In July 2020 I pedaled 350 miles around the Puget Sound. I rode to See the Salish Sea by Saddle.
Click the link above or the third photo to read and view more.
Showing posts with label #findyourpark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #findyourpark. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Monday, July 08, 2019
High Divide, Seven Lakes Basin Loop
Seven Lakes Basin, High Divide Loop, July 4-7, 2019
The four miles to Deer Lake were mostly uphill, but not terribly difficult. Regardless, I napped promptly after setting up camp above the lake. When I woke, I took a hike around to explore the rest of the campsites, and circumnav the lake. I found this little rock note, and many sub-alpine blooms including the shooting star, Pedicularis, bear grass, heather, bog orchid, marsh marigold and lupine.
I had dinner with a couple from Philly and a few others packed into the heavily impacted space in a sunny spot down by the lake shore. There was a lot of new camping gear pulled out of packs and whole bear canisters plopped down on the veg. I almost left, but it would be some of the last sunshine I saw for days. The next morning I headed up hill again into the Seven Lakes Basin. I walked out of camp at 9 am, with sunblock on for good measure, but with the sunglasses stored in their case.
Just around the bend, the alpine meadows began. Dark eyed juncos flit in the heather. Avalanche lilies popped from lingering north facing recent snow melt, magenta paint brushed the fog. Every flower I could name was out on the ridge, but couldn't see ten feet in front of me, or off the ridge at all. I had read a trip report about the geologic upheaval but it was nothing like I expected. Uplift, shift, and split--the trail split in two. I step over cracks and upturned rocks. I was in awe of the active geology.
At the trail Junction into Seven Lakes Basin there were some confusion between parties regarding location, and maps, and apps, but just around the corner and through a gap in the pass, I followed the staircase switchbacks into the basin belonging to Round and Lunch Lakes.
Folks coming up the hill pointed out the bear. I photographed it just as it disappeared in the rolling fog.
When I crossed into the stream outlet I met another solo woman. She was carrying a big knife on her hip belt that made me think of Irena (see Spokeandstories.com). We traded stories, of solo adventures and alpine flora, although I wanted to ask about all her tattoos that were peaking out from behind her open side zips in her rain pants. She said she'd borrow my line... I'm not solo, I came to visit my friends in the alpine. And it seems that this visit is vital to my soul, these alpine friends, these nearly lost words, that I love to list, and these wonders.
I made camp by 2pm, or maybe three, and then instead of just the mist, it started to rain in earnest. By 6 pm I crawled out of the tent to fetch water and begin dinner. I walked uphill seeking some tree cover, but found Annie and Jack sitting in the drizzle in the site just above me--they were most welcoming. My dark chocolate peanut butter cups were a nice peace keeping gesture, but they upped the ante with a trade for some whiskey, that in my hot chocolate with coconut oil for dessert, went down really nice and helped keep me warmer. I wandered about from 7:30 to 8:30, holding my wonderland trail rule of not getting to bed before 8:30.
At 1 am I saw stars when I got out to pee. Orion was hanging out above the lake. At 5 I dreamed it was sunny and clear, but not quite. My 7 a.m walk to the privy was aglow in sunrise, and droplets shone like crystal balls. The whole meadow was sparkling.
From the outhouse I saw a buck. Two dear and two fawn pranced right beside my tent. Then, 4 goats across the lake and then for the next hour all at camp would see at least 10 goats, some kids, and a few radio collared Billys. These are the last of the goats at Lunch Lake. 120 will be airlifted out of here on Monday. (Story...)
There was sunshine, shadows, and smiles, yet it was short lived.
This lasted about an hour and then it was all fogged in again as I hiked back up the switchbacks to the high divide. Fog on the ridge was so dense, I don't know how I spotted the marmot, but I do have a naturalist's way.
On a dark gravel zig, or zag, two smiling hikers passed with news of a clearing just ahead. I booked up to the break--overlooking 7 lakes basin, later with a glimpse of lunch lake, too, and the path up from the saddle I'd seen yesterday in camp.
