Trip Reports

Take I-90 East to exit 80 and go past Roslyn about 12 miles to French Cabin Creek road on the left. Follow the signs to Thorp Lake trailhead. We accidentally passed the trailhead (on the left about 6.3 miles up French Cabin Creek rd)and drove to the end of FR 4312(121). There is a trail that goes basically straight uphill to join the Thorp Lake trail at about 1 mile from the trailhead (okay, we cheated a bit). The trail is in good shape through wondrous fall colors. Bear right when you hit any cross trails until you come to the lake which is on the left at about 3 miles from the real trailhead (with our cheat it was more like 1 1/2 miles). The weather was a bit blustery Saturday morning, but we felt like we should do more, so we headed left at the big clearing by the lake and went up the Thorp Mountain trail (there are aging signs at strategic intersections. It's a trip of about 1 1/2 miles). The weather deteriorated as we ascended and Quincy TWD was looking as if he wanted to bite me as the wind lashed at us and an occasional bit of frozen rain knifed past. The way was clear and the trail good as we went up the last few switchbacks to find the lookout. We must have looked as miserable as we felt, because the friendly forester (I apologize for my inability to recall his name) asked us inside the lookout to warm up. He described the wonderful views available on clear days as we gazed out into the thick fog. A Forest Service team was on the way up to help him close the lookout for the winter and it seemed to be just in time. We thanked the forester for letting us warm up near his stove and headed back down in the howling wind and drizzle. As we came near to the junction with the Kachess Ridge trail, we stopped out of the wind for a bite. A small band of die hards came up the Ridge trail headed for the lookout, then the Forest Service crew passed. We mentioned the wind on the exposed flanks and pitied them their trip to the top. As we started down, a bit of blue sky appeared, just a tease, we were sure. At about 1 mile from the top, the bit of blue expanded and it became apparent that the day was clearing. How could this be' What mountain god had we offended to be treated so' After a short debate, we decided to save the return to the top for another day (Quincy was growling by this time).

I highly recommend this trip, in spite of being cheated of views at the top. There were plenty of fall colors to behold and it isn't too strenuous (especially if you cheat, as we did).

This is a short 3/4 mile trail around Lake Elizabeth near the end of the Money Creek Road. The lake is quite pretty, with clear water and green grass growing at the edges. There are some nice old growth cedars on the eastern half of the trail, and one very large cedar about half way around the trail. The mushrooms were out as well. The trail was a bit overgrown in spots, but the worst part was the mud. There were numerous areas of standing water and mudholes. In several instances, my shoes sank to the ankles. But it's still better than bugs!

We drove through mist on the way to the Nisqually entrance of RNP, but the day turned out to be glorious. You can drive up the West Side road for about three miles before you hit the gate and a parking lot. Eleven Mountaineers started the easy walking up the road from there. The major washouts have been repaired, at least enough for official Park vehicles and bicycles to get through. After about three or four miles, you attain Round Pass, which is where the real trailhead is found. There is a nice bike rack right there, to accommodate those who would like to ride-n-hike. We later found the rack to be an excellent place to place you trekking poles when you take a little break. Four pair of poles fit in the bike rack nicely.

The trail is in excellent condition and in a mile reaches Lake George. It is a very pretty, long lake. Passing the lake, another mile and a half of switchbacks takes you to a lookout atop Gobblers Nob. We arrived just as the clouds were beginning to disperse and were rewarded with terrific views of the western face of Rainier.

The walk out, though long, was accomplished quite quickly. Fall colors were brilliant in the afternoon sun. Total distance was about 12 miles round-trip. On this pleasant Saturday in October, we hardly saw a soul on the way in, and only a few bikers and strollers on the road on the way out.

West Cady Ridge Trail 5 miles up Fire Road 63. Starts out in the forest and climbs, and climbs and climbs up to Cady Ridge. After 4 miles there is a huge blueberry patch where I saw an older couple indulging themselves. Onward to Saddle Gap...hiked along West Cady Ridge, many ups and downs on that one and finally another large climb up to Saddle Gap. Good camping spots and not another soul to be seen. The problem is, after the first mile there is absolutely NO WATER, so if you're going for more than 1 night make sure to pack lots and lots of water. The ground was frozen this morning in some places, so pack for cold weather. Overall a great hike!!

travel time up:5 hours with pack travel time back: 3 hours with pack distance round trip: 17 miles

Follow the directions in 100 Hikes to the trailhead. Find a boot built trail that leads up a couple hundred feet to the old trail. Gain 2000 feet in 2 miles through old growth and meadows on narrow but good tread to one the best viewpoints in the Glacier Peak/North Cascades area. We have never been anywhere that had so many blueberries- plump, juicy, and just loading down the bushes. Even if it rains every day until April, we will have at least one sweet memory to carry us through the winter.

With a great Fall day, Shelley and I headed up I-90 to the Alpental parking area for the Snow Lake trail. Just about 50 feet to the right of the Snow Lake trailhead is where we started up the climbers path for Snoqualmie Mtn. This old path is rocky/rooty and steep. Once we got above the tree line and into the berry bush area, it was time for some ripe blue berries. The very short plants had lots of berries growing on them. The view from the 6,278' summit is worth the hike up. We could see down to Mt. Adams and all the way north to Mt. Baker on this clear day. Mt. Stuart to the east and the Columbia Tower in Seattle beyond Snow and Gem Lakes. There was a USGS brass cap with the date 1926 stamped on it. Saw several Ravens flying around the mountain. One was carring moss in its claws, while two others were playing dive bomber and doing barrel rolls. Out of the zillions of people on our planet, Shelley and I were the only two up to summmit of Snoqualmie Mtn. on this day.

Excelsior Peak has a terrific 360 view: Baker and Shuksan plus the border peaks and way into Canada. There's fall color now, too. The trail is well maintained and moderate grade; just the last part to the peak is steep. The only problem on this brilliant fall day was a stiff wind. If the weather turns nice again, by all means take this hike if you haven't done it before.

Day hiked to Windy Gap. Trail consists of 2 gentle miles along the Carbon Glacier trail, and then 0.2 miles winding across the Carbon River drainage. The hike caps itself off with 4.4 miles of non-stop switchback madcap fun to Windy Gap with only brief respites at Yellowstone Cliffs and at the Gap itself - not that the trail doesn't stop climbing at those two spots - but the ascent is gentler and sans switchbacks. The trail from the Carbon River to Yellowstone Cliffs is all in deep-shadow forest. Halloween colors are nice and spooky - but fading - in the meadows below the Cliffs and along the Gap. There is no definite destination for a dayhike - turned around at the junction with a path that led to several small lakes. Except for a few glimpses of Rainer's snow-encrusted top shortly before reaching the Cliffs, views of Ranier were scarce - though the view from the Carbon River log bridge in the morning light is quite photogenic. Not exactly a crowded trail. Saw no one until I after I crossed the Carbon on my way back and passed a couple - then saw a total of two hikers along the Carbon trail on my way back to Ipsut. Steepness of those switchbacked miles is shown by the hiking times: 3.5 dragged hours to Windy Gap versus 2 bouncing hours back to Ipsut. If you like the exercise and don't mind hiking for nearly 6 hours in Mount Ranier NP without seeing Mount Ranier, this is a good hike - either in flower season (August) or when decked out for Halloween (late Sept).

every hike i've ever done in this part of the north cascades is absolutely fabulous, and this one didn't disappoint. a trail that diverges to two destinations, so i had to do both. lookout mountain has the better views: baker, shuksan, the pickets, eldorado, glacier pk. and so much more. monogram is a lovely lake, particularly with all the fall colors and has its share of views as well. the tail end of the blueberries -- most are pretty soft but there still were enough edible ones. i thought i had complete solitude until i saw one other hiker and dog at the lake. wildlife of note: both a downy and a gorgeous pileated woodpecker, hawks and some very loud clomping in the bushes nearby that had to be a bear. to do both destinations it's about 14 miles total. and 6200 feet elevation gain, possibly my record for a day hike.

This is an excellent hike for conditioning and views. The trail is steep over 3000 feet of elevation gain in 3.2 miles but with the reward of super views from the top. This hike is best done in cool sunny weather as elevation gain burns alot of calories producing sweat and a need to hydrate.

Did this hike last year in the fog and could not make out any of the views (lots of work with little reward). This year could see Mt. Rainer, Copper Mt., Mt. Ellinor and others from the summit and summit ridge. Recommend doing the ridge trail down as there are some impressive views of Copper Mt., Puget Sound, and Mt. Rainer.

Hiking time is advertised as 5 hours round trip and this has been my experience particulary with water and photography breaks. Trail is in excellent shape with numbers on first 24 switchbacks. Found that it took about 45 minutes from switcback 24 to trailhead going down.

Hiked up to Lake Caroline and then beyond to Windy Pass. It was a great day, the sky was vey clear. Trail conditions quite good. I did see bear scat in several places along the trail past Lake Caroline.

Returned today after a wonderful 3 day run. Very few people, lots of wonderful weather. Trail is a little wet in places, esp lower levels, but up to Big Heart and Chetwoot excellent condition. A few bugs, but nothing like August. Devin and I enjoyed the tranquility, fish, and other occasional hiker. Wished we had a few more days, would have liked to visit Angeline and Otter which were within reach, maybe next year.

Nothing to flag. Minimal bugs. Sturdy puncheon and only some mud. Ease of this hike evident by some litter. Easy to take a little home with us. Some trails rutted a bit deep, but majority of meadows untrampled. Lake edges a little scarred. Recommend for family. Keep dogs home.

The weather forecast was for dry sunny conditions with a light north wind, it was fall, and it was a weekday which meant there would be no crowds, so we finally took our first-ever trip into the Pasayten October 1-3. Larches were seemingly at their peak (equal parts green and brown), but (perhaps because of the drought') were not as brilliantly gold as they’d been the same week last year in the Entiat and Teanaway areas. More a yellow-brown, but beautiful nonetheless. Best big stands of larches nearby were in the Smith Lake basin, just to the east of Horseshoe Pass. Lower down, the aspen were brilliantly yellow.

Sunrises, sunsets, full moonrises, and stars were all spectacular from our camp near the far end of Horseshoe Basin (about 3 hours from the trailhead). They made up for the very short and cold days this time of year. There was still enough water running in the stream that flows from Louden lake that we could easily get our water there. Thousands of noisy sandhill cranes streamed overhead in southward migration. Wise of them – it was VERY cold. Mid-20s at night, but pleasant enough during the day except in the wind. And it was VERY windy, day and night, especially near the passes.

Armstrong and Arnold peaks are easy walks to great views through grassy meadows, with rocks and bare tundra in the higher spots. A 10-foot-wide swath cleared through the trees marks the international border, with monuments on the ridges. Pikas are around, and cattle and coyotes, but most of the large animals are gone for the season, and the marmots are apparently asleep already.

We saw only one other party, which was 2 people heading in to Sunny Camp when we were on our way out. There was one other vehicle at the trailhead. Contrary to some of the posted notices, Boundary Trail is no longer closed due to fires, or so the ranger in Tonaskset told us. She asked us to take down the old closure notices along the roadside, so we did. She said the only closure in the area was in the Long Swamp vicinity. Check with the Rangers before you head over. The dirt road to Iron Gate from the paved Toats Coulee Road has been graded recently, and probably almost any car could make it to the trailhead.

S&R, Seattle

This is an excellent place to see fall color. Alas, though the blueberries may be gone from the bushes, those same bushes are turning incredible shades of yellow, red and purple. I was amazed at the amount of fall color around the lake. The larches are about 50% yellow and 50% green, leaving time to see them before the needles are gone.

I found the log jam quite easy to cross, and the newer bridge across Schaefer Creek is well made. There was one log across the trail that horse riders would have to go around.

A truly memorable place to visit in the fall, yet I had it all to myself that day! And I caught two beautiful rainbows to boot.

What a beautiful day for a hike. Broke out of the fog at Enumclaw and it was clear the rest of the day. The new foot bridge over Crystal Creek at the trailhead is a welcome improvement. The trail is in good shape - very dry. The park recently added the Crystal Peak trail to their list of maintained trails so it may improve over time. There are a few spots where the trail wants to slide down the hillside.

I wanted to catch some fall color which shows itself well on the slopes of Crystal Peak. Unfortunately the colors had already peaked. I think our dry weather brought the show earlier this year. That left the fantastic views from Crystal Peak to enjoy and I never tire of these. Took a lot of pictures and enjoyed some solitude. I didn't see anyone else all day and that doesn't happen very often. Another great day of hiking.

The trail up Chatter Creek is pretty danged steep. But it finally breaks out to great views in about 1500', then they only get better. It climbs more though, about 3800' to a ridge of Grindstone Mt. Over the other side are some larches, just beginning to turn color. Wait a week for prime time. But what a glorious cirque! 'Tis a grand place to spend a perfect day.

After some confusion romping through a rock garden (complete with a sandy base), and lolligagging through the larches, I headed towards Lake Edna. This lake is nothing special. Then a short scramble up Cape Horn, and a grand ridge walk to Ladies Pass.

I turned down the Chiwaukum trail. A bunch of confusing switchbacks go every which way but down. It looks like the trail has been rerouted at least twice, and none of them are blocked or choked with brush. So I took the most expedient set. The trail drops into forest before reaching two lakes. Lake Flora has good camps. Then another drop to a flat mini-Napeequa like valley floor, with towering cliffs and grassy floor.

Now the trail is confusing and hopefully you won't get as mixed up as I did. The trail appears to be little used (and it's brushy in some sections), and the grassy sections are not trampled enough to establish a trail in a few sections. But being an ace navigator I soon walked right into some nice brush, before backtracking and finding the one, true route.

Anyway, the trail drops another 1000'. There, a sign announces the Index Creek trail. But only the crazy would crash through the brush to find it. Naturally, that's what I did, and soon the tread appeared. This trail is very lonely, little travelled, and a tad brushy, but a gem. About half way to the Icycle Ridge trail is a superb camp at the edge of a large grassy meadow.

The Icycle Ridge trail is also a skosh brushy westbound of the junction, and it climbs unmercifully for a while. It enters a few great meadow valleys, full of color, and also rarely travelled. Then it intersects the Chatter Creek Trail. On the way out, Grindstone Mt was irresistable. So I slogged my way up the easy slopes and enjoyable final rock section, only to discover this was the lower of two summits! Ackkhhh! But there was just enough time to blast down the trail and get a milkshake at the 59er Diner before it closed. Top priority, y'know!

It's Halloween atop the ridge. Autumn colors are especially vivid towards Rampart Lakes. Only the first two miles of trail show any sign of trail maintenance. Beyond there the trail is jarringly steep, obviously designed by a knee contortionist, and in desperate need of TLC. Rachel Lake is still 2 hours from the trailhead; Rampart Lakes 2.5 hours. Saw total of four people on the trail - suprisingly no one had camped overnight despite clear and balmy conditions overnight.

How can you go wrong when the sun shines on October first' We left the parking lot at 9:30 and arrived and Gem Lake via Snow Lake around noon. Spent a hour eating and scrambling up the little bumps and made it back to the car around 3:30. What a charmed life this hiker leads.

The Deadhorse Traverse begins at the Chiwaukum Creek Trailhead and follows the Chiwaukum Creek trail to Larch Lake and Cup Lake. From Cup Lake, the route ascends talus, scree, and heather benches to Deadhorse Pass. From Deadhorse Pass, the route descends cross-country to intercept the Wildhorse Creek Trail, which is followed to the Whitepine Creek Trail, and eventually ends up at the Whitepine Creek Trailhead.

Jim, Mike and I met at the Monroe Starbucks on a gorgeous Fall morning. We left Mike's trusty Subaru Outback at the Whitepine Trailhead, and then drove to the Chiwaukum Creek Trailhead in my Jeep. We left the trailhead at 10:00am. The Chiwaukum Creek trail was beautifully maintained.

