Urban Outcast Music Discovery #16 - This post is brought to you by a Whiskey Drink - Lonesome Trio. I apologize for the typos in advance... If you were a fan of the Office, check out the band photo a little more closely.
Phase 3 - The Final Tune Up: The theme for this collection of hikes was higher and farther as the legs were tested on similar inclines and distances to convince myself that this wasn't an adventure destined for disaster. But in an unexpected twist I could already see smoke on the horizon threatening to rain on our parade (maybe shouldn't have jumped straight to bourbon shots). A lightening strike had started a fire deep in the wilderness and as September arrived it was creeping too close to the Enchantments northern entrance, closing the critical trail. So the Enchantments training series lives on for at least another year... If I can muster the energy to be in shape for two whole summers.
Heather-Maple Pass Loop (+ Ann and Rainy Lakes) - 9.2 miles, 2,000' gain
A stunning loop hike along the edge of the Northern Cascades with 5 star blueberries. In fact the berries were so good that it left me wondering what exactly I was eating on all those other hikes. We opted for the counterclockwise route which brings you to the Ann Lake spur first. It took an iron will not to bust out some baggies, switch into scavenger mode, and cut the hike short. A black bear happened to share my love of the blue orbs of joy and was blissed out in the middle of the trail.
From the lake you work your way up to Heather Pass and along the way I finally came to accept that I have a problem. Its embarrassing to talk about but maybe by sharing my story others will be able to speak openly about the issue. PSP has not made its way into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but as awareness rises, its only a matter of time. Premature Switchback Photography is often characterized by an eagerness to capture every minute change in scenery and is most commonly associated with users of photo sharing platforms such as "Instagram", "Facebook", "slide projectors", and writers of self-indulgent outdoor/fishing blogs. Several physical manifestations of the disorder can also be present in severe cases: really, really slow hiking or walking backwards, crippling uncertainty regarding camera orientation, lack of solid state memory on phone or hard drive, or some combination of the above. To date there is no known cure although spouses/partners have been documented to yell various obscenities to great effect with recent studies indicating the efficacy decreases with frequent use. A sample case is presented below:
From Heather Pass you get excellent views into the national park and south towards Glacier Peak. Which helps with the motivation as Heather Pass sits below Maple Pass and more climbing is needed.
Maple Pass tops off at 6,650' and then the trail wastes no time dropping back down to the highway with continuous, tight, impressively dusty switchbacks. At the bottom we opted to take the Rainy Lake spur to wash down the pups. Its not easy to reach but this hike has a lot of everything that makes Washington awesome and is worthy of its reputation.
Cutthroat Lake - 4.2 miles, 400' gain
Hoping the lake was named for abundant fish and not some unfortunate historical event, we carried the poles along for a quick alpine fishing experience. Only four miles as the crow flies from Rainy/Ann lakes, Cutthroat is nestled in the North Cascades rocky crags. The setting was beautiful and the fish were willing.
The only flaw in the plan was that the lake's fish were all in the 5-7" range, a little small for the dinner plate, but as a consolation the Westslope Cutthroat trout have mesmerizing coloring. Even the wife got into the act, experiencing that great (and oh so rare) feeling of losing track of how many fish you have caught. As a bonus, the pups kicked up some ruffed grouse on the way out.
Snoqualmie Lake - 18 miles, 1,900' gain
Another excuse to go fishing but this was the first opportunity to try out my latest hardware purchase - a travel rod that breaks down to backpack size. The arrival of fall weather had my fishing hopes at zero but that was probably for the best as my backpack might never be the same after bouncing warm trout for 9 miles... This particular trail is probably best experienced with a mountain bike as the first 7 miles are an abandoned forest service road through secondary forest.
Heather-Maple Pass Loop (+ Ann and Rainy Lakes) - 9.2 miles, 2,000' gain
A stunning loop hike along the edge of the Northern Cascades with 5 star blueberries. In fact the berries were so good that it left me wondering what exactly I was eating on all those other hikes. We opted for the counterclockwise route which brings you to the Ann Lake spur first. It took an iron will not to bust out some baggies, switch into scavenger mode, and cut the hike short. A black bear happened to share my love of the blue orbs of joy and was blissed out in the middle of the trail.
Hoping the lake was named for abundant fish and not some unfortunate historical event, we carried the poles along for a quick alpine fishing experience. Only four miles as the crow flies from Rainy/Ann lakes, Cutthroat is nestled in the North Cascades rocky crags. The setting was beautiful and the fish were willing.
Another excuse to go fishing but this was the first opportunity to try out my latest hardware purchase - a travel rod that breaks down to backpack size. The arrival of fall weather had my fishing hopes at zero but that was probably for the best as my backpack might never be the same after bouncing warm trout for 9 miles... This particular trail is probably best experienced with a mountain bike as the first 7 miles are an abandoned forest service road through secondary forest.
But once you put in your time, you get to enter the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and start climbing up to the lake.
Along the way I got an insight into the dismal life of my phone battery, probably should stop sticking it in the water.
As anticipated the fishes were not that interested after gorging on bugs during the warm weather and I only had one bite. Had the lake to ourselves with the exception of two crazy trail runners who must have been going for marathon distances in the woods.
On the way back down we took the small spur to Otter Falls which was almost dry but the hound didn't mind. Of the 1,200' of falls only about 500' is visible from the base.
Colonel Bob - 8.2 miles, 3,500' gain
The showdown with the Colonel was meant to be the final, final tuneup for the Enchantments but the fire closures had just been extended, shutting down the last glimmer of hope. Either way we didn't feel brave enough to try to summit from the Quinault river side due to the rumored amount of downed trees (14 miles, 4,300').
In my ignorance I had thought the Colonel Bob Wilderness could be an interesting high buck hunt opportunity but things looked much flatter online... If there hadn't been witnesses, I probably would have turned around even without carrying all of the extra gear needed to find some venison.
If your heart will get you there, the views from the top are spectacular. When the clouds broke up, you could see the Pacific, the Olympics, Lake Quinault and the braided Quinault River. And we saw two other people on the whole trail.