So the biggest problem with a hike to Cascade Pass is that it’s a 2.5 hour drive from home (near Woodinville). You want to hit the trail by 8:00? That’s a 5:30 (or earlier) departure from the house. I am NOT a morning person. But for THIS hike, I can suffer. The reward is worth it!

5:15 AM and I was on my way (after trying 2 other times to leave the house – really, the brain just doesn’t function at this hour). I headed north on Hwy 9 then east on Hwy 530 through Darrington to Rockport. I prefer this route to taking I-5 because fewer people travel this way, it’s more scenic, and I get to avoid driving through Burlington and Concrete. Plus there’s that view of Whitehorse Mountain. (Okay, there was no view of Whitehorse Saturday morning because everything was fogged in, but there would have been if the fog had lifted.) Saw a couple of does ON the road, one with a fawn in tow, but both were spotted with plenty of time to slow down and allow safe passage. By 7:00 AM, I’ve turned onto Cascade River Road and by 7:45 AM I’ve reached the parking lot which is already holding way more cars than I had expected. (Oh, right, it’s a Saturday.) After fitzing and futzing, I was on the trail by 8:10 AM.

The trip up was quiet. Regardless of the number of cars, I seemed to beat the rush. Clouds obscured the surrounding peaks and kept the views down low. Early on, I was serenaded by the constant sound of rushing water as snowfields melted from the face of Johannesburg. The trail was lonely and I was aware of only one other pair of hikers just a switchback or two ahead of me. Tread is in excellent condition, water on the trail is never deep, and mud spots are easy to step over (or through). At the moment, snow is encountered around 4,500′ but is easy to walk on and never obscured the trail. Just follow the boot path.

I reached the pass with minimal effort and the clouds had cleared for my arrival, leaving me with nothing but views and a single companion I had picked up along the way (from the pair ahead of me on the switchbacks). The two of us quietly shared the view out toward Pelton Basin while a marmot scrounged for food below. Soon his hiking companion arrived and it was just the three of us. And then solitude was lost as one more, and then another, and another, began to arrive, including a party who’d just descended from the glacier camp after a night beneath the stars. Time to move. Onward and upward!

The climb up to Sahale Arm is a stiff one, but with non-stop views, you really don’t notice that you’re exercising your legs and your lungs. With Cascade Pass at 5,400′, you’re pretty much in subalpine zone here; the air is thinner and you might not be used to it. Just go a little slower and remember to drink lots of water. At the moment, there are two snow bridges to be aware of as you make your way up to the arm. For the moment, they are safely passable but they are also melting quickly. It’s not a long drop to the streams below the bridges, but it’s enough that you might twist an ankle or fall down a steep hillside. No reason to turn around, just be aware. After that, it’s just lingering snowfields, none of which pose any trouble, though a pair of trekking poles might offer you a bit of stability.

The meadows are in early bloom with plenty more to come and if you love wildflowers like I do, they can be pretty distracting in your quest to make progress up the arm, but push on because it only gets better and better with each step you take. The side trip to Doubtful Lake (doubtful it will fully melt out this year) looks to promise solitude if that’s something you’d like to re-gain, but the 360° views are up. It’s your choice. (Only strong hikers should attempt both in a single day.)

I topped out at about 5.5 miles and 7,200’. (Despite publishings to the contrary, I think Sahale Glacier Camp sits at about 7,500’ or 7,600’.) I’m guessing I was about a half mile below the glacier but was starting to experience a bit of agorophobia + altophobia. (Probably the reason I’m not much of a peak bagger.) The trip back down to the pass was swift despite constantly stopping for photos. I was grateful to have brought my trekking poles as they eased the stress to my aging knees.

Saw a small family of goats on the way back from Sahale Arm (Yay! I saw goats!), two adults, one teen and two kids, and passed a bajillion people huffing their way up to the arm. Other wildlife encountered was a mother grouse and her two chicks and my temporary hiking companion spotted a bear (just after the pass), though I was too late. Didn’t bother to stop at Cascade Pass again as it was heavily populated (at least 30 people) with more arriving at all times. The trip down was swift but I’d certainly had enough of the switchbacks by the time I reached the car.

STATS
Miles: 11.0 RT
Elev Gain: 3,685′ (a little over 1,000‘ more than last week)
Hiking Time: 8.5 hours (food, photo, and general gawk breaks)
Encounters: 1 marmot, 3 grouse, 5 goats, a handful of horse flies, hoards of people.
Bug Bites: 1 (after the hike, changing into shoes and driving clothes, on the back of my heel, of all places!)