But this clearing, too, was short lived. The rest of the High Divide Trail was socked in. Erin, a teacher who grew up in P.A., and now lives in Houston, said, "Now when you come back, you'll see it for the first time again." I love that beginner mind set.
When the views are limited one can look below and within. at my feet are heaps of wildflowers. Spiderwebs, once hidden, glisten with droplets. And the single gemstone that lays in low of the lupine leaf. And if I stop on the ridge, seeing nothing below me in the fog abyss, I listen. To my heart beat, my breath. and to the droplets falling from trees with a sound that reminds me of the inconsistent plinks in to the tub after hand washing a summer swimsuit and hanging it in the shower to drip dry. And the whomp of the wings of a grouse. I hear these things when hiking with others as I don't often keep up. But I'm savoring these sounds solo. The mileage today means I can meander, and reflect. I can take heart.
The trail to heart lake leaves the High Divide, and as I did I dropped below the cloud deck. I could see the lake, and was the first to camp to choose my spot but the visibility didn't last long.
I had dinner by 6, and into the tent by 7:30, as it's raining, again, really raining. I'm not one for praying, but I guess I vocalized my annoyance with two nights of rain and felt I had my limit, or at least getting to the edge of my comfort with it. It was laughable, but not great. I had a good book of stories, as a end of year gift, and it was perfect. I read 174 pages! I also slept a great deal! These are bonuses of a solo backpacking adventure in less than perfect weather.
Yet, I was having FOMO for the landscape I couldn't see as a result. I wanted a break in the weather. My pee break at 11:30 was misty, so much that the head lamp blurred my vision with the dense particles of fog. I stumbled to pee in the trail. A goat hoof steps startled me and I scurried back in and zipped up, heart racing, as the Billy rooted around, licking salt from my ammonia urine. ugh.
I sort of slept til 5:30 and when heading to the privy, I sensed a break in the weather, but not enough to get me packing. I read another story. But at 7:30, the sun was seeping in at the edge of the tent fly. I was beaming. And I made a break for the high point for a view.
I jaunted back with a perma-grin, and skipped a hot breakfast to pack quick to get out by 10:15. I had 8 miles to go, mostly downhill, through the Sol Duc River valley along the Sol Duc River Trail. Plus I had a goal of 3 pm to the car. Saw not a soul for hours. No one coming up this way for the basin will be closed tomorrow for ten days.
It was sprinkling between the Sol Duc Falls and the parking lot, but it was a full on downpour rain when I approached the car.
So I went to the Sol Duc Hot Springs (where I hadn't been in 21 years, and only that time prior with my mom) and for $18 that included the $3 towel rental I soaked in the sulfury water, and showered away all the grime from the last 4 days, smiling at the rain, as it continued to fall.
Details:
Maps; check. Gear; check. Food; check. Definite plan; ummm. Trip partners; bailed. I'm always up for adventure. Thinking I'd learned a few things from my Wonderland Trail experience, where I carried all my own gear and food for up to 5 days, I felt really ready for this solo multi-day. The first thing I knew is if you don't have a permit, you better get to the ranger station early. So I woke up in a cozy bed from my friend's home in Kingston at 4 am, and drove to the ONP WIC in Port Angeles. I pulled out my sleeping bag and rested on the hard bench. I was first in line at 5:45 am, and by the time the doors opened at 8 there were 45 people behind me.
Ranger Tobin gave me prime camps up in the alpine, at all the key lakes. When I asked about the gentians he said we were three weeks early in all of the blooms and most of the avalanche lilies have come and gone. On route, I ate blueberries...July 4th. Red white and blue. That IS early!
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| Vaccinium ovatum |
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| Delicious |
I drove, with the tape deck and radio off, along Lake Crescent and down the Sol Duc Valley road to the Sol Duc trail head. I finally ate breakfast, followed it with the lunch left overs and finalized packing up the bear can and my pack. I hit the trail at 10:30 am.
