2010.8.28-29. Boston Basin - Sahale Arm crossing

Only 3 vehicles at the trail head. Boston Basin trail is unmaintained, STEEP, overgrown with vegetation. 3 miles took almost 3 hrs. First bushes, then trees. Once emerged from trees, the view is stupendous. Vast open space, jagged peaks, green slopes, crisscross creeks lined with bright green moss, moraines full of broken rocks, squeaking marmots (saw a couple of little ones, extremely cute). ~30 minutes later, reached lower camp (~5700ft, 3 sites close to each other). One group was already here, another coming on this Saturday for climbing. Closer to Quien Sabe glacier (Sharkfin Tower, Boston Peak, Sahale Peak). Unfortunately thick clouds on Sunday forced them to give up. The upper camp (~6200ft. 3 sites next to each other) is another 45 minutes' hike. Closer to the Forbidden Peak, flatter surface, easier access to water. Both equipped with a compost toilet! Both have great view, and enough vegetation + flowers. Lovely sunset. Clouds were rolling in.

Sunday. Foggy. Cross to Sahale Arm - Cascade Pass. Took a lower trajectory towards the south most ridge. Without a map, no trail. Scrambling over moraines, loose rocks and ice, quite dangerous at times. Ups and downs, from time to time had to wait for the fog to clear up a bit. Even hailed a bit. Painfully slow. Saw a bear close to the ridge. Much easier after the ridge: big huckleberry meadow from here to Sahale Arm, home to a mom bear and 2 cubs. The crossing took over 2 hours. Came out in the middle of Sahale Arm. I was happy to see people and trail. Very windy here. Clouds get thicker, eventually rained. From now on, it was easy, maybe 5+ miles to the trail head of Cascade Pass (~20 cars), which is only 0.7 miles to the trail head of Boston Basin. 3.5 hrs. Quite some flowers left. Johannesburg glacier looks more impressive at the trail head.

It's also possible to cross via Quien Sabe glacier to Sahale Glacier. Camping permits at the foot of Sahale Glacier for Saturday were all gone. More were climbing there.

On the drive back on Hwy20, shortly east of Baker River road, there was a herd of elk.

Direction: Hwy20 until Marblemount, go straight to Cascade River road, cross the bridge, at 21.7 miles (mostly good dirt road), ~3200 ft, a small parking area on the left. 3.5 hrs from Seattle. There's a national park wilderness center right at Marblemount (Sun-Thur till 6pm, Fri-Sat till 8pm), where backcountry permits are issued, and bear canisters are lent for free.

2010.8.24-25. Elfin Lakes

Elfin Lakes in BC's Garibaldi Provincial Park.

The drive here is spectacular, overlooking Howe Sound with the backdrop of Tantulus Mountain. Arrived ~noon Tuesday. The parking lot was almost full (close to 30 vehicles). My heart sank, because the shelter has only space for 33 people. Felt better and better after 30+ people came down. Must be pretty crowded Monday night. Started hiking ~12:45. Took almost 5 hrs to reach Elfin Lakes' Shelter, with multiple breaks and even more whining from the kids. (11Km, ~650m gain + 200m loss, could be done in 3 hrs.) Gentle slope, wide logging road. The first 5Km is shaded, tall trees, boring. Red Heather Shelter offers 2 tables, 2 burners and a winter only stove. A nice lunch stop. From here, heathers overtake trees. At the fork, we took the hiker only trail (the other one is for bikes and service truck). In less than an hour, started Paul Ridge. Views get progressively better, and heathers progressively dense until the whole slopes were carpet in pink. There was a small patch of snow, before the slope goes down. Another hour later, the two deep blue Elfin Lakes came to view. Small. A ranger station sat right next to the smaller lake (for drinking water). The slightly larger one is for swimming. Water is not too cold. But lots of mosquitoes. At night, bright full moon reflects in the lakes, many shining stars.

The shelter is very nice. Downstairs has 2 large tables, equipped with propane and 4 propane burners. Easy to use. A couple of large pot to fetch water with. Dish washer and wash sink. Upstairs has 11 wood bunks and some benches, bottom bunk is double, top is single. Very warm due to the cooking downstairs. This night, it was less than half full, and I had a double bunk to myself. Toilet is in another structure, smells of toxic paint. 1Km further is the camp ground on a nice heather meadow by a small creek, with a view to the west mountain ridge. No seclusion though.