If you found this trip report helpful or entertaining, please consider sponsoring my Hike-A-Thon campaign here…

There are a myriad of trails that loop around and twist through the 534 acres of Discovery Park, the “official” ones fairly well signed and the secret ones not so much. You can wander through forests and meadows or trundle along the beach. Or, like me, you can choose all of the above.

I started out on the Loop trail clockwise from the North parking lot, but quickly got sidetracked by secret trails. What can I say, I like to explore. Said exploration ended abruptly, however, when I decided that it was not prudent to do so while wearing shorts and short sleeves as the park is absolutely riddled with stinging nettles and there’s absolutely no way of avoiding them on the brushy narrow unmarked trails. So, back to the Loop.

At the junction with the South Beach trail, I descended toward the beach, looped around the lighthouse to the North Beach area, and followed that back up to rejoin the Loop and finish off at 3.9 miles.

All the trails in Discovery Park are in good shape and stairs are installed to aid in access to and from the beach. While the park may be busy on any given day (especially a weekend), it never feels crowded. In fact, some of our wilderness trails have felt more crowded to me at time (Lake 22, for instance). I like (and prefer) Wilderness like many of you, but sometimes, when you’d rather put miles on the feet instead of the car wheels, it’s nice to know there’s an in-city option.

8AM in Woodinville dawned overcast and misty. 10AM In Monroe was no different. Noon @ the trailhead was full of sunshine and only partly cloudy skies. The weather broke right about Skykomish, just before the turnoff for the Beckler River Road.

Relatively short drive from Monroe, less than an hour out to Skykomish, about 10-15 minutes up the Beckler River Road and about 20-25 minutes up FS 6520 which is in great condition since they filled in the few potholes while I was hiking! Only two other cars at the trailhead (one with California plates – odd).

Craig Romano’s description of this hike is accurate. The way starts off on an old logging road, currently lined with lupine and desert parsley and new forest. It’s a little bit dusty but it’s relatively short lived. Once real trail is reached (in about 3/4 miles), the dust subsides. The climbing, however, does not; you’re either climbing up or down most of the way, sometimes quite steeply.

There are a few blowdowns over the trail, all easy to navigate over or around.

Snow was first encountered about a mile in (around 4,650′) and was intermittent most of the way, still topping both Sunrise and Scorpion Mountains, but was soft and easy to walk on. Navigation could pose a small problem for one not familiar with the route since a couple of the snowfields are quite long. I just followed the boot tracks of the two parties before me. I expect it should be mostly gone in a week or two as the snow was never more than 2′ deep.

The meadows were full of wildflowers galore (although the pitch of the slope that the trail traverses made me a little edgy, probably because I was hiking solo). The two smells I love the most are pine forests in the heat (which brings out the smell of the resins in the trees) and high meadows filled with wildflowers (intoxicatingly sweet). There will be plenty of huckleberries in the fall.

The views were grand although the clouds obscured some of the larger (Glacier, where are you?) peaks. But the clouds also provided respite from the sun (this would be a HOT hike on a completely sunny day, and dry – there is no water on this trail) and kept the breezes blowing which provided respite from the bugs. Skeeters atop Scorpion (and a lack of place to sit that wasn’t ice cold) meant a trip back along the ridge to find a lunch spot (chicken, avocado, cream cheese and ginger-peach chutney on a sandwich roll – yum!).

I peered down to Lake Joan which is beginning to melt out, but still too much snow there to comfortably travel the steep trail.

The climb up Sunrise on the return was nearly relentless and had to be taken in spurts.

STATS
Miles: 9.0 RT
Elev Gain: 2,650′ (up and down and up and down and up and down again)
Hiking Time: 5.5 hours (inc. a snack break, a lunch break, a pee break, and 146 photos)
Encounters: 3 parties (7 two-leggeds & 2 four leggeds)
Bug Bites: 0 (yay Jungle Juice!)
“Peaks” Bagged: 2 (Sunrise @ 5,033 & Scorpion @ 5,535)

If you found this trip report helpful or entertaining, please consider sponsoring my Hike-A-Thon campaign here…

Last year was my first HAT and I had a fantastic time! I hiked nearly 50 miles (46.9 to be exact) and climbed nearly 2 vertical miles and, while I came up just a teensy bit shy on my mileage goal, I more than surpassed my fundraising goal. Can you imagine that I convinced people to donate nearly $1,335 to WTA? I was stunned!

