Palisades Lakes — Monday, Jul. 20, 2020

Route: Palisades Lakes to the Brown Peak bootpath, from Brown Peak, north on the bootpath along the ridge towards South Slide Mountain. I've attached a Caltopo map showing the route. The bootpath for Brown Peak is at 3.4 miles, it is a right turn just as you start to descend towards Upper Palisades Lake (picture 4 shows the turnoff). The Brown Peak bootpath is quite clear. I followed the path to the south and west of Brown Peak to pick up the bootpath on the ridge. Going north towards South Slide Mountain, the path sometimes fades away and the picks up further on, it's always pretty close to the ridge line.  

There were a few small and very easy to walk on patches of snow. 

Starting at 5:30 AM on this sunny Monday, I had the Palisades Lakes trail to myself. Looking down at a meadow, I saw a group of elk feeding. While this was a wilderness experience, hiking along the bootpaths was even more of one. You can see that many more elk use these paths than hikers. Looking down at Bear Park from the ridge, you can see dozens of elk trails, this is their domain. It's one of those meadows that you're shocked that you don't see a bear or herd of elk. An elk had been on the ridge path less than an hour before me, there were very fresh droppings. There was not a trail or any sign of humans within sight. It was a wonderful experience in a 10 mile day hike package. Pictures 2 and 3 show views from the ridge.

I saw nobody heading out or on the bootpaths. On the 3.5 miles back to the car, between 10-11:30, I encountered 14 parties. Everyone had face coverings, thank you!

Flowers: The summer flowers are just starting to bloom. I'd guess 10% of the magenta paintbrush and lupine are blooming, lots more to come. There are some good spots, along the many creeks that cross the trail and dropping down to Upper Palisades Lake. Flowers I saw on the lakes trail: bluebells, pink and white mountain heather, Jacob's ladder, arnica, Rainier lousewort, valerian,  buttercups, purple and yellow violets, magenta paintbrush, lupine, white marsh marigolds, a few glacier lilies, showy sedge, purple asters, phlox, bracted lousewort, speedwell,  shooting stars, and more. 

The best flowers were on the bootpaths. Some nice fields of lupine, paintbrush, and a few Rainier louseworts (they have the bright yellow spirals). There is an incredible field of vivid larkspur along the ridge (cover picture). Many of the hillsides are colored with phlox. Additional flowers I saw on the bootpaths: littleflower penstemon, bistort, parsnip, western wallflower,  stonecrop, and more. 

Car counts at other trailheads:  Summerland-46, Owyhigh-21, Crystal Lakes/Peak-28, Ranger Creek-2, Dalles Creek-9.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://photos.app.goo.gl/o2AyQnLTqqGFMvuZ6
• https://caltopo.com/m/AC00