Started hiking in sunshine out of Rainy Pass parking lot (USFS checked for parking pass). Beautiful wildflowers all the way up to pass. Hit one large blowdown but easy to get over (or under if you are a wee one). All stream crossings have logs or rocks to assist (keep your boots ON). Awesome views and mountain goat at pass. Except for the mosquitoes, had the place to ourselves. Snow and some water at pass. Next day we continued on PCT to Methow Pass, with only two snow patches to cross, both easily negotiated. For views and flowers, this is THE PLACE TO BE RIGHT NOW!

Started from the PCT trailhead at Rainy Pass parking lot, with goal of Cutthroat Pass (5 miles away). About 0.5 mile in, there's a deep gushing creek that requires fording with boots off. Poles are helpful. There are several more creeks that need to be forded, but none of the subsequent ones were as deep. Because of the warm temperature, the flows of all the creeks were significantly heavier in the afternoon coming back than in the morning. A section of blow-down around 3 miles, but fairly easily crossed. Significant snow fields starting soon after, but we were able to make out enough section of trail and follow prior tracks to within 0.5 mile of the pass. Snowpack still quite deep in most areas. Still the views were fabulous.

CAUTION!! Larch Lurkers are loose! And they were out in force this weekend! Not only were the Larch probably at their peak this weekend in most places, but the weather was absolutely stunning! Finally, a weekend that cooperated. And, we were definitely going to take advantage of it. Our goal? Snowy Lakes, up off of Highway 20 starting at Rainy Pass where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the highway. Long story - but the Driver picked up Trail Pair in Kirkland at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. Joanna was to join us at the trailhead at 10:30 a.m., but she called and said she overslept - so, go ahead and start without her - she cautioned us that if there was snow/ice along the Pacific Crest Trail towards Snowy Lakes, it could be treacherous, because there are some trail washouts on steep drop areas. Oh great! And then, Two Dog Dad was going to do a day hike - so he was going to start ahead of us, but would meet us at Snowy Lakes - oh, and he might try for Golden Horn. So, needless to say - we were a bit scattered. We got to the trailhead by 10:00 a.m. - saw TDD's car. There were about 8 cars in the parking lot. A group of four got started on a day hike (going to Cutthroat Pass) just ahead of us. Up we headed through the forest with views opening up to the west in about a mile. Black Mountain looked so different to us. We had been just below Black Mountain at Wing Lake almost exactly a year ago - it was spectacular - but there was NO snow! What a difference a year makes. We kept climbing on a gentle grade through the forest. At about 5800' we hit snow - by 5900' it was solid. We also passed a group of three - and would later catch up to the rest of their group along the trail - one gal had on tennis shoes and a tank top! They said they were headed to Snowy Lakes too. (To see more pics of Larch, go to:(http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7962836) The route is very well beaten down, no worries there and the snow was quite passable - not too soft yet. But there was a lot more snow than the Methow Ranger lead us to believe! He said probably 4"" at the Pass! But that's ok - no problems and no snowshoes or other equipment needed up to the Pass. As we headed up, we saw Arnie, Hazel and friends right on our heels! Those folks really move! In about 2 1/2 hours, 5 miles and 2000' we reached the pass (those darn trees kept slowing us down!!) Brilliant sunshine and no wind. Purrr-fect. There were A LOT of folks at the Pass - some had come up from the Rainy Pass side, others came up via Cutthroat Lakes. We talked to one couple who had come up from Cutthroat Lake who raved about all of the Larch on that side and how beautiful it was around the Lake. The guy said the Larch were better than they were on the west side of the Pass. Hmmm, we began to re-think our plans! We found an absolutely wonderful camp site at the Pass that was flat, somewhat protected from any wind and with a 360 view. This was beginning to look very desirable! Maybe we could camp here and then head down to Cutthroat Lake as a day hike - or head out the Pacific Crest Trail and look for Joanna and/or Two Dog Dad. So, we had lunch, set up camp and waited a bit to see if Joanna would show up. Finally, after about 2:00 p.m. we decided if we were going to make Cutthroat Lake and back in daylight, we'd better get moving. But wait, this guy walked up to us and said, ""You're Trail Pair and Sadie's Driver, right?"" Whoa! Even without Sadie, someone recognized us!!! Sure enough, Chris from Woodinville who had met us more than a year earlier on Dirty Face recognized us! He had come up from Cutthroat Lake. So, the four of us headed down that way together. So, down we headed - the Larch were good, but no better than the west side!Well, we got down to about where the Lake turn off was and we were running out of Larch and the snow was pretty much gone off of the trail. Chris said that the Larch around the Lake were pretty, but you probably had a better view of them from where we were. So, we bid him farewell and headed back up the trail - concerned about where Joanna and Nikolai (TDD) might be. We got back up to the Pass and decided to head out the Pacific Crest Trail to see if we could find anyone. We only went about a 1/2 mile (and, by now, the snow had softened a lot in the warm sun - and it was heavy, hard slogging), when lo' and behold, who should be up ahead but Joanna headed back our way! Banjo (Big Boy) and Holly bounding ahead and so happy to see us! Joanna hadn't seen Nikolai and these two guys we talked to said that they had seen him around Snowy Lakes about 2:00 p.m. - so we didn't know what to make of it. But, we decided to climb up this little knoll above us where we figured we could view the trail and see if we could spot Nikolai and his dogs. We got up to the knoll and had a great view of the Pacific Crest Trail towards Snowy Lakes. We were shocked to see that there was NO SNOW along that stretch. Joanna said that once you got beyond Granite Pass, and dropped down, there was no snow! Oh well. We didn't see Nikolai, and shadows were starting to lengthen as the daylight was rapidly fading. So we headed back towards camp and hoped that we had just missed Nikolai when we were climbing the knoll. The temperature dropped quite a bit during the night - probably got down to about 25 (although the temp in the tent said 34) - daylight fades quickly - it was probably 7:30 p.m. when we climbed into our respective tents. Daylight occurred around 6:30 a.m. - but the sun wouldn't crest until about 7:30 a.m. - but the early morning light was spectacular. We ate breakfast and broke camp and were on the trail by 9:00 a.m. The snow was nice and solid, so heading down was easy. Others camped at the Pass hadn't stirred yet, but we were on our way. The view out was as pretty as what we had seen on the way in - it was just a different kind of light! What a great weekend to be out! It may be the last backpack for a while - maybe! We figure we did about 14 miles, maybe 3300' gain. We were back at the car about 11:00 a.m., on the road about 11:30 a.m. and the Driver dropped off Trail Pair in Kirkland right around 2:30 p.m. What a great weekend to be out! Depending on the weather this week - Larch may be good viewing next weekend, too.