Right before we crossed Chiwaukum Creek, Mike was the first to notice an old smoke smell. We discussed the summer's fires, and thought that maybe it was drifting on the breeze from the Icicle Fire Complex. However, not 200 yards later in a clearing near the creek crossing logs, I saw a small 4-inch-diameter gray circle in the forest duff, from which was issuing a thin plume of smoke. The ignition source was not identifiable, but it was probably either a match or a cigarette! Stupid, careless people!! Mike had a plastic grocery sack that he used to dip water from Chiwaukum Creek and drown the smoldering fire. The duff had burned down several inches deep, and at least one foot in diameter at the deepest part. All it needed was a good puff of air to start a potentially major conflagration in the dry undergrowth.

The scenery of Ewing Basin was breathtaking as the trail wound through sparse forest on the climb from Chiwaukum Lake to Larch Lake. Our group reached Larch Lake at 5:00pm. The larches are just beginning to turn, and should be at their peak color within the next week. We quickly set up camp and changed into dry, warm clothes. The temperature during the hike alternated from hot in the sun to pleasantly cool under occasional thin cloud cover, but as the sun went below the neighboring peaks, the temperature dropped quickly.

Not long after dinner, we heard shouts echoing off the rock walls across the lake. I thought to myself it was either rowdies or someone needing help. It turns out it was our friend Jon and his friend Ryan! We hustled them to camp, where in no time they were cooking up a burrito feast that would make the Ramos brothers jealous! Jon had worked that morning, but came to work packed and ready, and fortunately was able to slip out, meet up with Ryan, and get to the trailhead by 1:30 Saturday afternoon. The fact that they completed the distance and elevation (4500 vertical and 12 miles!) and made it to camp by 7:00pm amazed us. Not only was it a feat of stamina, but also of routefinding! Armed with only a trip synopsis (no topographic map), they managed to track us by our footprints on the trail all the way to the Larch Lake basin.

It was frosty that night, with the temperature hovering just below freezing. By morning, there was frost on the grass and on the inside of our tent from condensation. After hot breakfasts, we were on the move by 9:00am.

Our route ascended a scratch path to Cup Lake, and then up talus and scree to the crest of the ridge at 7400 feet on the south side of Cup Lake. Deadhorse Pass lay to the northwest at a slightly lower elevation. We dropped packs at the ridge and traversed south over boulders, talus, and polished slabs of beautiful Chiwaukum Schist to our objective - the (apparently) broad summit of Big Chiwaukum Peak.

After crossing a tiny snowfield, we ascended a left-trending Class 3 ledge to the summit ridge. The travel was easy, but the drop off from the ledge was a bit unsettling. We reached the ridge without incident, and dropped over to the west side of the ridge for delightful Class 2 scrambling to what appeared to be the summit. On top of this moderate spire, our hearts sank when we looked across a chasm in the ridge and saw a higher, craggier spire with a small cairn on top. What happened to this broad summit' Big C held many surprises for us!

The travel was easier than it looked, and after crossing a narrow slot, delightful third-class scrambling led to the airy summit, which we reached around noon. We enjoyed excellent visibility and views of surrounding peaks. A reading of the summit register was a trip down memory lane, with a veritable who's who of the Bulgers and other local renowned peak-baggers. After a good half hour of ""name that peak"" and photos, we headed back down to our packs. The travel back to the packs was not nearly as intimidating as when we ascended. Funny how things that seemed scary on the way up aren't that bad on the way down after what we'd already been through. We reached our packs and shouldered the loads for the traverse across the rocky slope to Deadhorse Pass. We contoured at approximate elevation 7100 feet on a small bench to the pass at 7200 feet, and dropped down the other side, plunging down dirt and scree to two lovely meadows, one at about 6600 feet and the other at 5600 feet. The meadows would make excellent camp sites earlier in the year when water flows from snowfields above, but they were dry when we passed through.

We followed a small ridge toward a balanced boulder that looked like a Sasquatch in a moment of thought. From here, we plunged down the ridge into the timber, where it became brushy. Jim found a dry stream bed which we followed allowing us to avoid the thicker sections of brush, but all in all the bushwhacking was not all that unpleasant. After descending 500 feet through the brush, we emerged onto the beautifully maintained Wildhorse Creek trail a mere 5.5 miles from the trailhead and clean cotton.

We arrived at the Whitepine Trailhead at 6:10pm, and then we all piled all five of us into Mike's Outback, packs and all, to retrieve my Jeep and clean cotton clothing, and keep our date with burgers and shakes at the 59-er Diner.

Trip Stats: 22.5 Miles, 7100 feet elevation gain, 6100 feet elevation loss.

Obscure, rough, pristine, lovely wilderness trail that deserves a few more respectful footprints. Starts in lowland old growth, climbs to glaciated alpine terrain – USGS gauging station at snout of South Cascade Glacier. Unmarked access road leaves hairpin on N. Fork Cascade R. Road; rough but we made it carefully in a front-wheel drive station wagon; high water or wet conditions might require higher clearance. Not for beginners, serviceable but unmaintained, not engineered for heavy hiker traffic, in places rough, steep, rocky, brushy, windfalls, hard to follow esp. at night, recently flagged (probably by USGS people, appreciated for a change). No trail register, not on most maps, see USFS map. Follows east bank of S. Fork. Windfalls removed only for first 1-2 mi.; this doesn’t last. Major streams flowing 10/1 (dry year), ""interesting"" crossings include a high long mossy log with seedlings growing on it, a deep ravine, the final one (Drop Creek or High Log Creek) may be impassable in spring: the log is gone, so drop 200 paces to cross a slippery, impermanent-looking logjam. At open basin below terminal moraine, trail apparently skirts far left (N.) edge of large willow thicket but is largely obliterated by windfall. Thicket is passable anyway. Expect bears. Good bivouac sites on rib west of glacier at or S. of the USGS cabin (active installations, please leave them alone). Rib is bedrock, not lateral moraine, clean but questionable water in small pools (10-1, dry year). No trees to hang food.

Climbers: Post Peak (7188’) offers fine view for the effort. From cabin, scramble straight up NE face to where it steepens, then bear left through high W-shaped notch in E ridge (dark weathered dike, iron-stained crag). South face is class 3 scramble. Lots of loose rock. Axe, crampons handy but unnecessary late season. Hoch Joch Spitz is just S of this and higher; glacier ice leads almost to summit. Hikers could scramble heather slopes NW of LeConte for a good view.

One hesitates to mention this place. Maybe it’s been kept obscure for a reason. Won’t tolerate much traffic but that hasn’t been a problem lately. Don’t mess it up, OK'

Decided to do one more hike off the Sunrise road before it closed 10-01 (at least I heard it was closing). The Palisades seemed easy enough and had views. Started from the Sunrise Ridge viewpoint and headed up and down to a side trail up Brown Peak. From Brown Peak we had an excellent view of the Palisades, Mt.Rainier and Tahoma. It appeared that the Elk like the top of Brown Peak for a nice hideout.

On the return we stopped at Hidden Lake for lunch and rested for a while. Not many people were encountered. There's a trail we didn't know about that looked like it went to the top of Marcus Peak, but we decided against it to keep the hike as easy as possible. It's there for another day.

Crystal clear and warm day for a hike. The fall colors were great.

This trip was planned while atop Mt. David which offers a sweeping view of the entire Wenatchee Ridge. The peaks are named after famous American Poets. Drive about 22 miles east of Steven's Pass and turn left at the turnoff for Lake Wenatchee. About two miles past the Ranger Station turn left at a fork. The right fork goes up the White River while the left will take you up the Little Wenatchee River. Stay on the road until it ends at the Little Wenatchee Ford Campground. The last six miles will be on gravel but is fine for even small cars. The trip described was done as a loop which started by taking the trail up to Poe Mt. and then traveling Wenatchee ridge until Kodak Mt. Then the descent route was done on the Little Wenatchee Trail #1525. The trail up Poe Mt. is in superb shape and easy to follow. It then continues onto Longfellow Pk along the west side of Wenatchee Ridge. The Green Trails map indicates that the trail stays directly on the ridge but that is not the case for most of its length. Once on Longfellow we set our sites on Whittier. This is the most difficult of the peaks to reach and to summit. Beckey says it is a ""merely an alpine hike"" along the gentle connecting ridge from Longfellow. I didn't see what was gentle about the ridge and opted to descend 500 feet and traverse the western slope of Whittier. The NW ridge of Whittier is a right angled cliff band which is steep near the summit. I gained that ridge about 1/3 mile the the NW of Whittier and then followed the almost flat ridge to the top. On the top was one of the migration mysteries of the insect world. Ladybugs have a vertical migration which takes them to the tops of mountains. They sequester themselves beneath the rocks there by the hundreds. There they winter over until emerging in the spring. They choose mountains with rocky crags where the snow will melt early in the spring. Broadshouldered peaks like Hinman and Big Snow get left out. There were many beneath the rocky to of Whittier. Dropping into the basin between Whittier and Bryant was the traverse route to regain Wenatchee Ridge. There was running water at several brooks on that traverse. The trail was picked up again at the saddle between Bryant and Longfellow. The ascent of Bryant should be done on the east side of the mountain. The trail will take you about 200' beneath the peak where you will need to downclimb about 100' to reach a heather slope. After Bryant we continued north on the ridge about 1,000' before descending on the western slope to reach the trail several hundred feet below. Stay on the well defined trail all the way to Kodak Peak. There is a spur trail which will direct you to the summit of Kodak. Once reaching that peak we dropped down to Meander Meadow and out the Little Wenatchee trail. This trail is used by horses frequently and has deep troughs in many sections. It would be a mess if done in the rain. Total time for the hike was just under 11 hrs.

The day was too nice to ignore and I swallowed my concerns to hike a trail I feared would be mobbed. Trail having major work done,having never been up on this side of Baker during the ""bare"" season do not know what the baseline is. Gas powered tractor and diggers being used to make a horse highway it looks like hmmmmmmm lots of berrys and a fair amount of walkers. Having occasionally done trail work for the WTA and other folks I have comfortably ignored the double taxation of the trail pass. However as we came down !!!! sure enough enforcement day at the trail head!! 30$ tickets. They said if you do not pay its failure to comply with some federal court and a warrant is swown out for your Arrest!!! I think you need a new box to check for problems you encountered on the trail ""federal authorities""

Other wise a great day in late fall

Bugs at Goat Flats. Downclimb on north side just pass Tin Can Gap really requires an ice ax. Steps are cut in the 30-40' slope but a slip would be ugly. Crampons not necessary but probably very good idea. This area not exposed to the sun so it would be even more treacherous without slushy steps. Great views!

Janet P, Bob and I headed out for Ingalls Lake and Fortune Mountain via trail 1390. We saw some folks with small children who had backpacked in to the area. The trail is very nicely graded and well-maintained, so the area is a great destination for young (and old) families.

It is interesting to see the huge blobs of rounded, red and yellow eroding formations and smaller mountains surrounding the soaring whitey-grey sharp spires of Mt. Stuart. Such a sharp contrast in geomorphology and in colors - all in one eyeful!

About ½ mile beyond the pass we left the Ingalls Lake trail and scrambled up Fortune Mtn (7382). Fortune Mtn. is the boring looking pile of red and green loose rock to the west of the pass; but it isn’t boring up close and on top!

We chose to begin our ascent of Fortune on its NE side, a little ways beyond the pass. The surface of Fortune is made up of interesting rocks of all sizes, classes, colors and shapes resting on top of loose dirt, so when you climb it, sometimes it’s one step up and slide 2 steps back. Pretty rocks, though....

From the cold, windy top of Fortune are views of Ten Peak, Glacier, White Chuck, Baker, Pugh, Mts. Hinman and Daniel, Rainier and everything in between. It was interesting to see Pugh Mtn. and Whitechuck with Mt. Baker in between them; I have never seen those 3 line up that way before. We spent about 1.5 hours soaking in the views and taking pictures, both dramatic and silly (the silly ones have us in them). We then headed down to Lake Ingalls. The trail is largely built on top of rock, and I can tell you from experience that no matter how charmed your life is, those rocks don’t care; if you bang your shin against one of them, it is just as hard for you as it is for someone else whose life isn’t so charmed.

We headed out via beautiful Headlight Basin and re-joined trail 1390 at the Pass and back out. I know you’re asking, “What about the larches, dummy' Tell me about the larches!” What's to say' They're just sitting there like always...Ah, but if you want to know about the fall color, well that's different....I suggest you go see for yourself in about 2 weeks. It's a little early yet....but they're changing, oh, they're changing!

This is a very easy hike to a beautiful alpine lake with a side trip to a great view point. The trailhead is off of the Smith Brook Rd which is a few miles east of Steven's Pass. The first 1/2 mile of the trail has recently been rerouted to take off 1/4 mile prior to reaching the original trailhead. The old trail traverses a steep avalanche shoot along narrow brushy tread. The new route switchbacks through a cool forest gaining elevation at an obnoxiously easy pace. The old route is slightly faster. An intersection with the PCT is reached at about 1 mile. About 2 miles later a pass is reached between Lichtenberg Mtn and Mt McCausland. The trail decends about 1/4 mi to the lake. The inlet end of the lake has great little sandy beach with views to Lichtenberg Mtn. A few feet north of the pass is a well worn and at times steep way path to the top of Mt McCausland. Round trip to the peak is less than 1 mile. The excellent view from the top takes in all the surrounding peaks. A granite outcropping on the north end of the mountain affords a great view of Glacier Peak with the forested valley of the Rapid River in the foreground. The entire trail is in very good condition. There were no bugs and only about a dozen other people on the trail on this gorgeous day. No signs of recent horse use but that may soon change with the construction of the new Smithbrook trail.

The good news is that the old trail from the west side road is alive and well! Bring your map though, it is unsigned and no longer exists on the new Mt. Rainier NP maps. It begins at the first hairpin turn of the road (and is obvious), approximately 1 mile from the closure. It is even easier to find when NPS trucks are parked there (this is the route the rangers use). The trail is easy to follow, and works past the washout by climbing steeply above and over it, only to descend steeply on the other side. The highlight is most definitely the suspension bridge crossing high above the canyon of Tahoma Creek. The downside is that this is the only highlight of the trail as you are in trees the entire way until arriving at Indian Henry’s. Time up – 1:50. Speed vs. the scenery of the Kautz – you pick.

I ran into a ranger descending shortly before the junction with the Wonderland Trail who immediately quizzed me as to where I was going. Upon hearing my reply he smirked and acknowledged I was going the right way. Uh oh, their secret is out!

Berries are ripe and fall colors are looking nice. Give them another week and there should be something to shout about. I saw no sign of bear anywhere (and I spent considerable time looking). However a woman ascending the Kautz apparently ran into one just below the park. This doesn’t surprise me as I am confident I carry the strongest bear repellent on the market – a powerful zoom lens with 2x teleconverter! I don’t understand how it works from a technical standpoint, but it does – trust me!

Don http://www.mountainscenes.com

With the good weather hanging on, I thought I would try another solo backpack to the Olympics, this time to Flapjack Lakes.

The weather was a bit socked in when I arrived at Staircase, but warmish. I hiked 4 miles up the old road/trail on the North Fork Skokomish, which makes a nice walk in itself. After 1.5 hours, I arrived at the junction with the Flapjack Lakes Trail and the real workout for the day.

The trail starts out in cool forest, climbing a short series of switchbacks and then traversing upward towards Madeline Creek. Once past the creek, it really climbs. After awhile, the trail comes into sound range of Donahue Creek and eventually reaches the junction with the trail to Black and White Lakes (reputed to be very rough). The Flapjack trail then hits some more tight, steep switchbacks and is very rooty and rocky until almost reaching the lakes where it finally gentles out.

There are 10 campsites at the lakes, one a group site located on the opposite side of the lower lake. The Park Service only allows 30 people overnight in the area during high season, which just ended 9/30/01. There were only 11 people in the area, so the place was pretty quiet.

After setting up camp, I wandered around the lake, picking huckleberries and snapping photos of the lovely lakes. I would like to have climbed to Gladys Divide, another 1,000 feet or so, but decided to save the feet for the way out.

The trip out was uneventful, the weather great. I was pretty careful going down through the rocks and roots, since the trail was a bit dampish. Still I made great time out, about 4 hours to Staircase. It was a beautiful golden autumn weekend.

Happy trails!

