Another *work* day. We got boated up Ross Lake to the trail head. The cedar grove was pretty amazing. A magical place.Saw a black bear in the back country for the first time. I had no fear, just utter astonishment at how beautiful he was. Annie and I were looking for our plot and had stopped to check the map. We were right at a place on the trail where it turns and goes over a little rise. Had we not stopped we would have walked smack into the bear! It was a good thing Annie was a little scared of him, because she pushed me back and started talking to the bear. I was just standing there staring like an idiot. He was so BEAUTIFUL. My first bear siting. He just wandered off (so silently!) into the bushes. That was when I got a little freaked out. Our plots were all off trail and there was bear sign everywhere. We made LOTS of noise after that.
Thunder Creek/Basin July 2002
*Working* again. Long hot days and way to many bugs. We were eaten alive! Poor Emily had so many bug bites it looked like she had some sort of skin disease. Annie and I saw another bear on our way to camp. This time I heard it and started making noise. Just as Annie was asking me what I was doing, we saw a big ball of fur go rolling down the hill. Apparently, the bear was trying to get away from us too quicky and lost his footing. Our plots were by the river, so we had to hike off trail to get to them. Bushwacking through devil's club and vine maple is not much fun, especially in 90+ degree weather. Got to watch my coworker have a full blown temper tantrum. Kind of amusing actually. If nothing else, it made her feel better. I was totally exhausted (and dehydrated-shame on me!) by the time we hiked out. Beautiful place, but I don't ever want to try and keep up that hiking pace again! Brutal.
Enchantments October 2002
What a wonderful trip this was! We hiked to camp the first night in the dark. Got to camp around 2:30 in the morning. Discovered that my free-standing tent doesn't do so well in the Cascades (cant hammer tent stakes into rock!) I somehow had forgotten to eat dinner and I was freezing cold that night, so I didn't sleep very well. The second day we hiked up and over Asgaard pass. It kicked my ass!! I was seriously sucking wind, but I'm glad I did it. The views were amazing. We did some exploring and the guys took a ton of photos. The tarns had frozen in layers in some places, trapping bubbles inbetween the layers. The second night we got hit with a psycho windstorm. All kinds of dust was blowing into the tent and the wind was HOWLING! I had put too many layers on before going to bed, so I woke up hot. One of these days I'll get it right. Hiking down off of the mountain the third day, I thought I was going to be blown right off of the pass. It was incredible! Humbling.
Greider Lakes November 2002
What a great day with a great friend! Did a lot of smack-talkin about guys and caught up on each other's lives. The lower lake (Little Greider?) is beautiful this time of year. It was bordered with vine maple and huckleberry in full fall colors. We were hoping to see a bear, but it may have been too late in the year. The trail itself is in pretty good shape. I did not enjoy the drive to the trailhead, however. This is apparently where all the local red necks come to practice shooting guns and drinking beer. Made me a little nervous.
Rachael Lake/Alta Peak November 2002
There should have been so much more snow than there was. The views from the top were incredible! We could see a large portion of the PCT from the top (after scrambling over three false summits!) This hike was definitely a welcome challenge for me. There are great places to kick back and eat lunch by the lake. Gary took some great photos (those are his), mine weren't as good. He also had a surprise for me at the summit, rum shots! Just enough for a little warm up, nice. I'd love to come back and camp at the lake sometime in the summer. There seems to be a lot more to the area to explore. It was fantastic to get out an hike this late in the season.
