Getting There: Take I-5 towards Tacoma, then take exit 132 toward Gig Harbor/Bremerton/WA-16 W for 1.2 miles. Merge onto WA-16 W for 26.7 miles. Just before coming into Bremerton, continue on WA-3 N, for 25.3 miles. Turn left at WA 104, (this takes you across the Hood Canal Floating Bridge), and follow WA- 104 for 15.7 miles. Take a slight right at US 101 and follow 101 for 36.3 miles. Once in Port Angeles, turn left on N Lincoln Street/US 101, and continue to follow 101 for 54.7 miles. Turn right at La Push Rd WA-110, follow 110 for 7.8 miles. Then, turn right at Mora Road, (there’ll be a gas station on the right at the corner), and go 5 miles to Rialto Beach.
Additional Note: Several websites have cautioned parking your car overnight at Rialto Beach, as there have been several break ins. Some good advice is to leave NOTHING of value in your car, and leave the glove box and any other compartment open and empty to show that there are no valuables stored inside.
 Maps: The Ranger station at Port Angeles, check the Olympic National Park website for ph.#, sells a customcorrectmap , a great map for $4.50, and it’s scale, 1:62,000, shows where along the coast to take caution at high tides, and where you will sometimes have to go overland to get around certain points. The ranger station also has tide tables, free of charge for the month that you’re hiking along the coast. Another good resource is the National Geographic Map of the Olympic National Park, it’s scale, 1:100,000, is not the same as the one from the Ranger Station, but it is waterproof and is chock full of information.
Permits: Overnight wilderness permits are required, $5 a day per person, contact the Wilderness Information Center at 360-565-3100. Also, if camping overnight, you will also be required to have a bear canister, as hanging food bags are not allowed. These also are free to use, and can be picked up at the Wilderness Information Center.

