Trip Reports

Started at 12.30, light rain. Trails often full of water, like walking in stream. Stream crossings are easy enough for experienced hikers, may be unpleasant for newbies. Light snow at about 2300ft, not quite an inch at the lake. Snow-covered bridges sloped gently sideways, requiring care to not slip.

Autumn golds and yellows still around. Very beautiful. Light steady rain most of the way up. Was snowing on top. Dry for a bit to allow photography. Rain/snow picked up and was heavy by 4.30. Pretty dim light by 5pm. Headlamp came in handy to keep my feet dry on last stream crossing abot 20 min from car. Was pretty full on dark by 5.30.

An 18in diameter tree blocked trail about half way. Easy to walk around.

Great day to test out your gear - can you stay comfortable in all day rain and wet snow with temps in 30s and 40s?

I wanted to get in one last Snoqualmie Pass area hike before the snow starts to arrive, so I picked this hike.

I wasnt too sure about this hike route since other folks have mentioned its a bit hard to find or not well marked getting to the top of Mt Washington. But I found it somewhat easy to follow -- once you locate the start of the trail. The leaves now cover most of the steep rocky trail up to Owl Hike Spot.

The streams along the way seemed to be going fairly strong for so early in the season.

Some snow is on the upper part of the hike -- nothing really covering the trail except at one point.

I wasnt too sure about the Great Wall route, so I took the Mt Washington trail to the top. Kudos to the folks that have done the work on this trail -- its in really good shape.

The top was a bit windy, but had some great views. I headed back before the rain really got heavy.

Nice hike, a bit steep for long periods, so I wouldnt bring kids -- no one was on it today, maybe scared away by the rainy forecast. More photos at www.weekendhike.com

Gazing at the snow-crowned Olympics from by desk at work a few weeks ago, I knew that the time for heading into the high country was over. But things can change. When the clouds broke on Tuesday, it was not just snow-free mountains that appeared, it was a glint of hope. And when Steve Pool said the weather Wednesday would be, shall we say, unseasonable for Novemeber, the use of a vacation day was assured. Said I, "Mt. Townsend, here I come!!!!!"

Though I knew the summit was snow free, I didn't know, so I took along a small assortment of gear to make sure I could tackle and snowy/icy patches I encountered. It wasn't required though. The trail was in beautiful condition, as bare and dry as it might be in late August. After having resigned myself to the fact that my next time in the wilderness would require snowsnoes, it was a magnificient treat...Novemeber and still able to get "up there" with just a pair of boots.

The views were as astounding as always. The high clouds and light haze failed to obscure the views of the volcanos from St. Helens to Baker, The San Juans, Victoria B.C., and the skyscrapers of Seattle. The views westward towards the Dungeness valley and the inner Olympics beyond were equally stunning. Yet, these expansive views were also tinged with a note of sadness. What is a land filled with lush green meadows filled with wildflowers during summer is now brown, brown, brown. The mountains have tasted snow, and the flora have entered into their winter hibernation. It is a fascinating constrast to spring. In spring, things are equally brown, yet the world teems with life...buds are filled, things are growing, and even a few early bloomers, tired of waiting, have burst out. But now, as the wild prepares itself to spend the coming months cocooned in snow, those signs of life, those rays of hope, are absent. The colors are the same between Spring and Fall, but the interpretation is different.

The low sun angles made for some great lighting for photos, but thanks to the 1MB limit, I don't get the share the good ones. My apologies.

With storms predicted to arrive in the mountains soon, I decided to take advantage of today's fair weather and take a hike to Mason Lake. The Ira Spring Trail was dry and free of snow all the way to the lake. I lingered at the lake's shore for awhile, enjoying the warmth of the sun gleaming through the thin high clouds veiling the sky. Occasional strong gusts of wind blowing from the east were a reminder that the storms are out there, lurking just offshore. Winter will arrive soon in the high country.

Last winter's storms did some impressive damage to the Ira Spring Trail near Mason Creek, but bypasses have been built around the landslides. The rest of the trail is in fine shape.

 

Talk about mushrooms! The Angels Wing mushrooms were so plentiful that after I filled two sandwich bags, my hiking partner had to keep me in check with the command "Leave it!"

Barclay Lake is an easy 4 mile round trip with little elevation gain and plenty of lush mosses, deep dark forests, little holes under tree roots that any hobbit would enjoy. The trail to the lake is dry and well maintained with lots of fresh turnpikes. There is only one spot where an upended treeroot damaged the path. The lake has many good campsites, pleasant beaches, and the stunning face of Mt. Baring overhead. That's the easy part. The way to Eagle Lake is altogether different.

At the far end of Barclay lake is a sign for a toilet, then a wood bridge. Just after the bridge is a faint, unmarked trail going uphill. In fact, there are several faint trails evidenced only by the relatively thicker collection of autumn detritus and the occasional pink ribbons. There is a Wild Sky Wilderness sign and thankfully little undergrowth. In general keep the gurgling creek to your right and climb steeply. Evenually the various traces come together to ascend the first big rock slide. Follow the cairns. The way is steep, gnarly, and occasionally overgrown with young trees and nasty sticker bushes.

Finally we arrived at a pleasant flat meadow at the base of the second rock slide. The trail is easier to find and navigate here because it goes up the right hand side through the trees. At the top is little Stone Lake which already has a veneer of ice. From here the trail contours easily around the west side of the lake and down to Eagle Lake. We did not get beyond Stone Lake because it was already getting late. It is 8.5 miles round trip to Eagle Lake from the trailhead with 1700 ft. elevation gain - most of that in the cruel mile up to Stone Lake.

