Thunder Knob — Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

The heavy rains of the past weeks were apparent on the trail: Colonial Creek had taken over a little of the trail, at the foot of the first bridge near the trailhead. A couple of small trees had fallen across the trail further on, as well, and several (manageable) mud puddles were present. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful hike. I set out at about 2pm, under mostly cloudy skies, and came upon only one pair of other hikers. The awesome surrounding rocky peaks, mostly visible in spite of the clouds, were washed with first pale coats of snow. Bright yellow foliage dotted the mountainsides here and there. Along the trail, too, pale yellow leaves of vine maples and rusty autumnal ferns glowed under the canopy of evergreens. A side note: The description of this hike claims it's wheelchair-accessible. I'm not in a wheelchair, but I can say with confidence that the trail is not access-optimized--it's a standard narrow unpaved/rocky-dirt hiking trail.