The four miles to Deer Lake were mostly uphill, but not terribly difficult. Regardless, I napped promptly after setting up camp above the lake. When I woke, I took a hike around to explore the rest of the campsites, and circumnav the lake. I found this little rock note, and many sub-alpine blooms including the shooting star, Pedicularis, bear grass, heather, bog orchid, marsh marigold and lupine.
 |
| Whale indeed. But LNT? |
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| The sun came out at Deer Lake. |
Folks coming up the hill pointed out the bear. I photographed it just as it disappeared in the rolling fog.
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| Castelleja |
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| Castelleja and Spirea |
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| Spirea and insect |
I made camp by 2pm, or maybe three, and then instead of just the mist, it started to rain in earnest. By 6 pm I crawled out of the tent to fetch water and begin dinner. I walked uphill seeking some tree cover, but found Annie and Jack sitting in the drizzle in the site just above me--they were most welcoming. My dark chocolate peanut butter cups were a nice peace keeping gesture, but they upped the ante with a trade for some whiskey, that in my hot chocolate with coconut oil for dessert, went down really nice and helped keep me warmer. I wandered about from 7:30 to 8:30, holding my wonderland trail rule of not getting to bed before 8:30.
At 1 am I saw stars when I got out to pee. Orion was hanging out above the lake. At 5 I dreamed it was sunny and clear, but not quite. My 7 a.m walk to the privy was aglow in sunrise, and droplets shone like crystal balls. The whole meadow was sparkling.
From the outhouse I saw a buck. Two dear and two fawn pranced right beside my tent. Then, 4 goats across the lake and then for the next hour all at camp would see at least 10 goats, some kids, and a few radio collared Billys. These are the last of the goats at Lunch Lake. 120 will be airlifted out of here on Monday. (Story...)
There was sunshine, shadows, and smiles, yet it was short lived.
This lasted about an hour and then it was all fogged in again as I hiked back up the switchbacks to the high divide. Fog on the ridge was so dense, I don't know how I spotted the marmot, but I do have a naturalist's way.
On a dark gravel zig, or zag, two smiling hikers passed with news of a clearing just ahead. I booked up to the break--overlooking 7 lakes basin, later with a glimpse of lunch lake, too, and the path up from the saddle I'd seen yesterday in camp.
But this clearing, too, was short lived. The rest of the High Divide Trail was socked in. Erin, a teacher who grew up in P.A., and now lives in Houston, said, "Now when you come back, you'll see it for the first time again." I love that beginner mind set.
When the views are limited one can look below and within. at my feet are heaps of wildflowers. Spiderwebs, once hidden, glisten with droplets. And the single gemstone that lays in low of the lupine leaf. And if I stop on the ridge, seeing nothing below me in the fog abyss, I listen. To my heart beat, my breath. and to the droplets falling from trees with a sound that reminds me of the inconsistent plinks in to the tub after hand washing a summer swimsuit and hanging it in the shower to drip dry. And the whomp of the wings of a grouse. I hear these things when hiking with others as I don't often keep up. But I'm savoring these sounds solo. The mileage today means I can meander, and reflect. I can take heart.
The trail to heart lake leaves the High Divide, and as I did I dropped below the cloud deck. I could see the lake, and was the first to camp to choose my spot but the visibility didn't last long.
Yet, I was having FOMO for the landscape I couldn't see as a result. I wanted a break in the weather. My pee break at 11:30 was misty, so much that the head lamp blurred my vision with the dense particles of fog. I stumbled to pee in the trail. A goat hoof steps startled me and I scurried back in and zipped up, heart racing, as the Billy rooted around, licking salt from my ammonia urine. ugh.
I sort of slept til 5:30 and when heading to the privy, I sensed a break in the weather, but not enough to get me packing. I read another story. But at 7:30, the sun was seeping in at the edge of the tent fly. I was beaming. And I made a break for the high point for a view.
I continued back up the Divide for more, more of what I came for.
This. Love. Of. The. Alpine.
