Hike-A-Thon Wrap-Up

August has come to an end and that means Hike-A-Thon is officially over.  For this year's Hike-A-Thon, I decided to not set any specific fundraising or mileage goals and instead focus on hiking some trails that have been on my wish list for a while and collecting what donations I could without stressing about it.  

Here's how I did toward my hiking wish list:

• Gothic Basin (08/10/16)
• Perry Creek (08/01/16)
• Green Mountain (I was supposed to go this weekend, but it's raining non-stop.)
• Sauk Mountain (08/24/16)
• Yellow Aster Butte
• Anderson-Watson Lakes (08/03/16)
• Hidden Lake Lookout (08/15/16)
  
• Colchuck Lake (08/18/16)
• Lake Ingalls

I hiked most of the trails on the list, and the ones that remain would make good fall hikes if the weather holds out.  If not, they'll just get added to next summer's list.  

 Thanks to everyone who made a donation! 

Park Butte Lookout

On Saturday, I hiked to the Park Butte Lookout.  The reasons for this particular trip were three-fold:

1.  It was my final volunteer shift of the summer as a Mountain Steward for the Forest Service.  Throughout the day, I encountered:

120 day hikers

25 backpackers

7 climbers

2 trail runners

1 hunter

6 members of a WTA trail crew hiking out after a week of work

3 horseback riders with 10 horses (they were hauling out the gear from the WTA crew)

12 dogs

I talked to them about things like where they could and could not camp, trail etiquette, weather conditions, climate change, and why I wear a nametag and have a radio.  That last one is always a popular topic.

2. I was doing some fact-checking and reviewing for a new hiking guidebook that is being written about the volcanic geology of the Mt. Baker area.  I know a local geologist through a couple of North Cascades Institute classes.  He was looking for people to take drafts of different book sections out on the trails to double-check for accuracy and clarity.

3. Hike-A-Thon is almost over and this was my last chance to get in some miles, except for maybe a few quick miles at local parks, as I will be busy spending the last three days of August at all-day staff meetings.

Park Butte Trail through Morovitz Meadows

I've hiked the Park Butte Trail dozens of times over the years, yet it never gets old.  There's a lot of variety in the landscape along the trail and with differences in weather conditions, it's always a different experience.  Today was pretty cloudy and cooler than it has been, which was a nice respite from all the full-sun, hot-day hikes I've done this summer.  

A tarn below the lookout

The closest I got to a full view of Mt. Baker all day. 

A tarn in Schreiber's Meadow

Even though this was the last big hike I'll be doing for Hike-A-Thon, it won't be my last blog post.  Next weekend, I'll be heading up to Green Mountain Lookout for a new volunteer program.  The miles won't count for Hike-A-Thon since it will be September, but I'll still write a post about the experience, and I'll do a wrap-up post as well with total miles hiked and total dollars earned.

There's not much time left, so make a donation today!

Sauk Mountain

It has become tradition to go on a Hike-A-Thon hike after my bi-annual dentist appointment.  Knowing that I would be getting a bit of a late start, I needed a shorter trail, and Sauk Mountain fit the bill.

In May, I was supposed to hike Sauk Mountain as part of a North Cascades Institute class, but it ended up snowing the night before, the trail was quite slick, and it was incredibly windy and cloudy.  Due to the conditions, we only hiked about half-mile before turning around.  Thus, Sauk Mountain got added to me Hike-A-Thon list.     

I was a bit worried about starting this trail around noon on a warm day because it's pretty much all out in the open with no shade, but the trail is so short that the heat really wasn't an issue.  There was even a pretty strong breeze when I rounded the corner to the north-facing side of the mountain.  

This is a trail that is well-known for its wildflowers, but the peak wildflower show has definitely passed.  There was still quite a lot of Indian Paintbrush blooming and some Pearly Everlasting, but everything else was done.  However, this trail is also well-known for it's views.  Without a cloud in the sky yesterday, the views were outstanding in all directions.

View to the south of the Skagit River Valley

View to the north

View to the north of Sauk Lake

I didn't spend much time at the summit because there were far too many people up there for my liking, so I just snapped a few photos and headed back down the trail.

Looking back down the trail (You can see the trail zig-zagging down the hillside

 




There's still time to make a Hike-A-Thon donation to support Washington Trails Association!