My goals for myself this year are modest. I’m again aiming for 50 miles but I’m also planning on sleeping in a tent at least one weekend in August (which means a way heavier pack), and while I may only be looking to raise $750, I just know ya’ll are gonna help me rock that out of the ballpark! All ya gotta do is click on the photo above and you’ll be magically transported through cyberspace to my sponsorship page. Even $5 will help me take a step toward my goal, but if you can spare $40, you’ll garner yourself an annual WTA membership and subscription to Washington Trails magazine.

Now I’ve got some great destinations I’m toying with this year, too many, in fact, to do them all. Won’t you help me narrow this list down to 6 – 8 fantastic hikes? Just leave me a comment at the end of this post to give me YOUR suggestions. (All the hikes are linked to their descriptions on the WTA website.) We’re picking from the following (in no particular order)…

Goat Lake/Elliot Creek Loop* (10.7 miles, 1,400′)

Round Lake (11 miles, 4,200′) (assuming the road’s been fixed)

Ptarmigan Ridge (10.0 miles, 1,300′) (assuming it’s melted out)

Goat Peak (11.0 miles, 3,400′)

Kendall Katwalk (11.0 miles, 2,700′)

Cathedral Rock* + Peggy’s Pond (10.4 miles, 2,200′)

Surprise & Glacier Lakes (11.0 miles, 2,700′)

Cow Heaven (10.0 miles, 4,000′)

Larch Lake (12.0 miles, 2,450′) (though I’d really rather save this one for October when the larches are turning)

Lakes Dorothy*, Bear, and Deer (11.5 miles, 1,550′)

Camp Muir (10.0 miles, 4,600′)

Thornton Lakes and Trappers Peak (10.2 miles, 2,900′)

Goat Flats & Tin Can Gap (12.0 miles, 2,800)

Cascade Pass* and Sahale Arm (12.0 miles, 3,600′)

American Lake (14.0 miles, 1,000′)

Spectacle Lake Backpack (22.0 miles, 1,500′)

Deception Creek* (10.0 miles, 1,200′)

Mesatchee Creek (10.4 miles, 1,300′)

Benchmark Mountain (14.4 miles, 3,700′)

* indicates I’ve been to this location before.

As of 12/19/2010… 57 hikes, 402.9 miles, 84,533′ (over 16.0 vertical miles).

57) Smithbrook (snowshoe), 6.0 miles, 810′.

56) Talus Loop (Mt. Si), 3.7 miles, 1,750′.

55) Wallace Falls, 6.5 miles, 1,200′.

54) Cama Beach State Park, 5.7 miles, 320′.

53) Barclay Lake, 4.4 miles, 225′.

52) Quartz Creek, 5.0 miles, 1,000′.

51) Annette Lake, 8.0 miles, 1,700′.

50) Mount Dickerman, 8.6 miles, 3,875′.

49) Thunder Creek (to Camp Nevé), 5.6 miles, 400′ (est.).

48) Maple Pass Loop, 7.2 miles, 2,000′.

47) Mount Townsend, 8.2 miles, 2,950′.

46) Skyline Loop, 5.25 miles, 1,400′. Another fee-free weekend in our National Parks has me wanting to head back to Tahoma.  This also was the weekend that my friend Christy finally had available so I knew I would have good company for the day.  Also turned out that the weather, which hasn’t been terribly special as of late, was spectacular.  (I even ended up with a headache from too much sun!)  The book suggested a counterclockwise loop which is something I would not do again for 2 reasons.  1) A counterclockwise loop give you a more gentle ascent and a knee-jarring descent.  I would much prefer to reverse those since I have no problem going as slow as I need to on the uphill.  2) The counterclockwise loop has you traveling the most heavily populated portion of the trail on your return/descent (from Panorama Point).  If we’d gone up that direction early in the morning when we started out, it would have been relatively quiet and would have stayed relatively quiet as I don’t think the masses venture beyond Panorama Point.  I simply consider it more lessons learned.  All in all a great day (but I’m glad this mostly finishes me for hikes out of the zoo that is Paradise, except, of course, for Muir [and beyond]).