I jaunted back with a perma-grin, and skipped a hot breakfast to pack quick to get out by 10:15. I had 8 miles to go, mostly downhill, through the Sol Duc River valley along the Sol Duc River Trail. Plus I had a goal of 3 pm to the car. Saw not a soul for hours. No one coming up this way for the basin will be closed tomorrow for ten days.
It was sprinkling between the Sol Duc Falls and the parking lot, but it was a full on downpour rain when I approached the car.
So I went to the Sol Duc Hot Springs (where I hadn't been in 21 years, and only that time prior with my mom) and for $18 that included the $3 towel rental I soaked in the sulfury water, and showered away all the grime from the last 4 days, smiling at the rain, as it continued to fall.
Details:
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| Elevation profile for the 20 miles |
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| Route info and map |
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Braids like Ropes: Hair and Hygiene
I wear my hair in braids, especially when I'm adventuring. Last summer, I look liked twins with the most iconic braid boss ever--Anne of Green Gables.
On the Wonderland, a solo female hiker stopped in her boots to tell me, "Wow, you have braids like rope. That's some hair." Truth. It's typically a mess of curls and tangles. So I tie my hair in knots on purpose. I took those braids out only once during the entire trip, only to re-braid them on the banks of Mystic Lake, loosing strands of curls in the wind enough to make a nest!
Hygiene in general is a concern for folks looking to do a longer journey. Folks are fine for a few days, but without a shower for two weeks? What do you bring? How do you do it? I thought I might weave more tips than braiding my hair in this vignette.
Tea for two:
One of the desires for this trip was to sit around in camp with a warm drink, to sip tea in the morning, and a whiskey hot chocolate before bed. While the weather made it too hot for after dinner warm drinks, I never gave up on tea. It's tea for two purposes. First and foremost, it's the warm drink, the caffeine, and the goodness of tea outdoors. The second purpose, is a wilderness secret I've been using for more than 20 years, maybe longer. I think I can thank Sandy for this trick. She was my Outdoor Adventure Camp counselor in the great summer of 1989. I still use other outdoor education tricks from her and Bear. The second purpose of a tea bag is the teabag face wash. The tannin in black tea are a wonderful astringent. The bag is warm, and feels great in the mountain mornings. The face wash removes last night's sleep in the eyes, and the cake of dirt, sunblock and bug spray before you layer more on for today. After I squeeze out some of the water, I gently apply the tea bag to my eyes, then wipe my face, behind my ears, and the back of my neck. If I'm feeling really dirty, I may even tuck a tea bag under my armpit while cleaning up breakfast.
Deodorant?
On shorter trips I leave that at home. On this trip, I brought a travel size tea tree deodorant. I'm only bothering to write about deodorant at all for Jaal's trick. Being ultralight, and crafty, he melted down some deodorant and put it in an empty chap-stick container. Careful not to confuse the two!
Dip and Rinse:
Despite the record heat, and ungodly sweat fest, I managed to stay fairly clean for these two weeks. How? Water! The Wonderland Trail offers water regularly. While rivers tend to flow full of glacial till, there is no love loess there. Plenty of clear streams offer clean drinking water (still need to filter or treat!) and a refreshing cleanse. I frequently dipped my hat, and rang out my buff, did a quick scrub, and soaked it to keep cool as I kept hiking. Streams and creeks made for great foot soaks, too. I was also able to rinse clothes. Remember no soap at the source.
The real treat was swimming in nearly every alpine lake we encountered. I swam at Louise Lake, Mowich Lake, Golden Lake, St. Andrews Lake, and Mirror Lakes.
Gaiter Girl:
There are many things I adopted from my NOLS outdoor educator course in the Olympics. One of them is gaiters. Even my most consistent mountain buddy Erik said, "NOLS was religious about gaiters. It's the best way to keep your socks clean. Clean socks means less foot issues. Less foot issues means more easy hiking." I wear them on almost every hike, and was especially glad to have them on this long hike. I only had one change of socks--and a new pair in each cache. Yet, with my gaiters, rinsing socks, and taking my socks off in the sun at bug-less long breaks, I was able to keep my feet in great shape. I trusted this method of foot care so much, and loved my "newish" Solomon 4D GTX boots so much, that I didn't even bring camp shoes. I could also stand on my gaiters when I needed a boot-off rest in camp.
