Day 2
Day 2
I woke up at 5:55 am fell asleep again. I finally woke up at almost 7:00 am. We usually get up at about 6:00 am but I accidentally messed that up. I have been painting my house and was plenty tired. Perhaps it was best after all. It was 8:13 am when we finally headed out of camp. The big benefit this day was the need for only day packs. Having a base camp paid off. With much less weight the heat was less of a problem. The first half of our hike was mostly in shade. That helped too. It did not take long for us to begin to get views. The day before we could see Mt. Pugh, Lost Creek Ridge, and even most of Glacier Peak. The afternoon sun was not idea. This day we had those sights and much more and with better morning light. We also had even more ripe berries. Since we were not going all that far, we had plenty of time to enjoy the berries. We did not even put a dent in them. There will be more than enough for the bears and other animals who eat them. A super bumper crop and a big reduction in people is good news for the animals. We saw a few flowers on our way but not many. Later on we would see a few other varieties.
Sloan Peak was the first mountain to be seen. It rose over Lost Creek Ridge. First was just the summit then the glacier came into view. Mt. Pugh was next in sight. I have been up Pugh twice and it was some great views. Black Mountain also came into view farther east. A few asters were still blooming and I saw a thistle. I had expected to see western anemone seed heads the day before in the meadows. This day they appeared. We saw quite a few of them. In a few places a few lupine were still hanging onto a few flowers. Indian paintbrush was conspicuously absent. Mushrooms were not abundant but we did see some big ones. Our GPS units all showed a trail heading up the slope and over the ridge, dropping to Diamond Lake. We did not notice it going up. We looked hard coming back and it is not there. Since there is no other water, that might mess some people up. We did look down on the lake later. Once out of forest, we had a nice long romp through the meadows. The entire hillside was one giant meadow. This is the terrain we see from a far ridge and plan a way to get to.
The route finally began to switchback up towards the ridge top. The views kept getting better. Glacier Peak was now completely out. Left of Sloan we could see the Monte Cristo Peaks out to Kyes Peak. To the right of Pugh we could see Three Fingers, Whitehorse, and White Chuck Mountain. There was some haze but all in all, the views were good. The trail stops a little below the ridge and traverses farther east. We left the trail just after the big open spot and went into the shade of trees. After the slog up the open slopes, the shade felt really good. We now had views to the north. Lime Ridge was due north width Spire Point and Dome Peak rising above. With zoom lenses we could see the lookout atop Green Mountain. Even Bonanza Peak was in sight. At just over 6000', this is a great viewpoint. It was just 9:48 am when we reached the ridge top. We had all day to enjoy it. Below to the north is a plateau with big rocks and grass. Kim and I saw this in 2007. Gary, John, and I did too when we stopped here in 2019 on our way to camping near Fire Creek. We were moving on then and did not explore more. This day we had lots of time to explore.
We dropped down the ridge on a way trail and intersected the main trail. That trail headed east and we headed up the ridge. we dropped lower and then climbed up to the top at a spot with great views to Glacier Peak and north to Mt. Baker. We retreated to a shady spot with more great views. Looking closely we now saw things that were not apparent at first. There were some light colored Indian paintbrush. Some heather flowers were brightly colored. Some valerian was in bloom. There was one flower that none of us recognized. A giant black cricket landed on my back. The antennae were twice as long as the cricket. When it flew away it took off. It flew away like a bird still rising as it went out of sight. We were on an almost float part of the ridge. It continued up in trees to a highpoint that seemed to be in trees too. Still, why not take a closer look. We weaved through brush and trees on the now much narrower ridge to a final and highest viewpoint at just over 6200'. That was enough. We headed back to where we started. At 12:44 pm we were back on the move.
We dropped down into the basin below the first ridge we reached. There are some really neat big rocks there. They had stripes in them. There is as trail heading northwest towards Diamond and Emerald Lakes.We headed that way. It quickly became clear that the basin was the hottest place we would be all day. The lake was lower and we did not have any great love for more descents and ascents than necessary. We reached a point looking down and then we looked up the slope. There was a ramp leading higher. That looked like the best way to get back on the ridge top so we headed on up. The ramp turned out to be a ridge below the main ridge with a trench in between. The trench led uphill to where we could scramble up the slope to the top of the ridge. There were trees so we sat down for another break. We could now look down on part of Diamond Lake. I suspect we could have dropped earlier to the lake. We could also follow the ridge top over to where a path supposedly drops from the ridge to the lake. We did neither. Each ridge top spot we stopped at had slightly different views. This one was pretty good.