 

 

Because I love trail toilets, I must include
this photo of the neat little A-frame outhouse
at the trailhead

 

Colchuck Lake

A couple years ago, I hiked to Lake Stuart.  The trail to Lake Stuart forks after about two miles; the right fork continues on to Lake Stuart and the left fork heads to Colchuck Lake.  Colchuck Lake is considered by many to be a "must-do" Washington hike and, since I had never been there, it fit perfectly with my Hike-A-Thon goal to focus on trails that were new to me.  So yesterday I headed to the Leavenworth area to cross this one off my list.

I was prepared to share the trail with quite a few folks today given the warm weather and the fact that this trail is extremely popular.  When I got to the trailhead, the large parking area was mostly full, there were people milling around the lot, and one group was even blasting music from their car and dancing.  Despite my premonitions, I was pleasantly surprised to hike for nearly an hour before crossing paths with anyone else on the trail.  After that, the trail traffic picked up a bit, but for the most part everyone was decently spaced out along the trail.

The trail starts in a nice, shady forest which was perfect for a day that was supposed to get into the 90s.  For the first mile and a half, I was walking alongside Mountaineer Creek, enjoying the sound of the rushing water. After crossing the creek, the trail becomes more steep and eventually crosses Mountaineer Creek again.

Mountaineer Creek

After the second crossing, the trail gets even steeper and more rocky.  In this section, I ran into a WTA work crew building some stone steps into the trail.  Luckily, much of the trail is forested which kept the climb relatively cool on this hot day.  As I continued up the trail, the views of the surrounding mountains became better and better with several rock outcroppings I could walk out on to get clearer views.

Before long, I could see the turquoise color of the lake peaking through the trees before coming to a rocky clearing with the whole lake and all the surrounding peaks in view.

First views of Colcuck Lake

Colchuck Lake

There were a number of people at the lake, but I found a nice rock that sloped into the water, sat down, took off my shoes and socks, and soaked my feet in the cool water for a bit.  There were some fish swimming in the lake, but the water was super clear so I could make sure they didn't get too close to me. 

My feet

Soon, more and more people started encroaching on my space, so I packed everything up and started back down the trail hoping to beat the mid-day heat.  It was really warm on the way back down, so on my drive back home I just had to stop at a gas station and get a king-size vanilla-chocolate swirl Drumstick.  It really perked me up for the long drive home.

Who doesn't enjoy a Bavarian-themed 76 station
that sells king-size Drumsticks?

WTA works hard (even on hot days like yesterday) to maintain trails like this one!  Make a donation here!

Hidden Lake Lookout

Yesterday's Hike-A-Thon hike found me venturing up the North Cascades Highway to climb to a decommissioned fire lookout.  Built in 1932, the Hidden Lake Lookout was used to spot fires until the 1950s.  Since then, the Skagit Alpine Club and Friends of Hidden Lake Lookout have maintained the structure, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Getting to the Lookout is no easy task, though.  Even getting to the trailhead is a bit of a challenge.  The Forest Road leading to the trail is one of the roughest I've ever been on.  It's steep in places, rocky in places, and narrow in almost all places with hardly any pullouts should you encounter a car coming the opposite direction.  There are a few sections getting washed out and many blind hairpin turns.  The road is only 4.5 miles long, but it took me quite some time to maneuver around all the obstacles without injuring Subie.  

Subie and I made it to the trailhead just fine.

The trail starts out in thick forest with lots of little streams to hop over.  The cool shade of the forest only lasts for about a mile.  After that, the trail breaks out of the trees and it's all sun all the way to the top.  

Indian Paintbrush blooming along the trail

The trail keeps climbing up and up. The higher I got, the better the views became.  The picture below shows the view to the west with Mt. Baker just peaking out on the horizon.  You can also see the trail zig-zagging down the slope. 

More climbing followed, of course.  But the trail vegetation changed from thick, green undergrowth to a subalpine wonderland of vibrant pink heather, blueberry bushes (sans blueberries), and tiny mountain hemlock.  After 2 hours of hiking, I crested a little ridge to see this:

It's hard to see in the picture, but at the tippy-top of the peak on the left is the lookout tower.