It was a great day for Mt Pilchuck. The trail was all in all in good shape. Color was beginning to develop in the shrubs and the granite boulders in the midst of green meadow is very, very nice. The upper half of the trail is fairly rocky over a mixture of talus and ballast to fill in gaps. The last bit to the lookout makes for an interesting ""climb"" just below the ladder. I recall doing this trail before it was redeveloped and the boulder scrambling was interesting but this makes access much better for the many folks up there today. The fog down in the Everett area never lifted creating a soft carpet view out toward the sound. The mountains to the north and west were wonderfully displayed. It was hazy/glarey to the south and west but Rainier was obvious.

We enjoyed a two night trip up this beautiful valley. The trail is in excellent shape, and the weather was wonderful (though cold enough at night to freeze the water in our water bottles!). Even better, we did not see another person the whole time we were there. We did have the pleasure of seeing a momma bear with cub, but they ran off quickly when they heard our horrid singing. Beautiful views of the Entiat mountains, great fall foliage, etc. Overall a wonderful hike.

We did an overnighter trip on Sat/Sun to explore the Poet Ridge area. Or is it the Wenatchee Ridge area' Anyway the trail to Irving Pass is in good condition. An abandoned trail leads towards Irving Peak. At least I think so, based on the blazes on the trees. But there is no discernable tread. Nonetheless, it's not terribly brushy to get to the summit. On top is evidence of a lookout perhaps' Hard to tell. While the rest of the party enjoyed the view, I moseyed over to pt 5937, a really fun traverse.

We took the trail up to Poe Mt and continued beyond towards Longfellow on what seems like an old sheepherder trail. Near there we found a teeny, tiny pond. It was only 18 inches across. But the only water we had seen all day! So we camped there.

The next morning during breakfast I moseyed over to Bryant Peak. It turned out to be a lot further than I thought, and the round trip took almost 3 hours. There is a small pond, 20' x 150' that a previous report from last week mentions. It's more than a mile from Poe though! I'd guess at least 2 miles. To get up Bryant, I went beyond it and climbed up the northwest side.

Then we scrambled up Longfellow by several routes. Whittier was beyond energy and time levels, so we backtracked to the trailhead. The blueberries along much of the route are mushy. Perhaps they have been frozen. What a waste! Taste was almost there, but the consistency made them less appealing.

Drove to Marblemount Saturday afternoon and stayed at ""Cab in the Woods"" cabins. Very comfortable and soooooo quiet and relaxing. Up at 7 am and drove a mile up the road to Skagit River Resort for a hardy breakfast. The road to Cascade Pass is the best I have ever seen it, nearly no potholes, low dust and just in good shape. Drove my car..a small wagon...with no 4WD to the trailhead and made it easy and in about 50 minutes. We were on the trail by 10 am. The trail is dry and in great shape too. Lots of marmots out at the top of the pass. The fall colors are not yet at their best, but very pretty. No bugs but a bit of wind here and there. Beautiful clear skies. Most people usually stop at the top of the pass, but today EVERYONE seemed to be going up to Sahale Arm. The views from the Arm are incredible! The trail from the pass to the Arm is in fair shape with lots of rolling rocks, but it was a great hike. We were back to the car by 5 pm... and had lots of time to sit around and drink in the views both at the Pass and on the ARM.

Three of us hiked the pleasant trail from Rainy Pass to Heather Pass above Lake Ann. From here, we lost the trail across a boulderfield, heading up-valley to Lewis Lake. On the way back we found that if you keep the trail, it avoids quite a lot of boulder-hopping. Our goal for the night was Wing Lake, and there are several ways to get there from Lewis Lake. The best way is to traverse the right side of the lake on trail, then the trail heads up, well-defined for it's entire length to Wing Lake. Once again, this knowledge was gained on the way down! On our way up, we scrambled cliff, root and brush. Good came of this though: we saw fascinating wreckage of a 1960s era army helicopter, smashed to bits and rusting away in the brush. Wow. From the lake we went hiking, and the next morning climbed the Northeast Ridge of Black Peak. This was a technical climb with some loose rock but thrilling exposure. The views from the summit were glorious. The northern faces are dusted with snow, and the yellow larch trees in the valleys and meadows made a distinct impression. We took the standard way down from Black (all hiking), packed up and walked out, enjoying the moonrise from Heather Pass.

After too many trips to Paradise, this magnificent hike renewed my interest in the Mountain. Started at the Ipsut campground, where the relatively small number of cars was a sign of good things to come. At about 5.5 miles you reach Moraine Park, a great place for lunch. I headed on to Mystic Lake at 7 miles plus. There were thousands of frogs and only a couple people at the lake, and the blues, greens, and even yellows and reds of the lake made for a good contrast to the bright white above. On the way back, i couldnt resist a long side trip up the Curtis Ridge, for close up views of a heavily crevassed Carbon Glacier and the giant Willis Wall, which is so vertical it looked as though it was ready to topple over. The thousands of feet of sheer cliff and icefall were quite impressive. I had the ridge all to myself, and climbed up to about 7,500ft or so, until i was parallel to the top of the glacier. Stats: ~21 miles, 6,000 ft+; 5 hrs up, 3 hrs down (i ran). Its summer in October--nothing like a prolonged hiking season!

Four of us set out Thursday morning to finish our last section of The Wonderland Trail, from Longmire to Mowich Lake. The weather forecast called for rain on Friday and the Ranger at Longmire told us to expect rain. We left for Devils Dream Camp (5.9 miles) and passed a trail crew and two other parties, then had the trail to ourselves for the entire trip! Thursday night at Devils Dream Camp was very cold-and we were surprised and thrilled to awake to clear skies-not a cloud in the sky! As we hiked thru Indian Henry's, there was frost everywhere. The mountain, the sky, the fall color, the morning frost, and the endless blueberries were amazing, despite the strenuous day (10.2 miles/3800 elevation gain/3300 elevation loss). Crossing the Tahoma Creek Suspension Bridge was a blast. The ascent to Emerald Ridge was beautiful. At the top, we saw several marmots. Had lunch on the ridge overlooking the South Tahoma Glacier. After lunch, we descended to the South Puyallup River, refilled on water at S. Puyallup Camp before the long hike to St. Andrews Park. As we neared Klapatche Park, we saw a bear just down the hill from us. He was running away from us and was completely non-threatening. There were warning signs at camp and so we even hung our packs on the bear poles. There is no water at Klapatche Park-it had to be brought in from S. Puyallup River. Aurora Lake is nearly dried up and is too shallow for pumping water. The views of the Mountain and of the distant city lights are amazing from Klapatche Park Camp-and again, we had the entire campsite to ourselves. On Saturday morning, we hiked to Golden Lakes (7.8 miles). We arrived at 1:00 p.m. and so had the day to sunbathe at the lakes, nap, and pick blueberries. There was a ranger there, but he too was leaving on October 1st to head to Mystic Lake, before heading home for the winter on the 9th. There was one other party staying at Golden Lakes. Best campsites are #4 and #5, again, you have views of the Mountain and of the city lights at night from camp. Another amazing sunset! Our last day, Sunday, we hiked from Golden Lakes to Mowich Lake (9.7 miles) and arrived at Mowich Lake by 1:30 p.m. Another beautiful sunny day! All of the bridge crossings were fine. Water levels are very low due to the drought year. From Mowich Lake, we all headed to Wally's to celebrate our completion of the last leg of the 93 mile trail! The road to Mowich Lake closes October 1st for the season.

Sunday I was able to do the section of the PCT south of I-5 up toward Mt Ashland. I drove up Highway 20 (3/4 mile up Hwy 99 at the Mt Ashland exit) to where the trail crosses the road. I then coasted the 8 miles downhill on my bike back to the trail head, so I could hike up one way.

The trail parallels Hwy 20 all the way, and touches the road at about miles 4 & 5. The rest of the time the road is unaccessible, as the trail traverses the hillside above, which is steep with thick undergrowth. About 3/4 of this stretch is in cool forest. The rest is open hillside that can be hot. I was surprised to hear a couple of small streams still running under the bramble. The trail goes right through the parking lot of Mt Ashland Inn at the 6 mile point. The internet has lovely pictures of each of their 5 rooms. It looks inviting, but expensive.

If you like hiking downhill, I would recommend this hike to be done the other direction. It was gently uphill all the way, and the first half hour was a rather stiff climb.

There were 3 places soon after the start that were problems. You almost immediately come out on a paved road with no indication of where to continue. Turn right and you will see trail reflectors soon. It is confusing because the trail takes you nearly back to I-5 before it heads into a canyon. Then you encounter a crossing of a nearly vertical jeep track, which required some climbing maneuvers to get across. Soon after that the trail seems to deadend at a road. You will see the trail reflectors in the trees on the hillside above. You must jog right and then left to find the trail continuation.

About the last 1.5 miles the trail enters Rogue River National Forest, and the tread greatly improves. This section is through lovely forest.

Distance is 7.3 miles.

Beautiful day, full parking lot at Mowich Lake Trailhead. Not many signs point to the trail for Tolmie Peak, but take the trailhead just before the lake that is labeled ""Lakeshore trail/Ipsut Pass"" follow to Eunice Lake from there. 2.2 miles through up and down switchbacks get you to Eunice Lake. With views of Tolmie Peak Lookout from there, and Mt Rainier from the opposite side of the lake (Major photo op) you ascend the last .8 miles to the lookout. Mt Rainier is boldly in front of you with 360 degree views all the way up to Glacier Peak and Mt Baker (unfortunately Mt Adams is hidden behind Rainier). Round trip 6. miles. Directions: follow 410 east to 165 south towards Wilkerson/Carbonado. Follow for about 20 minutes then at the y you can go left towards Ipsut campground or right towards mowich lake. Follow this road for 16 miles, the upper 5 miles are pretty rough, but every car generally makes it w/o a hitch. scott@nwog.org

After the doing some strenuous hikes the past couple of weeks Mike and I decided to do Annette Lake today. We were the second car at the trailhead around 8AM and headed out. The trail is in great shape all the way to the lake. The leaves are starting to change color, lots of yellow, not too much red yet. We got to the lake and the early morning light reflecting on it was spectacular! I went through nearly an entire roll of film trying to capture the turquoise/jade like color of the lake. I hope my pictures turn out OK. Met one other person at the lake while we explored some of the campsites. Ran into quite a few people on the way back to the trailhead. The best thing was the entire day was spent in the sunshine, not like the fog and clouds I'm looking at outside my window right now. See you on the trail. SR

The trail is in good shape. There are no logs across the trail and no brushy spots. Some places where the tread is hopelessly eroded. Many ripe huckleberries are available. There were pikas making noise in the rocky areas. The sky was clear and temperatures were moderate. It was breezy in places, especially at the summit.

The Mountaineers Scrambles book shows a no longer active trail #699. The book calls this the ""new"" #699 trail with a still older trail now abandoned. This was very confusing to me. The new, new trail is #686.1, I think.

The actual trail to Yellow Aster Butte follows the Gold Rush Pass trail almost to the Pass itself before vearing off to the left. There is a new wooden sign at the intersection. Unfortunately, with the intersection this high, we are forced to traverse nearly 220 degrees around the side of Yellow Aster Butte from the North-east face to almost due west of the lower summit before ascending the steep, narrow trail to the first summit.

Most people seemed to stop there. The true summit lies along a dangerous looking ridge to the north east. Running the ridge to the summit is a true scramble with some serious exposure in several places. The high winds increased the risk factors.

The first challenging spot looks like a steep rock cliff down to the ridge traverse. We skirted this cliff by backing up about 10 yards and carefully picking our way along a side trail around the cliff to the right. The gusty wind contributed to make this ""interesting.""

The summit block was decorated with marmot dropping. Inspite of the many people on this very nice trail in great, cool, weather, we also saw many active marmot. These critters emmitted their characteristic whistles, and then just posed, handsomely, as if for photographs. Jan liked these furry, cat sized rodents -- a lot.

We followed the book route down over the gravel on the north face. The book is wrong. We then had to travel overland around to the west and scramble up a ravine to get back to the new, higher trail. We would have done better to retrace our steps along the ridge to the lower summit.

The huckleberries were ripe, good, and plentiful along most of the trail.

Did an overnight hike to Deception Lakes via the Deception Creek trail. The trail is in good shape, although much more grueling than we anticipated.

After the first creek crossing, the trail climbs steeply, gaining about 800+ feet in a mile. At about 2 miles is the crossing of Sawyer Creek, and after lots of ups and downs, there is another crossing of Deception Creek at about 5 miles.

After this crossing the trail climbs steeply again and doesn't stop until you hit the PCT. It's quite the grind, but once you hit the top, it's an easy half mile to the lakes and a couple good camp sites. We had the lake to ourselves, and the scenery made the trip worthwhile.

An hour and ten minutes after departing from Rainy Pass I arrived at Harts Pass. What a fun drive up here, and I was so excited about the rest of my day before I even stopped since it was obvious that the larch trees up here were in their perfect prime! The hillsides west of Harts Pass were golden yellow! I drove over Harts Pass and continued on up the road, parking just below roads end at Slate Pass. Indeed, this is the highest road you can drive in Washington. But for a perfect fall weekend of color viewing there were only a handful of cars at any one area.

I wanted to save the Pacific Crest trail until just before sunset since it would remain in the light the longest due to the western exposure on that side of the ridge. So starting at Slate Pass the Buckskin Ridge trail goes up about 100 yards and then you are blown off your feet with a view to remember a lifetime. Miles of the Middle Fork Pasaytan River valley to behold, and the entire eastern slope of the upper basin glowing in nothing but rock and prime larch trees! It was fascinating to witness, as were the dozens of pika running around like crazy while I roamed around shooting roll after roll of images. Amazing views of Robinson Mountain and Devils Peak to the east highlighted the scene as well.

After hiking down to the trail #575 junction, I chose to hike back up rather than lose more elevation. Here the landscape turned away from larch and into more forested silver fir anyhow. I made my way back up steeply to Slate Pass again, took in one last view of the incredible larch-dom, and headed down to the trailhead. But I didn't stop at the rig...I kept on hiking past it...down the road...for yet another trail needed to be explored before dark! Next stop: Pacific Crest Trail north of Harts Pass and more larch trees!

After hiking down the road from Slate Pass about 1/3 mile to the PCT junction, I immediately became soaked in the glow of more vast rocky meadows filled with prime larch madness! The Pacific Crest Trail north of here passes through some stunning areas of larch the first 1/2 mile as you pass below the Slate Peak lookout above you. I here saw a pair of white-tailed ptarmigans, a rather rare to uncommon bird which is only seen in a handful of high locations in our state (Sunrise area of Mount Rainier, Harts Pass, and Mount Dickerman are some good spots to find them). They were beautiful, and slowly working into the lower slopes of thicker brush for the evening. I managed one good photo of one of them as it hiked down the trail about 30' in front of me briefly.

I continued on for about two miles, and then decided to quickly dash back to that area near the trailhead as it was starting to be close to sunset. Clouds continually were over the high peaks north of Washington Pass to my west blocking the setting sun, but I figured I had to be in those larch trees should a split second sunburst come out at sunset. I was back in 30 minutes at just before 6:30pm. Waiting those last 10 minutes before the sun was gone made me antsy, and it was getting cold FAST!! Alas, the sun never came out until AFTER it set...about three minutes later the clouds glowed with sunlight, not me. But that was just as beautiful, and I stayed to enjoy it until almost dark. I hiked back out, up the road again to Slate Pass, and enjoyed the warm clothes, the heater in the rig, and snackies to keep me happy driving back down in the dark avoiding the 30+ deer and 6 coyotes I saw heading down. Dinner in Winthrop tasted mighty grand around 9:00pm! What a day to have hiked three high elevation trails, all while surrounded by larch trees.

Nice day for a ridge hike. Trailhead is reached by a series of forest service roads which are in pretty good shape. Fall colors were really starting to come out and there were millions of blueberries still on the bushes. Trail was in good shape though narrow in places. There needs to be a sign at the pass indicating the direction of the main trail and the branch trail to Fisher Lake. Pretty crowded and lots of people with dogs (both leashed and unleashed). As a bonus saw lots of salmon coming up the Wallace River to spawn.

