Trip Reports

Trail to Kennedy Hot Springs is in excellent condition. Recent Maintenance has repaired washouts and removed windfall. Campsites at the hotsprings are plentiful, and are equipped with Bear wire. The most recent temp. of the Hot Spring was 95deg.

Continuing on Tr 643 to the PCT #2000 is in equally good condition with the exception of lots of mud holes in the trail. To reach Boulder Basin (basecamp of Glacier Peak), head north .4 miles at the intersection of Tr. 643 and Tr. 2000 on the PCT to a Campground at 3990 ft. Look for a Cairn leading you through the Campground to the East. This is an unmaintained trail and is very steep, but is however well marked and well trodden. Watch the trail closely during the first 1/8th to 1/4 of a mile....lots of windfall makes it hard to follow here. We lost the trail on the way down. Trekking poles are a must if you are carrying any weight. It basically goes straight up a ridge to Boulder Basin at 5700 ft.

For the summit, a fairly well marked trail leads to the base of the Sitkum Glacier. Boot Pack makes following the route easy. Head straight up out of the basin towards a Rock cleaver to the east. Go over the cleaver (if possible) to the snowfield on the other side, then proceed north, continuing up Sitkum Glacier. (This is much easier than going around the North edge of the cleaver on the glacier)

The boot pack will lead you around a couple of crevasse fields to the summit ridge, beginning at approx. 9000ft. From here, you are on scree and dirt for most of the remainder of the climb. A well trodden path leads up the summit ridge to the East, and wraps around to the southeast flank of the peak. The last 500 ft is fairly steep and loose, and some snow may be encountered.

Enjoy!!

Went up to Robin Lakes via the short and nasty route this past Wednesday. For those not acquainted with this hike, this involves ascending the 2,700 ft. vertical in about 1½ miles (usually this ends up being longer due to routefinding ""trials"") rather than going most of the way to Deception Pass and taking the trail past Tuck Lake. The ""regular"" way is no picnic either, but has a relatively lower level of danger. If you want to bushwhack, make sure you have good supportive boots that will give you a toehold on granite. This trip is not for the faint of heart or those not nimble enough to make critical boulder-to-boulder jumps. It's also a severe aerobic workout, and probably not adviseable if you are carrying more than 35 lbs. If you're still interested, here's the drill: Go south a bit from the Robin Lakes outlet stream that flows into Little Hyas Lake and start up through the thick forest. When the trees start to thin a bit and you are walking on rock rather than dirt (maybe ½ mile), move laterally to the south across two streams. The idea is to avoid the semi-technical rock inclines directly above Little Hyas and simultaneously circumvent the VERY thickly covered lower stream beds to your right (south) - mostly willow, scrub cedar, huckleberry and devil's club. You should then be able to find one of several slots of thinly forested dry dirt and make your way up another 1/4 mile. If you do it right, you should end up at the bottom of a large rock fall. Another half mile or so of boulder hopping (really BIG boulders) and you should end up on a huge slab of glacially-sculpted granite with good grip and be able to walk more of less unimpeded to Robin Lakes. Some routes on the granite are more exposed than others; our route going up was on the verge of needing protection, but we had neither ropes nor hardware. Going down about 200 yds. further south was pretty much a breeze, on the other hand, so you may want to take the time to hunt for a route you are comfortable with. Robin Lakes is as beautiful as ever, most all of the snow is melted out, and swimming in the 35º water was heaven, at least for the first 5 seconds or so. No one else was in the upper basin the afternoon of Wednesday the 25th, and the bugs were still down low at Hyas!

We hiked the Lake Ann trail from the Mt. Baker Heather Meadows area. The trail was generally in good shape and the valley floor was snow-free. There is one spot where a log crossing is washed out, but the solution is fairly simple. The final climb to Lake Ann ascends steeply and is still covered in snow, and the lake itself is just starting to melt. This is a beatiful hike.

The kidlets and I went out to explore some big trees and have some fun, so we ended up at the easy to get to Asahel Curtis area off of the Annette Lake trailhead parking area. My, even at 10am on a sunny weekday Annette Lake must be a zoo by the pile of more than a dozen cars there. Alas, Christopher and Elizabeth enjoyed a wonderful little loop of a hike in solitude with their papa. The loved Humpback Creek, the bridges, and the collection of little benches along the trail. Big trees were cool, especially the one across the trail that we got to climb under and over! ""Yeah, let's do that AGAIN!!!""

A fun hour spent by all, finished with ample rock throwing into the creek, and fir cone boats created to race down the creek. I'm glad I'm still a kid at 36 too, since I enjoy those types of games almost more than they do. I enjoy having a lollipop on the way home like them too---Mmmm, root beer!

In 18 years of hiking nearly all of the day-hike-accessible trails at MRNP, I had never gotten around to doing this one until now. What I had been missing! This is one of THE premier meadow and swimming-lake trails in all the Park! I did it on a glorious weekday (the only time to do such trails that are overrun on weekends), sunny, with temps in the 60's. There were only a few people on the trail all day--welcome solitude. The wildflowers are profuse, at their peak, and in all colors of the rainbow. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes and biting flies are also out in force--take plenty of bug juice! Saw a yearling bear cub on a wooded portion of the trail, but he took off before I could get my camera ready. Also did the side-trip to Hidden Lake; that trail is a bit steep and rough in places, but the lake is worth it. Altogether, to the overlook above Lower Palisades Lake, and including Hidden Lake, about 8 1/2 miles and 2300 feet of elevation gain, in and out. I will definitely do this one again!

Anxious to witness the flower display the park service was touting so highly of, I set off after work for an evening stroll to my favorite park within the boundaries of Mt. Rainier. In about an hour's time I found myself roaming amongst the likes of glacier lillies, paintbrush, bluebells, heather and many unrecognized species. The flowers are definitely putting on a show, though are at least another week from their peak - probably more. Lupine was reported up higher, but in limited quantity. The heather is just begining to bloom. Glacier lillies are everywhere (first tip we are early yet). The trail is in excellent condition, with the added excitement of a bees nest shortly below the park! Yes, I discovered it the hard way. Bugs were not a problem until the shadows crept over the meadows. This event presented the green flag for mosquitos far and wide.

Don

http://www.mountainscenes.com

Even after reading the warnings about this one I had to laugh at the name once I was up there. What a knee bender! An easy log walk across the bridgless stream can be had 1/8 of a mile downstream. Definitely easier than had been reported to me by guidebooks and other folks. The lower meadows have yet to bloom but the upper meadows are in their prime. For the best views scramble up the hill to your right from the pass. 100% snowfree to the pass and far beyond. No bugs! (yet)

well what a wonderful day for my first hike in 22 years to an alpine lake yup 22 just like the lake wow what an incline for this out a shape hiker and his 10 year old pooch well it was a great day for a hike sunny the waterfalls were beautiful! trail was wet in a few spots 5 or six mud holes not bad ones, the hike over the rocks in the winter avalanche area was hard but made it a good work out ! watch the trail well here a good place to twist or break an anckle lots of deer flies evey time I stopped for water we were attacked buddy biteing at them finally we reached the lake! It was sunny warm and beautiful (again lots of bugs) I stopped at the pool formed by the creek just north of the lake on my way out it was magical little brook trout jumping at bugs as I sat playing my native american flute all of a sudden at arms length a rufus humming bird hovered as I was playing a change in notes and he was gone it was magical ! Note there is a Toilet at the lake no walls or doors but still nicely built by the wilderness rangers (good job guys) all in all a good hike But i am am glad i have been practicing climbing hills in the issaqauh alps and st edwards park ! Jeff

We did a four day peak-bagging trip. Starting up the Chiwawa River trail (in good condition) we headed up in good weather towards Red Mt. A little towards Chiwawa Mt, we made camp and headed up to Chiwawa. The route in the new 75 scrambles book didn't seem to go, but after messing around the far side we took the SW side which goes fine. But the weather had changed to clouds and we didn't get much of a view.

The next day we headed down towards the Chiwawa west fork on the Fortress high route. But due to some discomfort with the ""official"" route, we descended all the way to the river, then joined the route at the saddle. Here we descended to the Massie Lake high route and followed it to near Pass No Pass. After setting up camp we slogged up Fortress Mt. It has a steep snowfield but the conditions were perfect. It was cloudy all the way to the top, but only 50 feet from the top we poked out of the clouds to an awesome view of Glacier Peak and a few other very tall points.

The third day we hiked to Buck Creek Pass, then climbed up Helmet Butte. This one ain't climbed often, the register is 31 year old. While following the High Pass trail we walked up Liberty Cap for some great views of Buck Creek Pass and a billion other points. Finally the weather was looking good. We continued to High Pass and set up camp. Then we climbed up Napeequa and Cirque Mts. Wasted after a day of four peaks, we enjoyed the nearly perfect sky and great views. As evening wore on, some lenticular clouds appeared. By late evening we were totally socked in.

The last day was to have a few more peaks, but all we could do was navigate by instrument down to the Napeequa. We got on that abandoned trail, which is very brushy and has some sections completely lost. But it's easy to navigate in the flat valley and we always found the tread. The ford across the Napeequa to Boulder Pass looked about waist deep, but hard to tell in the milky water. We continued towards Little Giant Pass. Here, we lost the trail but navigated our way to it. The trail switchbacks up and up like a Little Giant Slalom. It is also overgrown and has some sections of poor tread. And can be hard to follow. But we perservered and staggered our way to the top in very hot weather. The trail down to the Chiwawa is steep and a bit slippery (gravelly) in places. The ford across the Chiwawa is easy (shin deep or walk a tricky log). Then after a 4 mile run to Trinity the loop was complete.

It was raining lightly in Seattle on Tuesday morning but headed over to Sunrise anyway. Just some low clouds there when we got to the fairly empty parking lot at 10:30 AM. Only two small snow patches on Second Burroughs. The alpine flowers were in full bloom. Low clouds and fog gave intermittent views. After lunch, there were lots of people making the trek. Returning to Frozen Lake, decided to go to Berkeley Park to check out the flowers. They were terrific; the meadows were at their best. Lupine, paint brush, penstemon, partridgefoot, various buckwheats, Cusick's speedwell, cinquefoil, buttercups, American bistort, lousewort, pedicularis all made for a splendid show, and a playground for the marmots. No one else on the Grand Park trail, and best of all no bugs at all!

DAY 1: I awoke around 4:45 A.M. (almost a personal record!) anticipating an awesome couple of days of x-country exploration in the MFK area. I slowly got my gear together and drove out to North Bend where I was to meet Craig at 6 A.M. As I consumed hashbrowns and starred mindlessly out the window of Macdonalds, I watched in utter disgust as rain began to fall – over the course of ten aggravating minutes it became heavier and heavier. Ahh! Another friggin westside washout! Ahh! Not wanting to spend another wet couple of days hiding in my tent I made the suggestion that we head east and find some drier country. We scrambled to come up with a worthy destination (we had no maps or books pertaining to the eastside!), but finally we decided to just drive over to Cle Elum and go from there. An hour later we were under clear skies and warm temperatures and we decided to hit up Circle Lake. Without a map, it was the only off-trail destination we could think of that was easy enough to get to, made for a good 2-day trip, and had enough ""wow-factor"" to make up for the loss of wandering 5500’ ridges up along the MFK valley (Sigh).

We scurried away from the Cathedral Rock parking area around 9 A.M. and stomped out a good pace finally making the Peggy’s Pond cut-off 2 hours later. The trail up to this point was in sweet shape as it has evidently been subject to some serious maintenance of late. No blowdowns, mudholes, or washouts to speak of all the way to Spinola Meadows, 4 miles from the parking lot. Another 20 minutes of up and down hiking put us at the lesser Peggy’s Pond, about a tenth of a mile W from that main body of water. Here misguided connecting trails are everywhere, but we had no problem working our way around to the N of the large rock out-cropping just to the W of the pond. This put us in a nice starting slot for a quick traverse to Circle Lake (know as the ""Circle Traverse"" in certain fly-fishing, er, circles!).

Once in position, we opted for a slightly higher route than I had taken last year. We ascended about 60’ and then began an ascending traverse working through scree (the ground cover of choice on this route!) and several class 3 rock pitches. The route was easy enough even with overnight gear until about half way along the traverse. Here we encountered the gully easily noticeable from the trail to Peggy’s Pond, the only real challenge on the entire route. The difficulty here is that the gully is annoyingly steep and blanketed with shallow-rooted flora which provide not a single reliable foot hold – a two steps up one step back type of deal. Last year I bolted straight up it with only my day pack, but this time we ascended the adjacent dense fir stand as far as we could leaving only 80’ of gully to ascend and cross. Both Craig and I managed this section slowly, but easily, and popped out safely to the west of the gully at 6150’. We climbed more scree slopes heading NW for about 60’ and then headed W where we easily found the gap in the cliffs that leads one down 50’ to the last leg of the traverse. We walked and walked amongst heather and (you guessed it!) scree and finally bumped up onto the cliffs above the mid-section of Circle Lake (completely thawed) 75 minutes after leaving the pond. Total time from the car to Circle Lake was about 3 hours and 45 minutes with 2700’ of gain and 6.25 miles traveled. Next, we headed for the outlet (there’s actually a trail along the lake), but as soon as we arrived so did 5 other guys coming up from Deep Lake. Luckily, they were just up for the day and Craig and I had no problem acquiring a couple campsites with awesome views to the south! I spent the rest of the day wandering about the snow-free lake basin and lounging about on big flat rocks offering up spectacular views. Craig spent much of the afternoon sleeping, I guess he’d done the entire hike on only 3 hours sleep, whoa!

DAY 2: I awoke at 8:30 A.M. after 11.5 straight hours of deep sleep (that was a personal camping record!). Craig was already awake and milling about, so I made the suggestion that we climb the ridge to the west and get some good shots down to Venus Lake (completely thawed, from what I could see) and the rest of the area. We packed up, ate, and then started our ascent around 10:30. Twenty minutes later we were on top (elevation 6800’) and treated to spectacular views, far too many lakes and summits list! We walked along the ridge to the N as far as we could safely manage all the while taking pictures and throwing rocks. Soon enough though thoughts of burgers and fries pulled us down and back to camp. The descent from the ridge was darn fun to say the least. The initial drop-in placed us at the start of a 60º scree slope that dropped about 200’ before ending in larger rocks and polished granite. We dropped the 200’ in about 10 seconds of successive moon jumps - it was so fun we climbed back up and did it again!

We finally left the lake around 12:30 and set off to traverse along the same line we had used the day before. Once again the gully presented the only real challenge for the day (it’s really not that bad!). I had to be reminded on a couple of occasions that when and if I got off balance I was going where my pack wanted me to go not where my legs were taking me, argh! At one point I pulled off an unintentional 30’ hip slide down the gully finally stopping myself with a left-handed grab of a small fir tree, whew! Once again, we made it across in about 75 minutes. I’ve done this traverse 4 times now it doesn’t seem to matter how much weight I’m carrying – it’s always takes just over an hour to make the trip. We hopped back on the trail and steadily made our way back to the truck, the entire return hike from Circle Lake taking just a hair over 3 hours. Overall, a great trip considering that this was a totally unplanned and last minute outing.