Got up around 6:30am. Took some pictures of the morning reflection. Then I embarked on the Opal Cone trail all by myself. Ran into dad few minutes later. Opal Cone is a volcanic remnant. 6.5 Km one way. Not for the faint heart: a couple of slopes are rather dangerous. Some creek crossing, one nice bridge, quite some lupines. Well marked. At 6Km, a left fork goes up to the cone, while the continuation of the trail leads to Rampart Pond and Mamquam Lake. The fork to Opal Cone is very nice, a short ridge full of flowers, view of the half melted (with blue ice) ice fields below, and Bishop Glacier in front. Diamond Head's eastern face seems within arm's reach. Absolutely beautiful. Some scrambling is required. Didn't see a single sole during the entire hike except one person at the top of the cone. I didn't bring a camera, so no record. ~2 hrs one way.

Back to the shelter, packed, and left ~noon. Arrived at the car by 4pm. Again, much slower than average. Lots of people coming up this day, at least 3 on bikes.

Practicality: 16Km east of Hwy 99 on Mamquam Rd (~10Km is good gravel with potholes at times), 4 Km north of Squamish. ~1.7 hrs from Vancouver. $25 shelter fee at Elfin Lakes per family per night, or $10 pp, or $5 for camp site, parking included. Mamquam Lake has camp sites.

2010.8.21. Mt Rainier in clouds

Saw it only along the drive in the morning. Paradise in completely foggy. Sometimes the visibility is only 10 meters. An interesting effect, at least it blurred the thousands of visitors. Very strange weather this year. Colder than when I came early March this year. Lots of flowers: avalanche lily together with bear grass, heather and lupine. Took the shuttle up from Longmire. Caught the 2nd last coming down.

Comet Falls is tall and loud. A very pleasant hike for 1.6? or 1.9? miles. A little over an hour of steady slope, a good short workout. The grade tapers off after the bridge. Starting from the cute Christine Falls, shaded, all along many water cascades, and one bridge. Tumbling 320 ft over a cliff, water splashing onto the meadow across, lots of white flowers. On a hot summer day, it would be lovely to get closer.

An uneventful 0.6 miles later, the trail forks left to the Rampart Ridge Trail. Continue straight for Van Trump Park. View opens, and flowers emerge in earnest. Winding up in the meadows. Steep at time. 2200 ft gain total. The trail continues long after the sign of 'end maintained trail'. Lots of flowers. Much less people. Saw only 2 groups. No running water. One couple camped by some snow patches. Turned back there. (Looks like just a bit further up is Mildred Point, which I didn't know. Maybe next time.) The weather cleared a bit around 5:30. Some mountains close by showed up. Mt Rainier is still in hiding. Too cloudy to see Adams or St Helens. It was a wonderful view last summer when I came (but forgot to bring camera. This time, I almost lost my camera.) Total round trip: 3.5 hours (including breaks).

Went to a buffet place on the way back to Seattle. Probably gained more calorie than what's spent during the hike.

2010.8.18. Tristan und Isolde

Seattle Opera's new production of Tristan und Isolde.

Isolde:       Annalena Persson 
Tristan:      Clifton Forbis 
Brangäne:     Margaret Jane Wray
King Marke:   Stephen Milling
Kurwenal:     Greer Grimsley
Melot:        Jason Collins
Conductor:    Asher Fisch
Director:     Peter Kazaras
Set & Costume:Robert Israel
Lighting:     Duane Schuler

Endless singing of night and day, love and death. Too much yearning, exaggeration, irrationality. The Isolde character goes from extremely unpleasant to ridiculous, probably just insane. Hard to feel sympathy towards her. The greatest love story, only the last 5 minutes, the 2 loves touched each other, and then one was dead. All they seek is death, only at death (for no reason) they can be united. The show starts at 6:30, ends at 11:25 (with 2 intermissions). Even though I hoped it could end sooner, I was still moved. Good voice and acting. Better orchestral music than the arias. Costume looks strange, a bit old Asian (no shoulder cut, no waist). Lighting is always excellent. Disappointing stage set: minimal, abstract. A white bed sheet hanging in the center stage on a long red line. Crumbled large box wrapped in white sheet pile on the side. I had to go to the after show Q&A to learn about the rational behind these. Philosophical: clothes go from bright red in first act, to bottom red in the 2nd, to all white in the 3rd act: signifying life fading from Isolde. White cloth separates Schopenhauer's phenomenal and noumenal. 3 times the cloth was pulled down (first time? Tristan stabbed by Melot, Tristan dies).