I was a bit discouraged at this point.  It was hot out.  There was no chance I would encounter any shady spots in which to take a break.  The lookout seemed so far away and the trail to get there seemed so rocky and snowy.  However, I ate a few walnuts to rejuvenate myself and trudged onward, navigating rocky slopes, climbing up a gully filled with snow, and finally cresting another ridge with views down to Hidden Lake.

Hidden Lake

I plopped down an a big boulder for a bit a of break and to take in the sea of peaks spreading out to the east.  I was much closer to the lookout at this point, but still had one final boulder scramble to the top. 

The boulder scramble to the top

I'm not particularly fond of boulder scrambles, and was really not looking forward to the scramble back down, but it ended up not being as bad as I though it would be.  The rocks were good and grippy and solid.

Almost there

Even closer

Inside the lookout

Another view inside the lookout

Lookin' out the windows

August is half over, but there's still time to make a Hike-A-Thon donation by clicking here!


 

Gothic Basin

 

I decided over the weekend that I wanted to hike to Gothic Basin this week for Hike-A-Thon, so as usual I studied the weather forecast to determine the best day to do so.  Monday and Tuesday were rainy, so those two days were out.  Friday was supposed to be near 90 degrees, so that was definitely out because I don't do heat.  Wednesday was supposed to be partly cloudy with highs in the mid-70s, and Thursday was supposed to be sunny and mid-80s.  

It was quite an internal debate deciding between Wednesday and Thursday.  Partly cloudy could potentially mean totally cloudy with no views, but climbing a super steep trail in full sun with temperatures in the 80s can feel like 115 degrees.  I eventually took the plunge and decided on Wednesday, hoping that "partly cloudy" would mean nice, cool cloud cover in the morning during the climb that would magically dissipate to expose glorious views the moment I reached the Gothic Basin.  No such luck.  It was cloudy and foggy the entire day.

The first part of the trail requires walking the now-defunct road that leads to one of my favorite places, Monte Cristo.  The trail to Gothic Basin branches off of that road about a mile in.  

The official trail starts by meandering gently through the forest along the South Fork Sauk River.  Soon after crossing Weden Creek, the trails go up and it goes up steeply, very steeply.  It was only in the 50s when I started hiking, and I was dripping sweat through this section.  There was another hiker who I could see coming up behind me, moving rather quickly; however, when he passed me, I was pleased to see that he was sweating just as much as I was.  I didn't want to be the only one huffing and puffing.  Despite the difficulty of the trail, there were many interesting fungi to look at and I even found a quarter a few feet off the trail.

Soon enough there was a subtle shift in the type of vegetation, signalling that I was about to break out of the trees.  I did, in fact, break out of the trees so that I could scramble across this gully and then a couple more similar gullies after that.  

 

After crossing the first gully, the trail really gets down to business.  It's even steeper than the climb through the forest, except now instead of cushy pine needle-covered trail, the trail, and I use that term loosely, consists of large rocks and slippery tree roots.  Multiple times, I had to use my hands to climb up steep sections of slick rocks.  (Historical Side Note: This trail follows the original miner's trail from the 1800's up to the basin.  The lower portion of the trail has been fixed up a bit by the Forest Service, but the upper portion most certainly has not.  Mining trails tend to take a pretty direct route, bypassing trail features like switchbacks in favor of a shorter distance.)

It took me longer than anticipated to reach the basin, but I eventually did.  The entire basin is pretty stark with lots of rock features and little streams.  I ended up eating lunch beside tiny Gothic Lake which was not my original plan.  There's another larger lake, called Foggy Lake, somewhere in the basin that I had intended to go to, but the path to it wasn't obvious, it was already getting late, and I knew the trip down would take me almost as long as the trip up because of all the rocks, so I decided to just stick with Gothic Lake for this trip.  I intend to come back next summer on a clear day, so I'll make my way to Foggy Lake then.

Gothic Basin shrouded in fog

The small end of Gothic Lake

My lunch spot on the shores of Gothic Lake

On a clear day, there would be great views of all the surrounding peaks.  Today just wasn't the day for that, though.  A recent Instagram post by Washington Trails Association included this quote from a hiker: "When the sky is full of clouds, don't look up, look down."  I took that advice today, and got some good photos of wildflowers along the trail.

 

Please make a contribution to my Hike-A-Thon campaign here!