10-05-14
Granite
Mountain is a hike I seem to do every year or two. I was surprused to
see that it had been 3 years and 1 week since my last visit. On that
trip a sunny fall afternoon turned into a 40 degree early evening with
strong winds. No such conditions this day. Another summer like day in
early October. I was moderately early arriving at the Pratt Lake
Trailhead at 7:45 am. The lot was more than half empty. By 7:55 I as on
my way. Even at that hour it was not cold. A long sleeve shirt quickly
gave way to short sleeves and shorts. Having come down Little Annapurna
and Aasgard Pass six days earlier, I should have chosen a smoother
trail. That's the problem with a three year gap on this trail. I forgot
just how rocky it is.
At the Granite/Pratt junction I headed right and began to climb in more steeply. I was noticeably slower than usual but kept up a consistent pace. One hiker passed me and I passed half a dozen others. Once out of the forest it was much warmer than I expected. The day nearly reached 80 in Seattle and it was warming quickly in the mountains. I hoped for some good fall color and was disappointed with the lower berry bush leaves. Higher up, with some backlighting, it was not too bad.
Soon the lookout came into view. the shutters are still up. I had hoped the muddy section would be dry but that was not the case. Looked like some recent rain had fallen. Some pretty good color in the upper basin. the last switchbacks seemed to be longer than in the past. At least to me this day. I finally reached the summit at 10:13 am. A not so great time of 2:18. There were a couple guys around the lookout. One more near the high point on the rocks. That was it. Not a bad crowd for a sunny Saturday morning. I had some plans back in town but had time to enjoy the summit. I found a comfortable spot on the rocks and enjoyed the view. Unlike my last visit there was nearly zero wind. I spent the better part of an hour on the summit.
The sky was clear and the views were terrific. From Mt. Stuart to peaks north of Snoqualmie Pass, to Glacier Peak and high points along I-90. Great views. Mt. Rainier was in the clear to the south. More folks began to arrive and at 11:00 am I started down. The sun was now backlighting the leaves in the basin and provided some nice photos. After that I picked up the pace. The one factor slowing me down was the unending stream of humanity heading up the trail. The gaps seldom lasted more than one or two minutes. I did not count but would estimate more than 100 folks passed by heading up. Considering this trail gains about 3800' over 9 miles round trip, that's a lot of folks. Not Mt.Si but much more than I see on most all my hikes. Still, that is what I expected and it did not really bother me. Nice to see so many folks out on the trail.
Though my knees took a pounding my time down was much quicker. I was at the bottom by 12:45 pm. I sliced 33 minutes off the uphill time. A fine hike up with a lot of solitude and a nice long stay on top. I was back home before 2:00 pm. Granite is not on my annual hike plan but it is a great workout with good views. I'll be back in a year or two.
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Trips - 2014
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At the Granite/Pratt junction I headed right and began to climb in more steeply. I was noticeably slower than usual but kept up a consistent pace. One hiker passed me and I passed half a dozen others. Once out of the forest it was much warmer than I expected. The day nearly reached 80 in Seattle and it was warming quickly in the mountains. I hoped for some good fall color and was disappointed with the lower berry bush leaves. Higher up, with some backlighting, it was not too bad.
Soon the lookout came into view. the shutters are still up. I had hoped the muddy section would be dry but that was not the case. Looked like some recent rain had fallen. Some pretty good color in the upper basin. the last switchbacks seemed to be longer than in the past. At least to me this day. I finally reached the summit at 10:13 am. A not so great time of 2:18. There were a couple guys around the lookout. One more near the high point on the rocks. That was it. Not a bad crowd for a sunny Saturday morning. I had some plans back in town but had time to enjoy the summit. I found a comfortable spot on the rocks and enjoyed the view. Unlike my last visit there was nearly zero wind. I spent the better part of an hour on the summit.
The sky was clear and the views were terrific. From Mt. Stuart to peaks north of Snoqualmie Pass, to Glacier Peak and high points along I-90. Great views. Mt. Rainier was in the clear to the south. More folks began to arrive and at 11:00 am I started down. The sun was now backlighting the leaves in the basin and provided some nice photos. After that I picked up the pace. The one factor slowing me down was the unending stream of humanity heading up the trail. The gaps seldom lasted more than one or two minutes. I did not count but would estimate more than 100 folks passed by heading up. Considering this trail gains about 3800' over 9 miles round trip, that's a lot of folks. Not Mt.Si but much more than I see on most all my hikes. Still, that is what I expected and it did not really bother me. Nice to see so many folks out on the trail.
Though my knees took a pounding my time down was much quicker. I was at the bottom by 12:45 pm. I sliced 33 minutes off the uphill time. A fine hike up with a lot of solitude and a nice long stay on top. I was back home before 2:00 pm. Granite is not on my annual hike plan but it is a great workout with good views. I'll be back in a year or two.
 Light On Trees |
 Light On Trail |
 Great Leaf Color |
 Brown Coloring |
 Mt. Rainier |
 Lookout In Sight |
 Backlit Color |
 Bright Color |
 Very Nice |
 Lookout Above |
 Summit Basin |
 Glacier Peak |
 Chair Peak |
 Kaleetan Peak |
 Basin Below |
 Granite Mt. Lookout |
 View West |
 Cascade Crest Peaks |
 Pica On The Rocks |
 Heading Down |
 Basin Color |
 Tri Color |
 Two Hikers |
 More Color |
 Scrambling Ridge |
 Last Color |
Trips - 2014
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