2010.8.14-15. Marmot Pass & Royal Basin

2 hikes starting from the same trail head: Upper Dungeness River trail #833.2. Traditionally Marmot Pass is reached from east #833.1. This approach from the north, camping at the fork (2-3 sites right by the roaring river), allows exploring two river valleys with quite different scenery.

Day 1. Caught the 8:45am Seattle - Bainbridge ferry. Arrived at the trail head (2500 ft) ~11:30am, had lunch by the river, pitched the tent @ mile 1 (2900 ft) at the fork by the bridge. Crossed the bridge to the left for Marmott Pass ~1pm. Mossy floor, flat and soft, not too much undergrowth. Rhododendrons. A few small creek crossing. Almost always at the river edge. Very pleasant. @mile 3.4, a side trail to the right leads down to Camp Handy (3100 ft) on a sizable meadow by the river. Looks nice, already a tent.

Uneventful, trail starts to gain elevation. @mile 6.4 (4950 ft, 3pm) reached the junction to Home Lake Trail #893 (follow it for a minute is the Boulder Shelter, very nice camping site). Turn sharp left and up. Zigzag. Trees soon disappear. Flowers filled the slopes. Very colorful, some I have never seen before: Cinquefoil, Cascade Wallflower, Lance-leaf Stonecrop, Catchfly, Crazyweed, (white) Yellow Willowherb, Cliff Dwarf Primrose, Sickletop Lousewor, Moving Polemonium, Hookedspur Violet, Water Speedwell, ... Photos! Dry. Hot. Finally, almost at the end, 2 snow patches to refill the dwindling water supply. Reached Marmot Pass @mile 8.1 (6100 ft) shortly after 4pm. Here, you can see Puget Sound (3 cruise ships!) and the Cascades in the distance. A small group camped in the large flat meadow just east of the pass, quite a few climbed the brown Buckhorn Mountain to the north. Windy, much cooler.

A knob immediately to the south (right) is not to be missed. Steep, slippery (I fell), little flowers dancing in the wind. A lovely flat meadow on the top, perfect for camping (albeit with company). 360° breathtaking view. Turned back ~5pm. By then, Camp Handy is crowed. Back to the tent ~8pm (1 mile from the trail head). Chilly. Total for the day: ~16 miles.

Day 2. A late start @10am. Hot. Royal Creek trail #832. Same mossy floor with rhodies (mushroom in autumn?), but no longer so close to the water. Mostly shaded, but drier and warmer. A couple of camp sites. Ran into an owl @11:30am. Didn't even see him, until his wing flapped my hat. After noon, trees thinned out, yet mosquitoes appeared. Occasional views promise fine vista ahead. @~5.3 miles (4700 ft) enter the Royal Basin: a large willow flat crisscrossed with small creeks and super boardwalks or steps. Mosquitoes. Large camping area (quota limited). A short climb to Royal Lake (~5100 ft, @~6.1 mile), green, nice setting, water not too cold. Air is still hot. Mosquitoes. 7 separated camp sites + 1 group site. The lake is supposed to be ringed with thousands of shooting starts. I saw less than a dozen. Not sure whether I was too late (many flowers are in seeds) or too early (still a few avalanche lilies).

Followed the trail to the right (west) of the lake. Soon a fork to the right going down to the ranger station set in the middle of an idyllic meadow, eventually leads to a wonderful cascading waterfall. White bog orchids thrive in its mist. Retraced back towards the lake. At the fork, head towards a giant boulder, the trail continues up the Royal Creek to the gorgeous upper basin. Lushly green. Finally saw the long awaited snow patches. The view gets better and better. Further up among heathers and rocks is another rocky basin with a sky blue lake (~5700 ft), snowy faces of Mt Deception to the south, Mt Clark & Mt Johnson to the west, almost at arm's reach. Saw one tent, 3 more hikers and a baby.