The weather in western WA was cloudy and drizzly so I decide to head east. The trailhead is near the end of the Cle Elum river road. The weather was partly cloudy and cool. The trail starts off in a pleasant Douglas Fir forest and then opens up intermittently into steep dry meadows with lots of nice flowers in bloom now. There are great views across the valley to Mt Daniel and down to the meandering Cle Elum river. Heather is in full bloom as you near the pass. If you scramble up the rocky slope to the south of the pass you can find all sort of interesting low lying flowers amongst the boulders. Sprite lake is a real pleasure with heather covered meadows sloping down to the waters edge. The views to the east include The Cradle which looks like an overweight version of Mt Stuart. I only saw 5 people on this perfect tuesday. On the way out I stopped to take of the beautiful meadow of flowers blooming next to a lovely marshy section of the Cle Elum river. Stats: 8 mi RT, 2700 ft, tread mostly good except for a few moderately eroded areas. I highly recommend this one.

There is a great spring on the south side of excelsior peak if you plan on camping on the ridge. We saw signs of one other person (a tent) on Tuesday, but never ran into anyone. The views from either shoulder of Welcome Pass are well worth the trip there, but the pass itself is obstructed by trees. The slowers were also better at Welcome Pass. We could see the route to Yellow aster butte from above Welcome pass- it doesn't look too difficult, but we ran out of time.

ICICLE CREEK - CHAIN LAKES - DOELLE LAKES My friend Bruce and I tried the Icicle Creek / Doelle Lakes / Frosty Pass Loop on a five-day trip between July 23 and 27. We failed and had to backtrack our way out. There may be a few lessons in that for some of us. There certainly were some lessons for me.

Our trailhead was at the end of the Icicle Creek Road, outside of Leavenworth. On our first day we walked about 6.5 miles to a nice camp along the Icicle at the Leland Creek Trail junction. The camp had its own little gavel and sand beach and it was a sunny day so we got a good chance to wash up and relax in the sun. Tuesday was cloudy and cool, which we didn’t mind at all because it made the climb from 3800 feet up to 5600 at Chain Lakes a little easier.

All of the trails above the Frosty Pass junction need brushing and blowdowns removed. The climb up to Chain Lakes is reported as being steep, which about covers it. I’d class the first half of it as a Weepy Steepy Class 2, right up there with Mt. Si. The second part, where you’re sidehilling to the East is not so steep, but when we went through it was very wet. All the brush was soaked, we’d neglected to bring our gaiters, and I ended up pouring water out of my boots at the end of it.

We grabbed the first little campsite right at the exit creek, which might in the end be the best one because it’s sheltered and has easy access to water. You’ve also got a good view across to Mount Daniel and Lynch Glacier.

Tuesday was clear and warm. We got a bit of a late start, but really enjoyed the view from Bull Tooth ridge, between Doelle and Chain Lakes. There’s an unsigned intersection at this pass. An old trail goes to the left and straight down the throat of the gully. Not preferred. You want to go right and follow the nice new engineered trail down the side. This time of year in 2000 there was a report of snow blocking the route down, and the Leavenworth Ranger District is still reporting it as “ice ax required.” Not this year, it’s dry and clear now.

To find the trail across to Frosty Pass, stay to the North side of both Doelle Lakes. At the bottom end of the second lake there is an intersection. Take the trail going right and downhill. This trail is definitely not maintained and the part we walked is totally unsigned, even though it’s represented on the new version of the Green Trails Chiwaukum quadrangle as a “trail normally maintained.” We followed it quite easily across Doughgod Creek, through the meadow, and up through the forested, brushy and rocky stretches to the pass leading down into the basin above Wildhorse Creek. This pass is just to the Southeast of peak 6125.

Here’s where I screwed up. There’s a junction there. One branch goes left and down into the basin. The other goes up and right, continuing to sidehill along the ridge. You probably want to go right. We went left. If I had checked my compass at that point I would have seen we were turning North at this point, when we definitely wanted to bear Southeast. You can also see that others who’ve walked through here laid brush down indicating the other branch is preferred.

The branch we took continued down a definite path with fresh footprints into the basin, then petered out in the boulder field about a third of a mile below the junction. We continued pushing ahead, looking for the increasingly scanty traces of trail, and ended up more-or-less beached in the meadow above above Wildhorse Creek. Understand I had no idea at the time that we were above Wildhorse Creek. That comes later.

I was sure the ridge in front of us was Frosty Pass, and bushwhacked up to the top carrying a daypack and bottle of water. It definitely was not Frosty Pass, but I did find a way trail, getting more and more definite, heading across the next basin to the next ridge, which obviously was Frosty Pass. I could see Whitepine Trail coming in from the North, and the Doughgod Trail climbing up to it. Those of you that are hip to the situation here are tearing your hear out at this point, I know. The story continues.

I reported back to Bruce that I was “ninety percent sure” that next ridge was Frosty Pass. One hour’s walk tomorrow morning would put us at the pass, and it was an easy walk from there into Lake Mary.

We were up and across to that next ridge by 8AM the next morning. Of course it was not Frosty Pass, and nothing up there looked familiar. There was nothing left to do now but turn around and hike back the way we came. It was now Thursday. In order to be in position to make it out on Friday, we had to get all the way back to Chain Lakes that day. Which we did.

The weather stayed with us. We had two longish days on Thursday and Friday, but made it out in great shape.

Lessons' One: be careful with unmaintained trails. Two: be super vigilant with trail junctions on unmaintained trails. Three: always keep track of your path back out when you’re not sure of the way ahead. Four: when in doubt, use your compass frequently. No doubt you can see other lessons, too.

The mountain only revealed itself fully until very late in the day but what a show! The butte provides a better overall view while the RR grade seemed to provide more of an experience (the active demonstration of erosion is incredible). The butte has snow but it is not problematic, prepare to get your feet wet unless you have gaiters though. The RR grade is snowfree suprisingly high, basically all the way until you hit baker's glaciers.

Stopped at the trailhead by a snowpatch that had frozen over. Large steps had been kicked into the snow but it doesn't matter when it's hard as a rock. Start in late afternoon or forget it. It was balmy in the lower valleys but FREEZING up there. Although the artist point road is open the snow coverage is still significant in the area.

Wow! Let's give a round of applause to the WTA crew that was on the trail sunday. The first 2 miles have not looked this good in decades. Nice work on brushing and erosion control. The trail to the look-out is snow-free and the heather meadows are at their peak under the look-out. I was surprised to be the only one there sunday night, but monday morning proved to be glorious as islands of peaks jutted out from the sea of clouds below. This must be one possible nirvana!

Beware of the grading project going on on the spur road. The grader is digging up big rocks that will leave a piece of your car as a relic. This explained why one car at the trail-head had a flat. Rock and roll!

Cheers, The Hoofer

If there's anything better than being up at first light, warming yourself over a small fire, drinking a cup of coffee while watching fish rise on a mountain lake, I don't know what it is. I got dropped off Chinook Pass Sunday the 22nd, spent the night at Cougar Lakes, and came out at Bumping Lake the next day, about 20 miles all told. Cougar Lakes and Swamp Lakes have a plethora of small brookies, not too hard to catch. They're suppossed to have rainbows, too, but I only caught one little out of Swamp. The portion of the PCT and American Ridge Trail I traveled are in good shape, but the Cougar Lakes and Swamp Lake trails are about as bad a tread that I have ever walked-not that that should prevent anyone from hiking them-but be forewarned. There's all kind of flagging type on the Swamp Creek Trail as if there's a plan to reroute some of it-it could sure use it.

Anuway, Cougar Lakes is in a spectacular setting, nestled in a deep valley with high rocks towering over three sides. Of course, getting there wasn't exactly ugly, with the occasional glimpses of Mount Rainier to the west and flowers blooming. On the PCT from Dewey Lakes Trail to the American Ridge Trail, the view of the American R. drainage is beautiful. American Lake, Cougar Lakes and Swamp Lakes are being revegetated, so many of the old camping sites are closed-but there are good campsites on the west of Big Cougar Lake. Mosquitoes were bad in the high country and flies were bad around Swamp and Bumping Lake.

I did manage one big fish-out of Bumping Lake-as I was walking the section of the trail right along the lake I saw some bigger fish right in by shore eating, of all things, tadpoles that were swimming along in the water, then 'WHOMP,' one less tadpole. I thought the big fish were dollies, I remember as a wee pup my dad and I catching them out of Bumping. I made a couple of casts and on about the second I could see a big fish following my spoon, he hit it, then went nuts, coming clear out of the water and jumping over a stump that stuck about a foot and a half in the water three different times. I figured that I'd never land him, given all the obstructions in the water and logs-but I slowly wore him down and landed him, a 19 inch rainbow. Pretty cool way to finish the hike.

My 2 dogs & I got onto PCT at Windy Pass and it was in great shape. After an hour, we took the cutoff to Silver Peak which was in fair shape (some mud & 1 little snow patch). After another 1+ hour, we got to the top of Silver Peak. It was somewhat hazy & a few clouds but sunny (nice views of nearby mountains & Rainier). After drawing blood a few times, the bugs responded well to DEET & breezes. We only came across 2 people the entire day.

My family headed to Mig Lake on Sunday, July 22nd. We began our trek at the Tunnel Creek Trailhead #1061. We reached Hope Lake and the Pacific Crest Trail a couple hours later. Hope Lake is beautiful with grass shorelines and nice campsites. We took a detour to explore around Hope Lake, but were wrong in thinking that the well-worn campsite paths made a loop around the lake. After thrashing through some brush because we were too stubborn to go back we found to the Pacific Crest Trail and headed northerly to our final destination--Mig Lake. The leg between the two lakes is pretty easy and short. Mig lake looks quite similar to Hope Lake, containing lovely grass shores and gentle slopes along the water's edge.

Upon arrival we immediately applied bug juice liberally. Then we unpacked and applied more bug juice. After eating dinner we applied even more bug juice and swatted our way into dusk. We dove into our haven of a tent and quickly zipped up the mesh screen. After swatting the dive-bombing mosquitos that made it in the tent with us, we proceeded to go to bed.

We heard owls nearby and deer come through the camp that night, but otherwise was the usual backpacker's night's sleep.

The next morning we woke up to beautiful clear skies and lots more mosquitos. No matter what clothing we put on and how much repellant was applied to our skin, the bugs just turned out to be too much. We packed up and headed home before 11:00 am.

In summary there was no snow, the paths were well kepted, and the scenery was beautiful. There were lots of flowers along the way to enjoy. There were zillions of mosquitos to deal with. I counted over 100 mosquito bites on me (I wore Jeans and long sleeve shirts)!

This seemed like a good place for our first backpack of the season. We got a permit for Devil's Dream camp just below Indian Henry and went in for the night, via Rampart Ridge out of Longmire. Trail in excellant shape. Devil's Dream is hit with heavy bugs and no wonder as several boggy areas above it and a little snow still melting out. Glacier lilies still out nicely- some shooting stars, marsh marigolds, lupine and magenta paint brush. We had nice weather and spent it wandering to Mirror Lake (pond), etc. It is fun visiting with hikers from all over the county- New Hampshire, Michigan, S. Carolina, etc. They all were liking what they saw - makes one proud to be ""local""!

Spent three lovely, lonely days hiking the 26-mile route, one-way, from the Happy Lake Ridge trailhead to the Aurora Ridge trailhead. Didn't get started until after 4:00 PM the first day, but made it to Happy Lake in time to pitch my tent prior to dark. The climb to the lake from the TH is strenuous with a full pack, but the trail in this portion is in fine shape. A nice, cool wind kept me from getting overheated on the way up. The short spur trail down to Happy Lake presents no difficulties either. Mosquitoes were a continuous problem, and had accumulated into roving clouds at Happy Lake. The following day, I hoisted pack and ventured 12 miles to Sourdough Camp, beneath the mountain of the same name. Between Happy Lake and the junction with the Aurora Divide trail, the route assumes an up-and-down, roller-coaster quality that continues nearly all the way to the Soleduck Road. It also becomes narrower and brushier, resulting in a soaking of my pants from the thick vegetation (as a result of a morning shower). Soon after leaving the Happy Lake Ridge trail for the Aurora Divide trail, a meadow is crossed where the tread is essentially gone. Lack of maintenance and mountain beaver work appear to be the culprits. The tread resumes on the opposite side of the meadow. This minor difficulty warns of things to come, however, as one later ventures onto the Aurora Ridge trail (the last, but longest, leg of the trip). Between Lizard Head Peak and the low saddle just east of Sourdough Mountain, expect some tough going. Only a few trees, all easily crossed, are over the trail, but the tread weakens substantially. This section reminds of a slightly lower and slightly less scenic version of the Skyline Route on the Queets/Quinault Divide. I lost the trail twice for about 5 minutes each time -- once in a gorgeous beargrass meadow on the eastern leg of the Aurora Ridge trail, then again later where the trail crosses Aurora Springs. Only minor difficulties really, though necessitating some investigative work and map review. A compass should be handy, though I didn't have to use mine at any point. Although one can use the ridgeline as a rough guide for direction, keep in mind that the trail occasionally drops away down the slope (e.g., at Aurora Peak). Expect sore ankles from traversing the steep southern slope of the ridge, where only the slightest evidence of tread is present. Deer and bear may be the only entities keeping this section from vanishing completely. There were sporadic trickles of water across the trail in the 9 or so miles between Happy Lake and Aurora Springs, but don't count on them. Fill up before leaving Happy Lake, and again at the springs. I drank close to three liters of water in this 9 miles, and would have needed more on a hot day. One could camp on a knoll nearby the springs, but it's a small site and not entirely level. Many mosquitoes here, too. After finding my way past Aurora Springs, the trail improves. I continued past the junction of the Aurora Creek trail and climbed the shoulder of Sourdough Mountain. Passing below the summit, an old, old sign that is difficult to decipher marks a half-mile spur trail to the top of the mountain (excellent views of the North Fork Soleduck's expanse of ancient forest here, complementing other such views seen earlier in the trip). This spur immediately enters a meadow with thick vegetation, which is the (former') site of Sourdough Camp. Although listed as an official campsite by the Park Service, it looks as if it receives very little use. A long-collapsed shelter is here, as well as a decaying privy melting into the ground. Not much of a place to pitch a tent, so I wedged mine into the old shelter frame. A short path behind the shelter leads to a tiny spring that is barely large enough to obtain water from. Not sure if it lasts through the summer, though. Bear scat everywhere. The final day found me mostly in dark, somber hemlock forest along the rolling ridge. I took a quick side-trip to pretty Eagle Lakes. (Females: please continue to instruct hikers of your gender that leaving toilet paper flowers in the woods after urinating is NOT acceptable; don't get me started on either gender's defecation practices.) The final mile or two of trail prior to reaching the Soleduck Road, after entering second-growth forest, is again overgrown, this time with blackberry and some nettle. All in all, this was an immensely fun, challenging trip. Just another precious corner of our beloved Olympic Mountains. I saw a grand total of two people between Happy Lake and the Soleduck Road (on a summer weekend, no less!), so solitude is readily available. Make doubly sure that you have plenty of water with you at all times.

Glacier Peak 10,541’ July 21/22 2001

Friday afternoon the forecast changed from morning clouds to mostly cloudy, but we optimistically continued with our plans to climb Glacier Peak. We arrived at the White Chuck Trailhead, 2,300’, about 20 miles from Darrington, about dark, and set up camp at the end of the road.