In an effort to avoid the record snowfall that still persists in the Washington backcountry, the four of us, Greg, Ed, Russ, and myself, decide on a trip along the North Olympic Coastline, starting at Rialto Beach. We had planned for months to take a 3 day on Kaleetan Lake Loop, off of I-90 above North Bend, but…The report we received was that the snow level was still about 5 feet deep on the trails. Sigh. Maybe next month?
Day 1. We arrive at Rialto Beach, and begin our journey. A hearty welcome goes out to Russ, who joins us for the first time on this hike, along with the usual suspects, Ed, Greg, and myself. Quickly, we fall into the trudge along the coastline, the sand is soft, and in many places, it is more pebbles and shale than sand. Photo opportunities abound, as the surf pounds against monolithic rocks soaring skyward, scattered like lone sentinels along the coastline. Many of them are sporting a remnant of life that refuses to give up, tall trees and grass hanging tenaciously to whatever foothold they can grip on the rock Once we reach Hole in the Rock, (named for obvious reasons), we have to take the overland route, as the tide is in, preventing us from safe passage through the archway in the rock. Steps are cut into the steep parts, to assist in the climb up and over. Since we got a late start, (it took us about 4 hours to get to the parking lot!), we find the tide pools are no longer visible, and the surf has reclaimed much of the lower beach area that would have made for easier passage. Instead, we are relegated to climbing over large boulders, and rocks slick with seaweed and algae, causing many to do the slick rock shuffle, before regaining their balance, or crashing in an undignified heap after a comical two-step. Yep, lost some skin myself, I may never have knees that are not in some stage of the healing process at this point…We push as far this day, as we can, and make our camp at the Chilean Memorial, a plaque inset in concrete as a memorial to those that had lost their lives in a shipwreck. This is in a nice cove right before Cape Johnson. There are only one or two other campsites there, and we cannot believe our good fortune to get a great site on sand, with plenty of driftwood for our fires. Fresh water is nearby, and after dinner, we gather around a small campfire, before turning in. I make a note that it is a “small” campfire, because the following night, we would rectify this minor oversight…
Day 2. We make plans to travel as far as is prudent, northward, keeping the tides in mind and leave around 8:30 am. The day promises to be nice, not the gray day that we traveled under the day previous. After rounding Cape Johnson, we tarry around the tide pools, looking to see what the receding tide has deposited, jumping and clambering from rock to rock, with a lot of care. One false step here, and going down on these barnacle encrusted rocks with bare legs will be like running a cheese grater over exposed skin. The advantage, of course, is that it does give your boots a much better purchase than the slick, and wet seaweed that is prevalent. As we continue our northward trek, our hike is accompanied by the sounds of small crabs skittering off of rocks, frantically hurrying from our path. The constant shell on rock rasping reminds me of walking into a roach infested house, and turning the lights on. The sound the critters make of scurrying from the revealing light, reminds me of the sounds the crabs make, and the entire time we walk among the tide pool denizens, I cannot shake this image from my mind. Wanting to see more of the coastline, we push on, and, all along the way, there are rock islands poking up out of the ocean, right off the coastline, adding to the rugged beauty that is evident here. The many rock formations, along with the rocky shoreline, give it a much different look and feel than the rest of the Washington coast, much more eye catching and compelling, as you are never sure just what it will look like around the next bend. Along the way, we keep hearing the loud cries of Bald Eagles, but never really good a good glimpse of them, until about an hour and a half later, we see a large rock with four or five of the majestic raptors perched in the trees topping a large rock off the coastline. It appears they’re feeding off of something in the tide pools, but we never get close enough to see what it is. After passing Jagged Island, to our left, we reach a decision point. The map shows that it is only safe to cross this point at a 4ft tide, or less, and according to the tide chart, it appears that it’s on its way back in. The map shows an overland route, and after crossing around the point, we make our decision. Russ’s knee is really bothering him, and it will be too painful for him to climb up and over the overland route, not being able to flex his sore joint. We head for camp, hoping that his leg will not fail him. It ends up being a good decision, as we beat the tides back to camp, and getting back at 3, or so, allows us to soak up our good fortune in sunshine. How amazed we are, at the fact that it is sunny, around 72 or so, with hardly a breeze! A great opportunity to sunbathe, and take in a nap. Very relaxing!!! And, oh yeah, Dave put on lots and lots of sunscreen…
