Talapus Lake and Olallie Lake

Trail Distance: 6.2 Miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 1200 ft

A trip to the lakes does not entail expectations of great views of distant landscapes. Yet the mountainsides rising from the lakes can be astoundingly beautiful. Such is the setting of the Talapus Lake and Olallie Lake that I set out for today.

The trail head itself is located at a relatively higher elevation of 2800 ft reached through driving 3.2 miles of US Forest Roads 9031/9030 after exit 45 of I-90. This trail is an easy family friendly character. One would normally expect a lot of young children accompanying their parents. While on my way to the lake, I passed a couple of father son duos returning from overnight camping. 

I arrived at the Talapus lake first but kept going forward to arrive at the Olallie lake about 30 minutes later. There was abundance of wild blueberries around the lake. I continued to the northern most end of the lake where mountains sides closed in. By this time, the rains started falling and gradually grew stronger. So in stead of stopping, I picked and ate some berries quickly turned around.

Back at the Talapus lake, there was a large group of pre-teens and teenagers frolicking on the lake shore. The meadows across the lake and the reflections in the water was very beautiful. I spent a few minutes snapping a some pictures before returning to the trail head.
 

Red Pass via Commonwealth Basin

Trail Distance: 6.2 miles out and back
Cummulative Elevation Gain: 2500 ft

Red Mountain and Red Pass to its left

After the very late onset of the summer season this year, the pacific northwest has experienced a consistently beautiful sunny  weather over last few weeks. In order to take full advantage of this blessing, I have abandoned my preference for  a couple weeks to recoup from an arduous hiking trip, and in stead, started hiking every week I can get away. The Red Mountain can be seen from the I-90 highway at Snoqualmie Pass and has always fascinates me when I see it. So I set out for the Red Pass, which is a saddle between Red Mountain and Lundin Peak, over which the trail proceeds farther North down to the Middle Fork of Snoqualmie River valley.

Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mtn viewed from PCT

The trail starts at an elevation of 3000 ft at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) trail head at the Snoqualmie Pass just off of I-90 exit number 52 for East Summitt. The PCT runs from Mexico in the South all the way to Canada in the North along the crest of Cascade Mountain Range. This trail is a very popular hiking destination and appears to be well maintained. I headed North on a gently ascending trail for 2.5 miles after which at 4000 ft elevation, the Commonwealth Basin Trail starts leading to the Red Pass. 

Red Lake

Beyond the junction, the trail gradually descends by about 200 ft and ascends back to 4000 ft over about one and a quarter miles. I noticed the old Commonwealth Basin trail that has been abandoned and marked so. After this segment with relatively mild gradient, the trail climbs up rapidly to 4900 ft over numerous switchbacks in about three quarter of a mile. At this point there is a short detour the Red Lake at the foot of Lundin Peak. I took a a short detour to have a look. It appears as a serene water body with steep mountain slopes almost on three of its four sides.

Wild flowers

Beyond the Red Lake, the trail embraces the huge rockfall area with lose rocks on the west face of Red Mountain. After another half mile, I finally arrived at Red Pass at an elevation 5300 ft. Immediately to the north is a precipice. A ridge line on either side runs to the Red Mountain and Lundin Peak while the trail first runs West and then continues North descending on the east face of Lundin Peak. The location provides spectacular view of the 6554 ft high Mount Thompson. I soaked up the views all around and took pictures while eating my lunch. 

Mount Thomson viewed from Red Pass

On my way back, I looked for a trail for getting to the Red Mountain summit. The large rock fall area with small sized rocks seemd to be a dangerous option, for it seems a pretty unstable route and you would not want anyone above you dislodging rocks that are precariously in place. The most obvious possible trail to the summit seemed to be a blocked trail near the detour to the Red Lake. To get to the summit, I would want with me someone who had made it before. That would be something for the future. 

Loose rocks on Red Mountain west wall

Cape Flattery

Trail Distance: 1.5 miles round trip
Elevation Difference: 200 ft.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end”. 

Seattle waterfront as viewed from the ferry

This proverb can not be truer in case of the short hike to Cape Flattery: in terms of the the travel to get to the trail head as the journey that includes a ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, followed by 174 miles of driving mostly on the Strait of Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway, though Cape Flattery itself being the home to the Makah People, and the most northwestern tip of the continental United States, has its own cultural, geographical,and associated historical significance worthy of a an attractive tourist destination.