Pee rag:
I'm not only a Leave No Trace practitioner, I was once a LNT educator for scouts. I've been leaving no trace with a pee rag since the OAC days, decades. I just use a bandanna. The UV sunlight disinfects, and I can leave no trace, other than the temporary puddle. When I returned home from The Wonderland I joined a Women of Wonderland FB group and found a few new purpose-built products for this.
6 D's of Doing the Do:
TP and Hand sanitizer:
Bring enough, put some in the cache, and 2 oz of Hand Sani was perfect for the entire two weeks. Don't just use the hand sani after pooing. Also use it before meals, and yes, after the bear pole. It's the back country germ equivalent of a door knob in the front country.
Stay clean, stay healthy. Keep conserving our natural wonderlands. Keep hiking!
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| Jess and Anne of Green Gables, PEI, Canada photo from SpokeandStories |
On the Wonderland, a solo female hiker stopped in her boots to tell me, "Wow, you have braids like rope. That's some hair." Truth. It's typically a mess of curls and tangles. So I tie my hair in knots on purpose. I took those braids out only once during the entire trip, only to re-braid them on the banks of Mystic Lake, loosing strands of curls in the wind enough to make a nest!
 |
| Showing off those braids and the mountain. Skyscraper Mountain. Photo by Jaal Mann. |
Hygiene in general is a concern for folks looking to do a longer journey. Folks are fine for a few days, but without a shower for two weeks? What do you bring? How do you do it? I thought I might weave more tips than braiding my hair in this vignette.
Tea for two:
One of the desires for this trip was to sit around in camp with a warm drink, to sip tea in the morning, and a whiskey hot chocolate before bed. While the weather made it too hot for after dinner warm drinks, I never gave up on tea. It's tea for two purposes. First and foremost, it's the warm drink, the caffeine, and the goodness of tea outdoors. The second purpose, is a wilderness secret I've been using for more than 20 years, maybe longer. I think I can thank Sandy for this trick. She was my Outdoor Adventure Camp counselor in the great summer of 1989. I still use other outdoor education tricks from her and Bear. The second purpose of a tea bag is the teabag face wash. The tannin in black tea are a wonderful astringent. The bag is warm, and feels great in the mountain mornings. The face wash removes last night's sleep in the eyes, and the cake of dirt, sunblock and bug spray before you layer more on for today. After I squeeze out some of the water, I gently apply the tea bag to my eyes, then wipe my face, behind my ears, and the back of my neck. If I'm feeling really dirty, I may even tuck a tea bag under my armpit while cleaning up breakfast.
Deodorant?
On shorter trips I leave that at home. On this trip, I brought a travel size tea tree deodorant. I'm only bothering to write about deodorant at all for Jaal's trick. Being ultralight, and crafty, he melted down some deodorant and put it in an empty chap-stick container. Careful not to confuse the two!
Dip and Rinse:
Despite the record heat, and ungodly sweat fest, I managed to stay fairly clean for these two weeks. How? Water! The Wonderland Trail offers water regularly. While rivers tend to flow full of glacial till, there is no love loess there. Plenty of clear streams offer clean drinking water (still need to filter or treat!) and a refreshing cleanse. I frequently dipped my hat, and rang out my buff, did a quick scrub, and soaked it to keep cool as I kept hiking. Streams and creeks made for great foot soaks, too. I was also able to rinse clothes. Remember no soap at the source.
 |
| Rinsing and drying my undies at Indian Bar |
The real treat was swimming in nearly every alpine lake we encountered. I swam at Louise Lake, Mowich Lake, Golden Lake, St. Andrews Lake, and Mirror Lakes.
