On Sunday four friends and I headed out for one last larch march of the season. We were pleasantly surprised by Beverly Turnpike, which didn't have too many larches once we got out of the valley floor, but did have lovely views of the drainage, as well as Iron Peak and Teanaway Peak.
The trail was lonely. Aside from our group, we only saw two mountain bikers all day.
At the junction of the Fourth Creek Trail, we headed up to the saddle east of Bills Peak, and then up Hardscrabble to a (limited) view of Stuart and the Ingalls Creek drainage. This was good scramble practice: we had a range of climbing abilities, from someone who climbs nearly every week, to those of us who haven't done it in years (me), and with some coaching, all of us made it to the viewpoint.
Because there was a little concern about the descent, we talked about how we'd head downhill, then agreed upon a formation and order. The most experienced one of us picked the route down, and she did a great job leading us down.
The hike out was uneventful, but because it was daylight savings, we got to enjoy golden hour on trail and on the drive back, which was lovely. It accented the larches visible from the trail, and we even found a birch tree that was strikingly gold right at the end of the hike.
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