At the Alpental parking lot, we started up the "trail" toward Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mountain. Some recent bulldozing seems to have occured right at the road but the "trail" is visible at the top of the track. I am using the term "trail" quite loosely but all of the routes we followed today are on the new Green Trails map for this region. The lower section has the usual steep talus areas with plenty of pack grabbing slide alder encroaching over the trail. The one section that had been very loose with rock fall issues seems to have stabilized since I was last here. After about 1100' of gain, there was a "trail" junction where we headed towards Guye Peak. Some snow started just past this junction. After some more rocky "trail" there is a 4-way stop sign - at least that is how I refer to it. We first turned right towards Guye Peak and quickly reached a bench area with a great little tarn albeit frozen. From here the "trail" returned to steep but also slippery with snow. We ascended a couple hundred feet and I wimped out. I was starting to feel like a cat up a tree and there is only one way to get this cat out of a tree - it is not a pretty sight. So down we came - slowly, very slowly. Back at the 4-way stop, we continued to the north towards Cave Ridge. "Trails" and way paths go every where and anywhere. We lost the main trail more than a few times but eventually found our way to the "summit" of Cave Ridge where we relaxed to the point of almost napping and enjoying the great views of the Alpine Lakes peaks. There was quite a lot of groaning on my part coming down the knee jarring rocky "trail".

While it was not a sky blue day, it was still terrific, especially given the last very gray, almost viewless summit a couple of months ago.

Mild temps made it a great November hike. The forest was bright and covered with leaf litter and fir needles. A few isolated patches of snow started showing up on the switchbacks just before the waterfall crossing. The crossing was snow-free. The long traverse after the waterfall area started picking up more and more snow and some packed icy surface but nothing difficult. I'd guess that the last 1/3 was pretty much on packed snow but nothing really deeper than toe depth.

I slowed and slowed some more but had insisted on getting to the top. High clouds, evidenced in the photos moderated the light but the sun was providing some warmth. Made the summit and enjoyed an almost breeze-free time up there. Views were great and the lighting on Glacier changed as we watched. We were alone and the first for the day.

Maybe spent about a half hour up there and headed on down. Met a few solo hikers headed up as we wound down the enless switchbacks.

The parking lot has been enlarged and a second bathroom added as well as another kiosk although both kiosks were signless.

A good day and traffic cooperated between Everett and Seattle on the way home.

Some muddy spots, snow and some icy patches in the morning turned slushy in the afternoon.

Any Mt Whittier trip report demands a stern warning: don't hike Mt Whittier Ridge unless you're an confidant and experienced hiker, have good boots, not afraid of heights, and have favorable weather conditions. Mt. Whittier gets so little trip report coverage on the web so I find it necessary to report on our hike.

I and my sister/partner decided that the window of opportunity to hike Whittier would rapidly close at the end of the week. We decided to hike the Lakes Loop and do Whittier from the north to the south. We started at the Norway Pass trailhead on the Boundary Trail #1, hiked up to Bear Pass, down to the lakes on #211, and around to the pass which marks the #211 and #214 trail junction. The trail was snow-free except for shaded portions where we found solid but bootable snow. We saw three small elk herds in and around the lakes basins.

The southbound Whittier Trail from this pass is obvious. We could see trails that went to the climbers right and the left of a rock huge block. We chose the right which might have been a mistake because within 100 feet we encountered a 50 ft section of trail that was washed out but passible only with extreme care. It required three-point traversing and at times I wished my arms were longer. There were some solid handholds but most of the holds were loose rock. Sometimes it was necessary to grab plants or dig fingers into the dirt for a solid grip. Fortunately there was very little snow or ice to cause any slippage problems.

We successfully crossed the washout, climbed back up to the ridgetop, and discovered a well-worn trail that would suggest that the better route up would have been the left hand trail. Only a return trip would confirm that. Next time I'll take the left.

Continuing on the trail was challenging but passible even with occasional snow patches. Sometimes the snow would obscure the trail and cause us to go off trail for a bit, but the trail was always findable with a little searching. The elk surprisingly use the ridgeline often. There were elk tracks everywhere. In fact most snow covered sections of the trail had elk tracks which, lucky for us, make it easier because an elk track was perfect for setting my boot into making for some surefooted walking.

After our two hour ridge traverse, we made it back to the Boundary Trail and enjoyed an easy and scenic hike back to the car.

I took a walk in Umtanum Canyon on this mostly sunny day. There's still quite a bit of fall color left, especially the cottonwoods, though it is definitely past its peak. I hiked up the first sidecanyon to the left as far as the aspen grove at the spring. These trees were still looking very nice. Later in the afternoon I went down to the main canyon, but only went as far as the first big aspen grove. These trees had mostly lost their leaves, but were still attractive anyway. Umtanum Canyon is always a colorful end of Oct - early Nov hike.

I took advantage of a gorgeous fall day to hit the trail at 1030. Hundreds of different types of mushrooms line the trail this time of year and I vow to learn more about them...maybe this winter. The bridge installed since I last hiked this trail is big and sturdy...another fantastic job by the summer NFS workers. Passed Camp Handy and continued to the junction of Heather Creeek Basin trail to the right and the Marmot Pass trail to the left choosing the lower trail to the right because I had not taken it before and golden cottonwood trees up river beckoned. There were several beautiful campsites in meadows along the river with views up to the head of the valley. I turned back at 2 in order to beat the darkness.