A long but worthwhile trip indeed. After having done this hike twice last September and October of last year, we had only made it as far as Moraine Park, and were determined to make it to the mysterious Mystic Lake. So we camped at the ""Free"" Ipsut Campground and made for the trailhead at 8:45 am. The first 3 miles of the trail is low level gain until you hit the suspension bridge. From there you can see the snout of the Carbon Glacier, the lowest elevation glacier in the contiguous 48 states. Steep switchbacks start there as they ascend 2200 feet in about 1.5 miles to Moraine Park. Follow this trail over creekbeds and thne you wind around into a wide open meadow with a perfect view of the mountain. Follow this up the steep switchbacks to the 6004 foot saddle. From here you can drop down to Mystic Lake about 500 feet and make your way around the lake to the Patrol Cabin. This is about 1 mile from the saddle. On your way back it is a good idea to take the trail at the 6004 foot saddle and take Curtis Ridge towards the Carbon Glacier. The trail is blocked with trees and rocks, but once past that it is a really nice trail that goes through meadows and then opens up to Alpine like terrain at about 6200 feet. Ascend an descend few more ridges and you are looking down on the Carbon icefall, and Willis Wall. Quite an incredible view. From there you could continue and get closer to the Willis Wall or even summit Mineral Mountain, but we were tired as it was, and had 8.5 miles just to get back to the campsite. Plus we had to rest for Tolmie Peak the next day. Total distance with Curtis extension was 18 miles, and time from trailhead and back down was about 9 hours with a nice lunch break at Mystic Lake.

a little extra tidbit......... ""Visiting Professors J. B. Fleet and H. H. Garretson named Mystic Lake after reportedly seeing a mysterious whirlpool near the lake's outlet."" - Mt Rainier Nat'l Park Website

scott@nwog.org

Injured again, I needed something simple and easy. This trail is actually a little more wild than I thought it would be, what with all the talus and switchbacks through the steeps. Arrived at the gap and dropped down a few feet for expansive views of the lake. Many paths amble here and there if quiet is needed. Took the Source Lake route back. It would be a creek in early season, and pay heed, as it disappears in a talus slope. Just look for the line through the brush below. With the hiding, not dropping to the lake, and the alternative route, I think I missed a lot of the masses. Stats: 5+ miles R/T, only 55 minutes to the gap. Here are some other numbers: 93 hikers and nine pooches seen, 110 cars in the lot, and over 150 crib steps built by WTA volunteers.

It was such a nice afternoon, I just sit around all day, so I trundled up to Snoqualmie Pass to finish off a roll of film and stroll out to Franklin Falls. Those of you looking for a good photo subject, the falls are about as perfect as they can get right now, and the bushes around the I-90 bridge are turning colors (the problem is keeping the 90 bridge OUT of the frame, not easy). The river is as low as I've ever seen it, so you can almost get a head-on view of the falls without gettin' yer feet wet. The trail has seen some recent work too, in very good condition, though I still would like to see stairs over the last rocky descent to the falls. No bugs, no traffic, no complaints.

From Seattle on US 2, go approximately 10 miles past Skykomish. There is a dirt road to the right (if you go over the bridge over RR tracks, you've gone too far). Follow the road left over the railroad tracks then bear right to a short road that widens in a parking area. The road continues up hill for a short distance to the trailhead. We left the parking area at about 8:45. This is a great trail that has had a lot of obvious trail maintenance. There are stairs and turnpikes over what would be muddy places. Although there is a 2300 foot elevation gain to Surprise lake, it is spread out over the entire 4 mile distance, so there aren't any really steep spots. Surprise lake is a great destination, but we decided to move on to Glacier lake for lunch. Keep your eyes open for a side trail on the left that leads down to the lake. There is a neat flat rock at the edge of the lake that makes for a great lunch spot. Quincy the wonder dog, nice and cool in the crisp fall weather, decided that a dip would not be in order today. Since it was still fairly early, we decided to check out the old Cascade Crest trail to Surprise gap. I'm not sure why this section is abandoned, but it was quite decent and left a short 1/2 mile jog up to Surprise Mountain from the gap. The PCT Route takes you up a shoulder of the mountain and around the other side, greatly extending the trip. If anybody knows the reason the old trail was closed, I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a line (bnassal@hotmail.com, since trail talk is no more). The views from the top of Surprise are astounding! Back north to Glacier and Surprise lakes, South to Mounts Hinman and Daniel. Even on a partly cloudy day, this was worth the trip! We hustled down on tired, sore feet, and made the cars just as deep evening enveloped us. Even Quincy is a bit tired today, but we all agreed this was a great hike!

I was off for a long two days of getting photographs for a couple of projects, and I built up my plans around it being fall and hunting for larch trees while I was at it. First stop: Rainy Pass on the North Cascades Highway for a quick dose of Maple Pass loopness. I was surprised at how little traffic I had to deal with driving over one of the best fall mountain drives in our state. About 3:30 hrs from home I hit the trail at 11:00am as quickly as I could comfortably go...I still wanted to hike in the Harts Pass area later in the day!

The 1 1/2 miles to the Lake Ann junction went quickly and I continued on up toward Heather Pass. The scenery instantly opens up and excellent views at Lake Ann and the surrounding peaks and Maple Pass. Up some fairly steep switchbacks and suddenly I was at Heather Pass, ablaze in crimson fall color from the huckleberry plants. Now I had views to the western mountains as well, and the clouds blew in a cold wind and occasional drizzle. But it never became socked in to block my views. Onward to Maple Pass...and larch trees began to pop up more and more. This area was averaging only about 50% there on the larch color, but the smaller trees were perfect! This made for incredible foreground subjects when looking across the huge basin of Lake Ann and all of the mountains in every direction. The roaming on the ridge of Maple Pass was like magic in how the clouds would swoosh around and the mountains in all directions always looking different in different light. Once over the 6900' highpoint it was a VERY steep last two miles out to complete the trip to the trailhead. It was painful to even think about hiking the loop in the opposite direction and UP this portion. In the upper meadows just below the pass a group of three blue grouse were just above the trail posing for me. They were huge! Farther down in the forest I had a new life bird for myself when I enjoyed three pine grosbeaks for over 10 minutes! They were beautiful! It was a great hike and I don't know why but I only saw about six people on the entire trek.

At 2:30pm I was back in the rig and eating my lunch while heading farther east...farther into my adventure weekend...next stop Harts/Slate Pass!

Saturday September 29, 2001 Iron-Bear trail #1351

Bob’s pack was heavier than usual due to carrying extra water (15 lbs) on this trip. We expected it to be dry most of the way. Certainly it would be dry at our favorite camp spot on top so we would provide water for Ben and Casey.

We hit the trail around 3:30 pm. This trail starts it’s upward climb right away but the switchbacks are long and lazy. On our way up we saw motorcycles coming down. You can see the trail going up the other side of the valley so we had plenty of time to step out of the way. 3 riders in all, they were polite and friendly, had proper mufflers on their bikes and rode carefully (YAY!!!). We saw no one for the rest of the day. The trail is in good shape but dry and dusty. After making the right turn at the point where trail #1364 junctions with trail #1351 we like walking the narrow but comfortable ridge going up the hill. The world drops from each side of this gentle catwalk, then the views start. The views are long and wide. The Ponderosa pine trees and brush are well spaced allowing Ben and Casey to run constantly to and fro and around and back. One little squirrel ran from them up the tree chattering loudly, then came back down to a point just out of their reach. He froze there. Ben, Casey, Bob and I stopped and stared at him. He stared back. Ben made a move toward him and up he went…then here he came again, back but just out of reach…he’d played this game before! We continued on and topped out by 6:00 and camped. The night was clear and cold with a slight breeze.

About 8:00 am next we heard a motorcycle slowly making it’s way up the trail from the other side, it stopped. About a half hour later three quiet camoflage clad men walked silently up the trail armed with binoculars but no weapons. Ben kind of wanted to go up to them and be friendly but Casey barked and that made him think he’d better be scared too so they both retreated to the safety of our sides and the men moved silently back down the trail after taking a look around…scouting.

As soon as the sun had thoroughly warmed us all up we headed back down the trail. It was a warm, sunny and clear day. The views were again wonderful. Suddenly a mountain biker appeared on the trail ahead. He’d been riding up and came face to face with Ben and Casey who were about 20 yards away. There was an instant that seemed like a long time as thoughts raced through our heads. The mountain biker had stopped abruptly and stood with a fearful look on his face. Before we could act Ben and Casey flew into a flurry of barks and then turned tail in sincronization and ran together as fast as they could back to us. It was that quick, it was now the funniest scene we could imagine. The mountain biker was laughing. We leashed up Ben and Casey and stepped off the trail. The four riders passed smiling. A great hike, no bugs!

Another lucky weekend for me and my son, Darius. The weather was spectacular. Camped at Colchuk Lake on Friday and contemplated Asgaard Pass from below. The trail to Colchuk was uneventful and in good shape. Saturday morning we made our way up Asgaard Pass with our heavy packs. There was a very loud rock slide about 1 hr. before departing, reminding us of the danger of our quest. The rocky and very steep trail up the pass was well signed, and we had no problem following it until close to the top where we took a wrong turn and ended up about thirty feet from the top of the pass. It was a bit cool at the top. We were breathless both due to the ascent and to the beautiful views. The trail in this section was also very well marked, and there was only one small portion of snow to cross. We saw a mountain goat family, who gladly lent themselves for a photo-shoot. We took our sweet time and exposed lots of film. From the Upper Enchantments, it is a hard walk down steep ""trail"" of granite. If it wasn't for the beauty of the place, I would say it was an awful hike to the Lower Enchantments. Once there we appreciated the changing of color of the Larch. It was a great display of nature to see the green of firs, the golden larch, the dark granite of the surrounding peaks, the snow on the slopes, and the blue sky. After passing Leprechaun and Viviane we descended to Upper Snow Lake. Yet another grueling hike at the end of such a long day. We arrived at Snow Lake as it was getting dark. We set up camp quickly, ate, hung food, and we were off to the sack. Sunday we set off at 10:30 for Snow Lakes trailhead. We were a bit sad to leave the high country so soon, since it was obvious we were back in the forest. The hike was hard on the feet and knees, but there was plenty of water and was not too hot until the very end. I would recommend to go up to Colchuk and up the pass the same day, and camp at the Upper lakes. It was a very long second day, and we took our time not knowing that we were going to hike into the night. Also, I think there could be a little better signing in some places, but otherwise this was a great culmination of our multi-day hikes for this year. No problems encountered except for a sometimes dangerous trail.

I finally found the illusive trail to Silver Peak after 2 previous failed attemts. After walking south on the PCT for about 1.5 mi the trail will decend about 100 ft through 4 or 5 switchbacks. You gradually gain back a little elevation then the trail levels out. Within 100 ft of where the trail levels off is the turn off for the Silver Peak trail. The path, which heads steeply up into the trees, is right next to a large water bar and 2 foot high rock cairn. If you see a pond just to the left of the PCT then turn around and go back 40 steps to find the turn off. The Silver Peak trail is fairly steep in places but is very easy to follow. There is a four way intersection when you reach the pass. Left apparently goes to Tinkham Peak. Straight drops to a small lake. Right heads to Silver Peak. After traversing a few small meadows with tasty blueberries, the trail then switchback up steeply onto the talus slopes of the peak. The trail is steep but does not require any serous scrambling. Poles are very helpful. In spite of all the distant clearcuts visible from the peak, the area is very beautiful and scenic. There is a great view of Mt Rainier, The I-90 Corredor and all the peaks in the Southern half of the ALW, and an aerial view of Annette Lake. I was also impressed with how quiet the area is despite being so close to I-90. You can't hear the freeway at all until you reach the top.

The weather forecast for Friday including increasing likelihood of rain. Hearing that I decided to go east and attempt to delay the rain as long as possible. So Mt. David was chosen. The trail has been recently cleared of a number of the blow-down trees which covered it last year. There is a 300 foot section where it has been brushed and the encroaching vine maple trees cut back where they had choked the trail. The new bridge over the White River is state of the art. It was pure serendipity but passing through Gold Bar at 7:30 AM I noticed a hitchhiker. I turned around as I saw he had a backpack and an ice axe which was seasoned with scratches. I thought I could learn some new routes or at least hear some stories. It turns out the fellow is ""Zack"" who works on a trail crew from Wenatchee Ranger Station. He had been in Gold Bar for 13 hrs trying to get back to his car at, of all places, the end of the White River road. That is also the start of the hike for Mt. David. It was both of our lucky days. I got to meet a great guy and he got a sixty mile ride back to his car. He had hurt his knee while hiking on his off day and had to drop down to US 2 to get back. It turns out he was the one who recently did all the work on the Mt. David trail with his chain saw, peavey (look it up), and Pulaski. Well back to this spectacular hike. The trail is in great shape with a couple of large blowdowns left to breakup the monotony. The views across to Saul with Glacier Peak behind are inspiring. The Wenatchee Ridge with the Poet peaks can be seen for its entire length. Indian Creek with Indianhead Peak is also prominent. This hike provides a wonderful view of the western Washington peaks and also those to the east. Many hawks were in migration on what turned out to be a sunny day.

For those of you hunting for a good review of Bridal Veil Falls, here goes.

The trail starts off very mild, following a series of abandoned roads for about ½ to ¾ of the way. While the forest is nice, the lower trail isn’t much to speak about. It is however, level, and easy. Eventually, the trail drops off the old logging road and heads down into the creek valley. Here it because a more traditional trail. For a second growth forest, the path is quite dark and cool. Notice the logging scars of stump remnants with the notches cut in the sides of them. At the junction, take the short ½ mile side trail to a view point directly below the upper Bridal Veil Falls. It is quite impressive. I recommend a wide angle photo lens. My little disposable couldn’t get it all in. Descend the path back to the main trail, and continue a short ways towards Lk. Serene. At the bridge is a lovely view point of the falls in its entirety. From this point on, the trail becomes way more difficult. Most of the elevation gain is done in the last two miles, and you climb about 2,000 ft. However, huge amounts of work have been done on this trail, and there are plenty of switchbacks (23 in all) and lots of stairs. You may be cursing the stairs on the way up, but on the way down they are a god send! The only relief is another small waterfall on the way up. However, the switchbacks are mild, and it is not too difficult. Once past the bridge, the trail becomes darker, and large old trees become more common. Lk. Serene is a lovely alpine lake nestled at the base of Mt. Index. The cliffs soar over 3,000 feet above you. The spires look like fingers pointing to the heavens in defiance. I had the fortunate and terrifying experience of hearing not one, but two sizeable landslides as boulders on the other side of the mountain apparently came crashing down. The sound was awesome, although I could not help but wonder about my own safety. At the lake shore there are several nice boardwalks, and a few benches that make for nice picnic spots. For those who are mildly aerobically challenged, I recommend going to the upper falls view point, and the bridge on the main trail. The effort is definitely worth it. All in all, the trip takes about 4 hrs (with pictures), and the trail is in excellent shape. My hats off to whomever did the work!!

Directions:

Take US Hwy 2 east past the town of Gold Bar roughly 10 miles. Watch for a signed road on the right that says Mt. Index Road. (FS 6020) Turn right and in less than ¼ of a mile will be a turn off and trail head for Lk. Serene.

What a gorgeous weekend; the dreamy weather continues and Sprite was a great place to enjoy it. It seems going south was a good idea because looking down French Creek drainage we could see the NE range getting hosed not more than 20 miles away on Saturday. Sprite suffered cloudiness for only 6 hours.

The trail is in good order for most of the way with some stretches badly eroded. My estimate is that the trail distance is closer to 3.5 miles to the pass. I was unable to find the upper portion of mine trail that the 100 hikes book refers to.

Sprite Lake offers gardens of yellow rock, views of The Cradle just across valley, Cashmere Mtn, intriguing mine ruins, and moderately used camps. The air shaft to the Leland mine can be found above the lake. The sizeable workings of another mine, as well as cabin ruins, can be found off a spur trail just a bit more than a half mile from the pass on the west side. From the ridges, views of Tahoma, Glacier, and Daniel can be had. The rocks in this area, as well as Cradle lake and Lake Ann, yield layers of soapstone or talc. Interesting geology as I am sure the miners appreciated to distraction.