Olympic Peninsula visible above Bainbridge Island across the Puget Sound

 
It was one of those infrequent events when Minakshi would accompany me for a hike. In the past together we undertook a couple of much more arduous hiking trips to Goat Peak (5 miles/1500 ft) and Poo Poo Point (7.4 miles 1650 ft). On this occasion, I suspect that the lure going on a long drive was stronger than the appeal of associated hike to the final destination. 

Us on the ferry

To begin with, we drove about 25 miles from home to the Seattle ferry terminal and boarded a ride across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. This 45 minute long ride provides unmatched views of both downtown Seattle to East as well as of the Olympic Peninsula to the West. Bainbridge Island is connected to the Olympic Peninsula on the West by the famous Hood Canal floating bridge. Our first stop on the peninsula was at Sequim to fill up the gas tank and to eat lunch. We drove by the Port Angeles town to get onto state highway 112 which is designated as the Strait of Juan De Fuca Scenic Byway. Part of this road runs by the shore line of the strait which connects Pacific ocean with the Puget Sound and also serves as a geographical and political boundary between the Unites States and Canada. To the north of the strait lies the Vancouver Island of the British Columbia Province of Canada. 

Strait of Juan De Fuca

The drive was slow and tortuous at times but scenic never the less. Yet I must warn that unless you enjoy driving as much as I do, you may want to take the alternate route by highway 101.  We passed Clallam Bay, Seiku, and then Neah Bay, the home of the Makah Tribe on the way, to finally reach trail head for Cape Flattery, about is 7 miles beyond Neah Bay.  

Tatoosh Island

The trail runs under old growh forest gradually descending and finally ending at a wooden platform perched 250 ft above the sea level. There are other such platforms nearby. All the platform provides excellent views out to Pacific Ocean, the nearby coast line and the Tatoosh Island, which is actually the real northwest tip of the Unites State.

Pacific coast line at Cape Flattery

On our return trip, we detoured by highway 113/101 that provides about 8 mile long scenic segment along Lake Crescent. Then we stopped by Port Angeles to have a snack while soaking up the ambiance of the waterside afternoon with a light breeze on that otherwise warm day. Besides being a port of entry by ferry from Victoria, BC in Canada, Port Angeles also provides access to Hurricane Ridge, a very popular recreational destination in the Olympic Peninsula National Forest. 

On the Ediz Hook

By the time we got to the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal to catch the Seattle ferry, darkness had settled in all around, and provided an excellent nighttime view of the lit up Seattle skyline. Unfortunately, the combination of vibration of the ferry and a strong and extremely cold breeze out on the dock prevented me from capturing any worthwhile picture to share.

Guye Peak and Cave Ridge Trail

Rock climbers on the farthest peak

Trail Distance: 8 miles

Cummulative Elevation Gain: 3500 ft

Wild flowers

After the aborted attempt to hike Guye Peak last week, today was another opportunity to complete the intended hike with an excellent clear sunny sky. I am aware of an alternate trail that starts off from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) trail head about a mile away. This alternate trail however is not shown on the map. So with a mind to do a bonus of Cave Ridge trail today, I trusted the mapped trail I already treaded, so as to avoid any possibility of getting lost and losing time. So I started off the same Alpental trail head and followed the same trail onto the point whereupon we quit in the previous hike, and then continued to the Guye Peak. The new section that I have covered today is not much different in gradient, but more open and mostly on rocky surface. I also noticed another trail coming up from the eastern face. This is perhaps the trail that starts at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) trail head.

Bee on flower

 There are in fact three peaks at Guye Peak. I settled on the first and started taking pictures of the 360 degrees of views. The cars at the parking lot at the trail head appeared tiny from that height of about 2000 ft.

Looking down at the parking lot

All peaks and ridges in the surroundings were clearly visible on the clear sunny day. While munching onf my lunch pack, I was joined at the narrow top by a group of three young guys. Together, we could see two other guys atop the third peak. They reached there by rock-climbing and then proceeding towards the peak we were perched on.

Me at Guye Peak

On my return from Guye Peak, I picked up the the Cave Ridge trail as planned earlier. This is a moderately steep trail. I saw several small. yet deep pockets of packed snows. But the trail was free of snow except for a very short stretch of about 6 ft. This seems to be a less frequented trail with abundance of wild flowers around. It also provides a very close up view of the Snoqualmie Mountain to the North.