After a leisurely morning Jeff, Doerte, and I set out at 8:20 am for Boulder Basin at about 5,500’. The White Chuck Trail is 5.2 miles to Kennedy Hot Springs but gains very little elevation. Some switchbacks and 1.8 miles later the trail joins the Pacific Crest Trail. The climber’s trail to Boulder Basin begins .5 north of this junction at a small PCT camp with a toilet sign and a cairn, before the trail crosses Sitkum Creek, at 4,100’.

The climber’s trail is well worn, but very steep in many places. Beautiful Boulder Basin is reached in about 1.5 miles at 5,500’. Here at treeline is where most parties camp before beginning their climb. Blooming heather, rushing water, marmots, and high waterfalls are some of the sights. Campsites were few and close together on this cloudy Saturday. There were several large parties from the Mazama and Mountaineers.

Jeff and I climbed up 1,000’ to get a view of the route that we would begin before sunrise. The sky was filled with clouds and visibility was poor at times. A party of scouts who summited on Friday reported views of only 45’, “but we had fun!” The Mazama party reported Saturday that they got above the clouds and could see only Mount Baker.

At 3 am the mist was so thick it felt like we were underwater, but 15 minutes later we could see stars! We took this as a good sign. Doerte, Jeff, and I were off shortly after 4 am with headlamps, and immediately lost the exposed trail around the ledge, so we climbed the steep snowfield back to the trail.

Still in the dark and clouds, we put on crampons and roped up at the start of the snow. We couldn’t see well enough to tell where the Sitkum Glacier started. We could hear the Mountaineer group somewhere in the fog. It seemed like we could always hear the Mountaineers; a group of 10 is rarely quiet. At least they don’t go in parties of 67 people like they did in 1921!

The sun rose, and we ascended above the clouds. The route took us around some crevasses and across a couple of snowbridges. There was a foot of recent snow covering the glacier so we were careful near any signs of crevasses. We moved quickly across the Glacier, noticing large debris fields on either side. Eventually we reached the west summit ridge, near Sitkum Spire. Moving to the east side of the ridge, we were able to continue to ascend on snow and ice, and avoid the very loose dirt. Finally we circled east under the summit, crossing a snow filled chute and up to the summit. Five hours and 5,000’ from camp to summit at 10,541’.

There was a still lot of snow on the summit, a cornice almost as high as the summit itself. We had great fun seeing all the peaks in Western Washington high above the clouds. Baker, Shuksan, and the Pickets. At 7,835’, Sloan Peak were easy to pick out above the clouds. It looked like a big shark fin above the clouds. We immediately talked about trying that one! The summits of Mount Daniel and the highest of the Snoqualmie peaks. To the east it was mostly clear. Glacier Peak’s first ascent was in August 1898, by Thomas Gerdine and party of U.S. Geological Survey.

We were the second of only three parties’ summiting on Sunday. We strode down the mountain, happy at our good fortune and fine weather, right back into the clouds and fog. The noise of a rockfall above us made our party a bit apprehensive since we could not see anything but thick fog. We knew, however, that we were out of any path of debris. We nearly walked by our camp in Boulder Basin visibility was so poor! Luckily Jeff spotted the tents.

We rested a bit, packed up, and Doerte led us down to the trailhead. We finally arrived very tired at 4 pm. Strong parties can do this climb in two days, but most parties would need three days. More than 24 miles and 8,200’ gain. We met one party heading for Frostbite Ridge for four days, but most parties climb Glacier via the Sitkum Glacier.

This trip is best done as a one-way trip - the hiking book suggests starting at Sunrise to make it a mostly downhill trip - we made it a mostly uphill trip - 10 miles and 3500 feet of gain. Follow FS 73 for 5.5 miles to just before it crosses Huckleberry Creek and park. Finding the TH was the biggest challenge. In hindsight we found that the unmarked TH starts on the east side of the creek just behind a fire ring. We stumbled up abandoned and torn up FS 7340 to the abandoned TH and eventually connected with the ""real"" trail at Lost Creek. We quickly reached the MNRP boundary and the abandoned guard cabin which still looked in decent shape. The first 4 miles were incredibly humane gaining less than 1000 feet in the first 4 miles while rambling around and up and down through old growth forest with plenty of streams. It was about here that we passed an ominous sign on the trail - if you want to know what that was, then you will have to travel this lonesome trail. The trail is still in forest for several more miles with uphill sections and then flat sections. We passed up through the mosquito zone and finally reached Forest Lake. Here we saw some form of a small rodent ""swimming"" near the shore line. We could not tell if it was actually swimming or running on the bottom. From here we went up through flowery meadows, a rocky moraine area, and more flowery meadows before reaching a saddle near Sourdough Mountain. By doing this as an uphill trip we definitely saved the best for last - the flowers in the meadows were a real treat. We then headed down into the ""tourist zone"". I was somewhat disappointed when not one person asked us ""How many days have you been out'""

Access road has quite a few potholes. Trail is in very good shape except that it is getting quite overgrown in places (hint, hint). Boulder River and the waterfalls are still quite nice, even in this low-water summer. There are a few bugs but not too bad.

Hiked to top of Mt. Si via the old route on the west side, off of the Little Mt. Si trail. The trail is steep, with lots of rocks and roots till about 2100 feet where the trail appears to leave and old clearcut or burn area and you pick the old graded tread which is a definite improvement, however steep. A definite improvement over the ""tourist route"" main trail. Only saw one person and no dogs till I hit the main trail. The old trail has an untrampled look that is missing from the new trail. The only downer of the day was that someone ahead of me had slashed the fronds from the ferns that over hung the trail and had chopped the huge ( 7 inch) puttey colored slugs in half and left them in the trail for others to step on. I don't understand killing the slugs, if you don't like then then just flip them off the trail with your hiking stick. The only person I saw on the trail was a older guy dressed like he was from the Austrian Alps and wearing long blue gaiters, the gaiters should of protected him from the wet ferns and leaping slugs--so if he was the chopper/slasher I don't see the need to go about destroying what Mother Nature has provided. However the trail is very green with mosses, ferns and understory plants and unpicked flowers right by the trail. None of the high traffic noise and congestion (sounds like Seattle) that you find on the new trail. No bugs, no blowndowns, no mud--just steep and slippery where the loose gravel would roll under foot. Also no water. The valley below was obscured from view by clouds but hiking up and down in the clouds made for a cool effort.

Two other cars at TH as I headed for a solo backpack to Monogram. At about 2 miles up I entered an overgrown meadow full of flowers, ferns and nettles- ouch! Put on the long pants because it takes 10 mins to get through this section and nettles make you aware of every second! Split off to Monogram and realized the trail I'd been on wasn't that steep in comparison. Seemed like a long 2+ miles until I reached the lake. A lot of flowers and foliage overgrown as you descend to lake. Shared the lake only with bees, hummingbirds but no mosquitos!

A party of 2 showed up just as the fog rolled in and headed for the other camp- off to the left, following the lakeshore. Showers off and on meant that the overgrown trail provided a shower on the way out in the am. I got soaked! I hope the other party appreciated my efforts to shake off the water. Saw only 2 people as I headed down the main trail- this is place for solitude and no bugs.

Got to the Barlow Pass trailhead at 9:00 and, as expected, the throngs were out in full force. No worries though, since we knew most would be headed to Monte Cristo. After a mile on the MC road, and just before the first bridge, you reach the trail to the basin. The weather was cool and foggy. This is a steep trail, with few switchbacks. Very difficult stuff...make sure you're in shape or you'll head back like we saw a group do. A great test with great rewards. There is very little snow up to Gothic Basin until you continue on to Foggy Lake, which is about 90 percent iced but melting fast. The basin is great, filled with rock mounds to scamper up and play around on. Each has unique views that make it well worth it. The fog lifted eventually and provided views of Del Campo and Gothic Peak. I'd love to come back on a nice weekend and set up a base camp here...beautiful basin.

Only one blowdown about 3/4 mile in. Can be lifted out the way by some burly dude. Trailhead is about 60 meters away from the end of road 74. Trailhead is NOT at the end of road as those trails go DOWN and not UP. Best view of Mt. Rainier is from a short trail at the false summit of Frog Mountain. This is a short sweet trail with mostly views of clearcut at the top and lots of ants.

FS road 1570 is fine past the crossing of Cascade River for a ways until the 1571 splits off to the left. Then 1570 gets narrow and a little brushy. Every 100 yards or so expect small drainage dips (humps) that must be driven over. 4WD not absolutely necessary, but the ride needs to be somewhat of a high-clearance vehicle. A couple little bad spots on the road, one is a small creek that must be driven through, but this is a couple hundred yards from the road end. (Road end UTM coordinates: 0631408mE 5368664mN) There is a fire ring here and a pile of logs.

The route does not start from the very end of the road, rather 10 yards or so before, going immediately straight up. The first 10 minutes or so ascends through a logged out area (which can be kind of brushy and wet). After this, the route keeps to the open forest. It is an incredibly steep route, but well defined from many climber's boots, with only a few blowdowns or obstructions - I had no problems keeping this trail.

After about 1.5 hours, the angle of ascent lessens somewhat. Soon a boggy area is reached, with a tent spot nearby (ca. 4600'). From here the travel is through open trees and attractive blueberry meadows. The route now begins a slight descent down, around the SE side of point 5116, and a grassy bowl area down on the left (with big boulders) can be seen. I detoured from the route down to the bowl, where I stopped and had lunch (0630164mE 5366678mN). About 3 hours to here with a daypack.

The route continues, traversing above the grassy bowl, and I followed it up to the saddle south of point 5116, but it was still socked in and no views of Snowking were to be had this day. No snow encountered. I headed back and made the TH in about 1.5 hours.

(Note: The Mountaineers Scramble book provides the road-end GPS waypoint which isn't accurate. The Topo map depiction of this route also is pretty far off.)

Never has a 3.5 mile hike taken me so long. Never have I already expended 3/4 of the film I brought with me by 8:00AM either! Seeing that the flowers were so excellent around the PCT area above Bullion Basin yesterday, I used my other day out this week to head back down to the area to explore the PCT south of Chinook Pass. I was yet again looking at a day stuck in the clouds of fog like much of yesterday...I couldn't hardly see more than 100' driving up toward Cayuse Pass. But alas, a short 1/4 mile from Chinook Pass the east winds kicked up, and blue sky appeared!

I left the Chinook Pass trailhead at 6:10AM (take note---traffic was GREAT driving down between 4:15AM-5:55AM!) in a bitter wind and immediately was greeted by massive western anemone and avalanche lily displays right out of the parking lot and across the roadway bridge. Things just got better and better, and by the time I was near the first un-named lake the entire SE mountainside of Naches Peak was a riot of magenta, red, yellow, blue, purple, white, more yellow, and fuzzy heads of the spent anemones. Blue sky, sunrise sunlight streaming in from behind me, and sure enough I was through seven of the ten rolls of slide film that were in my pocket by the time I hit the junction that leads down to Dewey Lakes at 8:10AM (yeah, two hours for about 1.3 miles of hiking). The only difficulty was the nearly constant wind---a blessing for the surprise of clear beautiful sunshine, a curse for wildflower photography! Patience won out as usual, and photographing heather is always a sure bet when the avalanche lilies are bouncing all over, since they don't dance so darn much! I also enjoyed a few vast areas of sub-alpine spirea which one doesn't see in that many areas.

As I worked my way more quickly around the south and west sides of Naches Peak I still didn't expect to have views of Mount Rainier due to the persistant low clouds that were there just hours earlier. However, as I crested over a high point, I was greeted with a view that not only blew my socks off, but almost took my shorts with them---the low clouds were way down below still filling in the valley a bit, but everything else was crystal clear and bingo: there went the rest of my film! Stunning meadows of flowers, views of The Mountain, and another small lake. I exhausted my film supply after three or four great stops along a 1/2 mile stretch through here, snacked, and then started for home.

Rather than jaunt a short 1/4 mile to Tipsoo Lake and Chinook Pass to complete the loop, I retraced my steps so I could enjoy the dance that nature was performing on this magical day. By now I hadn't seen more than two folks, but enroute back the wave of others knowing the flowers were dancing were arriving, include no fewer than two ""guided"" tours by the native plant society and others of groups of 10+ slowly looking over plants. I awaite areas out of Sunrise in the next week or two to see if they can match the show put on today! I maybe didn't see all of the snowshoe hares, deer, and elk that I saw yesterday up on the PCT north of Chinook Pass, but then again an entire herd of elk could have come up behind me and stolen my breakfast from my backpack, and I wouldn't have known it since I was so enriched with what else I was seeing. Back to the rig by 10:15AM and heading on home against the wave of traffic going for their Sunday drives.

The trail was in very good condition. It's a grueling hike. started at the trailhead at 6:15 AM and reached the summit at about 9 AM. No views as it was totally overcast. No bugs due to a light breeze. 1 1/2 hour back to the trailhead. Passed 6 or 7 hikers going down. A great work out!

Hiked in from Mill Creek Canyon Road. Had to park way below the trailhead because of steep, rough road. Long, hot, gouged road up to the trailhead, hiking under the powerlines. The Corolla wouldn't have made it! Once on the trail it was beautiful, through damp meadow, lots of flowers, including Jeffries Shooting Star. Saw pika and marmont on the rock hillside. First two switchbacks after Lake Susan Jane were a little delapitated, big holes in places. Just watch where you put your feet. Lovely views down onto the little lakes we had passed. There is a campsite at Lake Susan Jane which was full of Mosquitos on the way out. After a steep decent into Josephine we found a whole crew of WTA voluteers! And three staff! Wow what a crew. They were spread out nicely and there was a good spot left for us inbetween. I'm grateful for the woman who pointed out the privy. A handy bandana signal device tied to a tree kept surprise visits to a minimum. The lake itself was clear and cold, lots of little fish were caught and released. Bugs not to bad at all. It was just cold on Sunday! That wind! Most impressed with the crew, we saw some of their handy work on the trail on the way out. Their hard work is much appreciated. Several day hikers came in from both the trailhead at Mill Creek and the Stevens Pass ski area. Nice trip.

Five Scouters backpacked up past the Carbon Glacier snout to spend a night at Dick Creek Camp. (about 4.5 miles) Get reservations for summer weekend overnights in the wilderness. We were glad we did.

On the way up, we took the low river crossing (not the suspension bridge). On the way down, we took the upper river crossing (suspension bridge). From the Ipsut Creek trailhead, you hit the lower river crossing at about 2 miles, and the suspension bridge crossing at about 3.5 miles. The low river crossing had a log and was a bit dizzy to keep feet on the log with the glacial Carbon River flowing just inches under the log. We could hear rocks bouncing in the channel. The trail goes up the East side of the river, through an awesome forest. It goes past Alice Falls, a nice place to take a break.

The hike up to the glacier (about 3/4 mile past the suspension bridge) was rather easy, climbing only gradually up the valley. After the glacier, the hike climbs steadily.

Dick Creek was a nice place to camp, but our views were obscured by clouds and fog. By morning, everything had cleared, and we had excellent views across the glacier, and up the valley to great views of Mt Rainier itself. We dayhiked another mile up the trail in the morning. The trail still climbs steadily after Dick Creek. Get in fair shape if you want to make it up to Moraine Park.