Ah, the last hike out of White River (MRNP) this season. The White River Road will be closing down for the winter October 1, according to the flyer I picked up at the Wilderness Information Center.

There were few people out today; I only saw three on the trail. Fall colors and mushrooms were the stars of the show. The Owyhigh Lakes trail starts out in old growth timber and switchbacks up to the little valley between Tamanos and Governors Ridge. The lakes are tiny and swallow. I hiked on to the pass before the trail drops down to catch a glimpse of the Cowlitz Chimneys. There's a pretty meadow at the divide and the ridge looks like easy scrambling. Tamanos Creek was dry, dry, dry. Only water near campsite was lakes. There is water at the divide.

Weather was coming in; the Mountain had been out when I arrived, but gone by late afternoon. A fresh breeze was moving through the divide, cool enough to get me to put on a sweater and rain jacket. There was a skiff of fresh snow on the Chimneys. There was little animal activity, except a curious squirrel and a couple of gray jays.

All in all it was a good hike to celebrate my birthday.

Cheers to all and pray for lots of snow this winter!

Flora

We headed up to Little Divide to do a loop late in the morning, knowing we wouldn't make Deer Lake the first night but suprised that we got no farther than Mink Lake! The sky was overcast but little did we know what was in store for us! The lake seems to be full of fish, for many were reaching well out of the water to catch a bite. A lone redbreasted grebe was ducking in and out of the reeds and rushes that line the lake when the rain began. By mid afternoon it was a deluge. Mink Lake is just a few yards off the well marked trail about 2.5 miles from Sol Duc Hot Springs. There are a couple of nice camp sites at the south end of the lake. This whole little area is very picturesque. The trail is an uphill drag and very rocky, but lushly lined most of the way with distracting huckleberries and blueberries! It rained torrents all night and the next morning. We were unable to keep our gear dry and the roofless shelter was not very comforting. To continue our trip would have put us above tree level so we wisely decided to head back down to the car and regroup. In better weather this would be a great first backpack for kids! Any tips from readers on keeping gear dry we would appreciate it. On the 28th we headed up the Dungeness River to Camp Handy with blue skys and a weather report to die for. We set up a camp and took a day hike up the valley wanting to find Heather Creek where cross country hikers can access the Deception basin. We passed through a beautiful meadow with a terrific campsite that would be a great alternative if Camp Handy were crowded. Not more than a mile from Handy. To find this trail follow the river trail past the camp about .3 miles.Take the trail going down to the right and find the meadow in approximatly 1.5 miles. We found where the trail crosses the river at 4 miles, some rock cairns on the river bank mark the spot to cross. We chose the log jam to scramble over rather that wade. We made our way through the woods until we lost any semblence of trail. We enjoyed ourselves thourougly. There were many varieties of mushrooms and some were very striking, from the Red Aminitas to the Violet Corinarius. The next day after a very cold and starry night we hiked up to Boulder Shelter where the massive blowdown of a few years ago still takes your breath away with the awareness of nature's power. The new shelter is very inviting and we thank those that constructed it. Hiking then on up to Marmot pass was very exhilerating with the magnificent views and fall colors. The vibrant yellows and reds mixed with the pale white of the ferns and willows. An occasional pale lavender to deep purple amazed our senses. The trail all the way is in great shape. This also would be a very good beginning hike for a family to Camp Handy, only 3.5 miles and then the many places to explore from there. Both trail heads are not difficult to find and the roads are in great shape.

Date: 5/23/01 Start: 1145 am Finish: 705 pm Weather: Sunny! Bonus: Lots, lots of blueberries!!!

Decided to go out to Snow and Gem Lakes, but this time take the old cascade crest trail route instead of the usual way.

Trail up to the Source Lake junction is in good shape. I kept straight and as reported earlier by another hiker, the trail becomes washed away by rockfall from Chair Peak. AT this point, you can see lovely Source lake below you on your left.

Ok, note the large squarish rock sitting on one of its corners straight ahead. The trail begins again right there. You'll climb up a bit and than switchback towards the forested ridge...the trail resumes for good at upper end of a wash at base of a small cliff/rock wall. Main thing is not to go up too high towards Chair Peak.

Rest of trail was very obvious and meets the usual route just below the ridgetop on the lake side.

Snow Lake was gorgeous as usual and a lot of areas are fenced off for revegetation. This has been going on for years it seems...same thing back in 1990.

I kept going on to Gem Lake. I went astray for a bit where I missed a switchback. On way back I noticed cairns so keep your eyes open.

Gem Lake was beautiful and I went up to the pass where you can drop 1000 ft to Lower Wildcat Lake. I did that years ago...don't recommend that for a day hike. Views aren't that great.

My game plan was to bag Wright Mt. but I determined since it was 345 pm and the way was totally off trail, I'd better give myself more time next time. Instead, I took a side trail which leads by a camp to the summit of a small peak overlooking Gem Lake.

Awesome!!!!!!!! I could see Snow and Gem Lakes from where I sat!!! If you stand up, and look away from Gem Lake, you can see Lower Wildcat Lake as well. A lot of bang for the buck! This is just a 200 ft climb or so above Gem Lake.

On way back I noticed a another side trail that looks like it would lead to another interesting summit and also provide an easier route to bag Wright Mt.

Made real good time down to the truck. Left at 420 pm and arrived at the TH at 705 pm.

Happy Hiking!

John M.

We planned to visit Lake Valhalla, but 1/3 mile into the hike signs were posted saying ""BLASTING AHEAD"". We decided to try Minotaur Lake instead and drove another 5 minutes to the trailhead. The trail is very steep and dusty, but short. We gained over 1500 feet elevation in about a mile. The first part of the trail is viewless and uninspiring. But once you're through climbing the trail opens up to bright red huckleberries, great views and just a quick jaunt to the lake. The lake is tucked in a rocky cirque. The fish are jumping, the bright blue sky provided a dazzling contrast to the orange and red vegetation. Despite the late september date, one of the hiker babes took a brave swim. Due to the late start we didn't have time to scramble further up for views. We caught a glimpse down to lake Theseus and head back down to the car. We'll be back...

This is another beautiful place to go on a nice Autum day. Refer to other reports about the details of this hike. Fall colors, especially the reds, were very nice and will get more brilliant in another week or two. Instead of going to the look out, we took a ""left"" at the saddle (approx. 6400 feet) in order to avoid the large numbers of people who had the same idea for a Sunday hike. The views are nearly as good as at the lookout itself. There was a disappointing amount of smog in the air but you could still see nearly all of the mountains from the Pickets to south of Glacier Peak. This destination is a great place to ""see"" the geography of the upper reaches of the Cascade River, Forbidden, Formidable, and the Ptarmigan Traverse. Even the last traverse to Cascade Pass is clearly visible. We spent a good part of our time with cameras and fall colors as we leisurly returned to the trail head by 6:30. Get there early as parking is very limited. In our opinion, the road did not seem as bad as it is made out to be in the hike books or as we remembered it to be in 1989. As a photographic destination, we recommend that you spend the night. Ordinary daytime light is nothing special up here.

Headed up to Mt Baker for a hookie day and hit the Park Butte trail with the anticipation of hitting high camp and exploring the Easton Glacier. We were the only ones on the trail that we saw, except for the 2 workers that had been doing some major extensive work on the trail. Man is this a great trail now! Not that it wasn't before, but now it is rockin! They are still doing alot of work and hauling timber and other supplies up the trail. They are mainly focusing on the switchbacks after the river crossings. Be patient as there may be heavy machinery on the trail. The views were incredible as once we got out of Sedro Wooley and such and gained some elevation on the Baker Lake Hwy, it was gorgeous. So it was sun for the rest of the way up, and Marmots sang to us as the glacier beckoned us. The glacier has certainly receded this year as there was no trace at the first high camp at about 6100 feet. Made our way up the ridge on the climbers path and stopped at about 6500 feet where we had lunch and put on our gear. The glacier was in good condition and had a nice spot to traverse to get on the main flat portion of the Easton that was relatively sound. Checked out the numberous crevasses that could fit large motorhomes inside of them and made our way up to 7000 feet where the wands guided us. At this ridgeline is where I called it as there were too many crevasse jumps and the sun had shined brightly for many hours so we headed back down and just explored around some of the seracs and such. Many large crevasse collapse and such on the lower portion of the glacier that echoed throughout the valley. Got up to highcamp in 2 hours, another 30 minutes to the glacier from there across screefields. 1.25 hours down. Got back in the car and descended into the yuck that I call home: Everett. Keep climbing mountains and don't slip! scott@nwog.org

One last trip out of Sunrise before the gate is closed. I had done Burroughs and Fremont this month so that left Skyscraper Pass. Actually this trail (up down, up down...) was a good test for my foot which is recovering from surgery. The trail has not changed over the years except for a little erosion. I am used to doing it earlier in the year so missed the beautiful show of lupine and heather that cover the slopes. It was a clear day so was able to enjoy the great views and take some pictures.

There were not many people on the trail and this time of year most of them are serious hikers. I had a long conversation with one of the trail crew. FYE-He said they put in a bridge at the Crystal Lakes trailhead so you don't have to walk down the road any more. He also said the Crystal Peak trail is now on their list so it is no longer ""unmaintained"".

It was another great day of hiking. Now I head for the fall color show.

While husband Don was doing his annual bike tour around Crater Lake, I did some exploring by trail.

It is possible to hike the 6 miles from Rim Village around to the north entrance road. The outstanding trail hugs the rim until it approaches ""The Watchman"", a peak on the rim that has a fire lookout. The PCT guide says you can hike around The Watchman without actually ascending to the lookout. I started at Wizard Island Overlook, a large parking area just past The Watchman. There is no sign, but a trail does continue on the ridge just beyond the restroom. It basically parallels the road over to the north entrance road, only high up on the shoulder of the lake rim. As you approach the north entrance, you get great views of Crater Lake. It was about 2 miles (1 hour) from Wizard Island Overlook to the second parking area just west of the north entrance road.

If you wish to hike the opposite direction (North Entrance Road around to Rim Village), you pick up the trail (with rock border) at the west end of the first rocky cliff on the rim road as you start toward the village. This is about half a mile west of the North Entrance Road and just beyond the third parking area west.

I picked up our van that Don had left at that point, and headed down the north entrance road 2 miles to the PCT parking area. Several years ago I had hiked the new PCT extension that travels south from here up to the lake rim. This was build after hikers made strong objection to the official PCT being routed away from Crater Lake.

This time I needed to complete the section north of the parking area down to Highway 138. This is not a highly scenic stretch. Most people will not hike it unless they are coming through from north or south. The trail was quite rutted the first couple of miles. It actually skirts around the Pumice Desert, but as it approaches this area, the trees become spindly and thin. After about 5 miles the trees get bigger, and the forest is a little more attractive.

After hiking about 45 minutes I came to a trail register. It was interesting reading about some of those who had gone before me. A couple days before a fellow had come through who was hiking the PCT from Mexico to Canada ROUND TRIP. The signer above him was hiking clear to Alaska! What amazing people.

I was surprised and pleased to encouter 3 people on this section. They had all completed the state of Washington and were soon to finish Oregon.

Don finished his 33 mile bike trek around the lake. This is a challenging ride in that it is done at high elevation (7000+ ft) with many serious ups and downs.

He picked me up on Highway 138 at the appointed time, 9 miles from where I began, and we headed home. It was a great weekend. (See Sept 22 report).

I would like to second ""Just a hiker""s comment about the upper trail being in bad condition. The current ""trail"" (bootpath) is a runoff channel for snowmelt and is highly eroded. I think there are several good alternatives for relocating this section, but it will require a lot of hard work & is probably a job for a professional trail crew, who maybe at the same time could improve the rest of the trail to the summit. Maybe some of our permit fee funds could even be used to pay for this! (such a radical thought) Anyway, it was a great day for a hike and conditions and views were wonderful.

My boyfriend and I wanted to go on a hike, but which one' He picked up my hiking books and came up with three choices (Maple Pass, Park Butte and Easy Pass of which we have not hiked either pass). We went to REI and looked at the map for the two trails and decided to hike Maple Pass. A friend hiked that trail the week prior and came back reporting that it is now one of her favorite hikes.

Knowing that the drive will be very long from Federal Way, we decided to stay overnight somewhere on Saturday and hike on Sunday. We stayed at a motel just outside of Marblemount with 200 bunnies running around the property.

Sunday was an absolutely great day. We reached the trailhead at 11:00 a.m. (too late for me) and it was already warm. We lathered more sunscreen on and headed out. You start out on switchbacks through forest and at a mile you enter an opening with Picas singing! You go back into a forest area again, but quickly come out. The trail is just a steady, but slight incline until Heather Pass. We stopped at this first pass and loved the views. We stayed there for a bit and headed up more switchbacks. The fall colors from the berry bushes were absolutely wonderful! You then crossed above Lake Ann through a rock slide area. Although I'm afraid of heights it didn't bother me too much.

We finally made it to Maple Pass and could see all the way to Glacier Peak. The views were so wonderful. We lounged around eating our lunch and taking many photos. But because we had such a late start and had a long drive back home we only spent an hour exploring.

After returning to the parking area, we decided to drive to the Washington Pass Overlook and take in the views. While there, we pulled out our maps to see if there were trails to these wonderful peaks we were looking at. Maybe someday.....

This had to be one of the best hikes ever! This section of beauty lies just south of Mt Rainier in the Tatoosh Wilderness. The arbitrary boundary keeps the people away but certainly not the scenery. Fall colors are outstanding and getting better, views of Rainier are stunning and the best part: where are all the people' We saw 4 groups on a beautiful clear Sunday! When we left there was one car at the trailhead! The only reason we can figure is that you have to be in good shape to do this hike. Starting at the west trailhead on FS 5270, you'll climb 3500 feet in under 4.5 miles to reach Tatoosh Peak. I like that: no fat people, no families, no tourists (who else can I insult')...plus, most of the climb occurs early on under cool forest. You might be tempted to just park at one of the spectacular lookouts, or hop down to the lake, but the view from Tatoosh Peak is well worth it, and the beauty along the way is nonstop. Next stop: larch country! Where are all the larch updates anyway' If you have a larch status update, email me: cookdoggie@aol.com Enjoy!

Was coming down with the flu or something like that, so I heeded Coach Eisman's advice and went out for some exercise. Keep in mind he was my wrestling coach 35 years ago, and he couldn't very well suggest the real cure, which is Jack Daniels.

To get to this trail, take the French Cabin Creek Road #4308 from the Salmon La Sac Road shortly after passing the Cle Elum River Campground. The turnoff to the trailhead is at about six and a half miles. After scouting the ""road"", I opted to park on Road 4308 and walk the half-mile to the trailhead. This is a very pleasant trail with a moderate grade. No logs across the trail and a few slightly brushy areas. Late pearly everlasting, lupine and thistle were seen. Skies were scattered clouds with moderate temperatures.

To the brave men and women who are preparing to serve their country, the half-mile hike you take from quarters to graduation parade ground will never be published here, but is far more worthy of respect than any report you will ever read here (even my stellar reports!). From those of us who preceded you, we pray that you will do your duty and will return home safely.

Spire Peak is the highest point (6,213') of Spire Mountain. This large mountain lies north of Gunn Peak and Baring and separates the drainages of Howard Creek from Bear Creek. Drive US2 and turn left at the town of Index. Travel 6 miles up this road until 300 feet past Trout Creek where you will then go right onto a logging road. Drive only two hundred feet on this road and then park the at a parking area on the left. The road which you then hike to 4,200' is the one which angles uphill on the left. At 4,200' the logging road ends and you will then go straight uphill to gain the ridge at 4,600'. There is a faint trail which can be followed all the way to the top of Conglomerate Peak. The trail then continues along the ridge overlooking Howard Lake until you must leave the ridge at 5,600' to traverse the eastern slopes of Spire. I traversed downward to 5,200' and stayed at that altitude until rounding a rocky shoulder which angles to the NE from Spire. There are a couple of gullies along the way which can be negotiated. Once rounding the rocky shoulder I then angled up toward the NW Ridge which was my route to the summit. This ridge is described by Beckey as Class 3. He is wrong. It has serious exposure and if I hadn't put webbing into my pack for a key ten foot step section I wouldn't have been able to summit. Fred B.(not Beckey) climbed this mountain in July, 2001. He has also climbed Everest. He wrote next to his name ""NW Ridge, scarey"". I left the sling on a rock horn near the most difficult section for the next person who might happen by. The rock horn is eight feet to the right of my ascent route for which I used the sling as a foothold. There is thankfully plenty of water from snowmelt along the way, even with this year having record low snowfall. I spooked a bear from 100 feet away and he rambled on. It was fitting for across the valley is Bear Mountain which will be another goal for next year. From car to car is a full twelve hour hike.

