Red Mountain (Commonwealth Basin) — Friday, Oct. 27, 2017

We made it to the trailhead at 8 am, leaving north Seattle at 7 am. Amazing. The first 4 miles were in the forest- kinda chilly - nice to have mittens and a headband. The streams are full, one gives you a shower as you pass by. Another one had us clamber up a large fallen log to cross. Red Pond was not frozen but there were some snow fields and some snow on the trail but not enough for spikes. Nice to have poles, though. Followed boot tracks up to Red Pass - tremendous views on both sides of the Pass. Fall foliage still around - mostly yellow vine maples and red huckleberry bushes. Back to the car before 3. About 13 cars in the lot. A fine fall day in the mountains.