45) Cathedral Pass & Peggy’s Puddle, 10.8 miles (est.), 2,400′. The weekend promised nothing but rain so we thought we’d take our chances on the “dry” side. Not exactly a bluebird day, but the rain held off until we were on our way back. A late start in the morning (didn’t put boots to the trail until nearly noon) and slow going on the path to Peggy’s Pond had me calling our turn around before we reached the pond (oh so close I later determined!), so I’ve dubbed the smaller lake that we did reach Peggy’s Puddle (because it comes form the outflow of Peggy’s Pond). Pretty fall colors starting to paint the view and soon the larches will be turning. Hiked out through dusk and twilight, reaching the car in the dark. Nice to listen to the rain in the forest knowing there’s no one else around.

41-44) Horseshoe Basin Backpack (including Smith and Loudon Lakes and Armstrong Mountain scramble, 20.0 miles (est.), 2,100′. A gentle hike in followed by three glorious nights in the wilderness. Cooking by camp stove, sleeping in tents, early morning trail strolls, a nice easy mountain scramble, peeing on the border, lots of relaxation and downtime – what could be better? (Full story to follow… eventually.)

40) HaT #5 Park Butte Lookout + Scott Paul Trail, 11.0 miles, 2,900′.

39) HaT #4 Summerland & Panhandle Gap, 11.4 miles, 2,900′.

38) HaT #3 Walt Bailey Trail to Cutthroat Lakes, 7.5, 1,600′.

37) HaT #2 Lake Valhalla via PCT, 10.8, 1,170′.

36) HaT #1 Little Si + Boulder Garden Loop, 6.2, 1,676′.

35) Grand Park via the Back Door, 9.2+ miles, 1,100′+.

34) Cascade Head, 6.8 miles, 1,312′.

33) Rock Mountain via Snowy Creek, 9.0 miles, 3,250′.

32) Poe Mountain via Irving Pass, 5.4 miles, 1,815′.

31) Yellow Hill, Cle Elum. 8.3 miles, 2,700′.

30 ) Esmeralda Basin to Fortune Pass, Cle Elum. 7.0 miles, 1,750′.

29) Lower Rattlesnake Ledge, North Bend. 4.0 miles, 1,159′.

28) Grand Prospect, Rattlesnake Mountain, Snoqualmie Point. 9.8 miles, 2,020′.

27) Little Si, North Bend. 4.2 miles, 1076′.

26) Mount Si, North Bend. 8.0 miles, 3320′.

25) Wallace Lake, Gold Bar. 9.2 miles, 1500′.

24) Greider Lakes, Sultan Basin Watershed. 8.8 miles, 1400′.

23) Sauer’s Mountain, Peshastin. 5.5 miles, 1800′.

22) Cowiche Canyon, Yakima. 3.5 miles, 425′.

21) Freund Canyon, Leavenworth, WA. 8.0 miles, 1700′.

20) Craft Island, Skagit Co. 2.0, 33′.

19) Chuckanut Mountain, Fairhaven, WA. 11.7 miles, 1814′.

18) Langus Riverfront Park & Spencer Island, Everett.  5.0(ish), 0′.

17) Sugarloaf & Mount Erie, ACFL, Anacortes. 6.5 miles, 1555′.

16) Rattlesnake Ledge(s), North Bend. 5.0 miles, 1480′.

15) Squak Mountain, Issaquah Alps. 7.0 miles, 1684′.

14) Paradise Valley Conservation Area, Woodinville. 5.5 miles, minimal.

13) MOHAI – Interlaken – Arboretum – Foster Island Loop, Seattle. 5.9 miles, 265′.

12) Peshastin Pinnacles, Cashmere. 1.4 miles, 423′.

11) Swakane Canyon, Chelan Co. 6.7 miles, 1750′.

10) Mount Si, North Bend. 8.0 miles, 3320′.

09) Little Si, North Bend. 4.2 miles, 1076′.

08) Whitehorse Trail, Swede Heaven to Darrington. 11.0 miles, 210′.

07) Diablo Lake, North Cascades Hwy. 7.6 miles, 1400′.

06) Fort Ebey State Park to Ebey’s Landing, Coupeville, Whidbey Island. 12.0 miles, 400′.

05) Wilderness Peak, Shy Bear Pass, Long View Peak, Far Country Viewpoint, Cougar Mountain. 7.4 miles, 1720′.

04) Mazama Ridge (snowshoe), Paradise, Mt. Rainier Nat’l Park. 4.7 miles, 500′.

