8-19-12
Fires
in Idaho canceled my big
backpacking trip of the year. An overnight trip
was canceled when my
car died in the Denny Creek trailhead parking lot. Still time for one
day hike this weekend. Gary suggested Banshee Peak. I had
done it
twice. The first time was in 2009
and then again in 2010.
Much to my surprise, John had done it once. It is a great trip and
reports of peaking wildflowers at Summerland convinced me. After
several 90 degree days the morning was cloudy and cool. We had light
misty rain much of the way from Auburn to Greenwater. Nearing Mt.
Rainier National Park the clouds grew lighter. We found half the small
Fryingpan Creek parking lot empty when we arrived at 7:40 am. Ten
minutes later we were on the trail. Six weeks earlier we hiked the
first part of this trail on our way to Goat
Island Mountain. There is a lot
less snow now.
We set a good pace to warm up then slowed down a bit. We hoped that the sky might be clearing by the time we left the forest. We passed one group of around the mountain backpackers and two day hikers. That was it until Summerland. At 3.4 miles we reached the bridge over Fryingpan Creek. There was a lot of monkeyflower blooming by the creek. We saw a lot of both the yellow and pink variety along the route. The flower show began soon after the creek crossing. Blue sky also occurred. It was getting warm at 9:15 am. Many flowers in bloom and a few past their peak. Columbine, lupine, paintbrush, monkeyflower, and asters were in abundance. Our pace slowed down much more.
Just where the switchbacks up to Summerland start we saw a few avalanche lilies. Most are already finished. There were a few more patches on the switchbacks but not many. The hillside up and down the slope was ablaze. Red, white, yellow, and blue in all directions. We were right about the peak for most of the wildflowers. That alone would have made the trip very worthwhile. We still had much more to see.
While the sky was getting clearer Rainier was still lost in white. We could see Little Tahoma. Looking back to the slopes of Goat Island Mountain, we saw a sea of blue lupine. It was clearly visible from a mile away. We crested the hill and entered the main Summerland meadows. The smell was overpowering. The sweet smell of wildflowers. Lupine, paintbrush, and so much more. A field of solid yellow was all cinquefoil. We stopped to apply a lot of sunscreen. We would not see any shade for another 5 1/2 hours. Thanks to our early start it was only 10:00 am when we had covered 4.4 miles to Summerland. We dropped down, crossed the creek, and began to climb once again.
Gary was last in line and alerted us. A big rock next to the trail had an inquisitive marmot looking over to us. I guess he had been sunning himself. He agreed to hold the pose until we all had taken enough photos. The trail was snow free most of the way up to the log bridge. Just a few places where snow lay across the trail. The recent hot weather must have really cleared the trail over the last week. Ahead of us we saw a large group just across the bridge. As we neared we saw why. A small creek was lined with flowers. Bright colors on the rocky terrain. Heading up the moraine we saw a number of small flowers. Nothing grows far above the ground. After near solitude earlier we now saw a number of folks. Most had large backpacking packs. One tarn was melted out and the other one mostly still snow covered.
There is more dirt trail than I was expecting. The snow was soft enough to allow good traction. I had steep hard snow on my August trip in 2010 so we chose to bring ice axes. They never left our packs. The last part to the gap was comparatively wide and smooth. No problem at all. That may change as snow melts or if it was icy but we had no trouble. That was the last snow we crossed on the way to Banshee Peak. We took the boot path as it rounded the hill to the left and dropped down heading due east. A few big patches of orange paintbrush along here. The slog over to easy enough. The hard part is that it is six miles to Panhandle Gap. Add another 1 1/2 miles to get to Banshee. A long 12 mile hike to the gap becomes 15 miles to Banshee round trip.
Lupine grew in some big patches. A veritable sea of blue.We saw some more shaggy headed western anemone too. One surprise was a patch of gentian. The snow has probably only been gone for weeks and a fall flower is in bloom. Heading up we saw four hikers coming down. They were the only others we saw beyond Panhandle Gap. We reached the ridge top to see Mt. Rainier was clearing up behind us. It was well past noon and I stopped for a food and water break. We reached the summit at 1:00 pm. All the photography added a lot of time to our hike. To the south Mt. Adams was in haze and low clouds covered the valleys. A hazy Mt. St. Helens was visible too. Rainier had a cloud cap. It was clear in most other directions. There was a steady cool breeze to offset the heat. It was almost perfect. We stayed for nearly 1 1/2 hours. At around 2:30 we headed down.
Easy walking down to the flats and a short climb back to Panhandle Gap. Not many folks at the gap. I managed to get in a couple glissades on the way down. There was a steady stream of folks heading down but less than on my other visits. We stopped to treat water at Summerland. The lighting was different and we took time for more photos. Once across Fryingpan Creek and back into forest we sped up. We were back at the car by 5:30 pm. This was my third visit to Banshee in the past four years. Each one was fantastic. Great flowers,Great views, not very crowded, and great weather. A good way to end a really lousy week.
Click on thumbnails to get
larger pictures.
Trips - 2012
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We set a good pace to warm up then slowed down a bit. We hoped that the sky might be clearing by the time we left the forest. We passed one group of around the mountain backpackers and two day hikers. That was it until Summerland. At 3.4 miles we reached the bridge over Fryingpan Creek. There was a lot of monkeyflower blooming by the creek. We saw a lot of both the yellow and pink variety along the route. The flower show began soon after the creek crossing. Blue sky also occurred. It was getting warm at 9:15 am. Many flowers in bloom and a few past their peak. Columbine, lupine, paintbrush, monkeyflower, and asters were in abundance. Our pace slowed down much more.
