Just below Chinook Pass, looking back at Mt. Rainier. Lower Tipsoo Lakes are just starting to melt, a ribbon of open water in the middle.

Upper Tipsoo Lake, below Naches Peak still mostly frozen:

The outlet has started to break up though:

Looking at Naches Peak from the east side of Chinook Pass. The PCT is visible if you can see the straight line in the snow cutting across. This side always has snow longer.

Ford and I got on the PCT at Chinook Pass and headed North. There was a little snow left at the access for horses but easily crossed.

The open avy slope just pass the parking lot was starting to pop open in Glacier Lilies:

Western Pasqueflower with Glacier Lilies:

More Glacier Lilies:

Lupine and Bear Grass in bloom as we continued on North:

Within a 1/2 mile or so from the trailhead the flowers started changing – the lilies and others that emerge as the snow melts were replaced by Lupine that was just starting along with Bear Grass. I always get so happy when I see Bear Grass – since it is hard to quess when you will see it in bloom!

Scarlet  Paintbrush (I also saw lots of Phlox and even Magenta Paintbrush! As well, the Huckleberries are already forming berries.)

Looking back at Naches Peak:

It was blazing hot by 11 am – the sky was not giving any breaks!

Eventually the trail goes into the woods and as expected we encountered the usual pile o’ snow that loiters into July back there. It was at least 3 feet high and did run down into the woods below as well. Still, it wasn’t bad and later in the day (say after 10 or 11 am) it softens up from a sheet of ice.

On the way back the Bear Grass was just too awesome to pass up.

Snow wise everything seems on schedule or ahead for melt out. The flowers are coming on strong. Still I have to be patient for the other side of the PCT to open up. A couple more weeks is all! But what can I say – I was at 5400 feet hiking in alpine meadows with no bugs. Life was good this morning!

~Sarah

The main bridge on Hwy 169 over the Green River Gorge has been closed since last fall, when after torrential downpours the State detected that the bridge had moved (oops!). Since then to get to Rainier from where we live you have your choice of two detours. The car one goes through pastures/farm land that meanders all over. I prefer the truck route that heads for the foothills. The drive reminds me of what rural Washington State was like when I was young. There are pockets left here that haven’t changed. I love driving the Benz up there – she was made for roads like them…..curvy and fun!

As I left the valley of Enumclaw behind I passed through Federation Forest State Park, the highway divides the tiny park. It is a ridge on one side, the White River on the other. The park has taken a bad beating this year. The floods last fall were ginormous. I wasn’t able to get any photos (it just isn’t safe to walk on the road there – it is very dark from the trees). What I did see was amazing. I knew the road had been cut off for awhile…but wow. The hillside on the ridge basically carved itself troughs as the rains poured down, sending down all the top soil, rocks, boulders and old growth trees down the small creek beds, over the highway and across into the forest, towards the White River. I can only imagine how scary that would have been to see happen. What it left were vertical creek beds scoured to gray rock/soil. I counted at least 5 of these along a very short section of highway!

Not much farther along the highway is the viewpoint for Skookum Falls. There is a trail across the river – Skookum Flats – that is a cool hike in the woods to the base of the falls. But for viewing it you need to be on the highway side of the river.

It is a multi tiered fall, that falls for quite the distance. In the photo above you can see part of the White River in front. The White River is born on Rainier.

Back on the road I headed up to Cayuse Pass at 4,675 feet. Hwy 410 is closed here for at least another week – Chinook Pass sits much higher at 5,430 feet and the drive is switchbacks up what is an avy field. While I was tempted to park the car and walk the road….I also knew they are doing road work up high and yeah, that isn’t the best place to be…..ah well, soon enough! The snow at the pass was pretty good. The ridges around Cayuse are melted out nicely, but down at 4600 ft the snow is still holding. Ghost Lake which sits nestled under this ridge was sill covered in snow. It sits in a cold sub alpine basin and doesn’t melt out fast. The outlet creek for Deadwood Lakes was still snow covered as well.

A little bit below Cayuse Pass, looking kind of East/South:

As I looked at this photo later I thought…”that wasn’t the best place to park!” due to the snow hanging over the poor Benz.

Looking at Rainier:

Rainier (with Little Tahoma visible to the left) and the White River far below:

Farther up (but not where I could get photos) I could see the Sunrise Road and Yakima Park. Both are still quite snow covered. Burroughs 1,2 and 3 were thickly covered in snow – though these are all areas well above 6,000 feet. (Burroughs 2 is at 7400 feet or so.) The White River valley has some snow though the car campground far up still holds a lot.

I sat up there in the sun, with wispy clouds flitting over, in the sun and just enjoyed it. The insects are buzzing quietly, birds singing. The wind quietly sighing. A storm is coming in this evening that promises snow in the high mountains. But yet….it is there. The smell of summer is there. In another month the snows will be gone, the avy lilies will come.

I can wait. Being able to sit there and see another year with Tahoma makes the world right for me.

~Sarah