Little Wenatchee River, Cady Creek & Meander Meadows — Friday, Jul. 6, 2007

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

July 7-8: Meander Meadows and Little Wenatchee River Trail. We had planned to do an 18-mile loop hike with a Cady Creek exit but ran into some scramblers just before ascending to the meadow who said we the ridge was buried in snow. They had camped three nights on snow. They had ice axes and tons of time. We didn’t. Though slightly discouraged (and surprised by so much snow on a loop that was supposed to be open mid-July), we headed up to Meander Meadows (4,800 feet), which was only about half melted out and just coming to life. It was kind of cool to see all the primordial vegetative shoots and trickles of snow melt. With out extra time we took a little side trip about two-thirds of the way up Kodak Peak, which was covered in glacier lilies. It was beautiful and amazing, especially looking down at Meander Meadows and the surrounding vistas on a perfect, clear day. We saw one marmot on Kodak (steep, steep scramble) and another in the meadows. Bugs are starting to come out in the meadow and along the river, but I came back with only three nasty bites. Despite the notorious reputation of the brush along the Little Wenatchee River, we didn’t mind it too much. Though the brush was consistent and waist to shoulder high and close to the trail, the footpath itself was fine and the woody twigs were mostly trimmed back. Somehow, it was remarkably free of dew on our 1 p.m. entry and 10 a.m. exit. Yay! It was a great hike, but 2007 may be a year of waiting for many of the high hikes to open up.