September 22nd, 2007: Snowy Lakes A spectacular hike to a land of sweeping vistas, with a full bag of Mother Nature’s tricks thrown in for good measure... 5:30am had me hiking under a blanket of clouds. Rain fell as a fine mist, light enough to almost, but not quite ignore. The first hour was through damp forest, but the going was smooth and pleasant on the marvel of engineering that is the Pacific Crest Trail. As I moved out of the trees, it was bright enough to make out Cutthroat Pass at the head of the valley. Ghostly clouds rolled up the valley and the rain soon turned to light snow. Despite the gloomy conditions, up ahead beyond Cutthroat Pass, I could see some blue skies through a hole in the clouds. Holding on to the promise of better weather I made good progress and reached the pass 2 hours after starting. As soon as I crested the saddle of Cutthroat Pass, it was wow, wow, wow! Wind whipped snow drove into my face, clammy and insistent, but I could barely feel it. Across the Cutthroat Creek valley, a sea of peaks glinted in a band of sunlight. Dark clouds hung low over the mountains and mist hung in the valleys, but in the far distance sunlight occupied the middle regions. Stunning! Sights like this make you feel grateful to be alive. As I headed towards Granite Pass, battling the wind, the views remained gorgeous. The light improved as more holes opened up in the cloud deck; I enjoyed sunlight picking out detail on the jagged spires of The Needles. The trail too was beautiful in its light dusting of snow. Just before the final drop down to Granite Pass, I got my first fleeting views of Golden Horn, but they were gone just as quickly as they appeared. Granite Pass was a pretty little larch filled saddle. (A couple of weeks from now it should be even more beautiful when all the larches have turned yellow. Right now only a few precocious ones were on with the switch.) Views on offer were Mount Hardy and the Swamp Creek valley. I continued along the flat trail, traversing across steep slopes, until reaching the Snowy Lakes outlet creek. Here, at a pretty meadow, I turned right and made the final climb up to Snowy Lakes. Lower Snowy Lake was a smallish tarn in a pretty meadow. While the ‘lake’ itself was reasonably pretty, the setting was superb. Golden Horn was an arresting sight dead ahead, while Tower Mountain rose high on my right, its tops wreathed in mist. Both peaks had a fresh coat of snow which gave them quite a dramatic appearance. I followed a pretty stream up a slight bench to reach Upper Snowy Lake. Around this time, a shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds and fell on the slopes of Golden Horn…and the slopes turned golden! At that instant I could not think of a more apt name for a peak. I happily took my photographs and climbed up a short way up Golden Horn to get better views of the lakes and surroundings. The way back was a lot of fun: the snow finally stopped, the sun became bolder and the views lovely. Additional pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani/sets/72157602128517113 Stats: • Distance: 20mi • Elevation gain: 4,000ft • Total hiking time: 9hrs

Five of us (all members of the Washington Ornithological Society) set out to look for mountain birds along the trail up a to Cutthroat Pass. The trail hadn't much changed since I first hiked it in 2004, easy to walk with a moderate climb, except this time the weather wasn't much obliging. We changed in and out of rain gear probably every twenty minute or so. By the time we reached the pass everything was fogged in. However, along the way we encountered what we came to look for: Right a the parking lot a small flock of Red Crossbills. Within the first half mile singing Black-Headed Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks everywhere. Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Varied Thrush, Western Tanagers, Mountain Chickadees, Clark's Nutcrackers, Common Ravers, Grey Jays, Brown Creepers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Chipping Sparrow, several types of Warblers, all made their appearances. The day ended with a couple of Pine Grosbeaks perched high up on a tree with their distinct whistling call. PS to avoid the long drive back to Seattle we had rented a chalet for a couple nights at the Clark's Skagit River Resort.