Guye Peak and Mount Rainier from Cave Ridge trail

Soon I reached the the cave,  which is located at a small and relatively flat area. The cave is in fact like a hole into the ground. From the conversation with the other three guys on Guy Peak, I learned that the cave is very narrow and at the end you would crawl forward to get to the edge of a precipice.

Information Board at cave entrance

There is an information board positioned by the cave entrance. As per the information, being alone and lacking in appropriate gadgets, I decided not to venture into the cave. In stead, I proceeded onward to the nearby hilltop for some more views and returned after spending about 15 minutes up there.

Mount Thomson

I noticed even more trails coming up from the eastern face of the mountain. So I can see a few alternative options for a future hike with more company - to use the trails from the PCT trail head, explore the cave and scale the other two peaks of Guye Peak - hopefully on one single arduous trip?

Kendall Katwalk on PCT

On way to Guye Peak

Trail Distance: 4 miles out and back
Elevation Gain: 1600 ft

Guye Peak peeking in the distance

With the continuing nice weather that started right after my hike to Snoqualmie mountain last weekend, I returned to the same Aipental trail head, this time with friend Saranga, with the plan for scaling Guye Peak. Just like the Snoqualmie mountain, the Guye Peak is also a very prominent geological formation that draws travelers' attention without fail at the Snoqualmie Pass. Compared to Snoqualmie Mountain, Guye Peak is located closer to the highway, a little less in elevation, yet with equally magnificent views all around. Both destinations share the trail for about a mile or so up until the fork at elevation of 4200 ft where a marker shows directions to the two legs of the trail.The trail description upto this point is available in my previous blog entry.

Gorgeous wild flowers

Almost immediately past the fork, the trail towards Guye Peak gets in and out of a rock scramble while climbing steeply. Soon afterwards, it climbs by the side of the mountain with southern exposure to nearby Danny Mountain. Then the trail enters a forested stretch where the slope becomes more manageable and reaches another fork with the other leg leading to Cave Ridge trail. Unlike the previous fork, however, there is no marker at this point. We continued towards Guye Peak and soon arrived at an plateauesque opening with a little pond and great views pf the Chair, Bryant and Tooth peaks beyond which lies the Melakwa Lake. We had a nice view of the Snoqualmie Mountain as well.

Tooth, Bryant and Chair peaks

The trail beyond the pond is rendered obscure by vigorous growth of the trees and abundant rockfalls. The gradient of the trail also became very severe all of a sudden through the next quarter of a mile or so. Unfortunately Saranga being a beginner hiker,  was not wearing proper hiking boots and we shared my one pair of tracking poles with one pole to each. The steep gradient seemed to be wearing him out as well. So out of safety concerns, we decided to call it quits at that point. It would have been just about 15 more minutes to the top from there, but we decided not to risk any injury and headed back.

Snoqualmie Mountain

On our way back, we met another hiker returning from the Cave Ridge Trail. I thought I found my next adventure for one of the following weekends.

Snoqualmie Mountain

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Distance: 6 miles out and back

Elevation Gain: 3278 ft
Highest Elevation: 6178 ft

Looking up snow clad ridge

Anyone who has driven on Interstate 90 highway past Snoquamie Pass can not miss the imposing view of  Snoqualmie Mountain sitting just to the north of the hairpin bend the highway takes at summit and beyond the nearby Guye Peak. Whenever I see it, I use to get an urge to one day scaling this peak.Despite the clouded sky, this was the day I walked on that trail. However, I found only one review of recent hike reported. This hiker picked up a wrong trail while climbing through an elevation of 500 ft before he realized the mistake. This report forewarned me of what it might be like if I am not paying attention on the trail.

Wild flowers!

Unfortunately, in the haste of getting there and back on time for dinner with my neighbors Aryan and Julie to celebrate the birth of their newborn daughter Rayena, I forgot to pack my Annual Northwest Forest Pass. This pass permits hikers to park inside any national forests in the states of Washington and Oregon. The Alpental trail head is a part of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Nationa Forest.Since the pass I already have would cover me through end of October, I stoppled by the Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center and picked up a day pass just for the day today. I also looked for information on condition of the trail to my destination but there was not much to be had as not many seems to have gone there recently and reported.