As it’s Memorial day weekend, we are glad that we have our sites already, as we watch the little bands of people make their way by our campsite, looking for that perfect place to pitch their tent. We wander down a little closer to the beach, to participate fully in the act of people watching, perched on the driftwood logs that offer a perfect vantage point. It’s amazing, if you sit in one place long enough, you can see the whole world go by…Some, more amazing than others…Imagine our surprised looks when an older guy, probably in his 60’s, sporting a white beard, strolls by with…An ice ax? And, wearing a white hard hat??? Yep, that’s right! It was sunny and warm, and if I was wearing that hard hat, I can guarantee you that my brain would have been poached, sunny side up! As for the ice ax??? Well, on this you can bank, we came up with many possible scenarios. As the tide of people, and ocean, grew, the running commentary caused us all to laugh out loud, and I’m sure that to anyone within ear shot we sounded every bit like a pack of wild hyenas…You see, as the tide came in, it made the point just south of us, more treacherous to pass, and they were forced to do so on the large boulders that sat at the base of the cliffs, instead of the easier way, closer to the beach. This we watched with interest, as they negotiated their way around. You could see that some did not approach this with any kind of relish, and we naturally, tried our best to think, out loud, about what direction the conversation might be headed, by the obvious body language we could see from our observation point. And, as the group made their way by our review stand, we were not disappointed. Usually, the ones that struggled crossing the log and boulder obstacle course would lag behind when they passed our camp, and if the couple was married, I’m pretty sure the look that I saw on her face, told me that his sleeping arrangements in the weeks to come were about to change, or, at best, he might want to hide all the sharp instruments once they got to camp…Really, we did try and hide our glee until after the doomed passed out of earshot…It continued like this till around 6:00, or so, and then, with a sigh, we figured the entertainment for the evening would have to switch gears, so we made our dinner, and a fire. Did I say fire? I meant a bonfire, an emergency beacon, a point of light that I’m sure must have been visible from the dark recesses of space. Seems that the competitive juices must have been flowing, as several fires had been started along the beach, and, well…In the immortal words of Tim “the toolman” Taylor….”More Power!!!” We did our best to make sure that those with an anemic fire would not be without light for the evening, nor heat, as we ended up having to move back 15 feet from the blast furnace that we had just unleashed in order to keep our hides from roasting…If only we had brought our glass blowing rods, we might have been able to fashion glassware, as we certainly had an abundance of sand and heat...As the sun went down, it left behind a pretty sunset, with lots of pink and red, and we turned in around 11:00…We might have gone to bed earlier, except for the fact that the fire still raged until after 10:00…
Day 3. Broke camp around 8:30am, and after making sure that the remnants of our “fire” were out, and no longer visible, (they want you to remove the traces of your campfire), we headed out under gray skies and fog. There was no complaining, though, because we knew just how fortunate we had been this weekend, the weather forecast had prepared us for the worst, and we had packed expecting rain showers the entire length of our stay. Russ’s knee was still bothering him, but it did not hold him back, and, with the help of vitamin I, he kept the pace all the way along the coast to the car…He’s resigned himself to the fact that he will have to get it checked out when he gets home, hope that the news isn’t bad.
This time, we were able to go through the “hole in the rock”, and as we got closer to the parking lot, we encountered more and more people, venturing out along the beach. In fact, at times, the foot traffic was enormous, and the foot treads of the many people wandering the beach, left a foot trail that reminded me of a cattle drive…Of course, after the tide comes back in, it will be like a giant Etch-a-Sketch, wiping clean the last vestiges of the footfalls that had been here just hours before.
Once at the Rialto Beach trailhead, Russ and Ed stayed with the packs, and Greg and I went to retrieve the car. You see, as David was fearful of getting our car broken into, we had gotten a campsite at Mora campground; 1.9 miles back up the road. We had only gotten about half a mile up the road, and a couple of great people stopped, and asked us if we wanted a ride back to the campground! Before they could say no to a couple of sweaty, smelly backpackers, we graciously accepted, and got a ride back to the car. They were locals, from Forks, and were also camping there at Mora campground, and they told us that they could not remember a time when the parking lot at Rialto Beach was so full of cars. Thanking them, we collected our car, and went back to the guys waiting for us. We wanted to see if they were surprised at how quickly we had gone the almost two miles back to camp, and we had dreamed up a fantastic reply, about how we didn’t want them to have to wait long, so we had ran all the way back to our car, in bare feet, so that we could run faster, and, didn’t they feel bad that we had developed heat blisters, and open, bleeding, festering sores, from running on scarred pavement, and…Well, we never got the chance to embellish, as they never asked!!!
We enjoyed our time on the North Olympic Coast, and really feel we got lucky with the weather. This was the first hike that we’d been on, that for the most part, was horizontal. Not much in the way of elevation gain, so a great hike for our first sojourn out. The scenery here definitely makes it worthwhile, and everyone that enjoys the coast should make this a trip to take. Hopefully, the weather will co-operate with you, as it did for us.

