Bottom Line:
Stunning weather before noon today! The meadows were colorful, if somewhat muted this late in the season. Fresh snow freckles the landscape, mixing with the fall color, volcanic rock and the mesmerizing glacier views. There are areas of deeper drifted snow that cover the trail at times. The trail is also slippery at times (e.g. descent from Panorama Point via Skyline was a slip-o-rama!) Counterclockwise on the loop was the best way to go for views IMHO, and had little traffic until we started descending down Skyline from the high point later in the morning. Alta Vista allowed us to escape the crowds on the final descent back to the parking area.
Stats:
- Distance: 5-1/2 miles
- Vertical: 1700 ft
- Duration: 3-1/4 hours
- Road/Parking: The is the last weekend for White River and Steven's Canyon roads (close 10/20). We drove in from the east via WA 123 and up Steven's Canyon. Roadwork persists on WA 123 - they had not started yet when I arrived at 7am, but there was a 20-min delay on the return. The crew expects to complete the project within 8 days or so. Plenty of parking at Paradise ~8AM with only 2 dozen cars or so. Toilets were open (although not entirely clean); the Visitor's Center and Paradise Lodge are closed for the season.
- Weather: Sunny, with some (rapidly) increasing cloud after noon. Temperatures 30F start, 46F end. No wind. Excellent visibility.
- Trail: Heading counterclockwise, we hit Myrtle Falls, then up Golden Gate, Skyline to the junction well above Panorama Point, down to PP and Glacier Vista, and then back on a quiet but colorful Alta Vista trail. Only a handful of other hikes up to the junction above PP, but then a stream of uphill traffic descending from PP. The trail is probably about 60% snow/ice-covered overall, nearly 100% at higher elevations. The descent from PP to Glacier Vista is steep with packed ice; many folks taking a spill, including me! (probably easier to go uphill). Golden Gate is a better route up to Mazama Ridge (over Skyline) if you want to drink in the meadow fall colors. Also, very quiet! CAUTION: Some exposed snow slopes to cross, although the trail is well tracked.
- Takeaway: Fall hiking really does not get any better than this - phenomenal weather, fall color, stunning mountain views and a landscape dotted with snow for contrast (the view up the Paradise Glacier valley really took my breath away... maybe I should have taken that trail again!) Paradise can be overrun at times but today was an example of why this area is so amazing. Was wishing I had brought skis and headed up to Muir, although really no viable skiing below the snowfield (yet).
I will try to post a video tomorrow showing today's amazing conditions. Higher resolution pics are available at the Instagram link and will also be included in the video.
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