10-06-20
After a pretty flat start the trail climbs up into the basin. It was about 65 degrees and sunny. Shorts and short sleeves were fine. Much clearer than back in Seattle. There is a bit of fall color along the trail. We also saw a few good sized mushrooms too. I don't hike this trail very often. About half of my trips up it have been on snowshoes in the winter. After climbing into the basin the grade lessens. There are several crossings of the creek. It is low but not mid summer low. I rock hopped the second crossing and John walked the narrow log. The flat ends with the steady climb up to the upper basin and Red Pond. We saw a couple groups coming down as we went up. That was it for the hike.
The climb is well graded but steep enough to build sweat on an October late afternoon. We hoped get up to the pass and part way down in daylight but knew we would need headlamps coming down. The last bit to the basin is out of the forest and we had some views. We took a short break when we reached the upper basin. Some water and food an we headed up. Red Pond can be nearly dry by late summer. It had more water than I expected. Mt. Rainier was visible but the low sun put some glare on it. Near the ridge top we found a patch of very colorful huckleberry leaves. The best of the trip. We did this hike after work in August of last year. We continued on to the top of Little Lundin Peak. In October it would be dark much earlier. The summit was a maybe.
I had done 20 miles of hiking on Saturday and Sunday. After a day of rest I was not as fast as usual. John had not been out for a few weeks. He was faster than me. I was not sure the peak would work this evening. We reached the ridge top and had some nice views of Thompson and Big Snow to the north. After another photo break we continued on to Red Pass. The breeze was a bit chilly and the sun was close to disappearing behind the peak. We sat in a patch of sunshine and took our last break. We arrived at the pass at 5:27 pm. We left at 5:48 pm. He had about an hour until sunset. The trip down started slowly as the lighting was really good at this time. Red Mountain and Kendall Peak looked great. We took quite a few photos. The red berry leaves looked even better with less glare than on the way up.
We dropped down to the lower basin and hiked the flat stretch. We made it across all the creek crossings in daylight. Part way down the steep section we ran out of light. Time for headlamps. With more light our pace picked up. Down to the last flat section that led back to the PCT. A few minutes after that junction we were back to the trailhead. No broken windows. It was 7:28 pm. We were soon on our way home. The freeway entrance was closed for overnight construction. The old highway is now uphill only. We had to detour to the East Snoqualmie Pass interchange to get on the freeway. It was one lane only for the first few miles.
Soon Daylight Saving Time will end and we will be back to mostly hiking on Tiger Mountain on after work winter hikes. It as nice to get up to over 5000' one more time. The trip is pretty short at 6.5 miles with 2500' of gain round trip. It allowed us to get up and down early enough to get home at a reasonable time. It was a fun trip. Good weather, very few other people, great views, and even some fall color. A fun trip indeed.
 Big Mushroom |
 View Out |
 Some Fall Color |
 Sun Lit Colors |
 Little Lundin Peak |
 Mt. Thomson |
 Red Pass |
 Red & Kendall Peaks |
 Kendall Peak |
 John & Peaks |
 Big Snow Mountain |
 Guye Peak |
 Really Good Color |
 Great Colors |
 Still Terrific Colors |
 Red Pond Below |
 John & Magic Hour |
 Many Colors |
Trips - 2020
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