We found the ideal way to enjoy both Spray Park and Seattle Park in one easy hike, depending on which way you go. The Mountaineer hike met at the parking area at the junction of the Mowich Lake road and the Ipsut Campground road. There we split the group up into the eager beavers, who drove one full carload to Ipsut Creek and the rest of us who took a couple of cars up to Mowich Lake. Both groups had about a 13-mile hike, but the eastbound group had it easiest, with only 2,200 feet of gain. The westbound group, by contrast had 4,500 feet, though the trail is in good shape and well-graded most of the way.

Spray Park is the more scenic of the two, and the little quarter mile side trip to Spray Falls is a must. It is very impressive. On a clear day like we enjoyed, there are great views of Rainier all through Spray Park. When you get near the high point at the divide, you get great views to the north, with the Stuart Range and Glacier Peak visible in the distance.

Views ar good in the upper reaches of Seattle Park as well, with the ruggedly handsome features of Mother Mountain across the valley. You also cross several incredibly beautiful creeks along the way.

We joined back up at the end of the day at the Mowich Lake junction to sort everyone back into their proper vehicles. Both groups arrived within about 10 minutes of each other - a perfect way to cover a nice stretch of Rainier.

Awesome day and an awesome hike! Quick note to reiterate directions given in a previous post; when pavement ends at ~2 mi on road 41, stay left at the fork in the road. I left the trailhead about 10 am. The first couple miles are absolutely disgusting; rooty, muddy, and eroded. Ironically this section is probably the most dangerous part of the hike! But grin and bear it, the trail gets better as you enter meadows in another mile or so. Goat flats at five miles is a beautiful area, but apparently many have not heard of low-impact camping as it is also a real mess in spots. Another mile or so and you reach Tin Pan Gap, with great views of the lookout ahead. Shortly after the Gap there is a short snowfield that has to be crossed; i didn't bring crampons so i tried to stay on rock as much as possible. Another short stretch and then there is a steep snowbank that drops down about a hundred feet; some kind soul fixed a rope for this spot which was very helpful. The final approach to the cabin is also up a moderately steep snowfield. The final hundred feet feature the famous creaking wooden ladders-loads of fun! I reached the lookout at about 2:15, then relaxed in the comfortable chair inside. Be sure to check out the shear drop-offs on the 'back porch'! Coming back i was treated to golden-orange waters behind seattle as the sun set over the Olympics--it just gave me goose-bumps! Got back to the trail-head at about 6:00. Stats: about 17-18 miles round trip, net elevation 3,800 feet but was probably more with the ups and downs. Ill definitely be back to this spot!

This was not just another gorgeous, warm weekend in September. This weekend was 7-year-old Brooke's first backpacking trip. For our destination, Jim chose Lake Valhalla near Stevens Pass for several reasons. First and foremost, it was incredibly scenic and only a short 2.5 miles from the trailhead to the lake. Second, Mount McCausland, perched majestically above the lake, would make a nice side trip, and a grand First Cascade Summit for Brooke. Third, Brooke loved to swim. A lake was a must!

We knew this would be a popular destination. However, at the time we planned the trip, we could not have realized how popular. On the trail, we met two boy scout troops heading toward the lake. The trail was good but dusty, the air was warm, and all the three of us could think about was how wonderful a dip in the lake would feel. However, in the back of our minds, Jim and I were wondering if we would find a place to camp.

At the lake, Brooke and I hid in the bushes to change into our swimsuits, since at least two dozen boy scouts roamed the area! The water was cold. Very cold. Jim went in first, and Brooke and I decided that wading in up to our knees was good enough. We played around on some beached logs, danced, splashed, and sang some goofy songs. As daylight faded and our beach faded into shade, Jim suggested we find a spot and make camp for the night. All the sites on the trail side of the lake were full when we arrived earlier, and we wanted to camp away from the crowds if we could. I suggested we go to the other side of the lake - I had a good feeling about our ability to find a nice site there. We shouldered our packs and followed a faint trail around the north side of the Lake. We scrambled over some large boulders to emerge onto a nice, level camp spot in trees right by the water. The only people we saw were the occasional day hiker returning to the other side of the lake. We had this side to ourselves!

The next morning dawned clear. Over breakfast, Jim and I discussed our plans for hiking up Mount McCausland. We would take the southern route around the lake, intersect the trail, and head up to the pass, from where a climber's path should lead to the summit. Rounding the lake on the large talus boulders was enjoyable but time-consuming, and eventually after avoiding some small cliffs that we bypassed above in the talus, we ended up facing a brushy descent back to the path at water level. We were happy to discover that these bushes contained an abundance of plump, ripe huckleberries! Meaningful forward progress was halted for at least 20 minutes while we three stuffed our faces!

The climber's path was dusty and steep, and surrounded by ripe Cascade Blueberries! We held off, promising ourselves that we would enjoy some blueberries after we had climbed the mountain. With the promise of treats and a good rest on the summit, Brooke kept up a pretty healthy pace for her 7-plus years. We topped out on the true summit at noon. Jim was dismayed to note that the plaque dedicating the mountain's name and the summit register were not there. However, the summit was not without adornment. Someone had placed a small American flag at the summit as a memorial to September 11.

Brooke and I high-fived, and we all celebrated her first Cascade summit. Jim and I played ""name that peak"" while Brooke ate summit treats. On the way down, we stopped to graze on the ripe blueberries along the trail, mindful that if we ate too many, we would pay the price. Jim and I took turns telling stories along the trail on the way back to the car, which we reached in great time. Brooke napped in the back seat the whole way home.

Trip Stats: 2,000 vertical; 7 miles

Ankle deep horse poop here, so wear boots! Took some novices out with the promise of blueberries. Only 20 minutes into the hike, the two dogs disturbed a bees nest, and the stingfest began. Six in our group of eleven were tagged once or twice. Two showed allergic reactions, so we broke out the Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and beat a hasty retreat. Everyone is OK. Just a warning that more people die of anaphylactic shock than anything else in the woods. In a totally unrelated incident, we smoked the engine on a borrowed jetski later that day.

What a way to experience Mount Saint Helens considering I've never really seen it before even by car. Leaving home by 4:00am made for a quiet, lonely drive to the Norway Pass trailhead, and I was hiking by just before 7:00am. What a landscape! Tree snags all over, blown down trees...being someone who loves composing tree snags in my photography, I was dizzy with excitement. ""What will I do' What will I do!!!'''"". It was great.

One other person had actually started before I did, but lucky for both of us we took different paths to the same general area so we both had excellent wildlife viewing. It was very warm already at the early hour even before the sun was shining---almost as if the volcanic ash and rock stores the daytime heat in them to release at night! Birds were going bezerk from the start, with four species of woodpeckers, a blue grouse, many varied thrushes, and 671,293 robins (give or take 10). I suddenly was frozen with the loud shrill of a bugeling elk bull nearby below me. He kept on calling for well over 20 minutes before I finally hiked far enough to get a look down below in a small hidden valley area toward Mount Margaret. He was down there with 11 other elk, and by 8:15am they were hidden and silent for the day. In the mean time, I was seeing bear scat all over the place, and suddenly was hearing another elk bull calling from up on Independence Ridge. The other hiker before me went that way first before heading toward Norway Pass, and when we chatted later up near Mount Margaret, he too saw elk---close to 30 of them up on the ridge. Two fabulous herds for us each to enjoy. The wind was blowing hard to keep the heat of early morning down, and it made for a snowstorm effect as seed puffs from thousands of fireweed plants were blowing all over the place!

The views from Norway Pass of Spirit Lake and Mount Saint Helens are out of this world, literally. It was such a sight it was easy to almost just forget about taking pictures. I then continued up to Bear Pass, Mount Margaret, and on toward Mount Whittier. That's a real pretty mountain, and the lakes down below are numerous and gorgeous! I then backtracked, and looped back on the Independence Ridge trail back from Norway Pass back to the trailhead. Again there was massive sign of elk and bear, and fresh coyote scat could be seen along the trail.

It was a relief to be back by 1:30pm, and I can't even imagine how hot that sun would be later on or on a hotter day in July---ugh! My cooler was my best friend on the drive home.

The Dentist and I did the traverse up the Snow Lake trail and out via Asgaard Pass and Lake Colchuck. The route is in excellent shape. However exercise extreme caution descending Asgaard as there are a lot of loose gravely places where a slip would have unpleasant consequences.

The good news is that the Stuart Lake road is open so the trip is again possible. There is no stopping or parking along the road due to the danger of rockfall from the holding vegetation being burned recently.

The Larches haven't turned yet although a few near Lake Naid (sp') seemed to be on the verge. I would expect they will be in full color by the weekend of 10/6. Also the bugs were down so it is pretty pleasant up there. Thre was a large forest service camp at snow lakes and I assume that is for trail crews although we didn't run into any.

As you approach Asgaard Pass be careful to follow the Cairns. If not you will be drawn too far to the Northeast where there can be some serious downclimbing.

I was able to complete another delightful section of our beloved PCT. Access was the 2.8 mile ascending trail from Miller Lake. You reach the lake on a 12 mile gravel road that takes off west from Hwy 97 just north of the town of Chemult.

At the junction with the PCT, you meet the trail to Maidu Lake (distance 9/10 mile). Soon after heading south from the PCT junction, Mike joined me. He and his friend had hiked all of Washington and to Maidu Lake in Oregon. They were running short of supplies, so he was headed down to Diamond Lake to pick up a care package from his family. We hiked together for 2 1/2 hours.

The average elevation in this section is 7300 feet, but most of the way was through lovely forest. There were frequent views out to the mountain ridge above that included Tipsoo Peak and Mt Thielson. The highest section of the trail in Oregon is just past Tipsoo and goes up to 7500 ft. At that point there are some pumice patches.

There were deer and elk prints on the trail all day. I did scare up a couple of elk and one deer. Thielson Creek is the only water. The climb out of Thielson Creek to the ridge above is interesting. The trail goes along the back side of Mt Thielson, and then curves around to its front side.

I travelled 12 miles south on the PCT to where a trail leaves for the Thielson summit (east) and the Mt Thielson Trail #1456 heads west toward Diamond Lake. It is four miles down to Highway 138. That trail is broad and smooth. I made it down in 70 minutes. The trail head on the highway is prominently signed so its easy to find.

If you continue south on the PCT from the junction with trail $1456, you hit Highway 138 in 6 miles at a point about .8 miles east of the north entrance to Crater Lake.

Thanks to my sweet husband, Don, who volunteered to pick me up on Highway 138 so I could walk point to point. (He accompanied me to the ridge above Miller Lake and went on to Maidu Lake before doing the drive around).

I finished the 19 mile trek by 5:15. We drove over to Diamond Lake to see what was there. It is lovely. Don pedaled the paved bike path completely encircling its 15 mile circumference. There are stunning views of Mt Thielson from ""Thielson View"" campground. Don saw several otters playing in the lake. We also saw a pine martin carrying off a garter snake that had been killed on the road.

We had a great dinner at the Diamond Lake Resort. Be sure to explore this nearby attraction next time you go to Crater Lake.

Fleetfoot,Nancy and I left Seattle around 1:30 Sat.. Two and a half miles south of Packwood turn east on Johnson Creek Road No. 21. At 15.7 miles turn left on road 2150 and follow signs to Chambers Lake. Park at lot signed Snowgrass Flat. Arrived here about 5:45. Lot almost full. Started hiking at 6 o’clock. It must be in the 60’s as we hiked in shorts and heavy shirt. Get to bridge crossing fairly fast. Someone camped here. No bugs on this trip. As we climb up the long switchbacks the sun is setting. Great color. Fleetfoot spots a deer and it goes bounding down hill, hind legs kicking up dust. Yes, the trail is dusty. Three horses with people come by. Shortly 3or 4 guys pass us on their way down. We are getting near the flats but loosing light. I am getting hungry and a little tired as I spot a side trail. I halt Fleetfoot as Nancy and I check the site out. Fleetfoot scouts ahead. We are at By Pass trail. This site will do for the night. It is around 8 o’clock and dark as we set up the tent and have dinner. We will need to find water in the morning. Many stars out and it is warm. No long johns required tonight! Nancy blew my pad up really nice. I cleared all the pine cones from under the tent. Slept great. Up around 6:30. Nancy and Fleetfoot slept in. I took a walk up toward Snowgrass. No water, so I headed back and took the By Pass trail. Some color in the sky so I went back for the cam-corder. Nice reflection on Mt. Adams. Continued down trail across small stream still recording. I can hear rushing water now so I continue on and find two nice campsites on the stream. Fleetfoot is up and ready to get water when I get back. I take him down to the stream and we filter a couple of bottles. We have a light breakfast and pack light for the day. Leave around 9 o’clock. The clouds are clearing out. Another deer goes bounding downhill as we switchback up to Snowgrass Flats. The views just get better. Some color in the bushes and a few flowers still in bloom. Several campers just before the flats. Mt. St Helens comes into view. We take the Pct toward Old Snowy. From up here Mt. Adams towers everything. Some delicious berries right along the trail. We take a break on some nice rocks a short way from Old Snowy junction. One guy on the way back from junction. I leave my pack just as we cross the snowfield. Two guys coming up from Mc Call Basin say they saw two herds of goats but we will not be going that far. Just before the post that marks the trail for Old Snowy we meet a gal with her dog. We take a break at the post as five other people come down. This is Nancy’s longest day hike and highest hike. Now for the summit! The views of Mt. Rainier and Goat Lake are supreme. We go slowly as we near the loose rock at the top. Fleetfoot leads, Nancy follows with me in the back. Ah! The top. Lots of lady bugs beat us here. We get a better view of the McCall glacier from here than at the post but otherwise the views down below are reward enough for being in this area. We finish our water off ,so after carefully getting down we stop at a snowfield and filter a couple of bottles from a small stream. On the way back we check out some campsites and remains of old shelter overlooking Goat Lake. Down the trail from there we stop at same rocks as on the way up. Have some soup and crackers while we take a break to absorb this great day. Leave here around 3o’clock to get back to our camp just before 4 o'clock. Nancy and I go filter more water while Fleetfoot breaks down camp. Leave here shortly after 4 and take a break at the bridge. Back to car by 6 o’clock. Just a few cars in the lot now. This has been a hike I have wanted to do for many years and it matched all expections. Way to go Nancy!Thanks Fleetfoot.

Wow - what a nice weekend. I talked a couple of friends into heading out to Poets Ridge. There are two ways to approach Poe Mtn both on trail. One is to do the Poe Mtn trail (3 miles & 3000' gain one-way) or from Irving Pass (3.5 miles & 2200' gain one-way). We took the easy way up which is via Irving Pass. Drive Hwy 2 to Coles Corner & the Lake Wenatchee turnoff. Continue on Wenatchee River Rd almost 10 miles then turn off on FS 6504. You'll go almost 6.5 miles by the time you reach the trailhead at the end of the road (at 4200'). It was nearly 10am on Saturday morning when we hit the trail. The 1/2 mile trail to Irving Pass starts out on an old roadbed and then changes to a nice trail in dense trees as it climbs the 700' to the pass. At the pass the trail turns to the north (left) and is a pleasant ridge walk in trees almost 2/3 of the way to Poe. From the pass it is about 3 miles to Poe Mtn. We were blessed with wonderful weather on this trip and Rainier made and appearance for us as we sat atop the mtn. From Poe we continued north on the Poet's (Wenatchee) Ridge about 1 mile and made camp at about 6200'. Just before reaching camp two F-16 (I think) buzzed by overhead. Was it a routine training flight or something else' It's hard to say considering world events the past two weeks.