The trail was in good shape, but some spots are rocky and test the stability of your ankles. I recommend boots, not tennis shoes. I also recommend two bottles of water for dayhikers. We filtered water at Alice Falls and Dick Creek.

Scott Paul Trail 7/21/01 ----------------

This is the newest trail in the Mt. Baker area and one of the few built since the 1960's. It's named after the ranger who kept the project going and died just before it opened in 1994. It's on the 1996 and later editions Green Trails Hamilton map which covers the south slopes of Mt. Baker. It's unusual in being a loop trail and also because it has a long gentle 3 mile stretch in the middle in the high alpine zone.

NOTE: SUSPENSION BRIDGE NOT IN YET, A MILE OR SO OF SNOW PATCHES AT 5000 FT. We hiked clockwise, starting on the Park Butte trail and then taking a right onto Scott Paul at the 2 mile point junction. This direction gives the most views of Mt. Baker without having to turn around constantly, but since it was cloudy all day no mountain did appear. There are also good sunny day views of Mt.Shuksan at about the 2 O' clock point on the loop. Views aside this trail has many other beautiful features to offer: flowers, meadows (especially Scriebers meadow right at the start , loaded with huckleberry bushes), big tree forest, waterfalls, rushing streams, the snout of Easton glacier and it's spectacular moraine edged by the steep wall of Railroad grade. About those streams, Rocky creek & Sulfur creek are the big ones and may cause wet feet. Rocky creek is crossed on a suspension bridge at about a mile and 1/2 up the trail, it is crossed again a mile and 1/2 further up on the missing suspension bridge. Using poles we made it across dry. Sulfur creek is crossed about 2 miles further on with no bridge and equal water and difficulty.

Peak elevation was about 5050 ft. and the snowline was right around us. In this record low snow year the south side of Mt. Baker has held it's snow cover as long as in an average or better year. So skiers were in evidence as low as 5500 ft. We saw lots of people going up Railroad grade but there were only 2 other parties and 1 ranger on our trail all day. Excellent flower display ; lupine was the most common with heathers, marsh marigold, queens cup, and spring beauty being the most notable. About 20 species were in bloom but no lilies ! There is good sized waterfall about a 1/2 mile upstream from the missing suspension bridge just below the glacier snout. Several smaller falls are on the streams crossed on the upper trail. A few marmots whistled at us in the rocky moraine area. The weather teased us with partial sun on the drive up, then clouds closed off the peaks just as we left the trailhead. Mt. Baker was never visible and for a little while we had a light drizzle, temperature about 50.

Try it on a sunny day and be impressed. Such a beautiful place , you'll want to come back again and again. We were sorry when our hike ended and we had to return to civilization again.

Statistics: 8 miles 1800 ft. elev. gain 5 1/2 hours including lunch

Robert Michelson

Start at the Summerland TH near White River CG in MNRP; go up to flower-filled Summerland; cross the eerie and foggy moraine area up to Panhandle Gap; travel up and down and across some snow fields and down to Indian Bar; continue up to an up and down ridge line; and finally down to Box Canyon near the Stevens Canyon entrance to MNRP. The fog and low clouds prevented us from seeing the almost certain breathtaking views however every meadow and ridge was on teeming with flowers. The Summerland area was especially nice as was the Indian Bar area. The areas with snow have been marked with wands and have good boot paths across them. This trip adds up to about 17 miles of distance with over 4500 feet of elevation gain and 5100 feet of elevation loss.

I took my five year old son, Jeremy, on his first backpacking trip. There was only one other car at the trailhead when we arrived at 10:00. Within fifteen minutes a group of twenty passed us on their way to North Lake. Many only had shorts, T-shirts and no pack. I hope no one took a wrong turn and got lost. I, on the other hand, had a fifty pound pack with the gear for both of us, including the eleventh essential for a five year old: candy. Jeremy carried his stuffed animal and other such essentials. The trail was clear, dry and well-maintained. The big attraction was seeing a ""real spring"" with lots of water coming right out of a crack. We arrived at the south end of the lake after about an hour. We chose a site at the northwest end of the lake. Two guys and a black lab occupied the other. A couple with a rubber raft filled the third site at about 7:00 p.m. There were lots of mosquitoes, but the bug repellant worked well. We took a hike up the trail to North Lake and enjoyed the view down to the deep aqua-colored waters of Independence Lake. Fog rolled in around 4:00. It never rained, but it may as well have. All the vegetation became soaked. There were still a few patches of snow and lots of flowers. We managed to scrape together enough dry wood to enjoy a fire before bed. That was another highlight of the trip. We were awake at 5:30 a.m., but stayed in the tent until 6:30. After exploring some more, we broke camp and were back at the car by noon.

Decided to try the Carbon Glacier Trail. The parking lot at the Ipsut creek trailhead was just about full when we arrived at about 9:30 am. The trail was a little muddy in places but overall was in pretty good condition. It being a weekend, the hike was fairly crowded with some large tourist groups so if solitude is your thing this isn't the trail for you. The suspension bridge was interesting (more on the bridge later) as I had never been on it before. Unfortunately the day was overcast and the glacier was just barely visible through the clouds. Recrossed the river using the temporary logs just below the suspension bridge and decided to have lunch at the rocks next to the suspension bridge. A large group of teenagers decided to cross the bridge and some of them decided it was a trampoline instead of a bridge. A section (about five feet) of the bridge broke at one end and was tilted down about 45 degrees leaving a noticeable gap. The bridge was still crossable but I had to question its integrity as I saw a turnbuckle completely disconnected when I had crossed earlier. Saw a ranger on the way back and told him what had happened and he said they have been working on the bridge. On the way home stopped at to check out Chenius Falls which requires another river crossing. A nice little cascading waterfall. Overall a nice hike except for the clouds.

Climbed Pinnacle Peak; the trail and route are in good shape. We were in the clouds most of the time except for a few peeks at Rainier and surroundings. The real treats were the flowers along the entire trail. Incredible drifts of avalanche lilies, mixed with purple and white heather, lupine, and many shades of Indian paintbrush. Lots of others so take your flower book or just stroll and enjoy. We also saw several marmots, a mountain goat family, and deer.

A light rain at home the night before,but at the trailhead the weather was sunshiney, warm. One other couple pulled in right behind us, we caught Ben and Casey aside and let the couple pass just at the start of the uphill trek. The trail had been recently re-worked as the switchbacks were well done but looked to be barely a month old or so on the first part of the uphill climb. Up and up we went for quite a long while taking breaks frequently. Still going uphill it was a pleasant workout for us, but Ben and Casey were obviously heated and thirsty. We came round a swithback to find Casey sprawled, as flat out as he could get with his complete underside pressed into a near dry but gooey mud patch…good thing we will reach water before he gets back into the car! We were still not close enough to the creek for refreshment, they munched the salad bar on the sides of the trail. (Ben and Casey are English Springer Spaniels that like grass).

We’d gone about two miles when we finally topped out close enough to the creek and they plunged in. From there we continued uphill again to an old logging road. At this point we were treated to a gorgeous view of the jagged peaks in the distance. The road ended in a cul-de-sac and Ben showed us where the trail was. Not long after, the trail became completely overgrown-waist high. Casey was afraid at first, but went through with us ahead and behind him. The trail cleared again, there was more uphill, sometimes rocky and sometimes a bit slippery I felt good about my abilities to cross it safely (we’re not in the best shape). But when we passed obviously fresh Bear scat I felt a shiver. My very experienced husband calmed my fears (somewhat) by liberally informing me of the history of bears and their normal behaviors and the fact that he has only seen black bear…about twice…and there ARE NO Grizzlies here and besides, he said it was not that fresh… (looked moist and glistening to me!)

Continuing along we called Ben and Casey in so as not to disturb another couple coming down the trail toward us but unfortuneately we weren’t quick enough in getting Casey’s attention and he barked at them. DARN!! We’re trying to get them trained to have trail manners because I know that one slip up can completely spoil it for the other folks. After profuse apologies, next we came to a long stick jutting out chest high across the trail, held by boulders someone must have had a reason for placing it there but because it was dangerous, we removed it. Another stick about 50 yards down blocked the trail again, again we removed it.

Finally we came to where the trail crosses the creek. Knowing this to be a spot close to the trail junction at the top, we stopped for lunch. The creekbottom is a gray colored silt sort of mud here, firm like sand. At the junction someone had clearly marked the spot with rocks directing their friends to go to the left, we stopped to tighten our shoe laces and turned downhill for the trip back. (the rocks are still there) In summary the hike was most enjoyable, perfect hiking weather, no bugs, lots of flowers (white daisy-like, purple/blues, ground cover pinks, Calypso Orchids, etc…),lots of bird songs and squirrel chatter from the trees, we saw deer tracks and several bear scats and a large pile made by something that had been eating a lot of roughage but definitely not horse apples…don’t know what it was. In all we did about 7 miles round trip, Ben and Casey were our constant loveable entertainment.

Our group of six left the trail head at 9:00 am and headed up to the lookout tower that was built in 1962 to replace the now gone original lookout that was constructed back in 1929, at 5,719'. After passing a campsite at about 2.5 miles, a section of trail that is overgrown in brush must be hiked through before getting to the junction of the trail that heads to Monogram Lake. Bring some long pants as there are stinging nettles. After leaving the old growth forest and some creek crossings, the trail enters hillside meadows with flowers coming out. The trail just keeps switchbacking up as you see the lookout tower high above. Near the summit is a small patch of snow that has not melted out yet. The six of us arrived at 12:30 pm. We climbed the stairs up to the lookout and had lunch in the building. Fortunately this lookout is far enough away and harder to get to, so has not been vandelized. It was a cloudy day, so the views were not to be seen. After signing the registor book, we left at 1:30 pm for the 4,500' decent back down. Met a few hikers heading up as we were going down through the meadows. Got back to the cars at 4:00 pm. There were a couple of trees across the trail, the one area that really needs to be brushed out and some old cedar puncheon that needs replacing were the only things that needed some trail maintenance. No bugs on this trip.

We hiked to Big Creek and back with a side trip to Otter Falls and found the trail to be in good shape with no water or mud-holes on the trail. It being a weekend we did run into a few people and a couple of mountain bikers.It was a nice temperature for a hike, however, the overcast skies prevented us from seeing the tops of the ridges. I would do this hike again and hope for a sunny day! Beware that the tread is quite rocky and you must pay attention to where you step.

A grand trek today that ended up being rain-free after driving in rain much of the way from Enumclaw to the trailhead. The FS road that leads up from the Norse Peak trailhead has the gate open, so one can drive to the trailhead(s) up at 4900' rather than scramble up from the ski area to intersect the trail. Starting up the Silver Creek trail at 6:50am I was thrilled with finding a mine shaft just across from the open area passing under the ski lift along the Silver Creek trail--it with the bridge crossing a beautiful creek was a fantanstic sighting so soon into the day. From there the trail climbs, steeply at times, through beautiful forest, intersects a junction, and I then headed up to the PCT. The show really started here...hiking in fog the entire time, the flowers were so bright and in massive numbers I've never seen anything like it in a long time. Excellent areas of western anemone were a treat to go with all of the bright other fun ones such as magenta paintbrush, lupine, cow parsnip, tiger lily, etc... Entire hillsides were in bloom. Once on the PCT I headed north past the most amazing heather slopes in bloom I've ever witnessed! Then, avalanche lily slopes. All while hiking some of the best ridge-line trail I've had the pleasure to enjoy on the PCT.

Once on the eastern side of the ridge 10', the clouds were lifting overhead. Socked in on the other side. Just as I approached the trail intersection with Union Creek at 6200' a stunning show took place as three HUGE bull elk came out below me and swiftly headed up and over the ridge. What amazing graceful strength these mammals displayed, being so huge but yet able to dance up such a steep slope so quickly. The last one of the bunch stopped on the ridge to show me his silhouette of a massive 5-point rack. I said thank you to him, and then as if on queue, he disappeared over the ridge. Nature is good to me sometimes!

From here, I headed down through Bullion Basin after leaving the PCT past Blue Bell Pass, and hiked on out completing a great loop that only seems to see activity on the Bullion Basin trail, which are ALL horseback riders it seems. A wide, heavily torn up tred that comes up from Crystal Mountain Ski area where they then all head north. No other hikers were passed, and the PCT and Silver Creek trails all were in excellent shape with very little recent use. I'd definitely do this trip so you come down the Bullion Basin trail...it wouldn't be very fun going up, and it would be a serious shame to ever hike here just to hike up Bullion Basin and not explore the rest of the region.

Pretty nice day for a hike! Not too hot, not too cool...just right! I took my Daughter and one of my buddies up to the lake for a afternoon of fishing and fun. Trail's in good shape...for as many people that use this one; but it's a easy hike and a nice finish so that explains it. Just don't leave any valuables in your car where their visible. My truck was broken into and them FN *&^%$#@! took a whole bunch of stuff...we figure we lost over $300.00 bucks worth. If you can't take it with 'ya...don't bring it; and if you pack it in...pack it out. Take Care out there and be safe!

Summerland is a favorite hike of mine in MRNP. The trail is in good shape, with the log bridges in place over Fryingpan Creek. The flowers are just coming on; the lupines and asters weren't out full yet. We couldn't see the Mountain, but it was a great hike to a beautiful place.

Trail mostly snow free. Several fairly small and easily negotiated snow patches, and one medium sized one up high. The more significant patch is just past the Mist Park view at about 6200'. Though it is a sidehill crossing, it does not require an ice axe, and should not be a significant problem for your typical weekend hiker.

A massive bloom of Avalanche Lillies is underway. Lots of Shooting Star in damp areas. Magenta paintbrush is off to a good start. Lupine just starting in some places, not yet started in others.

Too foggy/cloudy to see the Mountain.

The goal of this trip was to do the Bailey Traverse from High Divide to Low Divide at the headwaters of the Elwha. I ended up turning around just past Mt Carrie due to poor visibility which made it difficult to find the route. Eleven Bull Basin was my turnaround point.

Some notes for people heading up into this area: - there is still snow up there, but the trail and traverse route along Mt Carrie are basically snow free.

- There is no running water between Heart Lake and Mt Carrie. There are snow fields and some stagnant pools (such as Boston Charlie's camp)

- There are places where the boot path is washed out by creeks and slides. The footing is precarious and exposed.

- There were some mosquitoes in Sol Duc Park, but I found very few on the high route.

This is a fantastic area. The weather cleared somewhat and the contrast of the rocky and snowy Bailey Range and Mount Olympus with the Hoh River valley is truly spectatular. The wildflowers were out in force and hummingbirds and dark eyed junkos were everywhere.

Saw two bears grazing on the hillside opposite Heart Lake. Lots of Goat hair along The Catwalk.

You really get the meaning of a ""cathedral forest"" while hiking up the Sol Duc. The trees there are big and tall.

If you're planning anything along the Bailey Range, be sure to read several guidebooks and trip reports on the web. I found route descriptions varied somewhat. Some aditional navigations tools such as a GPS and altimeter should complement your map/compass.

-Pat

I DECIDED TO DO THIS HIKE AND SCRAMBLE TO BOTH MT. SAWYER AND FISHER LAKE OFF TONGA RIDGE ON A WEEKDAY AND WAS REWARDED BY 7 CARS IN PARKING LOT AND SEEING ONLY 5 PARTIES ALL DAY. THIS IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR MIDWEEK OR EVEN 1/2 DAY HIKE.