It was very comfortable in the shade. Eventually we followed the ridge back to where we first reached it. Gary liked sitting in the sun but John and I were fine in the shade. We were timing our stay so we would not get back to camp until about dinner time. The views on the ridge top were way better than those from camp. At 3:42 pm it was time to go. The afternoon was getting more hazy though there were still some okay views. The sunlight was lowering and we had some good backlighting on the meadows. Dull as dirt in one direction and brightly colored in the other. We were in no hurry to get back. It was nice when the meadows gave way to mostly forest though the views were gone. We arrived back at camp to find a couple with two dogs just leaving in the other direction. They were heading for Diamond Lake. We suggested that if they were looking for a trail heading straight up to the ridge it might not be there but that once in the meadows it would be easier. I hope they made it all right. They were only the second group we saw in two days.
We had the basin to ourselves again. For the second night we had almost zero dew on our tents. After dinner we went back to the big slab for the rest of the evening. For the day we hiked 5.4 miles with 1450' of gain. Most of the day was spent at about 6000' on ridge tops admiring all the peaks of the North Cascades. I would call it time well spent. For day three we just to retrace our route back to the trailhead.
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I woke up at 5:55 am fell asleep again. I finally woke up at almost 7:00 am. We usually get up at about 6:00 am but I accidentally messed that up. I have been painting my house and was plenty tired. Perhaps it was best after all. It was 8:13 am when we finally headed out of camp. The big benefit this day was the need for only day packs. Having a base camp paid off. With much less weight the heat was less of a problem. The first half of our hike was mostly in shade. That helped too. It did not take long for us to begin to get views. The day before we could see Mt. Pugh, Lost Creek Ridge, and even most of Glacier Peak. The afternoon sun was not idea. This day we had those sights and much more and with better morning light. We also had even more ripe berries. Since we were not going all that far, we had plenty of time to enjoy the berries. We did not even put a dent in them. There will be more than enough for the bears and other animals who eat them. A super bumper crop and a big reduction in people is good news for the animals. We saw a few flowers on our way but not many. Later on we would see a few other varieties.
Sloan Peak was the first mountain to be seen. It rose over Lost Creek Ridge. First was just the summit then the glacier came into view. Mt. Pugh was next in sight. I have been up Pugh twice and it was some great views. Black Mountain also came into view farther east. A few asters were still blooming and I saw a thistle. I had expected to see western anemone seed heads the day before in the meadows. This day they appeared. We saw quite a few of them. In a few places a few lupine were still hanging onto a few flowers. Indian paintbrush was conspicuously absent. Mushrooms were not abundant but we did see some big ones. Our GPS units all showed a trail heading up the slope and over the ridge, dropping to Diamond Lake. We did not notice it going up. We looked hard coming back and it is not there. Since there is no other water, that might mess some people up. We did look down on the lake later. Once out of forest, we had a nice long romp through the meadows. The entire hillside was one giant meadow. This is the terrain we see from a far ridge and plan a way to get to.
The route finally began to switchback up towards the ridge top. The views kept getting better. Glacier Peak was now completely out. Left of Sloan we could see the Monte Cristo Peaks out to Kyes Peak. To the right of Pugh we could see Three Fingers, Whitehorse, and White Chuck Mountain. There was some haze but all in all, the views were good. The trail stops a little below the ridge and traverses farther east. We left the trail just after the big open spot and went into the shade of trees. After the slog up the open slopes, the shade felt really good. We now had views to the north. Lime Ridge was due north width Spire Point and Dome Peak rising above. With zoom lenses we could see the lookout atop Green Mountain. Even Bonanza Peak was in sight. At just over 6000', this is a great viewpoint. It was just 9:48 am when we reached the ridge top. We had all day to enjoy it. Below to the north is a plateau with big rocks and grass. Kim and I saw this in 2007. Gary, John, and I did too when we stopped here in 2019 on our way to camping near Fire Creek. We were moving on then and did not explore more. This day we had lots of time to explore.
