A Rainy Day in the Teanaway, October 16, 2010

Yesterday felt like a genuine fall hike. Was it really only a few days ago that we were basking in the sun at Mount Rainier?

Since the weather was "iffy" we thought the Teanaway would be a better place to hike than on the west side of the pass.

Long's Pass sounded good - I hadn't been there for several years and even dared hope there might be a little bit of gold in those larch trees around Lake Ann.

We started out on the Esmeralda Basin trail, then took the County Line trail to a saddle above Lake Ann (the hike round trip is about 6-6-1/2 miles with about 2,100 feet of elevation gain. Older hiking guides suggest that some sections of the County Line trail are hard to follow but the junction for the County Line trail is signed; pretty hard to miss. We were on trail (a little indistinct but not hard to follow) until the saddle above the little lake. There we were a little disappointed to see that the larches were still green (though hardly surprised - we knew we were a little early).

It had rained the night before and the vegetation was wet along the trail - the blueberry shrubs have turned crimson and the meadows golden and shaggy. There are still quite a few flowers in bloom including scarlet gilia, Indian Paintbrush, harebells, pearly everlasting and asters.

As we lunched at the saddle I pointed out Fortune Peak to my companion and pointed out the scramble route to South Ingalls (if you can follow the scramble trail to South Ingalls you can hike out on the Lake Ingalls trail for a nice loop). However, I recall there's quite a bit of elevation gain and it makes for a long day. But fun! We considered that but with a late start and impending rain we ended up turning around instead.

Sure enough, almost as soon as we turned around it began to rain and rather hard. As we raced down the trail the rain was driven by wind until we were out of the open areas and into the protection of trees.

With the new rain the whole place was jumping with color! It was absolutely gorgeous!! No complaints at all except I don't think summer lasts long enough.

A Big Mistake

To those who have written comments to which I have not replied ... I am sorry. I did not realize they were accumulating on another page and thought I wasn't getting any comments. Now that I realize my mistake I'll do my best to catch up and reply to those who have asked questions. The ins and outs of blogging are not all that clear to me other than posting text and photos, please excuse my ignorance.

Karen

August, September hikes

Well, I'm still not caught up. I'm still doing more hiking than writing but now that the rains are returning, I'll have more time to fill in some of the blanks. I do hike year-round though I am reluctant to admit that much of the "good" hikes are going away as the days grow short and bad weather returns. I'll hike anyway and will always do my best to find places to write about and photograph.

Here are a few of the hikes I've done in the past month or so, with the most recent being yesterday's hike to Lake Ann in the Teanaway.

September/August hikes

Lake Ann (September 15th) Teanaway

Blue Lake, North Cascades (September 13th)

Indian Bar (September 12)

Backbone Ridge trail (September 11)

Tamanos Mountain (via Owyhigh Lakes) early September

Indian Henry's Hunting Ground (early September)

Camp Muir (late August)

There may be some "edits" to this list and/or additions.

Summerland, Panhandle Gap

Panhandle Gap via Summerland (Wonderland Trail) August 20, 2010

Curses, foiled again!

Yet I can’t whine too much about that last 80 feet to Panhandle Gap. The snow at that point was steeper and icier than we were comfortable with; poor run out too. Instead we backtracked to a rocky saddle and watched other hikers cope down-climbing that pitch with trekking poles (does anyone use an ice axe anymore?).

If not for the snow the hike is not all that arduous – about 3,000 feet gain and just under 12 miles. The scenery is well, uh pretty scenic, especially after you cross Fryingpan Creek on a not-so-robust ridge.

From that point it’s a flower show all the way to the moraine. A short, steep climb from the creek to the Summerland shelter (no occupants) – here the trail switchbacks through cliffs mainly composed of wildflowers. Well, you get the idea. Just some of the flowers we saw: avalanche lilies (hanging on in shady areas), magenta paintbrush, western anemone, bistort, Sitka valerian, Veronica and at higher elevations monkey flowers and small ground-hugging plants we weren’t able to identify – lots of heather, both pink and white.