After making camp and lightening our packs the three of us continued north on the ridge. Our plan was to pick up Longfellow Mtn and Bryant Peak along the way. However, due to our late (this becomes important a bit later) start we decided to drop Longfellow and only go for Bryant. Note: THERE IS VERY LITTLE WATER ON THE RIDGE. The only spot near the ridge that we found some water was just below Longfellow in a small pond at about 6000' on the west side of the ridge. The pond was about 15 minutes past a nice camp spot. If you do this trip plan to carry lots of water. The trail to Poe is pretty well maintained. Once past Poe it becomes a bit more faint. Past Longfellow it almost disappears. Just past that camp spot we crossed a small basin/boulder field. It was now about 3:15pm and it was here that Laura decided to head back to camp. Paul and I continued to traverse the side of the ridge eventually crossing over to it's east side and then back over to the west just below the summit. We traversed the ridge at about 6100' and then when we were about due west of the summit just decided to head up. It's steep but isn't too bad. We reached the summit at 5:30pm. So, we actually approached the summit from the north. Bryant has awesome views of Whittier, Poe, Longfellow, Glacier Peak and so much more. We only gave ourselves the luxury of 15 minutes rest on the summit because it was getting quite late. We were back to the pond at about 7pm where we filtered about 4 quarts of water. Because of the time I even collected on bottle of unfiltered water to use for cooking. By 7:30 we were back at the boulder field and by now it was getting pretty dark so out came the head lamp. The last hour was spent hiking back to camp in the dark. Thank goodness for halogen bulbs!

Sunday found us packing up camp to head back out. Instead of heading straight for Irving Pass we decided to drop our packs just south of Poe at about 5600'. We followed a faint boot path northeast toward peak 5898 and the small lake just east of it. It doesn't look like too many people make the trip there. I'd hate to say it's a shame. It is a gorgeous little lake and it was nice to have it all to ourselves. We took out time eating lunch and picking berries. Then at about 1:30 we headed back the 1 mile to where we dropped the packs. Then it was back to Irving Pass and down to the car.

Ended up the day with a trip to Zekes for a cheeseburger basket and cherry shake.

Stats: about 18 miles and roughly 3500' gain (don't hold me to this though).

Note: the trip to Bryant would make a pretty awesome leg for a loop trip. It would be nice to get back here sometime and head in along Poet's ridge toward Bryant. From Bryant head toward Meander Meadow to pick up the PCT and head out Cady Ridge.

To summit: 7 miles one way Vertical Gain: 5100 vertical feet Time: 11 hours round trip Have wanted to do this peak for a long time so we finally set out for the cascade pass trailhead at 4am. Took the gravel road from Marblemount for 23 miles to the last trailhead on the road which has nice BIG bathrooms. Large parking area provides enough room for everyone. Left the trailhead at 7am. The trail to cascade pass (3.7 miles) is long and effortless. Trailhead is 3600 feet, and cascade pass is about 5300 feet, so it is relatively flat. After 33 switchbacks it opens up with vast views of the Triplets and Johanissberg (sp')Mountain. The trail is wide open from here on out as it skirts some meadows and fields of rock and scree. Once at Cascade Pass, you go down into the valley for a few hundred feet where you hit a junction that takes you to Sahale Arm or to Stehiken (sp'). Follow the Arm up some steep switchbacks through brush and bushes for 700 vertical feet till you reach another junction that gives you some incredible views of the Sahale Arm, and everything else around you. From here you can downclimb a trail to Doubtful Lake which is gorgeous, or start the climb towards the Sahale Glacier Camp at 7700 feet (from what I have heard it is the highest camp in the cascades). Beautiful meadows and songs from Marmots are seen and heard here as the trail starts out mellow and takes you around the otherside of the arm. Green, Blue, Red, are seen everywhere - spring must be a beautiful time of year around here. After a little longer one reaches the scree fields. The trail stops and picks up somewehre else every so often, and cairns are hard to see, but keep your eye on the terminus of the Glacier and you should be okay. Good boots that have strong support, such as full steel shank or so are recommended so that a twisted ankle is not a threat. After reaching the camp there are many small lakes and streams that flow off of the glacier that provided some of the best glacier water I had ever had after coming back down, so be sure to bring your water filter! The campsites here remind me of Helen Lake Basecamp on Mt Shasta, shelters made from stones that provide some great protection from wind and weather. The wind was not too bad at spots on the trail, but reached around 25mph, but really cold, even though the sun shined brightly. (Bring lots of extra clothing) From camp you are only about 1000 vertical feet short of the summit, and a short 1.3 miles. Here is the spot to put on the crampons, get out the ice axe, and a rope (recommended). There was a group of BoeAlps in front of us and they did not use a rope, but I like to use ropes when there is a glacier involved that has crevasses. It is not a difficult glacier climb, Grade I - and the negotiation of crevasses is pretty simple as long as you stay on the crampon tracks. There are some large crevasses though and a fall without an ice axe, or the ability to use one could be serious. I noticed on the way down that there was a crevasse opening up at the halfway mark that might engulf the path, so hopefully there will be a detour path soon. Probe the area before continuing on. Once off the glacier, it is all scree from there on out. There are too many paths and approaches for the summit. Beckey has 3 listed, and they are all difficult, with a class 3-4 as being the easiest. So we skirted the southerly ridge and followed a couple of paths that lead us to the base of the summit, some 300 feet below the top. There was a group of some folks coming down, and the path they were taking was a little sketchy. On the south east side of the summit is a gulley that is about class 3-4 and has high exposure. One slip could be fatal. We climbed up and made our way up a small crack in a chimney that was rather difficult, but minimal exposure. The packs made it rather difficult, so we took them off and headed for the traverse across the gully. AT this time the BoeAlps were belaying some climbers down, and one of them had on Plastics! I was so scared for him, as that was the absolute worst thing someone could have done. They should not have been allowed on the summit climb as plastics are just asking for an accident. Anyway, we had to wait for these climbers to come down as we barely sat on a ledge for about 10 minutes. As they finally passed, we made our way for the next 2 difficult moves. Hoisting yourself onto a block was the first one, and the exposure once again was awful. Trembling and unsure of ourselves, Dick and I made the decision that it was not worth it, and that sitting there waiting in a gulley full of exposure just made it worse for our heads. Tired, drained mentally and physically, we headed back down and struggled with the crack in the chimney, after lots of swearing and such, we got back down the screefield and had lunch with our other teammate (and my wife) Alison. Once again the views are majestic, and just to make it to Sahale Glacier Camp is well worth the trip. BUT, w/o climbing skills, or a rock rope (we had a glacier travel rope, but it would not be strong enough we guessed) the summit climb can be intimidating. Be safe. Make sure to bring headlamps for the climb in and out just in case. Pictures to come soon at www.nwog.org, and there are many already on www.summitpost.com.

Keep climbing mountains and don't slip! Scott Harder scott@nwog.org

Drive to trailhead was 2 1/4hr. A grand hike, took 2 1/4hr from trailhead to ridge line at 5300. Then another 1 3/4hr to summit. A new bridge has been installed at the trailhead. Trail is well graded. Lots of switchbacks, but very gradual. The last 1 -1.5mi is above tree line over loose dirt, scree and talus. Every time you think the trail is leading you right into the rock, it switchbacks, sometimes to the ""backside"" and continues along ridge. Within 1/4 mi of top theres a switchback that is hard to see. Pay attention to the rocks, a 1 ft rock wall has been built on 1 switchback, and there are small cairns marking the way up the scree.

There were 2 serious blowdowns along ridge, heading up there is a large tree trunk down, one can follow the newly beaten path along the whole length of the trunk to the trail above rather than climb back down to trail which only switches around to the upper trail.

The last 200ft go along a cliff/ridge, sometimes only about 5ft wide. This is not a trail for those who don't like exposure and loose rock.

Up 4hr, down 2:45hr

After seeing this route as a 100 classic hike, we thought we would check it out. The trailhead is only about 3 mile from Rimrock lake. This gravel road was in great shape. From the trailhead up to the footbridge over Indian Creek was in good shape with one blow-down over the trail. Nice camp at the footbridge with enough room for two tents. The short but very steep path down to the bridge and back up the other side could use some work. There is a lot of horse traffic here and the the trail was soft, dusty and a lot of loose rock. We then turned onto McAllister trail which was in good shape. There were three blow-downs on this stretch of trail. Turning onto the Sand Ridge trail we headed up tword Mt Tumac. We saw and heard many Elk along this section of trail. Some maps show a trail going up the south side, but never saw the turn off. We continued up through the woods up to the cutoff to Blackenship lakes. More Elk between the cutoff and the lakes. There were no campsites that we could see between the footbridge and the lakes. There were four camp sites we could find on the southern lake. We needed to walk around the shoreline to get to them. The next morning we went down the Indian creek trail back to the trail head. This section of trail was breathtaking. Indian Creek meadows had a large horse camp, but this time of year there was no water. A five to ten minute hike to the south end of the meadow and water there. Once back in the woods, another tree across the trail. Trail was in good shape and a very beautiful forest, altough a bit dusty. The corssing of Indian creek was dry, but you could tell that it would a deep crossing when the water was running. All reports are that this hike can be very buggy, but there must have been a frost last week and we never saw a bug. All the trees are passable, but the horse traffic is creating new trails around all the trees. Someone needs to get in there with a chain saw before the trail is completly rerouted. Most of these trees were 3' across. Round trip was about 14 miles. I would suggest that this be hiked as a three day trip, with a base camp at the Blackenship lakes you could day hike up to Twin Sisters, then Mt Tumac and go up to Pear and Apple lakes.

Had a very nice hike. The trail is in very good condition. Plenty of blueberries. :-)

What a way to start the autumn season, gorgeous blue sky, glistening glaciers, golden meadows, frogs in the grass and a roaring creek. Glacier Basin is a great family hike. Although I was part of a group of Mountaineers, we passed by (on the way out) several families coming in. The trail follows an old mining road for most of the way and is easy enough for most walkers.

We took the side trail to a viewpoint over the Emmons Glacier moraine and then headed up to the meadows for lunch. If you're a backpacker, this might be a good time of the year to get a campsite in the high country; there was only one tent in the campground when we arrived.

While enjoying lunch, we spotted seven goats above the climber's trail. We also watched cavorting marmots, chipmunks and stellar jays in the meadow. The basin is a pretty place. There is no snow left in the upper basin, just ice and rock.

The trip down was quick, 1.25 hrs. It's a bit slower going up and most of the elevation gain is in the last mile.

FYI the White River area will be closing down in about a month. Call before going to see if facilities and roads are open. No bugs and lots of spaces in the parking lot. The climbers and skiers are gone for the season.

Happy hiking.

Today's weather would have been welcome on the Skyline Trail near Jasper National Park two weeks ago. Then we had snow, 50 mile per hour winds and fog. Today it was the first day of Fall but felt like summer.

The trail was dry and in good shape with an exception noted below. The huckleberries and blueberries were awesome. Everyone was eating their way up and down the trail.

The trail above the ""diminishing pond"" really needs work. It is eroding and while it was dry today, everyone walks one more and more heather trying to not get muddy. I don't know where the Forest Service and volunteers spend their money and time but instead of leveling the quite wonderful trail up Mt Dickerman, the section of trail on Granite Mt really needs work as the trail gets wider and wider and more and more eroded.

Stretching out my ""endless summer"" of hiking, Marmot Pass with a quest for Mount Buckhorn was put on today's agenda for adventure. Tomas had viewed Buckhorn from his house in Tacoma many times but had never attempted an assault. We considered today's hike Tomas's visionquest for Buckhorn. We hit the Big Quilcene trail at 9:45 and made good time as the trail was maintained in great condition. There wasn't much color on the subalpine slopes as the wildflower bloom has finished and the fall colors had yet to arrive. Nonetheless, the scenery was wonderful along the sun-baked slopes of the ""poop-out drag"". We arrived at Marmot Pass with plenty of hog fuel left in the tank so after a quick look around, we headed up the side trail to the summitt of Buckhorn. The path was fairly steep at first but leveled off somewhat when we gained the ridge. The trail is composed of fairly loose scree so a walking stick or treking poles comes in handy. The path continues over a couple of minor false summitts (dashed our hopes both times!) before leading to the southwest peak of Buckhorn. Great views of everything you'd expect to see from a tall Olympic peak on a clear day. No mosquitoes anywhere on the trail; only an occasional deer fly. The good trail condition permits a fairly quick descent from Marmot Pass on down. Water is still available at Camp Mystery but not above that. This is a great time of year to be on the trail; don't hang up the backpack for the winter just yet!

Took a break from the usual less-tramped and long day trips, and headed up to one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. It's a 2:30 drive from Everett to the Mt Baker lodge and Artist Point, if you take time off for a milkshake at that berry place near Glacier. Yum! By 12:30 we had an ""early alpine start"" from Artist Point. You won't be alone up here on a beautiful weekend. Mobs at the trailhead, even a forest service station for collecting those parking fees (if you don't have a volunteer pass or paid pass already).

The trail is in perfect condition. And extremely easy. And full of scenes of Mt Baker's iced slopes. And full of scenes of Mt Shuksan's iced and rock slopes. Both are spectacular views. We went through quite a bit of Kodachrome 25 snapping off coffee table book view after view. We traversed around Table Mt and dropped down to Iceberg Lakes. Then spent a half hour dipping our toes in the water. More tripod shots past the lake of Baker and lake and lenticular cloud and tree and reflection... then a leisurely walk through more blueberry fields. Then some fun little scrambles on rock. Then topping out after a climb to a pass where the view changes from Mt Baker to Mt Shuksan. Wow! After a long stop at the pass capturing more images, we dropped down, halted by berries numerous times.

In a field of rocks with substantial marble content, rocks to scramble, and a stupendous view of Shuksan, out came the stove. In went four ears of corn, then some instant dinners and hot chocolates for all. After an easy walk down to the road, I prepared for a jog up the 3 miles to get the car. But good Samaritans happened by at the perfect time. They offered to drive us back to the car at Artist Point. Lo and behold, this gave us time to watch the alpenglow develop on Shuksan. And up went the tripod for more exposures of warm lit glaciers of this incredibly scenic peak. At last, it was time to get the heck out of Dodge, time to go home and dream about superb views, good company, and milkshakes.

September 22-23,2001

Very dry, no mud just dust. The bridges are completed...nice too! We took this trail up to Gallagher Head Lake and camped for the night. We started out about 4:30pm so hiked in the cool evening. The first mile or so is easy going. It starts climbing after the 1392.1 junction, switch backs with tree roots, etc. We were surprised by dramatic openings with views (peaks, waterfalls)as we went. We topped out and were in a very nice meadow with lots of campsites but we went on up the long switchbacks climbing out of the meadow toward the lake. We were rewarded with setting sunshine casting gold/orange light on us as we went admiring the already orange grass, gold leaves, rust colored huckleberries, mustard colored hilltop and lots of evertrue evergreens.

No need for a tent in this perfect weather we laid out our sleeping bags in a meadow overlooking the lake and Mt. Raineer in the distance framed on each side by the closer peaks. As the sun set the highlights moved and changed, the moon was already out and there's nothing like moonlight on the water. I should mention that the lake is actually a bit dry, shallow so it's not really the highlight of the trip right now but the fall colors were glorious this weekend. There is a road to the lake and there were two camps set up already when we arrived but they were quiet, no campfires. There are no campfires allowed here right now ...period.

We only met one other couple on the trail, they had a pair of identical Springer Spaniels, brown and white. They stepped off the trail for us to pass. Nice little hike, a bit dry but the main streams are still running, no bugs.

The whole Wonderland Trail in a day! Well, not quite. We didn’t even hike one percent of the trail, but the stretch we did hike was wonderful indeed. Bill and I wanted to use our mountain bikes to access one of the more remote sections of the park, so we headed for Klapatche Park. The Westside Road is still closed at about the three mile mark, making access to Klapatche Park difficult. We used our mountain bikes to ride the eight or nine miles of road to the Klapatche Park trailhead. The road was in good shape. The washout at Fish Creek has been fixed and the one mile stretch beyond is a little rough. It is a steady grind gaining 1000 ft elevation to Round Pass. Then a chilly 600 ft descent to the low point just beyond the South Puyallup River bridge. Another 300 ft of gain got us to the 3700 ft trailhead where we parked our bikes. A Park Service pickup drove up and down the road passing us twice on our way in.