Colorful new blooms

The unmarked trail starts just south off of more popular and well marked Snow Lake trail. The trick to get to the correct trail is branching off onto a precariously unassuming side trail. Once after crossing a short stretch of colorful meadow, the trail climbs relentlessly over three quarter miles or so through a forested area and through an elevation of 1100 ft at the end of which there is a fork, the other leg leading to Guye Peak. There is a marker with directions of the two trails posted high above on a tree trunk. There can not be any mistake at this point about where the trail is heading.

Directions!

After a short breather that leads across a stream with  waterfalls on either sides, the trail resumes the relentless climb through thik forests for next half a mile. I encountered the first snow at an elevation of about 4800 ft inside that forested stretch. Pretty soon, the trail climbed onto a ridge with pebbles and dry ground where the forest gave way to short shrubs. As the trail gained more elevation, I started walking on large sheets of snow. Hereafter, the trail continues on the ridge all the way to the summit, passing on and off snow covers. There is supposed to be great views from the ridge on a sunny day.. But I was surrounded by so much of clouds and passing mists that I could catch only fleeting glimpses of nearby peaks and mountains. On trips to peaks, I always hope to catch sight of the distant Mount Rainier but this was not my day for that privilege.
 

I had my lunch of garden fresh cherry tomatoes, and cucumber, picked only this morning, and a home made sandwich while enjoying the serenity of my surroundings with ragged mountain tops just nearby peaking through dense mists passing by. I packed up a little while later and while heading back, met just one other hiker, and elderly gentleman going up that mountain. I vow to return another day to get my share of views from Snoqualmie Mountain!

Guye Peak and a piece of I-90 peeking through mists

Source Lake and Snow Lake

The Source Lake from above

 Sunday,, July 24, 2011

Distance: 5 Miles Round trip

Cummulative Elevation Gain: 1500 ft

The weather was nice. Yet because of the late onset of summer this year, the snow has not melted at most of the usual destinations. Even at the Snoqualmie Pass area, a lot of snow was reported by other hikers earlier in the week. My friend Mrinal accompanied me on this hike. Mrinal has not hiked on snow before. As a safety precaution, we decided to hike the snow lake trail, which is a popular one with a lot other people around, at the same time, not too far off for a Sunday hike (Can not get too tired - got to get back to work tomorrow :-)). Another great reason to hike these areas now is the blooming wild flowers.

Beautiful mountainside and the trail

We were at the trail head at around 10.30 am. The very large parking area was about half full. There was a forest ranger hiking alongside and answering questions about trail conditions out in the wild. We learned from her  that the the north facing trail section that descends down to the Snow Lake beyond the saddle at 2.1 miles and 4400 ft elevation was still snow covered and almost un-surpassable using fair weather hiking gears only. So at the fork after 1.5 miles and 3700 ft elevation, we went on to explore the Source Lake view point. The trail actually runs much higher on the north flank of the mountain side of the valley. It is the Source Lake where the South Fork of the Snoqualmie river originates and after flowing over a few miles joins with the Middle and the North Forks near North Bend city. 

Magnificent wild flowers blooming

Part of the trail length leading to the Source Lake view point was snow covered. My fried was excited at the opportunity to walk on the snow. We were careful not to miss a step or put in a misstep. We saw two pairs of foot trails out on the snow covered southern flank of the stream and wondering if any hikers went hiking off trails. Then at the view point we met two women who were apparently lost and made those foot prints looking for a way to the snow lake. I told them about the fork about half mile back before settling down there to eat our snack and head back a little later.

  

Mrinal and I with Snow Lake In the backgrond

 Back at the fork, we now made it towards the Snow Lake. This trail segment was totally covered with snow. There were a lot of people out there. But most of them hung around at the ridge at 4400 ft. There was great view of the Lake down below providing some beautiful picture opportunities. However,  the trail beyond seemed to be buried in at least kneed deep snow just like we learned earlier from the forest ranger. So Mrinal and I agreed that this was our final destination and turned around for the trail head.

Hikers enjoying views of Snow Lake and beyond

Kachess Beacon Trail

Distance 2 miles out and 3 miles back
Elevation Gain: 2200 ft

The Beacon

Why this trail today? Because it is highlighted as the "Hike Of The Week" at the WTA site - supposed to be free of snow while the wild flowers are blooming, both of which actually turned out to be true. In consideration of Amlan - my hiking companion today who has not hiked much before, I was also looking for a trail that would not be too arduous, yet would have a rewarding experience at the end. This trail fitted the bill on both counts.  Initially I was reluctant to travel 60 miles to get to the trail head. However,the weather forecast for areas/trails closer to home included thunder showers. So I thought we would have lesser possibility of getting rained on in the rain shadow area to the East of the Snoqualmie Pass. So that is where we went and were able to enjoy a rain-free hike.