We dropped down the ridge on a way trail and intersected the main trail. That trail headed east and we headed up the ridge. we dropped lower and then climbed up to the top at a spot with great views to Glacier Peak and north to Mt. Baker. We retreated to a shady spot with more great views. Looking closely we now saw things that were not apparent at first. There were some light colored Indian paintbrush. Some heather flowers were brightly colored. Some valerian was in bloom. There was one flower that none of us recognized. A giant black cricket landed on my back. The antennae were twice as long as the cricket. When it flew away it took off. It flew away like a bird still rising as it went out of sight. We were on an almost float part of the ridge. It continued up in trees to a highpoint that seemed to be in trees too. Still, why not take a closer look. We weaved through brush and trees on the now much narrower ridge to a final and highest viewpoint at just over 6200'. That was enough. We headed back to where we started. At 12:44 pm we were back on the move.
We dropped down into the basin below the first ridge we reached. There are some really neat big rocks there. They had stripes in them. There is as trail heading northwest towards Diamond and Emerald Lakes.We headed that way. It quickly became clear that the basin was the hottest place we would be all day. The lake was lower and we did not have any great love for more descents and ascents than necessary. We reached a point looking down and then we looked up the slope. There was a ramp leading higher. That looked like the best way to get back on the ridge top so we headed on up. The ramp turned out to be a ridge below the main ridge with a trench in between. The trench led uphill to where we could scramble up the slope to the top of the ridge. There were trees so we sat down for another break. We could now look down on part of Diamond Lake. I suspect we could have dropped earlier to the lake. We could also follow the ridge top over to where a path supposedly drops from the ridge to the lake. We did neither. Each ridge top spot we stopped at had slightly different views. This one was pretty good.
It was very comfortable in the shade. Eventually we followed the ridge back to where we first reached it. Gary liked sitting in the sun but John and I were fine in the shade. We were timing our stay so we would not get back to camp until about dinner time. The views on the ridge top were way better than those from camp. At 3:42 pm it was time to go. The afternoon was getting more hazy though there were still some okay views. The sunlight was lowering and we had some good backlighting on the meadows. Dull as dirt in one direction and brightly colored in the other. We were in no hurry to get back. It was nice when the meadows gave way to mostly forest though the views were gone. We arrived back at camp to find a couple with two dogs just leaving in the other direction. They were heading for Diamond Lake. We suggested that if they were looking for a trail heading straight up to the ridge it might not be there but that once in the meadows it would be easier. I hope they made it all right. They were only the second group we saw in two days.
We had the basin to ourselves again. For the second night we had almost zero dew on our tents. After dinner we went back to the big slab for the rest of the evening. For the day we hiked 5.4 miles with 1450' of gain. Most of the day was spent at about 6000' on ridge tops admiring all the peaks of the North Cascades. I would call it time well spent. For day three we just to retrace our route back to the trailhead.
 Heading Out |
 Sloan Peak In Sight |
 Fireweed Flowers |
 Brushy Meadow |
 Mt. Pugh |
 Switchback |
 Lit Up Fireweed |
 Boulder Field |
 Big Mushroom |
 Into The Sunshine |
 Ripe Berries |
 Top Of Glacier Peak |
 Hazy Looking Toward Sun |
 Butterfly |
 Western Anemone |
 Great Colors! |
 Beautiful Aster |
 Whitehorse & White Chuck |
 Monte Cristo Peaks |
 Ascending Meadows |
 Looking Back |
 Dome Peak |
 Dropping Down Ridge |
 Mt. Baker |
 Gary Near Ridge Top |
 John Is Above |
 White Chuck Valley |
 Gary & Glacier Peak |
 First Indian Paintbrush |
 Another Paintbrush |
 Giant Cricket |
 Red Heather |
 Some Flower |
 Glacier Peak With Gary |
 Big Basin Below |
 Snowking Mountain |
 Lime Mt & Eldorado Pk |
 Descent Into Basin |
 Big Rocks In Basin |
 Closer Look |
 Heading Down Basin |
 Exit Route |
 Diamond Lake |
 Lime Ridge |
 John On The Ridge |
 Very Red Leaves |
 Clearer Glacier Peak |
 Gary On The Ridge |
 John On Meadow Mt Trail |
 Red Indian Paintbrush |
 Four Mica |
 Back At Camp |
 Pika |
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