 |
| A swim in Louise Lake |
Gaiter Girl:
There are many things I adopted from my NOLS outdoor educator course in the Olympics. One of them is gaiters. Even my most consistent mountain buddy Erik said, "NOLS was religious about gaiters. It's the best way to keep your socks clean. Clean socks means less foot issues. Less foot issues means more easy hiking." I wear them on almost every hike, and was especially glad to have them on this long hike. I only had one change of socks--and a new pair in each cache. Yet, with my gaiters, rinsing socks, and taking my socks off in the sun at bug-less long breaks, I was able to keep my feet in great shape. I trusted this method of foot care so much, and loved my "newish" Solomon 4D GTX boots so much, that I didn't even bring camp shoes. I could also stand on my gaiters when I needed a boot-off rest in camp.
Pee rag:
I'm not only a Leave No Trace practitioner, I was once a LNT educator for scouts. I've been leaving no trace with a pee rag since the OAC days, decades. I just use a bandanna. The UV sunlight disinfects, and I can leave no trace, other than the temporary puddle. When I returned home from The Wonderland I joined a Women of Wonderland FB group and found a few new purpose-built products for this.
- WeeRag: a soft spongy natural viscose shammy towel to use by itself or in combination with colorful fabrics and artistic designs. The WeeRag pee rag was developed through the partnership of a physician and life-long adventure athlete, and an engineer with a passion for creating eco-friendly solutions.
- https://kulacloth.com/
I since purchased a Kula cloth and absolutely love it. The snaps are so convenient and it's truly waterproof so that my hand is never damp. I'm a huge fan of this essential piece of gear and never leave home without it.
6 D's of Doing the Do:
- Go the Distance--200 yards from water
- Dig for Depth--6 inches down. Make sure your trowel is strong enough, and the blade is marked for depth.
- Dig for Diameter--Wide enough to do your business--4-6'' diameter.
- Drop it--do the do--You might hand on a nearby tree, or lean back on a log, if your legs need a little support.
- Decompose and Disguise --using a nearby stick or rock, break up the feces, and stir them in with the soil to help decomposition. Dispose of the decomposition aid tool (the rock/stick) in the hole and cover the entire thing up with the soil you dug out. Adding a bigger rock or stick pile may also help disguise your dump.
- Disinfect--You've stored your TP in a Ziploc bag, so seal it up, tuck it into the toilet paper tube, and grab your hand sanitizer. Then zip up, button up, and head back on your way.
TP and Hand sanitizer:
Bring enough, put some in the cache, and 2 oz of Hand Sani was perfect for the entire two weeks. Don't just use the hand sani after pooing. Also use it before meals, and yes, after the bear pole. It's the back country germ equivalent of a door knob in the front country.
Stay clean, stay healthy. Keep conserving our natural wonderlands. Keep hiking!
Goats in the Gap: Wildlife
We'd heard that there were goats in the gap. I recall when skiing on the Frying Pan glacier, decades ago, a whole herd of goats crossed the gap and played in our tracks. I was eager to see them there again, white on white, sure-footed friends. However, I saw no goats in Ohanapecosh Park, Panhandle Gap, nor Summerland. Perhaps it was because we went through that area on a lovely Saturday, where hundreds of day hikers and tourists were making their way up the Summerland trail as we descended the gap to Summerland camp. Goats, overall on this Wonderland journey, for me, stayed rather elusive. I saw hoof prints in the mud at Aurora Lake. I saw signs of them on a scramble above Mystic Lake, fluffs of white fur on the edges of evergreens, stuck to the pitch and the bristles of needles. While admiring the alpine glow from Aurora Lake, a fellow camper pointed out a lone big billy goat ambling on the flanks of Aurora Peak. We alternated watching the goat and the glow. So the next morning, when I went scrambling up Aurora Peak with Jaal, seeing fur on nearly every veggie belay, I started singing. "Billy! Billy don't you loose my number! Cause you're not anywhere, that I can find you." It was silly, but I really didn't want to see an angry old billy goat come around the corner.
