The following is a guest post from Mitch Stevens, Sierra Club hiking leader and founder/lead guide of Southwest Discoveries. Based out of Tucson, Arizona, Southwest Discoveries offers multi-generational guided tours of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Horseshoe Bend, the Tortolita Mountains, and more. Visit Southwest Discoveries for more information. The snow-cat rumbled to a stop amidst the barren rock and snow fields on Mount Hood, Oregon’s iconic summit at 11,250 feet. It was an eerie sensation to be grinding along in pre-dawn blackness; we had to start our journey at 12:30 am…