Every year for roughly the past fifteen years, Thom and I have gone on a backpacking trip in the fall. We’ve seen some pretty amazing places together, and it’s always a good opportunity to step away from the world for a few days and enjoy the majesty of nature.
Due to some scheduling issues, this year’s fall trip technically took place in the summer, but that doesn’t mean it was any less epic. (I mean, except the larch weren’t a fiery yellow.) I drove out to Wenatchee and then we headed up into the North Cascades. The weather was cloudy and rainy– not a great sign– but it made for some pretty cool photos. Thom always says clouds add “interest” to a picture.
After hiking a little over five miles on Day 1, we crested Cutthroat Pass and were stunned by a brilliant rainbow in the distance. Sadly, by the time we grabbed our cameras, it had already faded a bit…
We set up camp and enjoyed a dinner beneath the slowly dispersing clouds. This was our backyard for the evening (notice our tent in the lower right).
As the sun fell, we decided to climb a bit to see if we could get some good light. Here’s Thom surveying the mountains, waiting for an opportune moment:
We were soon rewarded with this:
Looking south, the larch were illuminated with the last rays of daylight.
Day 2 dawned crisp and cool, and the clouds had settled in the valley to the west. We watched as the moisture streamed across the mountain ridges.
This area is reminiscent of the Enchantments, with its white rock and tons of larch.
We continued hiking into the backcountry, and Granite Pass afforded some spectacular views of the valley.
Along the ridge to the right, you can see the trail we’re about to take up toward Methow Pass:
It seemed like every time we came around a corner or crested a ridge, there was another great view.
We’d decided to camp at Snowy Lakes, which supposedly lacked a well-defined trail. After a bit of bushwhacking we stumbled upon a trail that I would definitely call “well-defined”, and we continued up to the lakes. I relieved myself of my pack and took a short break when we arrived at Upper Snowy Lake; in the distance is Lower Snowy Lake. We went swimming there, and confirmed that the lake is well-named. The water temperature couldn’t have been above 50!
Again, our backyard was pretty stunning.
As evening fell, we hiked up a nearby ridge, again waiting for sunset.
Thom wanted to check out a different view, so he headed along the ridgeline a little ways.
Sunset didn’t disappoint. Here’s the view across Upper Snowy Lake:
And Thom at our campsite, looking far to the west:
I took a picture of him taking a picture.
As night fell, Mother Nature showed off her palette.
A crescent moon rose over nearby Mount Hardy:
Day 3 was the hike back out, around eleven miles. The weather was absolutely perfect, and it’s cool to compare this shot of Mount Black with the one two days before (at the top of this post):
In accordance with tradition, we enjoyed some pizza on the way home. Another great trip for the books.