At Sunrise, everyone asked if we'd seen any wildlife. My response was, "Of course! Birds, butterflies, insects, frogs!" I smiled. There were so many creatures to catch my eye. A ranger with a butterfly net caught my eye too, and I stopped her to ask her some questions. I had photographed a few and wanted to know more.
Me: "What is the blue butterfly?"
Ranger: "Well, the very technical scientific name for them is Blues! Although there are a few species." (later I looked up the genus: Lycaeides)
Me: "The yellow one, here?" I showed her a photo.
Ranger: "Likely a sulphur" (Colias occidentalis)
I showed her photos of the orange checkerspot, and a heart shaped black and white moth, whose name I've forgotten. As we parted she said, "Someone today asked if there were any butterflies out here, noting they hadn't seen any." "They are EVERYWHERE!," we smiled in unison.
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| Orange Checkerspot |
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| unknown (to me) Black and White Moth |
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| A bevy of blue butterflies (say that ten times fast!) |
Mayflies were magic like fairies. They danced in the wet meadows, back-lit by morning sunlight. They sparkled in the mist of the Spray Falls. They delighted me.
But not all insects were pretty; some were downright persistent pests. The flies were likely the worse, deer flies pestering more than biting black, as they were slow and could be swatted if you had your hands free. I think bugs in general were the worst uphill from Nickel Creek. In a desperate move, to keep moving, I pulled my bug jacket out of the top of my pack and threw it on. I'm advocating for the invention of an over-the-pack-bug-poncho. But I like to say it isn't summer, unless there are few summer scars. Even if they are from bug bites, itched raw to bleeding. Buggers.
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| Mama and cubs, Carbon River, photo by Jimmy Williams, NC |
We heard there were bears at this camp, and that camp. Ten days in, I still hadn't seen any sign of them. I met a ten year old girl along Moraine Creek and the Carbon River glacier, who practically jumped out of her backpack to tell me a story of the mama bear and cubs she just witnessed crossing the suspension bridge. Fellow hiker Jimmy Williams was there too, and captured this photo. Later he wrote, "I wish I would have gotten her running across the suspension bridge, but grabbing my pack and getting off the trail was first priority."
Then, sure enough, day ten, I'm hauling up a steep climb from South Mowich River, keeping a good pace and crushing my time goal. I was feeling great. I reached the ridge and was rewarded with rustling in the berry bushes. I froze as she stood on her hind legs, looked me straight in the eye, and then settled back down. I had raised my poles above my head and told her loudly "I see you. I won't harm you. You won't harm me!". Then, I grabbed my camera and watched. I could see her big collar, and then her cubs. They crossed the trail, checking me out. A fellow hiker watching from the other direction, and he thought my pole raising was a signal to him. When I did catch his eye, I made other gestures, that in retelling to Jaal at camp, seemed silly and moose like. Regardless, we were all safe and I had my bear sighting.
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| Mama Bear |
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| Cub on the trail |
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| Curious Cub |
Mighty mammals make for fine wildlife stories. I think that's what all those Sunrise tourists were asking me about. Then, leaving Sunrise parking lot, we watched a deer and fawn. I heard the peep of pikas, mostly in the scree fields while hiking or at the pit toilet of Cataract Valley camp. They were hard to photograph, so small, and gray, round like rocks. A Douglas Squirrel practically posed for me leaving Cataract. Marmots seem to do the same, perched on rocks in alpine meadows. At Summerland I watched a few nibbling wildflowers in lovely light.
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| Oh Deer! |
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| This Douglas Squirrel is a fungi. |
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| Mmmm. mmm. mmm. Marmot |
Finally, I'm a fan of frogs. Alpine lakes were teaming with tadpoles. The tarn at 6000' above Mystic Lake had moving moss--I've never seen so many tiny frogs in my life, the ground was hoping! I was grateful these amphibians shared their swimming holes.
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| teeny tiny frog |
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| Jaal and the frog |
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| Frog in Golden Lake. |
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