One of the most amazing things about this hike are the colors – the blazing white of Mount Rainier, the moraines (gray, dun, burnt sienna), the almost phony-looking shades of blue and green in melting tarns (perhaps the Creator used Photoshop when he got around to making mountains?). The blue sky which later in the day were broken up a bit by odd cloud forms (no adjectives come to mind), the daubs of primary colors provided by hikers and backpackers on the trail, especially against the dull moraines and the flashy white snow.

Snow that refuses to melt – still a cornice above Panhandle Gap. From our rocky saddle there were some intriguing “trails” that went hither and yon, we suspect to some of the nearby peaks and a couple of trails on the other side of the gap that especially intrigued us. Too bad we didn’t have time to explore those because we had the energy. It was one of those days you felt you could hike forever.

Did I mention the neon, lime-green shades of moss near the stream? Incredibly beautiful. Nestled inside one mound of moss was a perfect arrangement of flowers so tiny we weren’t able to get a decent photo of them. I’m keeping the photo anyway – as a reminder of a beautiful day.

We met some interesting people on the trail – Beth Rossow, who also goes by the name of Bogachiel Betty, currently working on measuring and photographing the Wonderland Trail (she has worked with Bette Filley on Bette’s books on the Wonderland Trail). By the way Bette was at Wapiti Woolies yesterday signing books – wish we’d known, I’d love to meet her.

On the bridge at Fryingpan Creek we met an elderly gentleman with his middle-aged son (gotta be careful with the word “elderly” these days, I’m not a spring chicken). They were also bound for Panhandle Gap.

On our way back we ran into the most laid-back marmot imaginable – he lives in the forest (at least this time of year) between Fryingpan Creek and the shelter at Summerland. He was more interested in eating something under fallen branches than worrying about us – he looked to be on the vintage side and gazed back at us with a “well?” expression.

On our way down we ran into the two men again we’d met earlier and chatted a bit – it turns out the son of the middle aged man (and the grandson of the elder gentleman) was storming up Muir at the same time we were visually grazing on the scenery near Summerland. Today he plans to summit Rainier and tomorrow (Sunday) he plans to run The Wonderland Trail. The whole thing. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that this youth rode his bike to Mount Rainier on his bicycle. Well, that gives one some perspective. The word “awe” comes to mind. I wish we’d asked for his name, maybe you’ve encountered him.



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Perhaps a photograph - perhaps not

Here's a photo (this is just a test so if no photo appears, don't worry about it). The problem is on my end, not yours.

August Hikes to date (and the month ain't over)

August Hikes to date:

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenseyes/

August hikes to date:

Mount Washington (North Bend, 2010)

Red Mountain (Salmon la Sac via Little Joe Lake)

Red Mountain (Salmon la Sac via Cooper Road)

Nisqually Vista/Moraine Trail (MRNP)

Alta Vista (MRNP)

Stevens Creek/Box Canyon (MRNP)

Sauk Mountain (SR 20)

Indian Bar via Wonderland Trail (almost!) (MRNP)

Dewey Lakes (Naches Loop Trail) (MRNP and Pacific Crest Trail)

Chinook Pass to Bear Gap (Pacific Crest Trail)

I'm still hiking just about every other day ... will do my best to fill in details later. Bear with me!!

July hikes

July Hikes (A few in June too)

As I wrote a few days ago, I’ve been hiking more than writing. I’ll try to fill in some of these blanks soon!

Thorp Lake and Lookout ) July 18)

Surprise Lake/Trap Pass (July 14)

Mount Defiance (July 16)

Marten Lake (July)

Sasse Mt/Hex (July)

Summerland (July)

Iron Bear (June)

Doe Falls (July)

Heather Lake (July)

Edgar Rock/Boulder Cave (late June)

Plus “conditioning” hikes in the Issaquah Alps/Mount Si Recreation Area