NO SNOW ENCOUNTERED ON RIDGE AND ONLY A BIT ABOUT 50' BELOW SUMMIT OF MT. SAWYER. THE WILDFLOWERS ARE STILL OUT AND RED HEATHER WAS PRETTY. WILDFLOWERS SEEN INCLUDED TIGER LILIES AND LUPINE IN ADDITION TO INDIAN PAINTBRUSH, BULL THISTLE, COW PARSNIPS, AND BLOOMING RED CLOVER.

VARIOUS HIKING MANUALS SUGGEST CLIMBING MT. SAWYER BY HEADING STRAIGHT UP INCLINE DIRECTLY TO SUMMIT. THEY ALSO ILLUSTRATE A TRAIL RUNNING STRAIGHT UP HILL. I VETO THAT. IN MOST AREAS THIS WILL JUST INCREASE THE EROSIION PROCESS.

INSTEAD THERE IS A NICE 1/2 MILE TRAIL THAT RUNS ACROSS FACE OF SLOPE AND ACCENDS UP EAST SIDE OF MTN. WITH SMOOTH GRADIENT. THIS WOULD BE A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT FOR SUPERVISED YOUNGER KINDS ( NO TODLERS HOWEVER). THE SUMMIT IS EASY TO REACH AND HAS LITTLE EXPOSURE BUT GREAT VIEWS. A GOOD PLACE TO TEACH THEM ABOUT KEEPING ""BALANCE"". NOTE THAT THIS TRAIL STARTS GOING STRAIGHT UP BUT ONLY ABOUT 30' BEFORE LEVELLING OUT. THERE IS A BENCHMARK AT SUMMIT ON EASTSIDE AND A LITTLE SNOW ON NORTH SIDE.

CONTINUEING TO PASS FOUND ALOT OF BLOOMING RED HEATHER. GETTING TO FISHER LAKE, ANOTHER 1 1/2 MILES, IS BEST DONE WITH COUNTOUR MAP, AND I FOUND THE LAKE RIGHT WHERE IT SHOULD BE. SPOTTING THE TRAIL OFF PASS IS A BIT TRICKY. FROM MIDDLE OF PASS CLEARING YOU TAKE A SIDE TRAIL ON RIGHT AND GO ABOUT 30 YARDS TO A JUNCTION, THEN GO LEFT A FEW FEET. YOU SHOULD THEN SPOT A FISHERMAN'S TRAIL GOING SOUTH OFF TRAIL THROUGH UNDERBRUSH AND EASY TO FOLLOW FOR ABOUT 300 YARDS. THE TRAIL THEN HEADS UP A STEEP SLOPE ""CUT OUT"" BY WATER. YOU'LL THEN CROSS A SHORT FLAT AREA TO ANOTHER EASIER HILL CLIMB. AT TOP OF THIS ONE YOU SHOULD FIND YOURSELF COMING DOWN INTO A DRY POND BED AND SPOT A POND ON YOUR LEFT ABOUT 11 O'CLOCK. THE TRAIL THEN MEANDERS THROUGH A FLAT OPEN MEADOW INCLUDING A 90 DEGREE TURN RIGHT AND EASY TO FOLLOW. IT THEN TURNS BACK UP STEEP HILL TO THE HIGH POINT BEFORE DROPPING DOWN FOR 1/2 MILE TO LAKE. LAKE IS CLOSED IN BY TREES ON NORTH SIDE AND TALL ROCKY RIDGE ON SOUTH. I FOUND THIS A NICE LITTLE HIKE WITH BEAUTIFUL MEADOWS AND EVEN A FEW FROGS ""JUMPING AROUND.""

BUGS WERE BAD UNTIL THEY SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED JUST BEFORE A STORM BLEW IN WITH A WEATHER CHANGE: THEY AREN'T DUMMIES! ALSO, THE ONLY THING WORKING ON BUGS WAS A NICE BANDANA DROOPED BELOW MY BASEBALL CAP.

Three Lakes via the Big Creek trail was today's hiking destination. My hiking partner for the day, Lawful Joe, and I hit the trailhead off the Quinalt North Shore Drive at 9:30 AM. We made good time as the lower part of the trail was an easy grade and in good condition with no obstructions. Some of the forest areas on this lower part of the trail have some very large and beautiful trees that make one stop occasionally in wonderment. After crossing Big Creek, the trail's grade as well as our heart rates picked up some for about one mile. Lots of brown frogs kept us company on the trail giving us some assurance that the hole in the ozone layer hasn't gotten to all the world's frog populations. A conspicuous sign on the trail alerted us to the largest known yellow cedar which is well worth a brief stop for a picture and closer perusal. We began to hear the ringing of a chainsaw up the trail and shortly before arriving at Three Lakes, we encountered Dave the trail maintenance guy who was doing a splendid job of brushing the trail to make our way easier. Dave said he'll be spending the rest of the summer working up the Skyline trail from Three Lakes clearing whatever needs to be cleared. The mosquitoes and other assorted bugs at Three Lakes were a little heavy so we didn't stay too long. As long as we kept moving, the bugs didn't bug us too much. We maintained a steady pace on our descent and arrived at the trailhead at 5:00. Aside from Dave the trail maintenance guy, we only encountered one other party at the Irely Lake junction on the way out. This trail makes for a good day hike with a beautiful destination. Special thanks to Dave for getting this trail in great shape to hike. The icing on this cake was that instead of having to drive back home that evening, we were greeted by our adoring children and wives who were waiting for the intrepid hikers at Lawful Joe's Lake Quinalt cabin.

We began our hike at 10:00am on a beautiful warm, sunny morning. At the trailhead there was only a group of three making their way up the trail. We immediately thought we were off to a good start by not seeing a crowd of people. If you like to sweat, this hike's for you. The trail begins on an old logging road and then continues steeply for about 1.5 hours through an old growth forest. The trail is in very good shape. It was probably a good thing we were mostly shaded by the trees considering the long climb until we reached the beautiful open meadows. The views were breathtaking of the Nooksack Valley as we continued through the meadows. We easlily could have stopped right there in the midst of the meadows to have our lunch, but we knew we were only half way to Church Mtn and couldn't wait to see what awaited us. After leaving the meadows, it was the usual climb, but this time we were in the full sun. We crossed a few soft and easy snow patches. No danger here with the snow. The views were great! We passed an old torn down fire lookout as we approached the top. It's a tight and narrow climb to the top of the rock but worth it. We sat at top and enjoyed our lunch as we took in views of Mount Shusksan, Mount Baker and straight down to the Nooksack Valley. Apparently it can be rather windy on the top, but we fortunately had a very light and warm breeze. It couldn't have been a better day! We spent one hour on the rock before making the descent. On our way back we saw only two other hikers on their way up. A very nice and peaceful hike. Highly recommended.

The Mt. Pilchuck trail is one of the best hikes I've done. This hike is not for the casual trail walker. It is very steep and very rocky this time of year. I encountered very few snow patches, and none were on the trail. The upper half of the trail can be somewhat hard to spot in places, there are many traverses through boulder feilds. The lookout at the top is spectacular. I saw a lot of people with dogs on the trail. One dog had bloody feet from the rough trail, so you might consider leaving 'spot' at home. A walking stick of some sort could be very helpful as well. My only disappointment was the weather, the clouds hampered the fantastic views, oh-well, I guess I'll have to go back.

Well, the plan was to spend a few days exploring the Mother Mountain and Echo and Observation Rock areas. The weather was supposed to be cloudy, maybe a few showers. So we headed to Mowich Lake. As we got closer to the lake it, started misting, then raining, then pouring. The new plan decided on in the pouring rain was to take day packs and hike over Knapsack pass and to Spray Park and loop back to Mowich Lake. The climbers trail to Knapsack Pass was a creek, but was clear of snow except for a few patches. The clouds were swirling and obscuring the peaks. We started down the other side of the pass and the clouds lifted for a few minutes and we were treated to a wonderful view of Mt Pleasant and Echo and Observation Rock, the last big view of the day. The clouds then fell on us for the rest of the day. We contoured around the basin following the altimeter keeping to 6000’. When we reached the the east ridge of Mt. Pleasant, we dropped into Spray Park and found the Wonderland Trail and headed back to the Mowich Lake trailhead. The whole hike was in the rain, but it was still a great day; walking in the clouds through flower meadows beats mowing the lawn any day. We finished the day with some late dinner (BBQ and corn bread).

It's been awhile since I hiked this trail, and although I remembered it as having a gruelling climb, I must have blocked out how long it was. After the 2.5 miles of easy walking, the trail starts up for a mile(')--it feels like 2! of relentless rock and root steps. After reaching Rachel Lake, we continued on up to the Rampart Lakes, which are so exquisite that they make the hike worthwhile. The bugs were out in force, and we were all bitten mercilessly--so we had a short lunchbreak on a knoll overlooking two lakes. The weather began to look ominous as the clouds thickened. We headed back and the return seemed endless (it's particularly hard to negotiate what soon became a slippery trail once the rain started. As we finally reached the easier part of the trail, the thunder began and speeded up our exit, not taking the time (as in the past) to rest along the beautiful creek. We saw several people heading up to camp when we were nearly finished, and felt sorry for them having to do so in such weather.

My original plan was to go walk Tonga Ridge, but as I was driving up Highway 2, I spaced out and passed the turn-off. So I kept driving for a while thinking about it and decided to stop off at Surprise Lake. I hadn't been on this trail since I lead some work parties on it in 1996. Since then USFS-hired contractors have built many beautiful, wood crib steps and puncheon bridges. In spots the air is still filled with the smell of split redcedar. WTA has spent some time filling in the gaps with re-tread, turnpikes and drainage structures. The trail is really in beautiful shape up until you hit the switchbacks in the rock slide area beyond the creek. There the trail is its old self. The tread is rough, rocky and badly in need of a good brushing. The brush was wet in the morning and my hairy gams got a pretty good soaking dripping water into my boots.

Rather than following the trail past Surprise Lake, I took the old route (#1060.1) up to the PCT. My ""decision"" to do this resulted from a neurological event very much like the one that lead me to Surprise Lake in the first place. The old trail is getting sketchy and will soon be over-taken by seedlings. When I hit the PCT it was obvious. The PCT here is very well cared for. I continued past Glacier Lake to the basin below Surprise Gap and ran into my first people of the day - a couple coming down from Surprise Mountain.

On a previous expedition to Surprise Mountain I had approached it along the old PCT route up to Surprise Gap where I found a way trail to the summit. Then there was plenty of snow below the gap to make the trip more pleasant. This day the exposed piles of broken rock with very little snow made following the new PCT route to Pieper Pass more attractive. This route is much longer, but easier and takes you past incredible views of Surprise and Glacier lakes and Glacier-Surprise puddle.

The way from Pieper Pass to the summit is sketchier than the route from Surprise Gap, but as with most summit bids, it's pretty obvious were you want to be, so just go there. On my previous visit here in 1995, it was socked in when I was on the summit and I was lucky to be able to see the edge of the great cliff that marks the northern face of the peak. Today I made just barley made it. It began raining about 5 minutes before I hit the summit, but I had enough time to snap some pictures before the real clouds closed in. I was mobbed by the worst mosquitoes I've encountered this year so I didn't stay too long.

By the time I made it back down to the basin above Glacier Lake the summit 1000 feet overhead that I had been on just moments before was now shrouded in water vapor.

I rested at Surprise Lake on my way out and just as I was getting up to leave I heard a creak and a crash in the woods as a tree across the lake threw in the towel. I wish I hadn't been there so I could have found out whether or not it still made a noise.

Crosby Mt. is located between Lennox and Palmer. Most of its approaches are fairly steep. This route described is what I believe involves the gentlest grade and surprisingly little brush given the low start.

Take US 2 and turn off at the Money Creek exit. About 3 miles past the bridge over the Miller River a large gravel spur logging road will be seen on the right at about 1,500' of elevation. It only goes up several hundred feet and one parks their car at a pile of large (3' diameter logs). Hop right into the old growth forest and travel N until 3,250' and then NW with the initial destination being the saddle to the west of point 4500. I stayed right on this lovely rounded ridge and crossed over point 4494 before descending to Cement Lake. The true summit cannot be seen from Cement Lake but the lower approaches to it can be surveyed. Prominent to the SW will be point 5142. One hikes to the north of Boner Lake up talus to skirt just beneath the cliff face of a false summit to the SE of Crosby. Going north to get around this then travel west and your first views of the peak.

The key to summiting this peak is a small notch visable on the south of the summit block. Once reaching this notch via a NW directed gully filled with cedar trees you will be 200' beneath the summit. At the top of this gully is a large rock positioned like a dolmen with 3 feet of room beneath. Crawl beneath this rock to get to the west side of the peak and immediately ascend in a corkscrew fashion clockwise to the nearby summit. Clouds surrounded us almost immediately after reaching the top and the decision was made for the descent route to be via Lowe Creek to the north. The likelihood of getting lost was less but the brush is intense along Lowe Creek. We zigged and zagged as there as many cliff bands to get around before connecting with a logging road at 2,200'. I do not recommend a Lowe Creek approach to Crosby.

Car break-in at trailhead. I took my valuables with me but they broke into locked car and pried open the glove box. Beware!

A pleasant four mile hike to the lake. Easy freeway access, so it's a bit crowded. The mosquitos are hungry, not ravenous. A nice ""Intro to Hiking"" trail, lots of variety and not a lot of challenge.

The Snow Lake Trail is completely snow-free. Just after crossing the large inlet creek, there is a rough trail to the east. There are many trails that criss-cross, but the way to the lower pothole is fairly obvious. To find the way from the lower to the upper pothole, a map and compass certainly helps. Mosquitoes weren't biting, but were fairly annoying. Queen's cup, dewberry flowers, columbine, cow parsnip, tiger lily, cinquefoil, beargrass, heather, daisy and pearly everlasting were seen. Clodius Parnassian butterflies also seen. Overcast to broken clouds with moderate temperatures.

[Online editor's note: Sparky's back!]

Area around Mt. Loop highway as always very beautiful, and trail was in good condition. I got to trail head mid-day, and was glad to see very few people. A litte mud near the top, and of course some in the basin. Views were foged in butland scape is to sureal the fog and clouds seemed somehow approperiate.

This is an all around great hike. There is old growth forest, a very pleasant creek and lovely lake to top it off. A huge amount of trail work has been done recently with construction of dozens of well constructed steps and mud bridges along the first 1.5 miles. Overall the trail is in great condition. It is however getting a little brushy just before the switchbacks start. Bugs weren't bad at all and the trail was snowfree. I only saw 6 other people on this partly sunny Friday.

[Online Editor's note: I must have snuck past you somehow.]

After a close call at the entrance gate (You can't pay your entrance fees or buy an annual pass with a credit card at the White River entrance) we arrived shortly before noon at Sunrise to a mix of blue skies, and clouds. Before we could lace our boots, the wave of fog was crashing over the ridge and filling the Sunrise valley.

While not yet in full glory, the wildflowers are very nice -- the magenta paintbrush stealing the show in the swirling summer fog. All the usual supects (deer, chipmunks and camprobbers are here too.) All at a comfortable 70 degrees!

