After bailing on my Elbow lake trip Monday, I drove in to Concrete and called Tanja to report my change of plans, stock up on a few essentials (beer/ice/cookies), and I drove over to the Cascade pass TH to spend the night in the car. There I met two friends by chance and learned of the tragic loss of Ed Miller on Mt Formidable earlier in the day. It changed the nature of my trip from lighthearted fun to serious contemplation of the mysteries of existance, as well as the shock and sadness that accompanies any such news. Serious contemplation is good for a person now and then, so it changed things but didn't diminish them. I slept uneasily that night, though my bed was comfortable.

Tuesday morning was clear and bright when I crawled out of the back of the car at 9 am. I hit the trail at 11, just in time for the heat and the black flies, a true pestilence of biblical proportions. I made Cascade pass in a leisurely time of three hours to go the 3.7 miles and 1,800 VF. I can hardly believe I managed to avoid doing this hike for so long. Cascade pass is a wonderful place to be for somewhere so easy to get to. I stayed up there for five hours, just drinking in the views as well as a couple of brews chilled in a nearby snowfield. I said some prayers for Ed Miller and his family and friends, and one especially for his two climbing buddies, who suffered such a shock. At 7 pm I decided it was time to go, and as I headed down the trail after one final goodby to Ed's memory, I saw a beautiful set of sunrays lighting up the valley below and the trail right in front of me. The pic below doesn't really do justice to what I saw. It was a surreal moment, and I felt truly in tune with the world for a brief spell. I got back at 8:45 with just one stop at the avalanche path about 1/2 way down to get a few last low-light shots. Goodby, Ed, you were a person spoken highly of by everyone who ever knew you, a rare thing these days or any day.

We had done this hike in 1997, when the road was in terrible condition. It's in great shape now, much of it is asphalt, and even the gravel portions are smooth and even. The trail is in great shape too. No one seems to agree on the number of switchbacks--33? 37? but most of the way it's in shade, although this wasn't a hot day. A few biting flies near the bottom, but they soon disappeared. There were three small snow fields to cross. The view from the top is spectacular.

We spent Friday and Saturday nights (July 7th and 8th) at Pelton Camp, down the other side of Cascade Pass. The rangers had said that Pelton was under snow, and many tent sites were, but we found a great level spot without snow to call home. No other campers at Pelton either night made for a more ""remote"" feel than you can usually get in this area. And no real bugs yet! We day hiked both directions from the Pass (Ptarmigan Traverse and Sahale), and both were pleasant and beautiful, with grouse and goats and marmots abound. What a great trip!

A trip to Cascade Pass was in order on this bright blue sky day. About a half a mile up the trail we observed two grouse, one male with his feathers puffed up prancing around a female in the middle of the trail. There are many small stream crossings on the way the the pass (some with nice waterfalls) and many great views of all the peaks in the area. After getting up to the open slopes, there still is some snow to cross. No snow or bugs at the pass it self, only a few flys in the forest section of the trail. While eatting lunch we watched 5 climbers crossing the steep snow slopes on Mix-up Peak on their way to Cache Col. Three mountain goats where also heading for the col and beat the climbers since they were not caring heavy packs. Lots of hikers out this day with many families making the trip. One family of 3 had come from Boston, MA and another had their 3 1/2 year old son make the hike with out being carried. Kids were having fun playing in the snow. Several groups of climbers and backpackers made it to the pass to either go up Sahale Arm/Mtn. or doing the Ptarmigan Traverse out to the Suiattle River. The pass also has a solar toilet flow in by helicopter. On the way back down to the trailhead, we spotted another grouse right next to the trail taking a dust bath. Big chunks of ice were seen falling off of Johannesburg Mtn. as we hiked along. Still a great hike after first going over the pass 43 years ago on a Boy Scout backpack trip to Image Lake and the Suiattle River.