Saturday and Sunday were glorious. Perfect weather and very few bugs. I Hiked up the Carne Mtn. trail (grunt!) with 2 friends. The larches in Carne Basin showed only a hint of yellow. Above the basin the snow was busy melting off the trail (leaving some slippery mud). We topped the ridge, dropped down onto the Rock Creek trail, and headed around Carne on a high route. Snow was still lingering on the north-facing slopes. Camped on a pumice saddle between north fork Box Creek and Chipmunk Creek. Gorgeous night with a clear view of the milky way. In the morning the sun shone on Chiwawa Mountain, Red Mountain, Glacier Peak, Buck Mountain, Phelps Ridge, Butterfly, and the tip of Ranier. We bagged Carne on the way out. The larches seemed a little more yellow on Sunday. I was amazed by the flowers still blooming in October. We saw scarlet gilia, phlox, lupine, paintbrush, cinqfoil, twinflower, asters, tiarella, and others blooming at various points along the trail.

Came up to the crest of the Carne Mtn ridge from the north, after climbing Mt Maude via Leroy Creek and coming south along the High Route. It sure felt good to sit on the rocks and look down into the green Carne Mtn Basin. There are still a couple of patches of snow in the basin, and plenty of water, but the trail and the main camp sites are bare and dry. The entire trail is in excellent shape, with all of the blowdowns reported a couple of weeks ago having been expertly cut away. The steep meadows just below the lip of the Basin are really beautiful - a dozen kinds of flowers blooming amidst the seed-bearing grasses, and all shimmering and surging in the gusty winds blowing upslope. I took a half hour break in the middle of the slope, just to soak up the splendid scene!

The trail is nearly snowfree to the summit and is in perfect condition, save for a few blowdowns that are easily handled. The summit spur turnoff is well marked, and may be found just below the saddle at the far side of the upper meadows. The meadows are covered in wildflowers and offer many excellent campsites. On this day, the bugs were moderate. The summit offers commanding views in all directions.

Carne Mountain Trail is in good shape as far as it can be followed, which is roughly to the Carne Mountain Basin. Snow begins at perhaps 4500 feet and deepens steadily to approximately one meter (three feet) at the top. From the Carne Mountain Basin onward the trail was obscured to the point that it was neither possible nor useful to try to follow it, but the slopes are gentle and the route easy to find. On Saturday, clouds obscured most views, but Maude and the Chiwawa Ridge were visible and impressive with deep early-season snow cover. Larches in the basin were not brilliantly colored, although all were still retaining their needles. Peak coloring may not have been reached yet. Bright-colored clothing should be worn by hikers this week, as deer hunters are abundant at the lower elevations. Waterproof boots and snug gaiters are essential for this hike now.