We hiked in and out of the fog and clounds all the way to the second Burroughs where Meany's bench provided a great view of the inside of a cloud for lunch. The trail is in good shape with only two minor snow patches, both easily navigated without poles or ice axes and with much less than the 20% snow coverage reported by the NPS.

A few rain drops and claps of thunder signaled it was time to leave our ""moon in a cloud"" destination and return to Sunrise. Hit 410 just in time for a true NW downpour. All in all a great way to spend a Friday afternoon in Washington!

Did the South Climb in one day - got to trailhead at 3am, woke up around 8, summit at 4pm, back to car by 7:30pm. Great weather, still lots of snow, but all the creeks were dry in the morning. My three dogs made it to the summit alright on snow, though. Great glissade from Piker's Peak. Couldn't pick a better time of year for doing this one. Bring the dogs, they'll love it!

A friend and I decided to take a quick half day trip up to the Monte Cristo area and decided on Gothic Basin as a good scenic (but not too scenic for this cloudy day) thigh buster.

We left at about 5 in the morning because he had to be at work at 3 or so. This meant very little traffic on the way and very little people traffic on the trail. In fact, we saw no one until about half way down where we saw maybe four people total.

To reach the trailhead, one must park at Barlow Pass and hike the nearly abandoned Monte Cristo Road for about a mile to just before the two bridges spanning the Sauk River. Here is the trailhead (marked Weden Creek, NOT Gothic Basin).

The trail is in immaculate condition for awhile as it wanders along nearly flat by the river. Soon enough, it takes aim for the sky and the grade soars. Definetely a thigh buster (particularly because I have a bad cold and got four hours of sleep last night). Mercifully, the good condition of the trail does not change in these steep switchbacks.

As soon as the trail leaves dense forest, the condition of the trail begins to deteriorate. Now the mining origins of this trail become readily apparent. Also in this area, three creeks are crossed, all easy fords. For a long time, the trail steadily traverses and occasionally switchbacks up toward the basin. The steepness isn't as bad here, but the trail remains in fairly bad condition. Fortunately, views start to expand and flowers start to appear.

As soon as the trail rounds a corner and enters the basin, nearly all vegetation is left behind. Nearly half the gound in the basin is covered in snow, an amazing feat in mid July of a dry year. I don't understand why this relatively low elevation area retains snow so well.

My friend and I decided to give Gothic Peak a try seeing as though we still had plenty of time left. One note: the first lake you come to is NOT Foggy Lake as it may appear to be on the map. Take a right at this first lake and head up the basin for about a half mile to find Foggy Lake (still frozen over). An ice axe is not needed to reach the lower basin (only a couple small snowfields), but is recommended for exploring the basin and needed to climb any of the peaks surrounding the basin. From the outlet of Foggy Lake, we made a rizing traverse up snow and heather slopes toward Gothic Peak eventually reaching the ridgeline. Just after we went from snow onto rock for the final summit push, I had a slip and fell hard onto a rock knocking the wind out of me and giving me a big terrible scrape/raw skin spot on my chest. After realizing that I had somehow not broken any ribs, we sat and had a rest and quickly decided that wet, mossy rock wasn't too good an idea, then we headed down.

Trip down was quick and uneventful.

I started hiking at 11:00 on an overcast thursday. The overhead clouds were nice as much of the trail is exposed to the sun. When I arrived at the lake, I climbed the rocks above the lake to eat my lunch. From there I could hear the exclamations of amazement of other hikers cresting the hill--the same feeling I had the first time I visted the lake. Ingalls Lake is in a beautiful setting. The sun finally poked through the clouds, which was nice as I had cooled down a bit since arriving at the lake. I climbed further up to the ridge for some intresting views to the west. I saw two deer along the road on the drive back out to I-90.

A cloudy day gave us a solitary walk through incredible wild flowers - 20 different ones seen: old man of the mountain, magenta paint brush, and heather were especially perfect. Trail a bit damp but no snow. In excellent condition. Started on the east entrance to the trail and were rewarded with the best flower scene on the mountain. Go now!Take your camera. Very easy walk for kids and elders.

Delta Lake is beautiful, the water falls are the best. The trail is just a fishermans trail, quite overgrown. The Devils Club at the lake is hard to deal with unless you carry gloves. The fishing is pretty good, 8 to 10 inch Rainbows. Only hearty hikers should go around the lake, as there is lots of brush and Devils Club. I only recommend going around the lake for the determined hikers that are willing to work hard. Otherwise just stop at the Big Heart stream, because going back to the Delta Lake outlet from that stream is hours of hard work. (Go back around on the NE trails.) Take long pants, long sleeves, and plan on a full day to enjoy the trip. GW Magnum

Our plan was to start at Mowich Lake campsite and hike through Spray Park and then do the Northern Loop trail, spending total of a week hiking through the park.

We obtained our camping permit and paid our park entrance fee at the Wilkeson Ranger Station ($30 total). There is a great bar/restaurant right next door to the ranger station and that's where we had our ""last meal.""

The firt night, 14 July, we stayed at the Mowich Lake campsite. Very rocky ground for camping--broke two tent stakes there. We hired Ashford Shuttle Service to move my pickup from Mowich Lake to Sunrise. They charged $165 and did exactly what they said they would do with no problem.

Day 2, 15 July. Hiked CCW from Mowich Lake to Cataract Camp, 6.7 miles. Encountered five permanent snow fields, about 1/2 mile total snow hiking distance, temp was about 40F at the top (my hiking buddy had one of those cool swiss army knives with temp/altimeter information). Much easier going CCW through spray Park than clockwise. No problem following footprints/trail through the snow that day. Also, rock piles help give you a warm fuzzy when exiting snow fields. Be sure to talk to people along the trail for latest info on getting through the snow fields. If unsure wait for someone that is familiar with the snow crossing to guide you through. We were in clouds all day. Should have had some of the best views in the park, but not today. Did see beautiful alpine meadows. Trail was a little muddy desending from the snow fields. If there had been a heavy rain might have been dicy. Some parts of the desent were steep. Light drizzle all night at the Cataract Camp.

Day 3, 16 July. Desended from Cataract Camp about 1.5 miles to Carbon River. Steep in places. There were thousands of downed trees in that area, due to a tornado' Some of the fallen trees were about six feet in diameter! Started climb to Yellowstone Cliffs around 1030am. Crossed the Carbon River using the log bridge, we were told the swinging bridge was under repair so we skipped it. Log bridge was in great shape. Light drizzle to light rain all day. Climbing up to Yellowstone Cliffs there were 23 switchbacks, and the trail lived up to its reputation as being the toughest trail in the park. The trail condition was excellent, consisted of pine straw/bark, very solid, and we were under tree canopy most of the time. Even in a heavy rain the trail would not be muddy or flood. We arrived at Yellowstone Cliffs camp at 230pm, very tired and wet through. It was a cold/rainy night. One hiker came by our camp in the evening and told us he got frost bitten at Windy Gap (our next days hike direction) and that it was VERY windy at Windy Gap.

Day 4, 17 July. Woke up at 630am to 36F and light rain. We were worried that if it started to snow/be stormy we could be in trouble. Considered either spending the day at Yellowstone Cliffs or retreating back down the mountain. Decided that since the weather was supposed to be poor for the next two days we should not continue and instead retreat. We renamed Yellowstone Cliffs Retreat Cliffs and headed back down the trail and exited at Ipsut Creek Campground.

We did not accomplish our hiking goals due to poor weather, and our hiking plan was too aggressive for our ability/conditioning.

Tip. Always take Id/charge cards with you. We did not have them which made it tough to obtain a room/food when you don't exit where you planned to.

Good luck to you and have fun up there.

Roy

Yes we have no mosquitoes. After having read several recent trail reports, I was wondering if taking my flatlander cousins from the southeast to Colchuck Lake was a good idea. Surprisingly, the hike was virtually mosquito free. Even at the one mile point however, the Louisianians were asking how much further it was to the top. I managed to come up with a carrot on the stick type answer that kept them reasonably happy though they weren't sure why. Certainly a couple miles later there some unusual questions regarding my ability swim, with the implication that I might spend some time in the ice cold lake regardless. I took it all in good humor, and of course their spirits soared when we finally reached the blue green waters with Cochuck Peak and the Dragontail towering above them.

It was early when we started, and quite cloudy and overcast. Hikers should know that there is no log bridge over the first stream crossing at the trail. Go up stream about 200 feet and there is a log that one can cross (more about that later...)The trail is in great shape. It started to rain and by the time we reached the top of the pass at about 6800 feet it was snowing. It is still beautiful. The trail is steep and rocky so be careful in the rain. On the way back, after helping my party over the bridge. I fell in the stream! Fortunately I had only a few hundred yards to go back to the trail head. This is a great hike!

This was an excellent day--sure it was moist and cool--an unsummerlike day if ever there was one, but it knocked the mosquitoes down entirely, I didn't have to Off-up the whole day. This hike is kind of a loop from where the Cramer Trail meets the Dumbell Trail, then to the PCT, a couple tenths of a mile along the Cowlitz Trail to the Shellrock Lake Trail then back to the Kramer Trail. It's about 14 and a half miles, not counting mileage for walking around lakes while fishing which is uncalculable. I fished most of the lakes along the loop and caught a few nice fish along the way. Weather like this will have the elk moving all day long-the area behind Dog Lake is practically an elk nursery as I've mentioned before, but today I must have seen 25-30 calves, figuring for doublecounting and so on. I've read somewhere that elk can withstand temperatures of 160 below-I don't know how anyone actually came up with that figure--so on the cool days they're active all day and indeed I saw animals all over the place.

The road to Morrison Creek camp is all beat up, vehicles w/ high clearence and good suspension a must. Hit the trail, 5000', about 1030 am Saturday, arrived at the Lunch Counter, 9000', at 230pm. Many good sites available on this beautiful saturday, plenty of people but very well spread out. Spent a warm afternoon listening to the M's game, and a little bit of napping.

640 pm we started up the steep snow fields to the false summit. Crampons would put the mind at ease in a few sections! Once at the false summit the trail flattens until the final push. The gravel staircase is a slow series of short switches, then one short section of snow to the summit ledge. I arrived at 935 pm(the third of four to arrive at the top), just as the sun had set; but still glowing. Ranier, Hood, Jefferson, St. Helens all rising through thick lowland clouds. Stay up top was short, cold and darkenss starting to set in.

The trip down was via headlamps. The glissade down from the false sumitt was fast, icy, and pretty dark! After a little searching we found our camp about 1130pm. After a restful night's sleep, 1045am we started down, reached our car about 2pm. Filled up on calories at the cafe adjacent to the Chevron, then the long drive back to Seattle.

Wonderful trip, great way to expereince climbing a big volcano. It's Monday, and even though I'm back at work I'm still very stoked!!

Old herders' trail (Clark Mt. High Route) from Boulder Pass to Thunder Creek is largely intact but easily lost in many places. Be good with map & compass, take care to regain trail when it disappears in meadows & windfall, consider what’ll happen if you lose it. Old blazes and saw marks help. 1944 USGS map shows this trail. Recognize the need for both old & new maps; many old trails are regrettably omitted on updates. From Boulder Creek, it starts high and climbs the right side of the brush slope. Small bivvy site atop burn on S. ridge of Clark Mt. SE peak, or camp lower. Extensive erosion (persistent sheep damage'). Climb Clark from here. Another nice parklike boulder basin S. of Clark. From White River Trail #1507, the trail up Thunder Creek is marked at a windfall area by a unique, obvious blaze with a large stick embedded in it. Hard to follow through alder chutes. Inconspicuous blazes mark the upper trail through open forest into the Thunder Creek basin (nice camp at stream junction before sedge meadows). If there’s an easy way to get to Thunder Basin from there, we found another way; suggest you try the N. side of the waterfall. Be very sensitive; the Thunder Basin meadows are pristine. Crossing Thunder Creek is a problem. The log is gone. Coming from the east, we thrashed upstream, crossed a north tributary, and finally found a logjam. This was mid-July in a very dry year; may be impassable earlier. Wildflowers were in peak bloom high and low. Long sections of Trail #1507 in avalanche chutes were overgrown, but only with herbaceous stuff -- cow parsnip to 8’. Townsend’s solitaires singing around 5000’.

I hiked the PCT in southern Oregon from Highway 140 south to Dead Indian Road, about 11.5 miles. The first half is most interesting as it traverses lava fields interspersed with forest. There are good views of Mt McLoughlin the first mile. The trail through the lava has been been filled in with dirt and small red lava rock, so the tread is quite smooth and easy to walk on. There were a lot of greenery and wild flowers and open views of Brown Mountain. The last half of the hike was through very pleasant forest. This hike was much more interesting than the one I did the day before north of Highway 140. I recommend this route, especially if you have a friend who can pick you up on the other end.

Just as my ride arrived, a through hiker(who had started hiking the trail in Mexico) crossed the road. You could tell from his rapid stride that he was well experienced. It is always so fun to visit with these people. He was wearing running shoes, and said his basic pack weighed 9 lbs plus food! He claimed to be covering 35 miles/day. It's hard to imagine.

Our intrepid crew battled mist, fog, and snow to gain both the 6890 summit with the lookout and the 7088 true summit, although the view was the same from both - white! The trail is being worked on by WTA crews, good work! No snow encountered until the last crossing of Sibley Creek, then snow in drainages and finally more snow on the final turn up to the pass between the summits. The way trail to the lookout is difficult to follow in places due to snow. Some rocks to crawl around and over, and then, there you are at the lookout. Great to have a warm place for lunch. Nice to see that the lookout is being maintained and respected by her visitors. Despite no views, (I will need to return someday soon), it was a good day, finished off by Greek pizza at Rhodes' restaurant in Sedro.

Trail is in pretty good shape, although perhaps a *tad* brushy in some places. At 5100 ft. elevation gain in 5 miles, it's a thigh-buster, but the 360-degree views at the top were stellar on Saturday evening. Front moved in during the night, and we descended Sunday morning in clouds. Wildflowers were out in force, with red columbine, paintbrushes, penstemons, buttercup and many many more.

My first time up this Trail. Quite the entertaining trail. Especially the second half, took 2.5 hours to reach the lake.. We were completely fogged in.. Could not even see the other side of lake. By the grace of god the rain held off until the way back. Enjoyed a great lunch with my wife @ the lake and headed down the fog shrouded trail back towards the valley floor. A GREAT HIKE!!

Ok, so now that I've looked at my map a little closer, I see that you can drive all the way to the start of the Mt. Catherine trail. :I What we'd done was start at the Twin Lakes trail and hiked through. Not a big deal but it would have been nice to avoid the muddy spots and have more time to have done Silver Peak, too, given the little time we had.

The trail has several blow-downs, most quite easy to get over or around. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating, so things got a bit misty and drizzly and cold and the occasional breeze was quite chilling. Perhaps that kept some of the mosquitos away. They weren't too much of a problem, but we did get pestered by just a few. All snow is gone. My Green Trails map shows this trail as only 1.2 miles long, but I'm quite certain it has to be a bit longer. My guess is easily a good 2 miles or so. It took a little less than an hour to reach the top. Now, we weren't trying to set any speed records, but we weren't just out for a stroll, either. It is a little bit steep but graded pretty well and didn't seem too taxing. The really steep part is the very last approx. 30 ft. or so, but definitely do-able. Unfortunately we had absolutely no views at all since we were completely socked in. We briskly finished our lunches since cool-down came rather quickly. On the way down we actually saw a couple other folks who braved the weather, too.

