Category: Overnight Backpack (Page 2 of 4)

The autumn golden larch season in central Washington is amazing!  Headlight Basin is a perfect spot to backpack and enjoy the show, with Mt. Stuart as the backdrop and Lake Ingalls a short scramble away from camp.  J and I headed out on a Monday to avoid the crowds that swarm here on weekends during larch season, and backpacked up to Headlight Basin to spend 2 wonderful nights there. On our down day I finally got out to Lake Ingalls for the first time, and spent a glorious morning up there by myself – so beautiful and peaceful! It’s a fun, short scramble to get up there, and very worth it. Unfortunately we didn’t see any of the mountain goats that almost always live here, but that was the only downside to the entire trip. So glad to be able to experience such beauty and to have great friends to share it with 🙂

I spent a fantastic 2 days in a solo trip in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. I’m not sure why I haven’t explored this area more, I’ll definitely be going back!  I hiked 5 miles from the trailhead and camped near Alpine camp, just west of Snowgrass Flat. After setting up camp next to a wonderful spring and relaxing for a while, I took a 4-mile afternoon stroll across Snowgrass Flat and north a ways on the PCT, with Old Snowy Mtn. and Ives Peak as my backdrop. Wide open spaces describes this area perfectly, and the wildflowers were at peak bloom. Views south include Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens.  Stunning! (see day 2 below)

After a good night’s rest at camp, I got up the next morning and hiked up to Goat Lake, which is just spectacular. There are some campsites at the lake that I will definitely be going back to. The views from Goat Lake south down the valley with direct views of Mt. Adams are wonderful, and again the wildflowers were putting on a huge show. I ate a leisurely brunch at the lake and just soaked in all the amazing views 🙂

When I got back to camp, after a 5.5 mile r/t to Goat Lake and back, my campsite was so swarmed with biting flies that after 5 minutes I knew I couldn’t stay there. They were horrible, going in my ears, up my nose, biting my arms and legs. I could not get away from them, so I decided to pack up and head back to the car. The little buggers followed me from camp 5 miles back to the trailhead. Other than the flies, though, it was an excellent trip and I’ll definitely be going back again!

I’ve posted this hike before, but it’s one of my favorites at Rainier and I got some great photos this time, so here it is again!  Wildflowers were at PEAK bloom, it could not have been better!  Mosquitoes were not nearly as bad as I thought they would be, so that was another bonus. We got to camp, read for hours, wandered around the lake, and had a very relaxing, lazy afternoon.

We were up at 5 a.m. the next morning and headed to the meadow above the lake, to watch the dawn light hit the Palisades cliffs (along with Jetboil, coffee, and tea). The pink only lasted for a couple of minutes, but it’s so totally worth it, especially with the acres and acres of lupine in full bloom in the foreground.  LOVE this place!!!

I had a wonderful 3-day backpacking trip to Young Lakes in Yosemite with S&S last week. Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite is gorgeous, and though it’s crowded, it’s not nearly as much like Disneyland as the Yosemite Valley is. We hiked north toward Glen Aulin, then veered northeast toward Young Lakes and left most of the crowds behind. It’s a 7.25 mile hike up to the first lake, which is at 9,850 feet. Raggedy Peak steals the skyline at the first lake, and we camped at the base of it, but the real show is at the 3rd lake.

On day 2 we day hiked to the 2nd and 3rd Young Lakes, and it was just stunning! There’s a small scramble up to the 3rd lake (at almost 10,200 feet elevation) through a small waterfall, but it’s easy and short, nothing a pair of hiking poles and good boots can’t handle. The payoff is very much worth it. There are 360-degree views at the 3rd lake, it’s beyond words in the English language 🙂  So very very glad we took a day to explore this area before heading back to camp at the 1st lake.

First backpack trip of 2016, first backpack trip since my shoulder surgery in February, and first time to Packwood Lake!  S & S and I headed out on a gorgeous Friday morning on the 4.5 mile trail to Packwood Lake. It’s a huge, beautiful lake with a nice island and great views of Old Snowy Mtn. in the Goat Rocks  Wilderness.

Our first campsite (with picnic table!) was nice, until I discovered that we were camped close to a mosquito bog and I was ambushed by the little blood-sucking critters. We packed everything up and moved to a much nicer campsite a short distance along the shore, so glad we did. It was a perfect site, right on the shore, good fishing spot, protected from wind.

Saturday morning was gray, good chance of rain, so we packed up and headed out by 11, and took a different dirt bike road back to the car. The shoulder did quite well, it was a perfect trip to test out how things would go, both with carrying a backpack and sleeping on the ground. Now… I want to get out even more!

I’ve been wanting to backpack at Goat Rocks for several years, and finally got out there this summer. J. and I hiked from Walupt Lake up the Nannie Ridge Trail to camp at Sheep Lake for 2 nights. It was a lifesaver being at the lake and being able to swim because of the heat. A lot of other water sources around the area were dry from our crazy weather this year.

On day 2 we day-hiked north on the PCT toward Cispus Basin, nice and early in the cool of the morning. Such a gorgeous area! The huge basin before Cispus Pass is gorgeous and we spent a lot of time just taking in the views. Then heading over Cispus Pass and into Cispus Basin it was jaw-dropping views all over again. That afternoon was spent back at Sheep Lake, floating in the water and keeping cool in the afternoon heat.

The hike back out to the car next morning was much easier than the steep hike in. I definitely need to do more exploring in this area, I want to visit Snowgrass Flats and Old Snowy Mtn, but that will be another trip.