Turned back down ~4:15pm (lost 45 minutes looking for the camera). Arrived at the tent in 3 hours. Back at car @8. 1 hour wait at the Kingston ferry. Arrived home shortly after midnight. Total: ~15 miles (+ 1.5 for the camera).

Practicality: US 101. turn left onto Louella Road (just before reaching the Sequim Bay State Park entrance). In 0.8 mile turn left on Palo Alto Road (if you missed the previous turn, Palo Alto intersects 101), for 5.7 miles. Follow the sign: turn right to FR 2880: gravel. Descends to the Dungeness Forks Campground in 0.9 mile. In another 0.8 mile bear left left on FR 2870. In ~9 miles reaches the bridge to the Upper Dungeness trailhead (also a camping ground). ~2 hrs from Kingston ferry or 2:15 from Bainbridge ferry.

2010.8.7. Paddy Go Easy Pass

Rain. Paddy Go Easy Pass. A lovely lake and meadow when approaching the trail head. Supposed to be good fishing here: lots of people camping along the river. Even though already past prime, still lots of alpine aster, larkspur, harebell, corn lily, yarrow, pink wintergreen (?), various shades of paint brushes.

The first mile (maybe less) is in the forest. Lupine leaves as big as my palm, each holding a rain drop. Then zigzip on the flowering slope. Lots of scarlet gilia, sulfur buckwheat (?). Steadily up for about 2.5 miles. Last mile is gentle, reaching a flat rocky top filled with heathers, Cusick's speedwell, miner's lettuce (Montia parvifolia var. flagellaris ?). The view to the valley floor and mountains to the northwest is nice, but could be better if not for the clouds. The trail continues north and going down. A short side spur up to the right, over some rocks leads to an edge where you can see the sprite lake. Total about 7 miles RT, 2700 ft gain.

Stopped at The Brick Tavern at Roslyn for dinner.

Practicality: 2.5 hr from Seattle. I-90 exit 80, pass Roslyn, Salmon Le Sac lake to the end of pavement (Hwy 903 North, ~18 miles from I-90). Take the right fork (#4330, instead of going straight into the campground) up towards Tucquala Lake . Bad gravel road for 10 miles. At ~1 mile north of Fish Lake Ranger Station, a small parking area to the right, just past the meadow.

2010.7.31-8.1 Necklace Valley

Necklace Valley is a very long hike with mosquitoes in this time of the year. First 5 miles leveled, uninteresting (~2 hrs. I saw an owl on the way back!). Shaded, sometimes overgrown, soft footing. Obstructed view, deep valley, some bugs. Often very close to the river. After crossing a log bridge at mile 5 after a big camp site, it gets steeper and rougher (tree roots or rocks): gaining 2550 ft in 2.2 miles. Reached the first lake, Jade, and a camp site at ~7.5 miles (~3 hrs). Now the trail gets muddy at times, hundreds of mosquitoes descend on you as soon as you pause. At the end of this lake (good fishing?), there's a log cabin, pretty run down, but can provide shelter. Up and down, 2 more ugly lakes to Opal Lake (with a red hue), more or less at the same elevation. Keep going straight, camped at the end of the valley, where the scenery gets better (~1 hr from the first lake). It rained at night.

Sunday, continue southwest up to Foehn Lake. ~1000 ft gain. This area is much more interesting: open, hanging ice fields, tarns with floating ice, carpets of pink and white heather. No clear trail. Some cairns identify the general direction. Mosquitoes disappeared half way up.

It's also possible to go southeast up to La Bohn Lake. The slope is steep, looks treacherous. Maybe next time. Fall is a good time. Lots of huckleberry in the valley, and more lakes to be explored.

Left the camp at 2pm, arrived at car at 7:30.

Logistics: 1:45 drive from downtown Seattle. Highway 2 ~1.8 miles east of Skykomish. Turn south on Foss River Road (#68). Keep straight for 4.1 mile (half gravel). Parking lot on the left.
7.5 mile, ~ 3000 ft gain to the first lake.