This would be good to incorporate with a trip up Silver Peak, too.

Since the weather was rainy on the west side of the Cascades, Shelley and I decided the east side was the place to go. We headed to Salmon la Sac where we found the area cloudy, but no rain. We picked the Polallie Ridge trail as the higher mountains were fogged in and no views would be seen. Niether of us had hiked this trail before, so was interesting to check out a new area. The trail headed up the ridge after leaving the junction with the Cooper River and Waptus River trails. It works its way along the top of the ridge and then on the east side through small timber with an accasional large Doug Fir. Switch backs up and then down around the bottom of a boulder field before getting to a small flowery/wet meadow. Then up again over another ridge before dropping down to Diamond Lake. Nice little lake with some good size fish jumping. Not to many views out to the mountains on this hike, but lots of solitude. We didn't see any other hikers the whole day on this 11 mile hike. It was cool for a July trip, with the temp at the lake at 50 degrees. Only a couple of trees across the trail and the only bugs we saw were at the lake.

With a meeting time of 8:30 we had the trail to ourselves. The mountain fog was wandering in and out and the skies to the north were grey, at 6100 ft at the TH you can feel when the freezing level is coming down. No bugs to speak of as there was a steady breeze coming from the air masses to the north/northwest. The trail is in excellent shape,no snow, indian paintbrush,cow parsnip,lupine,tiger lily and heather all in their early blooms. Starting out you decend down along the ridge and then(500-700 ft)into the first of several lake basins. The grade is steady down but not long enough to require switchbacks but maybe once. The rain stayed away and several times the sun came through some thinner clouds. The cooler temp was appreciated when coming back out going on the uphills. This is a hike that rambles through several lake basins with ups & downs along the way. We had to strongly discourage a marmot that wanted to share our lunches at palisades lks, he had no problem walking up to within about 1-2ft when we were sitting down but backed off when we stood up. Don't leave a pack unattended in the lakes area. We saw a few people on the way out but mostly had the trail to ourselves...the rainier local weather once again made our day & hike great. RT to the lower palisades lakes 7 mi, 1600 total elevation.

Trail is snow free to Buck Creek Pass and beyond. Because of a late start we stopped at the pass. The way seems clear beyond to Flower Dome, Liberty Cap, Helmet Butte and Fortress Mountain. The trail report at the trailhead dated 7/9 indicated that snow remains on the trail to High Pass. This hike presents opportunity for camping away from the crowds and for several awesome sidetrips. The view of Glacier Peak from the pass is worth the 9.5 miles itself. On Saturday night we were surrounded by more deer than I've ever seen in one place.

Yeah, So it's a common hike, but it's my first time there, so I'm excited about it, ok'

The flowers in the upper lower (') meadows are at their height right NOW! The lower lower meadows are waning, and the meadows beyond the tarns are just beginning to bloom. It was very quiet on Green Mtn yesterday, and only the sounds of dripping rain and the strange call of grouse could be heard all day. It even snowed on us a little bit. The bugs will be fierce in about 3 days, I'm afraid. They were ever-present, but thier wings were soggy, holding most attacks at bay. They'll be pissed off and hungry the next sunny day we have, so be warned.

The lower trail is in near-perfect condition. Adam Coles' Rock French Drain Parquet Rip-rap Turnpike Drain Dip Culvert that WTA built 4 years ago is still holding up perfectly.

The retread and re-route WTA did last summer is real nice. The brush on the backslope of the new sections has grown back nicely; so nicely that in some places, hikers are already beginning to migrate to the edge of the trail. There is one Mystery Structure built last summer; a Rock Drain Dip Culvert Turnpike with a Gap in the Middle which was built to divert seep from the surface of the trail to underneath the trail and down the mountain. Well, it works - the water is not where it was last year. It is now running on the trail about 3 inches east of Mystery Structure, which is bone dry. This is known as seep creep. Listen closely, and you can hear the stream saying ""Ha, ha, Nanny nanny poo poo"" at trailworkers as it happily bubbles down the trail. The work that the Mercer Island Youth Group did in the upper lower (') meadows is a very fine long stretch of trail. It stopped me dead in my tracks, and I stood and admired the hell out of it for awhile; especially the rock curb wall. No mystery here - it's sheer genius.

From the top, the views of fog were stupendous. Paul positioned himself where the view of Glacier Peak would be had if it were clear, and held a photo of Glacier that I had brought, and we all looked at that. I do not have a photo of Buckindy et al, but I'm workin' on it.

I still find it hard to believe the Masses hike this trail on hot sunny days. ""Yer nuts!"" is all I have to say about it.

The weather was pleasant here while raining in Western Washington. The vegetation is drying out. Fireweed, yarrow, oceanspray, and several flowering shrubs are in bloom.

My 4-year old Ben joined me on this hike, so it was long on breaks and we didn't get much past the ALW boundary. We spent most of our time here tossing rocks into Ingalls Creek, then left to see the old townsite of Blewett.

My son Ben (age 4) and I enjoyed a sunny evening hike on this guided trail. Ben liked finding the numbered posts. Some of these are now missing or down.

The trail is suitable for children, though the educational materials will be lost on younger kids (its about silviculture). At 3 miles, this loop is more than a nature walk, and there are moderate ups and downs.

Twinflower runs rampant here - I never saw so much of it blooming in one place. Sedum and paintbrush were also blooming.

This area has been logged, though there are still some larger trees standing, including grand fir, larch, ponderosa pine, and even a white pine.

The trail is 1/2 mile on FR 9716 south of Blewett Pass (the former Swauk Pass, not Old Blewett Pass).

We took a back-door route to Lake Lillian up a steep path to the trail. At one point the path crosses a waterfall with way more exposure than I like with two young girls in the party. But we carefully crossed and continued up to the regular trail. At Lake Lillian we surveyed the scene: Clouds dissipating as they poured over the Cascade Crest, flower-strewn hills, cliffs, and a fine lake with little access to the prudent hiker.

But prudence gave way to curiousity and we continued. The path around the lake has some class 2/3 scramble moves. So we set up a hand line and ferried the kids and their packs across. After that it's a disappointment to see a heavily travelled route up to Rampart Ridge. Not too many years ago, this was untrammeled ground. Now a path is beaten through the meadows. We found a campsite at a pond, then continued towards Rampart Lakes. By then the weather was changing and upon our return to camp it was quite foggy.

It rained lightly during the night, so the next morning we broke camp and descended very carefully down the slippery path to Lake Lillian. The scramble route on the rock was wet, but workable with the handline. We hiked out the regular Lake Lillian trail due to the wet weather and exposed waterfall. While the rest of the gang rested, I ran the logging roads to retrieve the car. Thus we managed a loop trip out of the adventure!

I hiked the PCT in southern Oregon from the junction with Red Lake Trail#987 south to Highway 140 at Fish Lake (15 miles including approach). I entered via Lost Creek trail #3712, which works great because it is only a little over a mile to the PCT. (See Schaffer's guide for driving directions). There were a number of step over logs down on the Lost Creek trail, but there was evidence it had been maintained. The PCT was in perfect shape. There was no snow anywhere, even though the route averages around 6200 feet in elevation. This is a forest hike--only one view of Mt McLoughlin. At one spot you get a nice glimpse of Fourmile Lake. Much of the forest is lovely. The 2 miles of forest south of the intersection with the Mt McLoughlin trail was a little monotonous. The trees were too dense and the terrain too dry to support undergrowth. The section of PCT half a mile north and one mile south of the Mt McLoughlin trail crossing were especially well built--wide and smooth.

While I was doing this hike, my husband, Don climbed the mountain. He said the approach trail was rough--a typical climber's trail. The route went straight up the mountain with many rocks and boulders to cross. The summit is 9,495 ft. There were many people climbing, and there was no snow on the route.

Overall a fantastic trip with perfect weather, perfect location, and perfect experience. Only a couple small problems dealing with rangers and regulations...

The Cascade River Road is in immaculate condition all the way to the trailhead. There are nearly no potholes and only minor washboarding in places. At the trailhead, be sure to strain your neck gazing up at Johannesburg Mountain. Know that, if you plan on continuing to the top of Sahale, you will be well above the summit of Johannesburg. Perfect way to shatter confidence.

The trail to Cascade Pass is also in near perfect condition although I absolutely cannot stand the energy wasting nearly level grade of this trail. It takes me a good hour and a half to cover the 3.5 mile trail. The distance from trailhead to pass should be about half what it is. Also, there are two small snowfields just before the pass, but nothing that should detur anyone.

The trail from the pass to the crest of Sahale Arm does leave something to be desired; it is steep and rocky in places. Still, it is better off than many trails in the north cascades. There are a couple annoying snowfields across creeks in this area. They are severely undercut, so be very careful.

Once on the crest of Sahale Arm, the going gets easier although, snowfields must be crossed every now and then. Views of the icy north cascades wilderness expand with every step. For a time the trail even levels off as it passes through the splendid alpine vegetation. All of a sudden, this vegetation is cut off and you enter the world of permanent rock and snow.

This trail is BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD!!!!!! If you have any reservations about lugging a pack up steep, miserable, shifting talus and scree with nary a visible trail to follow, DO NOT GET A PERMIT TO CAMP AT SAHALE GLACIER!!!!!!!! You are taking them away from people who know what they are doing. Obtain a permit for Pelton Basin and then give the glacier a try as a day hike.

I've been up here before and know pretty much where the route goes, so I made it to the glacier in about three hours from the parking lot. For reasons I will explain later, I decided to continue onto the glacier and bivy high up on the peak. This turned out to be a fantastic idea although the park service officially is against it (again to be explained later). I bivyed on the last western col before the summit. I made sure to stay in good style and practice complete leave no trace camping. I set up my bag on snow and did my cooking on adjacent scree. This spot had fantastic views of EVERYTHING. The views down to Queen Sabe Glacier and Forbidden Peak were particularly inspiring. It was fantastic to lay here and watch the sunset and the stars come out. And then to watch the sunrise the next morning over the frozen glacier with clouds pouring over Cascade Pass from the west and immediately disintigrating. (They even got rain down in the valley while I was basking in sunshine!)

After packing up camp, I made a quick nerve racking ascent up the nearly frozen solid snowfields to the summit rock tower (bring crampons if you'll be climbing in the morning). I had been discouraged the first day by people coming down with stories of being 10 feet from the top and getting scared of the steep rock and coming down. It's not really all that hard. I was up there solo in early morning with no one else in sight. I'm not an experienced rock climber but I made it up with no problems.

Everybody says to stay in the middle, up a left slanting chimney. Don't. Traverse over to the left skyline. It's a little looser but not nearly as steep. Class 3-4 stuff with only a little exposure. This, for me at least was a lot easier than the hard snow just below. I would compare this rock tower to the haystack at Mt. Si which I've climbed a bunch of times.

The panorama from the top of this high peak was absolutely astonishing. The view south which had been expanding with each step up Sahale Arm now included everything from Dome to Rainier to Bonanza. recently revealed view north wasn't quite as awe inspiring as I had hoped, but did include good views of Logan (which I had never seen before). It is the amazing aloofness of this peak, a vertical mile above its valley footings, that sets it apart.

The trip down was mostly uneventful and I even made it to work in Redmond on time at 4:30 in the afternoon.

Now for the complaining: Alright, I stopped in Marblemount before my trip in hopes of getting a permit for Sahale Glacier. Not to my surprize, they were already out. So I got a permit for Pelton Basin. Heading up the trail, I pondered whether or not I should try to camp at or near the glacier camp or obey my permit. There are two reasons why I would consider this blatant disreguard for NCNP regulations. 1: I was carrying only a bivy sack and planned on no impact camping high on the glacier above the camp anyway. 2: I was up here last year and got the last permit for the glacier camp, but so many people canceled that night that I ended up being completely alone. I even had it in my head that I was willing to walk back down to Pelton Basin if by some chance the glacier camp was really crowded.

So basically what I'm saying is that, because of my legally aquired permit for Pelton Basin, I would not be increasing the overall traffic or overnight campers of the area, and, would only be taking the place of one of the parties sure to cancel their plans to make it to the glacier. Beyond that, I still planned to be out of sight and out of mind of anyone at the glacier camp.

Now I won't lie, I knew prior to heading out on the trail that what I planned to do was still against regulations. Even the high cols of Sahale Glacier are subject to the permit system (""to protect the wilderness experience of the permit holders""). I felt sure though, that any reasonable ranger would accept my plans as those of a reasonable, experienced hiker in tune with the ideals behind NCNP and its regulations.

Gee how wrong I was. I ran into a ranger at the pass on the first day. I decided to try the complete honesty approach and see how that would work (bad idea). The one thing that I give him credit for is that he warned me that what I planned to do was a violation of regulations. He DID NOT give any indication of a fine however, same as the rangers at Marblemount (with whom I was also completely honest). So I continued with my plans, confident that one, I would never see the guy again and two, that if I did, he would listen to my story of the half empty campground and no impact camping and give me some half hearted lecture about obeying regulations, even those that don't make sense.

One thing I really should say: if you're ever confronted with a situation like this, LIE YOUR ASS OFF!!!!! There were a thousand different ways to lie my way out of this, but I just had to be honest.

Well, the next day, pumped up with my success high on the mountain, I found that same ranger waiting for me at the Sahale Arm Junction. Turns out he had been waiting for me there for a solid hour and a half, and had been looking for me down in Pelton Basin for some time before that. When I reached him, he calmly asked me how my climb had gone and seemed genuinely interrested, and then sat me down and wrote out a $40 fine. It seems to me like a sad state of affairs when the best thing a backcountry ranger can find to do is sit on his duff for an hour and a half to fine well meaning hikers.

My story of no impact camping and a half empty campground had no effect. He had eyes only for the regulation that I had broken. It's just too bad that regulation is blind. I did NOTHING wrong from a wilderness preservation standpoint. The rangers kept standing behind the statement that the regulations are in place to protect the wilderness experience of the permit holders. Well, I can assure you that the only person on July 13 and 14 whose wilderness experience was violted was myself, and perhaps everyone else in the area confronted with the near military presence of law enforcement rangers looking over their backs.

But hey, one good thing, no bugs!!

Sourdough mountain is an enigma. Those alluring green meadows that you see from Hwy.20 not only contain alpine wildflowers but a host of animals as well. Watch out for black bear and a single cougar prowling the high meadows under the ridge. I consider myself lucky to witness these animals without them spotting me; although I am sure they knew I was there. The feet felt like bloody stumps after descending the last, steep 2,500 feet. Worth every drop of blood and sweat!

I tried the Sasse Mountain Trail for the first time, not realizing it is a motorized trail from the trailhead until just north of the junction with the Hex Mountain Trail (1343). And, it shows; with big,deep, v-shape ruts and eroded sections on most of the trail. An illegal mess of a trail heads down into the W. Fork Teanaway basin and has caused serious erosion issues. Worst of all, once reaching the hiker only portion of the trail, it too had been severely damaged by illegal motorcycle use which has rutted the trail badly and made it very difficult in spots for a hiker to even walk. It will take many hours of maintenance work to repair this, IF this trail ever gets any maintenance at all.

