Naches Peak Loop

What a difference a week makes! A week ago the trail was maybe 40% snow-covered; this time I'm guessing less than 1%! Snow was essentially gone from the more hazardous steeper slopes, and where it was present, it generally was in short patches of soft, slushy stuff on top of not-very-deep snowfields that were rapidly melting. Which of course meant lots more flowers coming out!

For those who struggle getting traction on the slushy stuff, or just want a bit more confidence, I note that several of us used trekking poles (especially on the hills; several of my hikers were trying them out for the first time); one hiker found YakTrax provided excellent traction (I had thought they might get gunked up with slush, but didn't seem to be an issue).

Led an enthusiastic group of Mountaineers hikers the traditional clockwise route around Naches Peak based on info from a park ranger that the melt-out was almost complete. Lots of "oohs" and "aahs" from folks who hadn't seen the flower show before, hadn't seen Rainier before, or even hadn't been on a "hike" before. This hike is a pretty good deal for a first time at any of these.

Didn't take as many photos as last week, partly because of being busy leading the troops, but did want to show that the Indian paintbrush is now out, and there were much more Western pasqueflower (anemone) flower heads gone to seed (the "mouse-on-a-stick" incarnation), and fields full of avalanche lilies and/or phlox, among others. Only a few lupines in bloom, and lots of corn lily almost - but not quite - in bloom; those will be coming out shortly, almost certainly by next weekend.

Just a few spots where there's water running across the trail, but nothing that rose to the occasion of needing gaiters.

If you're planning on doing this hike for the flowers, I'd recommend going soon for the peak of the blooms, and before the bugs come out in full force.