The Klapatche Park Trail was in great shape with no blowdowns, mud or washouts. The trail looks very little used. Sections are blanketed with tiny tree cones, and small plants are encroaching on the trail in places. Once the trail reached the ridge crest our progress was slowed as there were lots of ripe blueberries to pick. There were also some of the darker and sweeter huckleberries. Klapatche Park was glorious with a nice view of the mountain. It was also very quiet with no other hikers. Aurora Lake was almost dried up with only a 10-ft diameter puddle remaining in the middle. This was the first water we saw on the hike. The huckleberry brush was turning red adding color to our many photos.

We next followed the Wonderland Trail to St. Andrews Lake. We spotted a bear in the meadow below us and 11 goats including four kids, on steep slopes of Rainier. We then ran into our first meeting with an around-the mountain backpacker. He was the first person we had seen since leaving the trailhead.

While enjoying lunch at St. Andrews Lake, a bear and two cubs approached the lake from the opposite side. One cub and the mother entered the lake and started to splash and frolic in the water. They playfully wrestled with each other for a while. This was the most interesting bear sighting I’ve ever had! The bears left the lake and disappeared into the trees.

It was now time for Bill and I to do our off trail scramble. We decided on a 6900 ft meadow topped knoll just to the northeast of “Andrew 6716.” We headed straight for the snow patch between the two summits. A moderate rock scramble (with no exposure) around the left side of the snow patch got us to the saddle between the peaks. From there it was an easy meadow romp to the top. The views were fantastic. We were right above the Tahoma Glacier. Views included the Goat Rocks, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt St Helens, Indian Henrys Hunting Ground, Emerald Ridge and, of course, The Mountain. Tokaloo Rock, 800 ft above us, looked like a straight forward scramble. But we felt the 5000 ft + gain for our day (2000 on bikes, 3200 on foot) was enough. Time to sit back and enjoy the view.

On the way out we saw another round-the mountain hiker and two ambitious day hikers who were hiking from Mowich Lake to Longmire. Another four hikers at Klapatche Park doubled our human exposure for the hike. The bike ride out the Westside Road was fun and fast, except for the 600 ft climb up to Round Pass.

It was a bright sun shiny day so I decided to check out Mailbox Peak. If you like your trail steep, then this one is for you. Once you leave the DNR road this trail is only flat for about the first 200 yards as it goes along a small creek. After that is gets with the program of getting to the summit in the shortest distance possible, like a climbers path or an old miners trail. No nice long switch backs, so be prepared, as your legs will let you know what kind of shape your are in. It seems to take forever to get up through the trees (at least there is a lot of shade on those sunny days) when you finally break out into the brushy area with lots of blue berries. Then up some more through more trees to get around a large boulder field area. Finally the summit ridge comes into view, but you can't see the top yet. Up the ridge until you can spot the mailbox and you now know it isn't to much farther. It seems a lot longer then the 3 miles up listed in the guide book. There is 4,106' gain on this hike and you feel it all.

Only six hikers made the top today. Nices views all around. Rainier to Glacier Peak. The mail box was full with two summit register books, some letters that never got picked up by the U.S. Postal Service, an 8-Ball and some misc. stuff. The flag on the side of the mailbox is a rubber chicken. Treking poles are handy for this trip.

About two hours to Medra Pass then another 1:15 to Koppen via a marginal but easily followed trail. Fall colors starting to show on this grand ridge walk. Saw no one. Cold front coming in created a cool breeze against sweaty skin. We’ll be back to explore the loop south on #1225/#1235 to the South Fork Johnson Creek #1383.1.

""Hey, the rain stopped. Let's go hiking"" was the announcement from little 3 year old Christopher this morning (after watching 5 minutes of ""Bob The Builder"" on Nickelodeon, of course). Well, most days his announcing this could mean anything from a real hike to a walk through the mall to a playground. But indeed he wanted something that involved his favorite pastime: attempting to fill a river with rocks that he throws, so off we headed to one of our favorite nearby areas.

For those that don't know it, Three Forks Park is the area bounded by the North Fork Snoqualmie Rd. and Reining Road north of North Bend where the three forks of the Snoqualmie River converge within 1/4 mile of one another. There is a cute 1/3 mile trail through cottonwood forest to the rivers gravel bars, and endless (well, for a three year old boy) trekking in all directions along the river(s). We managed to not fall in the mud nor get tangled in the blackberry and stinging nettle vines enroute to the rivers, and while the Army Corp of Engineers might have worried for awhile, the rivers remain free flowing and not dammed from the uncountable numbers of rocks that CJ and Dad threw into the river. Trying to hit a log 25 feet out in the river was particularly good fun. We saw abundant wildlife as well: three deer, three duck species, killdeer, spotted sandpipers, four great blue herons, cormorants, and even a bald eagle that the little guy spotted before I did! He's becoming a better birder than I already....

The hike back to the car and awaiting cheese and cracker snacks went well, even if I didn't let him con me into catching the mouse we saw in the forest and ""take 'em home with us"". It must have been a good outing, since Christopher is upstairs sleeping a good long hard nap as I type this. ""Get out this weekend no matter in what form or fashion"" is my loud call to you all!

Y'all missed a lovely little hike. Sorry about the short notice, but it's been a bad week and I needed a break. Especially since some of the recent TT posts were NOT providing the comforting distraction I sought.

Met one friend at the trailhead at 1:33. An hour and ten minutes up and home by 4:45pm. Short 'n easy. Had the summit to ourselves. Haven't done this trail in a long time and now I can't think why not.

Am always up for impromptu day hikes, long or short. Esp on weekdays. I'll try to give more notice next time.

""The Enchantments in 48 Hours, The Lazy Way"". Sleep in late at home and have a large leisurely breakfast. Arrive at trailhead at 1:00. Hike the well graded trail to the Snow Lake Dam (6.5 miles and 4.5 hrs.). Camp here or a mile further at the head of Upper Snow Lake, where the inlet stream provides easy water and nice camps. Get up the next morning, leave your camp set up and climb with a light pack (or bring a fanny pack) to the first of the enchantments, Viviane. This takes an easy 2 or 2.5 hrs. Spend all day wandering the basin. Enjoy the beauty of these lakes. Think of it as a park and not a wilderness and it won't seem as crowded. One day was ample time to meander the lower basin to Prusik Pass and Inspiration Lake. The upper basin is doable also, but that would be less leisurely and is not nearly as pretty anyhow. Return to the un-crowded Snow Lakes at dusk, get up in the morning and return to trailhead at 1:00. Voila! 48 hrs! Drive home happy for dispelling the myth that seeing the Enchantment is tough or requires days and days of hiking. Take a bud, even if they're green. Have fun!

The 6520 road off of the Beckler River road is in great shape, not like it is written about in the 100 hikes: Glacier Peak Region book. This road is a freeway compared to the road you have to drive up to the Mt. Pilchuck trail head. From the end of the road you have great views in all directions and across the valley to the Evergreen Mtn. Lookout. The first half mile of the hike is up an old steep logging road, then your head up Johnson Ridge on the real trail through old growth forest. Lots of blue berries along the way as well as several different type of large mushrooms, some of which had been eatten by chipmunks. This trail is in great shape since not to many hikers use it. Only a couple of downed trees that were easy to get over and some areas were the berry bushes are growing into the trail.

The trail follows the ridge and goes through several small meadows on its way to the 5,540' summit of Scorpion Mtn. Several ups and downs as it goes over Sunrise Mtn. at 5,056', some are on the steep side, but not to long. Most of the trail is easy going. I found three side trails that don't show up on my Green Trails map. Before getting up to Sunrise Mtn. there is a small meadow opening in the trees where a trail took off to the north. This was by a fallen tree at on old rock fire ring with a big mushroom growing out of it. Also at this location is an old piece of broken fiber glass roofing with numbers painted on it. After going over Sunrise Mtn. the trail heads down before going back up as it follows the ridge line. Two other trails head off to the east from the main trail. The third side trail should be the one that goes to Joan Lake which is a short distance east of Scorpion Mtn.

This would be a good Fall hike on a sunny day with great views. Check it out if you would like a hike far from the maddening crowds.

This is actually a delayed trail report on a hike taken 8/26.

The directions to the trailhead require some slight modification. The trail books list the Packwood Lumber Co. and a motel as markers to find FS48. The Packwood Lumber Co. no longer exists (site is obvious);and, the dominent word on the motel sign is LODGE. FS48 is neither signposted nor marked.

FS48 is a decent road excepting a short (50ft) section just past an old gravel pit which is rough. Beyond this point the road gets even better.

This trail is popular with Oregonians, 7 out of 9 cars at the trailhead had Oregon plates.

The trail is initially a forested ridgeline walk with thining trees and improving views until gaining a stupendous pamorama of Packwood Lake and THE MTN. Progressing further views of Johnson Peak develop and the trail passes through an alpine meadow beneath a striking cliffband.

At this point I fell and broke my leg. Nevertheless I would do this one again.

I intended to take a bit easy of a day since I was fighting a cold, so I was going to go explore the eastern end of Fifes Ridge via FS#1920 so I could start up high. Alas, heading up toward Cayuse Pass it suddenly broke out of the cloud deck and Mount Rainier was in full view! Since I needed a nice day yet this fall to photography up and out of the Paradise area, I quickly changed my plans and headed to Paradise.

As expected the south-western side of the mountain was socked in the clouds, but due to what I saw and knowledge that the cloud deck was around 7000' early in the morning, I intended to just hike UP until I was in the clear! The only people I passed hiking up toward the Skyline Trail was a couple groups of birders. Indeed, the meadows were filled with golden-crowned sparrows and numerous other friends stocking up on the berries. Fall colors in the lower elevation berry meadows are getting underway and should be popping in another week or two. I continued hiking up in thick fog past Golden Gate and magically at 6520' enroute to Panorama Point, the heavens opened up! Sunshine! Blue sky! Oh, and have I mentioned views' Mount Rainier was standing there in full view just a couple of miles away, while all surrounding me to the west and south was a sea of fog below me. The eastern slopes toward Sunrise were 30% in the clear. Above the fog I could see the top of Mount Saint Helens, and the fog carpet faded away just before Mount Adams was encountered.

I continued up toward Panorama Point, taking the High Skyline Trail to its high point just above 7000'. Along the way I saw a marmot that was so huge it was covering the top of the enormous boulder it was laying on while napping in the sun. This was no ""Whistling Pig"", but instead it was a whistling cow! A few other very busy marmots and chipmunks were very photogenic as I ate and took a few rolls of images from the Pebble Creek area. I scrambled up to about 7300' on the rocks by McClure Rock and had fine views of a large climbing party resting enroute to Camp Muir. Before descending to Panorama Point and beyond, I hiked up the Pebble Creek trail to the snowline of the glacier.

THe hike back down was socked in fog by the time I was at Panorama Point at 6800' and remained that way back to Paradise. Two deer were feasting in the meadows just above Paradise not more than 20 feet from the trail. I spooked up a family of grouse as well. Just as I pulled out from the 75% empty parking lot at Paradise, the fog parted ways to give the tourists in the parking lot something to cheer about!

Day 1: Jammed into the trailhead around 10 A.M., stretched, got the boat and fishing gear packed up, and started off down the trail. Nearly 70 lb packs (or maybe they actually were, argh!) kept us slow for a good hour, but eventually our legs caught up to our ambitions and we were soon in cruise mode. The trail was in fine shape (obviously brushed out) for the first few miles then it lost all reality for the next mile and a half as slide alder and assorted other horrors grabbed and twisted at every appurtenance and strap on our bulky packs. As the trail began a more deliberate climb out of the valley the brush yielded to open forest the last half mile releasing Upper Park Lake to our weary selves just before 1 P.M. Gladly, we dropped the packs and found a couple nice logs on which to rest and lounge. At 2:30 we set out to find the PCT which was another half mile or so to the N. One might suspect a 3-way intersection here, but another option awaits at what is actually a legitimate 4-way intersection, uh oh! Making the right decision here is key, ours gave us Glacier Lake in about 1.5 hours. We set up camp for the night and enjoyed the limited (but very nice) sunset views. Glacier sits in a big hole so your views amount to, um, the lake, Three Queens, Chikamin Peak and Lemah 1.

Day 2: We forced ourselves to get up early and hauled our gear all the way up the ridge to Chikamin Lake. Found a nice place to drop the packs and took a much needed rest after the long hump up the ridge. About 10 A.M. we set out for Iceberg by walking along water’s edge then up and through the pass above Chikamin. Traversed below the ominous spires making up Lemah Mountain hitting the pass above Iceberg about 11:30. No step a good step, every step a bad step is a reasonable way to describe the traverse. Anything from golf ball to beach ball sized talus make walking difficult at best, not to mention the slope in question is as steep as all get out. I found myself flailing about like a rag doll more often than not. The rock wall rising 1200’ straight over your head will make you think twice about not bringing a helmet.

We walked and slid our way down the permanent snow field above Iceberg, then dropped a final 300’ of talus to the lake shore, now 12 P.M. We enjoyed the lake for almost 5 hours – Craig spent the time sleeping and exploring above the waterfall, I spent a good 3 hours in my boat. We made the return trip to Chikamin in just over an hour and a half – our high camp at Chikamin was a welcome sight.

Day 3: A total hang-out day. We did this and that, but nothing too taxing or stressful. We finally left Chikamin Lake at 4:30-5 P.M. Down the rocks to Glacier then out past MounTAIN Woman’s camp to the PCT. Our route to the PCT from Glacier taking 30 minutes less than on the way in. We made Upper Park around 8 and conversed with a few hunters as we ate the last of our stove food. Evidently they had been watching us descend from Chikamin and Glacier through the scopes on their rifles. Strapped on the headlamps at 8:45 and made the Mineral Creek trailhead 2 hours later. I’m almost starting to prefer night hiking when the option is available. Moderate temperatures and no landmarks to fixate on...sometimes it’s nice not to be continually reminded of how far I am from my destination on long exit trips.

It’s definitely been an awesome summer of hiking trips – this one topped them all!

We left home wondering if we should go ,the weather was cloudy and cool. We decided to chance it and go . We were glad we did we stoped at the ranger station in Glacier and were told the sun was up in the mountains so off we went. It is a well used trail but we only saw 2 people all the way up .What a beautiful climb the the switch backs are in good shape and still some blueberrys to snack on! The water crossing's were fun a little challenging not to get your feet wet. So we searched for the best spot and went .That's when it would be nice to have poles. But we had fun scrambling over the rocks. The last creek is the hardest! But we made it with dry feet.. Then coming around the corner and seeing the Glacier Wow it was just what we needed after the sad week we have been going through as a country. It is so beautiful we climbed a little higher so our eyes were full of the mountain and the valley below was covered in clouds it was about 80 degrees and oh so peaceful .. We could hear the Glaicer cracking and shifting . When we headed back down the mountain we all had found a little peace there. God Bless America

After driving through low overcast and drizzle in Maple Valley, were pleased to break into sunshine and blue skies as we got to Mowich Lk. Trail is in good shape, was surprised how much volume was coming over Spray Falls. On climb to Spray Park talked to 2 hikers who had seen a sow and 3 cubs at the top of the switchbacks. We weren't so lucky, but the blue gentian was profuse. Still some blueberries that are ripe, midway through the meadows. A very therapeutic way to divert the mind from the last week. JPP

This trail has fuller brush than just about anything except the upper White River trail. The first few miles are in nice forest, then you cross the first brush path. A couple miles further people and horses must give up, because the trail becomes quite faint. And the brush moves in to compensate. However, all logs have been cut, some obviously this year. Someone brush this trail! It's a dandy in the forest sections, and leads up to blueberry-infested Indian Pass. I wandered up Kodak Peak and snapped a Fujichrome. Lots of berries up there. 2001 has been the ""year of the berry"" for sure!