Colorful Meadow

We saw just one car at the trail head parking lot when we reached there around 9:20 AM. As soon as we got out of the car, a host mosquitoes descended upon us. So without lingering on, we immediately put on our hiking boots, changed to long trousers and charged on. The mosquitoes followed us in forested segments of the trail all the way through to the top, but their number gradually decreased as we ascended the the mountain. This mosquito incident has taught me a lesson to add another hiking essential to my arsenal - some kind of mosquito repellent.

Wild Flowers

After climbing through an elevation of about 900 ft over one mile distance,  we met a couple of hikers returning who alerted us about the loop - basically consisting of two segments: the regular trail two miles long thereafter and a steeper alternate trail of one mile distance, both climbing through the remaining height of 1300 ft. This alternate trail forked just a few hundred feet beyond where we met those other hikers. We reasoned we would do the shorter ascend so the longer descend would be easy on our knees. Though climbing the 1300 feet over a mere 1 mile stretch did turn out to be pretty tough, yet it rewarded us with excellent views of both distant clouds and mountains as well as of wildflowers on the nearby hill slopes .

Distant Mountains

The views from top would be better on a cloud free day yet still satisfying in the cloudy weather today. My regret is that we were denied a sight of the Mount Rainier. But all other relatively closer mountain ranges with snow-clad white peaks and both the Easton and Kachess lakes below were great treats to our eyes. At least I am hoping it wasn't disappointing to Amlan.

Me and Amlan at the Beacon

  We met one other hiker at the top who hiked from a different trail head. As we were leaving after spending three quarters of an hour, more hikers arrived. We met many more on our way back - this time on the regular trail. This precisely was the reason we were here early - to beat the crowd. I expected that "Hike of the Week" report at the  WTA site to nudge a big crowd to this trail today, and it actually so happened.

More Wildflowers

Other Pictures

Revisiting Granite Mountain

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Distance: 8.6 Miles Round trip

Elevation Gain: 3800 ft

It was the long weekend of 4th of July with the Monday being the holiday. Excellent weather was in forecast. And I have not gone hiking for a while (not counting a short trip to Poo Poo Point the previous weekend). So I wanted to make the most of this first nice day of the Summer by visiting some place good. I thought about Granite Mountain Lookout which I visited two years ago. There were other options at the trail head of hiking to several lakes which falls under the category of "Family Friendly". But that day I was  inclined to go for a more rigorous workout. Granite Mountain Trail at 8 miles round trip and 3800 elevation gain provided just that. 

As expected of a long holiday weekend with such excellent weather condition, the trail head barely had any parking spot left. I was in fact lucky to arrive late around 1 pm by which time a couple of the early hikers returned already and left to open up a space for me. You would need a NW Forest Parking Pass to park at this trail head and half miles beyond. I noticed some parked outside of that jurisdiction so I presumed the included some casual hiking enthusiasts as well.

Midway through the trail length, I realized that the fact that hiking late in the day makes it more arduous compared to starting early on the day when the air is cooler and feels so much more soothing. About the same time I caught up company with a group of two guys and two gals. The guys one of the couple seemed to be frequent visitors to these mountains while the other two, I learnt has moved to the Northwest recently and having their first taste of mountain hiking in the Snoqualmie pass area. We continued together thereafter on the snow clad segment of the trail until reaching the Lookout at the top. 

Unlike my last visit to this lookout in 2009, this time it was accessible because Brad who is a volunteer ranger serving the United States Forest Service (USFS) was manning the lookout for the weekend. He signs up for this service because he loves nature and likes to "Entertain" hikers coming out there. He stays overnight during the weekend. Actually looking out for fires is the other prime responsibility for the rangers. Brad's daughter is also a hiking enthusiast, who also spent the previous night in lookout and at the moment was out on a hike to the Talapus Lake located at the western precipice of the Granite Mountain peak. She was expected to be back at the lookout later that afternoon. 

I realized that my outlook about hiking/climbing has changed over last few years. I used to keep time, trying to get to the top and back as fast as I could. Somehow I do not feel that urge anymore. In fact, I am starting to take it slow and enjoying the journey more than just getting to the destination. How the solitude of nature makes it easier to get a different perspective! Or are the passing years of life the reason for that?

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