I've written my letter of complaint to the USFS Cle Elum office. I hope other hikers who are as ticked off about these things as I am will also take the time to write. It's the only way to get corrective action taken.

I decided to do this as a loop hike -- up the Jolly Mountain trail, cut over to Paris Creek on the Jolly Mountain Spur, come down Paris Creek, and back down on the road to the starting point. I was a bit nervous when I saw that both mountain bikes and motorcycles were allowed on the Jolly Mountain trail, and feared for the worst. However, this appears to be largely a theoretical rather than real hazard. It turned out to be a lonesome hike, even though it was a sunny Saturday in the middle of July; I ran into only one other party, and that was on my way down Paris Creek. Not only did I not run into any bikers, there is no sign of any actual bike usage (motorized or not) that I could detect. And frankly, the trail is steep enough that I'd be impressed by any mountain biker who went to the effort. I can't say the same about horses; the Jolly Mountain trail shows signs of significant use by horses, with the tread pretty chopped up in some areas.

A significant stretch (1 mile+) of the Jolly Mountain trail is through an area that has been logged a while ago, with regrowth just starting. It makes for a shadeless hike, but with nice views back across the valley. Other than the horse wear, the trail is in excellent shape.

The Jolly Mountain Spur does have a few minor blow-downs. All are easy for a hiker to pass, and probably wouldn't cause any trouble for a horse either. This is good, since several of them appear to be years old, and given the scarcity of users, I doubt that any blowdowns will be removed in the foreseeable future. Note that this trail is *very* steep, with only half-hearted switchbacks, in sections on both sides of the ridge -- no matter which direction you come from, you're going to pant heading up and trash your knees going down. This trail is starting to get a little overgrown in places, but not enough to pose any difficulty in finding the trail. The final crossing of what I believe is the middle fork of Paris Creek is bone dry today, but it clearly gets a rapid torrent at some times that would be difficult to cross; the creekbed looks almost like a bobsled run with rocks and dirt piled up on both sides. If approaching from the Paris Creek side, the turnoff to the spur is not very obvious; there are rocks and branches pointing *away* from the spur (and on up the Paris Creek trail), almost as if the spur is abandoned. There is a sign nearby, but it only points up Paris Creek and back to the road, with no mention of the spur.

The Paris Creek trail also passes through a logged out area (again with regrowth now starting). The trail itself follows an old logging road for a goodly stretch, though that's not clearly marked. If coming up Paris Creek, just follow the road the trail dumps into, taking the right (downhill) road where it forks; when the road comes to an end, look around and find the trail continuing on. If coming the way I did, follow the road through the fork and look for a trail branching off to the left when the road heads up shortly past the fork. There's a flimsy sign now, but I wouldn't count on it being there. Other than the road stint, the trail is very pleasant, with Paris Creek rushing along below.

All in all, this makes for a good loop hike -- strenuous enough to get some good exercise, lonesome, with a mix of forest, logged areas providing vistas, a rushing creek, and even a few meadows with wildflowers.

Stafford Creek Trail is in excellent condition, with some fairly new sections rerouted around old washouts. There are still lots of flowers in the upper basin and meadows. We hiked up and over the SE shoulder of Earl Peak into the Standup Creek Basin in hopes of connecting with the Bean Creek Trail. Yes, there is a junction, but the trail peters off into boot-beaten lumps and orange ribbons. Carrying full backpacks and doing some serious route-finding wasn't my idea of fun, so we bagged our plans and dropped down, down into the Standup Creek drainage. This route does make a good, substantial two-days of hiking. Dead tired and sore-footed, we camped at a large trailhead campsite overnight and hiked out the spur road to our car. The upper portions of the Standup Creek Trail are very rocky and steep; obviously this trail doesn't receive the attention that its more famous neighbor gets. And the lower areas were getting brushy. Still, it's a pretty hike and the fords weren't a problem. Mosquitoes came out during the evening, but the real bug of the moment was the assortment of biting flies, from tiny to huge horseflies. Ouch!

Spent two days doing the 21 mile loop from the west end of Bumping Lake up the Swap Lake trail, south along the Pacific Crest, and returning via the Bumping Lake trail along the Bumping River. With Tevas the river crossing at 0.5 miles was easy; but there's no way to do it and keep your feet dry so bring Tevas or sneakers. Earlier in the season I gather it's problematic. The Swamp Lake Trail is very pleasant and easy as it ascends about 1200 feet through open forest to Swamp Lake and then to Cougar Lake cutoff. American lake is pretty, with some views. No snow on crest, views were diminishing with the weather but I think they'd be grand towards Rainier and Adams, and the meadows were very beautiful with flowers going strong. Camped at Two Lakes, we were the only ones there. The morning was so misty we couldn't see any views as we finished the ridge walk and descended to Fish Lake and the Bumping River. Saw some geologists camped there for a mapping project, otherwise we had the trail out along the Bumping River to ourselves. It's generally an easy path through pretty woods, however several short sections are deeply rutted and a little muddy from horses. There are also many small sidepaths, probably game trails, on on or two occasions these were a bit easy to confuse with the main trail. A few blowdowns, might be hard on horses but no real problem for hikers.

Hiked Lake Ann trail to Heather Pass. Trail in very good shape. Climber's trail from Heather Pass to Wing Lake is snow free and passable. It is a rough go between Heather Pass and Lewis Lake across a talus slope. Camped at Wing Lake and climbed Black Peak. Lots of folks in the back-country. Wing Lake still partial ice covered and open areas refreezing at night.

I reached the trailhead at 11 am, after a terrible traffic jam near Sultan. Some stoplights were out there. This will teach me to get a lazy start! Encountering numerous people, I hiked up to the waterfall overlook, and quickly found the ""old trail"" I had heard about. This is a great upper-body workout, as you make use of polished tree-roots to pull yourself up! The trail is steep, and becomes quite brushy near the lake. From the lake I skirted cliffs and hiked up a boulderfield to the brushy ridge coming down from the North Peak of Mount Index. A strange place indeed, with a lonely feel despite the bathers in the lake below. I made good time down on the old trail, which really shines on descent. A long controlled fall only took 20 minutes back to the falls overlook! Have phun out there!

There are meadows and then there are Meadows. Grand Park is a Meadow: one of the largest and flattest I have seen anywhere. It’s still early, and the floral bomb has yet to go off, but in a week or two the display should be so pronounced that the predominant wildflower type in bloom will be recognizable to commercial airline traffic.

Got a relatively early start at 9:00 AM, which is highly advisable for a popular Sunrise hike like this one. Sunrise area flowers are just emerging, and will probably start peaking in a week or so. The hike up to Frozen Lake is pleasant. The trail in good condition throughout and there is an absence of the slick white stuff underfoot from the parking lot to Grand Park. Trails conditions are basically as good as it gets.

The drop down into Berkley Park is barren and nearly devoid of pronounced flowers and needs a little more time. Some large patches of dwarf lupine and heather were coming into their own along the headwall and displays of more flower types increased with the decent. Avalanche lilies in Berkley Park for the most part have come and gone, but paintbrush and other varieties are coming into their own. Look for the spring with gushing waters issuing straight from the ground and some muddy spots along stream crossings above Berkley Camp.

Bugs were largely tolerable on this warm sunny day. Once we mounted the last rise that dips into Grand Park the bugs greeted us, but were never maddening even during lunch. Once the park was in view we could see what looked like large lavender pools, some very large. It was of course acres and acres of lupine in bloom.

We trekked a ways into the park just passed the burn to get the full effect of the flower fields and the Amazing Mountain. Plenty of “excuse me-pardon me” –ing on the way back, but human traffic never did overwhelm us; just a few trailrunners on the way in and late-in-the-day hikers on the way out.

Again, it looked as though we were a tad early for the Big Show. But, who cares' It was still a mighty impressive opening act.

In an effort to escape the forest fire smoke, I took a group of six to Norway Pass in Mt. St. Helens National Monument. In just three hours, you arrive in a different world unlike just about any other hiking environment. Many just drive through the Park, but to really appreciate it, take a little walk. There are a couple of caveats however. Be sure to have your Forest Service Parks Pass because most of the main trailheads are within about 15 minutes of one another. Road #26 is still not passable from end to end. According to a Ranger, there are no plans to fix the road due to budgetary constraints. They don't even have the funding for one trail crew! Keep your eyes on the road!

The scenery is breathtaking on the kind of perfect day we had. If you go on line, this hike and the hike to Mt. Margaret are both found under Boundary Trail #1 From Randle, follow the directions to Mt. St. Helens National Monument and the directions to Windy Ridge. About seven miles before you get to Windy Ridge, turn north (right) on road 26. (The junction is signed.) Go one mile to the Norway Pass Parking lot. This is a 2 1/4 mile hike on an easy trail with an elevation gain of about 700 feet. From Norway Pass, you look south down on Spirit Lake and directly across the Lake into the crater of the mountain. More venturesome hikers can continue another 3 miles to Mt. Margaret. (This is the location of one of the ""picture postcard"" views of the mountain and lake prior to the eruption.)

One caution; be sure to take water as there is none on the trail. This is an easy hike for those who do not hike and the reward is great for the amount of work. Take lots of pictures because the environment is rapidly changing. It is easy to be introspective and reflective up here because Mt. St. Helens is a tribute to the power of mother nature to destroy as well as her power to renew life.

ANOTHER CLEAR SUNNY DAY ON ATTEMPT TO SUMMIT LABYRINTH MTN. ABOVE MINOTAUR LAKE. TRAIL DOESN'T WASTE TIME RISING STEEPLY UP HILL. TRAIL HEAD MAY HAVE BEEN MOVED SINCE GREEN TRAILS MAP WAS REVISED IN 1987.I FOUND TRAIL SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM MAP IN THAT TRAIL DOES NOT CROSS CREEK, SO YOU HAVE LITTLE ACCESS TO CREEK UNTIL YOU GET UP NEAR LAKE. THE STEEP TRAIL(NO FUN) DOES GIVE WAY TO OPEN MEADOWS IN LAST 1/2 MILE BELOW LAKE. NO SNOW ON TRAIL AND LAKE COMPLETELY THAWED, WITH A FEW SNOW PACKS WEST OF LAKE. CAMPSITES ARE DRY AROUND LAKE. BUGS ARE TOUGH. SIGN SAYS 2 MILES BUT MAP SAYS 2.3 TO LAKE.

I FOUND ONLY THING WORKING FOR ANY OF BUGS WAS BANDADA DRAPPED BELOW BASEBALL CAP. EVEN THE HIGH-TECH WATCHLIKE SKEETER REPELLER I PURCHASED AT SEATTLE'S BIGGEST WHOLESALE WAREHOUSE CLUB OUTLET(WHO COULD THAT BE')DIDN'T WORK. ITS SUPPOSED TO REPLICATE BEATING NOISE OF DRAGONFLY AND MALE MOSQUITO WINGS TO DRIVE THEM OFF. MAYBE THAT MEANS THE USER IS SUPPOSED TO BEAT THEIR WINGS TOO!! SO MUCH FOR PROGRESS!!

ATTEMPTED TO TRAVERSE UP WEST RIDGE TO A GRASSY GAP WEST OF UPPER PART OF LAKE TO GET TO SUMMIT. TALUS AND FOOTINGS WERE SO LOOSE, AND BUGS SO DISTRACTING, I DECIDED NOT TO TAKE CHANCE I MIGHT GO FOR SLIDE AND SWIM. TRIED NEW ROUTE UP TO GAP BACK SOUTH ON RIDGE WHERE A CLIMBERS PATH CLIMBS TO HALF WAY UP SLOPE. ITS DOEABLE AND NOT DANGEROUS WITH ICE AXE AT THE ARREST READY, UP TO KNIFELIKE RIDGE AND BEAUTIFUL VIEWS. I SCRAMBLED NORTH ON RIDGE ON GAME TRAILS TO HIGH PEAK AT 6200'+ ABOUT 1/2 WAY TO LABYRINTH PEAK. NICE FLOWER FIELDS ON WEST SIDE. YOU CAN SEE STEVEN'S PASS SKI MTN. IN DISTANCE. DECIDED TO BAG IT WHEN THE TALUS AND SLIDES WERE TOO LOOSE TO GET 50' HIGHER UP ON LABYRINTH PEAK. NOW I KNOW WHY THEY NAMED IT LABYRINTH! VIEWS JUST AS GOOD FROM SOUTH PEAK OF RIDGE.

WELL WORTH THE EFFORT, BUT BUGS DEFINATELY MAKE IT A CHALLENGE.

Looking to capture the best weather and still stay close to home I went on a day hike to Lila Lake, or should I say lakes (I saw three). The first 2-½ miles of trail are in good shape. A WTA crew was working hard to build a bypass around a particularly muddy section. On the way back I stopped to admire the work and noticed a tremendous effort on their part.

The final mile to Rachel Lake is still the final mile to Rachel Lake. Even with all the good weather there are numerous muddy sections not to mention the logs, rocks, and slippery roots. The steep ½ mile trail above Lake Rachel also appears to be in good shape, although loose rocks do make the decent interesting. Decisions, decisions, do I go right to Lila Lake and Alta Mountain or Left to the Rampart Lakes. I opted for Lila Lake and followed a clear boot path north. Decisions, decisions, do I go straight to Lila Lake or left to Alta Mountain. I again opted for Lila Lake.

Lila Lake first appears as two beautiful lakes with High Box Mountain in the background. The third lake is not visible from the ridge and lies in a small pocket several hundred yards further east. I heard numerous Pikas and saw fresh deer tracks at the largest lake, however, the most numerous animal present were the mosquitoes. They were especially thick above Rachel Lake, but surprisingly rare at Lila Lake. There is one campsite at Lila Lake (just west and above the first lake) and two sites between the first and second lakes. All campsite are on or clearly visible from the trail around the lake. There are also sites on the ridge above the lake just north of a small tarn that might dry out in late summer. Please try and avoid the urge to use the illegal fire pits.

Del Campo Peak is one of the finest peaks I have yet scrambled. A lot of credit goes to the leader Debra (the snow machine) and the assistant leader E-D, for making this one of the more elegant climbs I’ve been on. Debra kept the group going at a comfortable pace-you need to keep moving during most of the trip or the mosquitoes will feast on you. And E-D kept us informed about the flora and fauna, he is a wealth of information. The lower trail has been rebuild and is in good condition. When you start getting to the waterfalls, the trail becomes quite rocky and is slow going. In three miles you get to Gothic Basin and the scenery becomes very dramatic, then start heading NW toward Foggy Lake (still mostly snowed in). Then climb the obvious ramp to the south of the Peak. Once you climb the last steep snowfield you get to a couple of class three rock pitches. Best to wear your helmet, as I was to learn. I had just stepped off the snowfield when a solo climber was coming down; he was about 50 feet above me and yelled ROCK. I know you’re not supposed to look but he was far enough above me I figured I could see what direction the rock was going and get out of the way (I had not put on my helmet yet). Well, a rock about the size of my fist came bouncing down the cliff and I was able to move out of the way as it came whizzing by my head (about ten feet away), disaster averted. About 400’ later the group was laying about on warm rocks at the summit. It was perfect weather on the summit, sunshine and gentle breeze. We had brought up the new climbing register. We all sign it. We had lunch; then climbed down. Glissading down the snowfield made quick work of getting down. What a great day.