03) Oyster Dome, Blanchard Mountain (Hill), Chuckanut Drive. 6.5 miles, 1900′.

02) Bridal Veil Falls/Lake Serene, Mt. Index. 8.2 miles, 1900′.

01) Mt. Constitution, Orcas Island. 6.7 miles, 1500′.

Since Tom and I are going off to the Pasayten next weekend for our long-overdue backpacking trip, he opted to not go hiking with me this weekend and instead practiced at the dojo. It was our mutual loss for while he missed a beautiful trip, I missed his company (because 11 miles is a long way to walk by yourself).

This was a struggle from the beginning, not because it’s a particularly difficult anything (drive, hike, etc.), but because I’m finally feeling how hard I’ve been pushing myself all month and my body is just really wanting to stop and rest.

I woke up before the 5:30 alarm and since I wasn’t falling back asleep, I figured I may as well get moving (which was good because it still took me a while to get myself in gear). Out the door at 6:00 and on the trail by 8:20. En route, a beautiful sunrise with Whitehorse, Three Fingers and Pilchuck all visible beneath the high cloud layer. One of these days, I’ll see the sunrise FROM one of those mountains, but not today.

The weather forecast was not promising (either the night before or at pre-dawn), offering cloudy skies and a 30% chance of rain. But it didn’t look like any other area in the mountains would offer anything better and I needed the miles, so I stuck to the plan. What greeted me was a morning full of clear blue skies and crisp temperatures followed by an afternoon of moody skies but nary a drop of rain (on me, anyway).

Not much to report here (I guess I’m not in story-telling mode). The trail is well-maintained (looks like some fresh work has been done on the Park Butte trail) and the views are pretty much non-stop most of the time. I was up to the lookout early enough that it wasn’t too crowded (3 horse riders and 2 hikers outside on the wrap-around balcony, another 3 hikers inside the lookout – 1 other hiker had already come and gone) but I passed a steady stream of people on the way back down. I didn’t stay long at the LO (the weather was starting to turn and I knew I still had a long trip ahead of me) and was back down to the Scott Paul junction in no time. It was a little disheartening here to know that I had completed less than half of my miles for the day, but I persevered and was richly rewarded because of it, plus I was lucky enough that not one drop of rain fell in my vicinity (even though the clouds often looked like they were promising to dump and I could see showers off in the distance here and there).

This brings my final Hike-a-Thon total to 46.9 miles with an elevation gain of 10,246 (1.9 vertical miles). I may be short on miles but I went up quite a bit more than I had intended. I can still pat myself on the back for a job well done!

Neither words nor pictures can describe the wicked beauty that we experienced yesterday. Wicked because, in the end, we had to leave and return to our mundane lives. To experience three entirely different environments in one day (mature forest, subalpine meadow, alpine rock, ice & tundra) on one trail was sublime. Really, if this is the afterlife, I am not afraid of death. The bonus for the day is that this was Tom’s birthday hike (a day late, but close enough, eh?).

The day started early with a 5:00 a.m. wake up call and a 5:30 departure from Woodinville (I can accomplish this approximately once a year). Thanks gods Tommy is a morning person (though he admitted that even he had to force himself out of bed). Two hours later we were whizzing through the entrance gate (yay! for fee free weekends) of MORA (Mount Rainier National Park for those of you not familiar with the abbreviation) and pulling into the parking at the trailhead (with plenty of spots to choose from). By 7:48 we had crossed the road and were stepping on to the trail. (On the trail before 8:00 a.m.? I think this may be a record for me!)

Early morning dappled sunlight showed the way as we first traveled through beautiful mature forest. There are some pretty spectacular trees here if you’re paying attention. The grade at first was gentle, then steepened a bit to get us climbing out of Fryingpan Valley. Initially, Tom and I kept a good even pace, walking nearly side by side on the wide trail, but after a miles or so, my body and pace slowed down and I adopted my usual sluggish hiking speed. As always, Tom pushed on at his comfortable pace and waited for me to catch up every now and again. It’s a style that seems to work well for us. I was passed by one group of 4 that had a pretty good clip going despite carrying skis and boots! I was quadruply impressed. I guess one of the guys was from Phoenix; what an adventure for him!