I spent a wonderful 2 days with J.H. and S.H. on a backpacking trip at Rainier. We headed to Mowich Lake campground in the evening, where the wind kept us awake most of the night. Next morning we packed up and headed up through Spray Park and Seattle Park. Gorgeous weather and very few mosquitoes, but plenty of biting flies 🙁  I was hoping for Mr. Bear, and near the top I walked right past him without seeing him, until J. called my name and told me to look to my right. Mr. Bear was in a thicket right on the side of the trail. He ambled away from us, not in a hurry, and we were able to follow at a safe distance for a few minutes and get some great photos (keep in mind I have a zoom lens, we weren’t too close!) before he headed into the trees.

At the top of Spray/Seattle Parks, the terrain changes dramatically into a lunar landscape, which is absolutely beautiful. We only had 2 tiny snow crossings, which is remarkable for this time of year. The views of Rainier from here are spectacular. Then we headed down down down into Cataract Valley to the Cataract Valley backcountry camp. The trail heading down was very rocky, uneven, with big steps, and it torqued my ankles with every step, but it was worth it. Cataract Valley is a nice campsite with a stream running right through the middle of it, which is very handy. We pitched tents and had an afternoon siesta before dinner. The biting flies were annoying at first, but disappeared in the evening and it was perfect weather for us.

The next morning we headed further down to the Carbon River suspension bridge, which is always a lot of fun! At the Ipsut Pass trail, J. and S. headed back up to Mowich Lake, and I headed to Ipsut Campground where I had left my bike so I had a nice 5-mile glide back to the Carbon River gate where Fran was waiting to pick me up. An absolutely wonderful 2 days spent with my Mountain 🙂

Summertime brings hordes of people and mosquitoes to several areas of Mt. Rainier. Fran and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather last weekend, and the fact that the gate to Mowich Lake is still closed and that mosquitoes aren’t out yet. We backpacked from Paul Peak parking lot up to Mowich Lake on Friday night and camped there, with only 2 other groups. In the summertime this place is a madhouse and I would never, ever stay there.

Early Saturday morning we woke up to gorgeous sunny skies, had coffee/tea and oatmeal, and headed out to Eunice Lake and the Tolmie lookout tower. There should be several feet of snow still covering everything up there, but it was 99.9% snow-free the entire way. Beautiful, but kind of scary also to see the lack of snow cover, makes me wonder what this summer is going to be like. We had the Tolmie lookout tower entirely to ourselves, and had a wonderful picnic lunch up there while enjoying one of the best views to be had of Mt. Rainier.  After wandering around Eunice Lake and enjoying the wonderful geography and cliffs, we headed back to our campsite.

We were lucky to be packing up camp just as a ranger was heading back down the hill, and were able to hitch a ride with him back to our car parked 5 miles down the road. Being up there without the summer crowds and with no mosquitoes was a treat!!!

We’ve been blessed with some incredible spring weather this year, and I’ve been taking full advantage of it!  J. and I headed out early Thursday morning to the Ancient Lakes area near Quincy. We hiked a little bit further to Dusty Lake, thinking we’d have a better chance of fewer crowds. We set up camp near the lake, and some kind person had left a bit of firewood for us to use, so we were able to have a nice fire that evening. We spent the afternoon exploring the coulee, looking for birds and animals and wildflowers. We saw many different species of birds, a few wildflowers, a yellow-bellied marmot, turtles, and a lot of bats (I LOVE bats!). After a very lazy evening, I crawled into my tent and slept pretty well, like I always do when backpacking.

The next morning we packed up early and headed to Beezley Hills Nature Conservancy. Wow!  Weather was perfect and wildflowers were at their prime. This is one of the largest concentrations of hedgehog cactus in the state, and they were just coming into bloom. A gorgeous area to wander around and enjoy a different side of Washington than I’m used to.

Next we drove out to Rock Island Grade and drove several miles up a steep dirt road for some beautiful views of the canyon and the Columbia River Gorge, with more wildflowers. There was a beautiful herd of free range horses that I had to stop and get photos of too.  All in all, a wonderful April backpacking and wildflower hunting trip.

My first backpacking trip of the year, in FEBRUARY!!!  Our weather is so crazy, I never thought I’d be going out overnight this early in the season (I do NOT handle cold nights well). We drove to the Curly Creek trailhead at Lewis River and backpacked out to the Bolt Shelter. It was originally built in 1931, restored in 2013, and is one of the nicest shelters I’ve ever seen in Washington.It even had a very creative Hobbit table and we felt very spoiled.

We thought about camping 1/4 mile away in a much sunnier (and warmer) spot along the river, but the swarming ant hills and thousands of jumping spiders on the grass changed our minds for us very quickly. This quirky warm weather too early in the season is waking up all kinds of creatures that should still be sleeping.

After setting up camp and naming a few massive Douglas firs (William and Eleanor), we collected firewood knowing we’d want a nice big fire at night or we’d be too cold. Steve worked at getting a fire going with wet wood and we were able to keep it going until 11 o’dark, sitting around the fire having surprise birthday muffins and shots of Limoncello!  It sure felt good to crawl into my warm and toasty tent and down sleeping bag, and I slept really well, like I usually do when I’m out under the stars.

The next morning Steve miraculously got a fire going again (thank you!!!) and we enjoyed a sunny, lazy morning by the river. After packing up and heading back to the car, we drove further up the road to Lower Falls, which was well worth the bit of extra drive. The falls are incredible right now with all the rain we had last week. Felt like I was at a mini-Niagara 🙂

What a good weekend with friends, sunshine, campfires, massive rainforest trees, waterfalls, and birthday cake!