Just where the switchbacks up to Summerland start we saw a few avalanche lilies. Most are already finished. There were a few more patches on the switchbacks but not many. The hillside up and down the slope was ablaze. Red, white, yellow, and blue in all directions. We were right about the peak for most of the wildflowers. That alone would have made the trip very worthwhile. We still had much more to see.
While the sky was getting clearer Rainier was still lost in white. We could see Little Tahoma. Looking back to the slopes of Goat Island Mountain, we saw a sea of blue lupine. It was clearly visible from a mile away. We crested the hill and entered the main Summerland meadows. The smell was overpowering. The sweet smell of wildflowers. Lupine, paintbrush, and so much more. A field of solid yellow was all cinquefoil. We stopped to apply a lot of sunscreen. We would not see any shade for another 5 1/2 hours. Thanks to our early start it was only 10:00 am when we had covered 4.4 miles to Summerland. We dropped down, crossed the creek, and began to climb once again.
Gary was last in line and alerted us. A big rock next to the trail had an inquisitive marmot looking over to us. I guess he had been sunning himself. He agreed to hold the pose until we all had taken enough photos. The trail was snow free most of the way up to the log bridge. Just a few places where snow lay across the trail. The recent hot weather must have really cleared the trail over the last week. Ahead of us we saw a large group just across the bridge. As we neared we saw why. A small creek was lined with flowers. Bright colors on the rocky terrain. Heading up the moraine we saw a number of small flowers. Nothing grows far above the ground. After near solitude earlier we now saw a number of folks. Most had large backpacking packs. One tarn was melted out and the other one mostly still snow covered.
There is more dirt trail than I was expecting. The snow was soft enough to allow good traction. I had steep hard snow on my August trip in 2010 so we chose to bring ice axes. They never left our packs. The last part to the gap was comparatively wide and smooth. No problem at all. That may change as snow melts or if it was icy but we had no trouble. That was the last snow we crossed on the way to Banshee Peak. We took the boot path as it rounded the hill to the left and dropped down heading due east. A few big patches of orange paintbrush along here. The slog over to easy enough. The hard part is that it is six miles to Panhandle Gap. Add another 1 1/2 miles to get to Banshee. A long 12 mile hike to the gap becomes 15 miles to Banshee round trip.
Lupine grew in some big patches. A veritable sea of blue.We saw some more shaggy headed western anemone too. One surprise was a patch of gentian. The snow has probably only been gone for weeks and a fall flower is in bloom. Heading up we saw four hikers coming down. They were the only others we saw beyond Panhandle Gap. We reached the ridge top to see Mt. Rainier was clearing up behind us. It was well past noon and I stopped for a food and water break. We reached the summit at 1:00 pm. All the photography added a lot of time to our hike. To the south Mt. Adams was in haze and low clouds covered the valleys. A hazy Mt. St. Helens was visible too. Rainier had a cloud cap. It was clear in most other directions. There was a steady cool breeze to offset the heat. It was almost perfect. We stayed for nearly 1 1/2 hours. At around 2:30 we headed down.
Easy walking down to the flats and a short climb back to Panhandle Gap. Not many folks at the gap. I managed to get in a couple glissades on the way down. There was a steady stream of folks heading down but less than on my other visits. We stopped to treat water at Summerland. The lighting was different and we took time for more photos. Once across Fryingpan Creek and back into forest we sped up. We were back at the car by 5:30 pm. This was my third visit to Banshee in the past four years. Each one was fantastic. Great flowers,Great views, not very crowded, and great weather. A good way to end a really lousy week.
 Crossing The Creek |
 Yellow Monkeyflower |
 John At Work |
 Flowers Line Trail |
 Sitka Valerian |
 Asters |
 Little Tahoma |
 Avalanche Lily |
 Lots Of Lupine |
 Great Colors |
 Lousewort |
 Summerland |
 Backpackers |
 Summerland Lupine |
 More Color |
 Gary At Summerland |
 Lots Of Lousewort |
 Paintbrush Too |
 Many Colors |
 John & Gary |
 Flowers & Ridges |
 Tahoma & Meadow |
 Wow! |
 Thick With Lupine |
 Western Anemone |
 Posing Marmot |
 Heading Up Moraine |
 Pink Monkeyflower |
 Near Creek Crossing |
 John On Bridge |
 Color & Creek |
 Creek Exits Snowfield |
 Melted Tarn |
 Gary In Moraine |
 Goat Island Mountain |
 Approaching Gap |
 Almost At Gap |
 Panhandle Gap |
 View Of Banshee Peak |
 Red & White |
 Marmot In Lupine |
 Marmot On The Move |
 White Lupine |
 Lupine Field |
 Wind Blown Grass |
 Gentian |
 Four Hikers |
 Banshee Summit |
 Jim On Summit |
 Meadow Below Peak |
 Cowlitz Chimneys |
 Mt. Rainier |
 Even More Lupine |
 Tarns In Moraine |
 Descending Snow |
 Sparkling Water |
 Glissading |
 John & Flowers |
 Flowers Along Creek |
 Flowery Slope |
Trips - 2012
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