About halfway to Summerland, I (Tom was well ahead of me) left forest behind and entered wildflower filled avalanche chutes. Here I was passed by a LARGE (we’re talking something like 16 people) group traveling at an incredibly swift pace. It’s my understanding that they were thru-hiking and doing a key swap (but not overniting). I guess they had a looong journey ahead of them. I ambled my way up through the meadows, taking in all the sights (Rainier begins to appear here) and smells. A snail’s pace allows one to fully appreciate all the complexities of the beauty that surrounds one. Whatever my pace, I had a good groove going and before I knew it I was stepping into the parkland meadows of Summerland. It helped that the steepest ascent was in shade and punctuated by magnificent views of The Mountain (that is God – Tahoma).

Summerland. Wow! WOW! Did I say “Wow?” WOW!!! The park lands around Rainier never cease to delight me. The colors are so vibrant, the smells so sweet, the sounds so delightful. Plus there were hordes of fat, lazy hoary marmots milling about. These things are huge (we’re talking 20#)! And the views of The Mountain? We’re talking front row seats here! After waiting for me at the gateway, Tom ambled over to the group shelter (vacant) while I wandered about (and found the privy). We pretty much had the place to ourselves as most folks on the trail were already pushing onward.

While I had been hesitant to commit to traveling beyond Summerland before we began our journey (this would have made for 8.6 miles RT), I had no problem now saying that I wanted to push on to Panhandle Gap. Everything was just so stunning that I couldn’t imagine not taking the opportunity for more. Plus, the body really felt good. So, onward and upward we went!

Leaving Summerland thrust us into yet another environment as we left subalpine meadows behind and entered alpine tundra. Very little grows here which makes everything that does all the more spectacular. Here, bright fuchsia is not lost in a sea of green but rather highlighted against dappled gray. Streamlets trickle down from snowfields and little oases drink up the cool moisture while basking in the warmth radiating off the rocks. The trail meandered this way and that, always ascending, sometimes crossing snowfields, sometimes crossing rock. Gentle breezes whispering over the snow kept the day cool and comfortable (while you all melted in 95° heat down here). Blue blue skies stood in sharp contrast to the gray and white alpine world. My slower-than-molasses pace here had little to do with fitness ability in this higher elevation (nearing 6,800′) and somewhat steep terrain; I was simply continually stopped by the sheer beauty of it all. In this place, I definitely “has a happy!”

The final push to the gap had us traversing a boot-beaten catwalk across the top of a steep snowfield. Caution was used here (and hiking poles were used on the descent). The traverse was easy enough, just had to take it slow and easy. When stepping off the snowfield (which I believe would usually be gone by this time of year) and onto terra firma (yay!), one still does not see the splendor that awaits him; one has to take a few steps to crest the saddle of the gap. And then it hit me. Only Tom knows the phrase that crossed my lips. Suffice it to say that “Wow!” doesn’t even begin to describe the vast beauty that lay before me.

We lunched at Panhandle Gap with several dozen other folks, most of them sunning themselves on the high mountain rocks above the gap. Tom and I chose to stay lower where the breeze was blowing cooler air. Trust me, it gets hot up here nearing 7,000′. I presented Tom with his birthday present (surprise!), the idea for which had been planted in my brain the week before (at Lake Valhalla) when he talked about seeing a PBS program on Rumi. Thanks to a book credit at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park and the option of purchasing used books, I was able to get him two books. Of course, the package was topped with a bar of dark chocolate (with a hint of chili – super yum!). Now Tom has something to read when we’re up in the Pasasyten in 3 weeks.

Leaving Eden was hard; I didn’t want to go. Took me a good fifteen minutes of starting and stopping before I had my pack on and was stepping back onto the snowfield. The traverse down was a bit tricky (thank gods for hiking poles!) but the rest of the way was negotiated easily. I even managed a little boot skiing. We were back down to Summerland in no time where we stopped (at my request) for second lunch. Met a nice group of people (3) trying to work with the later afternoon light in getting a good picture of themselves and The Mountain. Tricky. I offered to take the shot that would have all 3 of them in the picture, they asked my about Hike-a-Thon, and I gave them my pitch. Too bad I’d left my cards behind (Hey! It was 5:00 in the morning, before the crack of dawn!), but they did ask my name so they could donate online. Photo ops taken care of, it was time to pack it up and head on down the rest of the way. We still had over 4 miles to go.

At the gateway to Summerland we were treated with a most spectacular sight – a momma bear and two cubs less than 50 feet away! Mom was grazing on a fir tree while the cubs were poking their noses around in the meadow. A small group of hikers had gathered (maybe half a dozen) and Momma was well aware of but complete unthreatened by our presence. It was amazing to me how quiet everyone became as they stopped dead in their tracks to watch the ursine trio. This moment too was hard to leave, but eventually mom and babes trundled on out of view and we were on our way again.

