If you want heartbreak at the Bear Gulch Fire impact, do this hike and at the top, look to the northwest. If you do not want heartbreak, keep your eyes to the south, towards Lake Cushman. (And don't look at my pictures.)
Road:
Current status of NF 24 and NF 2419: Best FS Road in America? Better than I-5? Something like that.
Lower to Upper TH hike:
I arrived at a sleep and empty lower trailhead at 7:30 am. The jaunt through the forest to the upper trailhead was pleasant. A couple trees down (I think new-ish?), but other than that, not much to report.
Upper TH to Summit:
Great conditions on the summer route, which is still open for business! Any snow/ice is gone. Steep, steep, steep, so be prepared. It was VERY windy and cold at the top. Yikes. I was down to a t-shirt (so hot while climbing), so I was in for a rude surprise. Had to quickly re-layer!
Views:
Five volcano day today! Even with gloomy clouds, it turned out quite nice. I usually go to the rocky area right below the summit, and look out towards the inner Olympics. Well, I did that today, not really thinking, and I was not prepared for what I saw. Hotspots still smoldered. Dark, ugly black burn scars littered the landscape. The ground-level damage that we can't even see and the resulting tree death that will occur in years to come is unfathomable. Cub Peak and Wagonwheel area looks like it was hit hard. Copper Mountain had burn scars too, and some of it still in-tact maybe? It hurts, even though I know that fire is part of the natural cycle etc. etc. But this one was human-caused, and I still may or may not be crying a little writing this.
Well anyway, to end on a positive note, this area was spared and is still gorgeous and a great workout!
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