Carne Mountain #1508

fall in the cascades, think golden larches. those at carne basin are a wondrous array. it's about 2 weeks past their peak, there are as many needles on the ground as are on the trees. yet in the morning sun they shine yellow, and in the afternoon shade they are yellow-orange. another cold night stretch and the needles will likely all fall [i don't know if they will survive the current bad cold weather front now here]. the smell of the needles is sweet and rich. i think these are alpine or mountain larches, since the tallest trees are under 50 ft. this grove is definitely happy--unlike the sadder droopy western larches for ex, at seattle's volunteer park. for those tired of the long usually multi-day trek to the upper enchantment lakes, carne mtn has fewer larches but the payoff is much more accessible. i don't understand why more hikers don't make it to this site. my wife double-checked the yellow bushes across the creek at the trailhead, and they are NOT larches--you still have to hike up to the basin to see them. btw, a pair of nature photography buffs told me that the fall colors are great in spider meadows, too.

the access road is a little difficult. the chiwawa river road is only occasionally marked--just stay on the main road. the last 15 miles to the phelps creek trailhead is dirt, gravel and rock. several parts need to be regraded.

the hike is basically in four parts: 1st thru the forest in the phelps valley, then up along a valley to the basin, 3rd is the basin itself, and lastly the walk along the ridge to the summit. once you reach the basin, just follow the foot-wide rivulet toward the middle of the three peaks. that's the site of the old lookout. snow starts in the trail at the basin, and covers much of the trail on the ridge. synthetic hiking boots were fine. there were no clouds today, and almost no winds on top, so i ate my lunch basking in the 60 degree sun--a contrast to the cold in the shade at the trailhead parking area upon arrival at 9:30 am.

we saw a red-tailed hawk flying over the access road, a blue grouse running up the mtn [this is the bird that eats the needles of larches], a mountain chickadee eating the dickens out of insects on the bark of trees, an unidentifiable small white-breasted blackbird-like bird, an unseen bird whose song was like a washboard, and a couple of woodpeckers i also heard but never saw.

it took an hour to get thru the forest, another hour to the basin, a half an hour to the ridge, and a leisurely half an hour to the summit. 3 hours up, 2 1/4 hours down, solo-friendly, no ice ax needed--tho if the mtn was covered with thick snow it would be recommended along the ridge.