Down, of course, always goes much faster than up, and here is where I have the ability to keep up with Tom. We descended through the avi chutes and made it to the bridge crossing quite quickly. Here we had to stop because I’d run out of water (3 liters!) and wanted just a partial fill up for the final haul out. Since I use a hydration bladder, it took the two of us together to accomplish the task with Tom pumping and me holding the bladder’s hose to the output of the filter. I had Tom pump just enough to get me back to the trailhead since I knew that I had more water on ice in the car. After hefting packs back on, I looked up to see a marten speeding his way across the bridge. My moment of “What the?” was followed by the marten rounding the corner from the bridge to the trail and immediately slamming on the brakes because there were these two large creatures (Tom and I) standing in the middle of his freeway. In less than a second, he came to a screeching halt and altered his path to speed off into the brush. You can not even begin to understand the comedic value of this moment, but think something along the lines of Warner Bros. Even now I get a chuckle out of seeing the look on his little weasel face. What amazes me even more is that he didn’t just go screaming right past us. We wouldn’t have known what hit us, he was moving that fast.

Across the creek we went and the slog back to the car ensued. The forest was still lovely but not quite as pleasant without the crisp morning air. We had been to Eden and beyond and now it was simply time to be done. And soon enough, there we were, back at the trailhead, waiting for traffic to clear before crossing the road to unload gear from our bodies and into the car. 9 hours is not enough time to spend in Paradise. Next time, we camp at Indian Bar (and take that off trail side trip to Banshee Peak).

Happy Birthday Tom! I am so pleased I could share this most spectacular day with someone who appreciates this world as much as I do.

Alarm A (7:30) was vetoed.  So was alarm B (9:00).  The body decided it was ready to move at 10:00.  Meanwhile, Plan A (Goat Lake and an easy 10 miles) was thwarted by a closure of the Mountain Loop Hwy further on up, so a quickly concocted Plan B was to return to the Cutthroat Lakes, take the ridge and, hopefully, Bald Mountain. Had to settle (again) for the lakes (so lovely) because this trail kicks my arse something fierce. This is no trail for speed hiking; it’s rocky, rooty, wet, muddy and slippery (I landed on my aforementioned arse more than once) with lots of obstacles (blowdowns, rocks, mud) to negotiate (one bit me pretty good). But the toil and sweat is so worth it! Last time I was up here was on the edge of winter. It had just snowed and the lakes were starting to freeze up. Such a contrast to see everything in green! Not a lot of people on the trail (passed 4 on my way in and 4 on my way out) and I had the lakes all to myself (though there were plenty of signs that I was sharing them with the bears). I wished I could have made more miles but I think the ridge and Bald Mtn. are best left to an overnite. Bugs were ever-present but easily thwarted with jungle juice (except for the swarm of deer flies that descended upon me at the car, and they wanted BLOOD!).

Friday was a beautiful day to be on the trail.  Weather was near perfect (partly sunny and not too warm), the trail is in good condition, stream crossings were a breeze, and bugs weren’t too bad (though my legs wish I had hit them with bug juice or left the long pants on).  One couple on the trail was just out for a short leg stretcher after hiking and car camping near Leavenworth (too bad for them because they walked the least scenic portion of the trail), another small group of 6 (4 hoomans, 2 well behaved 4-leggeds) was heading out to overnite at the lake.  Saw a couple more small groups at the lake camping out and one solo hiker (that I can remember) and that was it for the day, so all in all, not too crowded for the PCT in the middle of summer.  Nice beaches on the north end of the lake for lunching and swimming (Tom’s the fish, not me) and it looked like there might be some fish in the lake (other than Tommy) if one wanted to drop a line.  There’s a well beaten boot path around the lake that’s a bit of a scramble, but nothing terribly treacherous, if one wants to explore the south end of the lake.  Tom and I dropped our packs toward the beginning of the scramble to be less encumbered as we made our way toward the outlet.  We hit the trail around 11:00 a.m., took our time heading in and out and spend a good long hour plus at the lake, made it back to the car around 7:30 p.m. (I think it was). We shared a burger and the cod & chips at the Alpen in Startup on the way home.  Bonus points for no westbound traffic on a Friday night.