Mount Adams Wilderness Backpack, July 15-17, 2005 Wildflowers were at their prime as six members and two guests of the Trails Club of Oregon spent three days backpacking in the Mount Adams Wilderness on July 15-17, 2005. Despite the lack of snow last winter, the rainy spring and early summer have ensured a lush wildflower bloom this year. We set up a car shuttle so we could do a ""hike through"" from Divide Camp Trail #112 to Riley Camp Trail #64. We spent two nights camped off trail at timberline on the headwaters of the Lewis River, using the middle day for cross country exploration of Adams Glacier, its moraines, Glacier Basin and High Camp, returning to our campsite via High Camp Trail #10 and the Pacific Crest Trail #2000. On our final day, we hiked cross country to the PCT, then south on the PCT across the Mutton Lava Flow to the Riley Camp Trail junction, stashed our packs off trail, and took a side trip to Crystal Lake, an off trail subalpine lake in a bowl about 200 feet above the PCT. We returned to our packs and descended to Riley Meadows, an old sheepherder campsite, for lunch and final views of Mount Adams before descending through forest back to the road. We did have mosquitoes; they come hand-in-hand with the wildflower bloom. We also had some challenging stream crossings in the afternoons, as snow and glacier melt turned Adams Creek, the Lewis River and Riley Creek into torrents. On our first night, Mount Adams was brushed by the southern edge of a cold front that dumped rain on hikers further north, but only brought us clouds. The second day, we experienced continuous clearing, leading up to clear skies and a fabulous sunset on the second night. The third day was sunny and warm as we hiked out, ensuring a stop at Trout Lake for huckleberry smoothies and rootbeer floats on the way home.
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