Hole in the Wall

Greg and Russ

Sunset from camp

Early morning sun on Cake Rock, in the distance.

Russ on the ropes...

Eagle Aerie...

Greg amidst the rocks.

Getting there:Take I-90 E to Spokane, then take exit 84 towards Cle Elum/S Cle Elum, go .5 miles  Merge onto 1^st St. W. go another .2 miles, then turn left on Miller Ave., go .1 miles, and look for the Ranger Station on your left. Just past the Ranger station, turn left onto WA 903, go 2.7 miles. Now entering the town of Rosyln. Continue following the signage for WA 903 through town.  Turn left at W Pennsylvania Ave, go .1 mile. Slight right at 4^th St, go for another .4 miles, Continue on Horvat Rd, for another .5 miles. Road then turns back into WA 903 for another 14.3 miles. Come to a Y, Continue left onto Salmon La Sac Rd, for .3 miles, then, veer right into Salmon La Sac Campground. Parking and trail head are at the back of campground.
Take either Trail #1309 Pollalie Ridge, or #1310, Waptus River to Waptus Lake. Be sure, if you decide to take the Waptus River trail, #1310, to look for it’s signage high on a tree, and it’s trail head to start about a 100 yards, or so, PAST the Y junction where trail #1311 heads to Cooper Lake, left, and trail #1309 continues on right to the junction with trail #1310.
Maps: We used the Alpine Lakes Wilderness map, that we bought from REI, and it is water and tear resistant. It is, without a doubt, one of the best maps I’ve ever seen or used. A note of caution, however, which we learned the hard way a couple of times. The map is in 1: 100,000 scale, so be careful when using it for route finding off-trail, you might get suprised, like we did. It’s put out by the Alpine Lakes Protection Society (ALPS). Also, if you stop at the Ranger Station in Cle Elum, ( just off of Miller street, note directions above), they also have for sale Green Trails maps, that have a 1:62,000 scale of the area.
Permits: The only permit you will need is a Northwest Forest Pass, to display in your car at the trailhead. Other than that, you will need to fill out a backcountry permit at the trailhead.

Bear’s Breast Mountain reflecting off of Waptus Lake

Finally, we are able to get into the backcountry!!! After the record snow fall the state saw this year, it seemed that it would never melt out in time for summer backpacking! So, we embarked on a much anticipated hike into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area, North of Cle Elum Lake. The Ranger for the area told us to expect snow, but no matter!! We were sure to over prepare, and packed our ice axes, snowshoes, and snow shovel, just in case we ran into rogue snow somewhere...
Day 1. We arrived at the trail head in Salmon La Sac campground on the 26^th, and made our way up the trail, and it was less than half a mile before we ran into our first blunder, which, in retrospect, was a mistake we were glad to have made. Our original plan was to take the Waptus Lake trail,#1310, which followed the Waptus River. Good plan, however, we missed the trail branch that led that way! The trail appears on the map to branch 3 different directions all at once, but in reality…About a 100 yards up from where trail #1311 and #1309 branch at the same place, the trail along the river, #1310 takes off over a granite shelf, and if you have your head down, and aren’t looking to the right…Well, I guess you know the rest of that sorry excuse…We blew right by it, and the constant uphill finally clued us into the fact that something was wrong, as we were expecting a bit more of a gradual beginning . How embarrassing! We weren’t even on the trail for 20 minutes, and we already had the maps and GPS out!  At that time, we met up with two men and their dogs, who were coming down the trail, and after talking to them, we decided to continue our way up. They told us there was snow on the ridge, but we were undaunted…Did I tell you we came over prepared??? So, we continued up the Polallie Ridge Trail, #1309.
At about the 4600 ft. mark, we ran into snow…After that, the trail made brief appearances for less than half a mile, and then we lost it. We were now in about two feet of snow, and…Since Greg and I had not planned hiking up the Ridge trail, it never got entered into the GPS unit, so we were left with map and compass to navigate. We kept to the ridgeline as best we could, but we had to make many adjustments for the terrain, like rock buttresses, impassable areas because of trees, etc. Needless to say, we didn’t make good time, as the depth of the snow increased, right along with the difficulty of following the ridge line. By the time we had made our first 4.5 miles, we were done, and the first good place we found to camp, we stopped. Battered, and bleeding, we found a nice island in the snow, a flat place free of the white stuff, which was close to a fresh water supply, on a knoll above Diamond Lake. We both had legs that were scratched and bleeding, leaving them looking like a scratching post for a bobcat. I guess these things happen when you start sliding down a steep bank only to be arrested by a strategically placed sapling to the groin, or plunge through the snow to your knee, next to a void created by a downed tree that you couldn’t see. Oh, yeah, we were having the time of our lives, remember, we were “prepared” for this…
Day 2. We vowed an earlier start today, so that we would have more time to negotiate the rugged terrain ahead of us. Waptus Lake was supposed to be our destination yesterday; we had not planned on the slow going to this point, so it was critical to our plans to get to the lake tonight. I have to admit, it was with some skepticism, after the first day’s foray tromping through trees, brush, and snow, that I eyed the map and the terrain ahead of us. We still had to climb the high point of Polallie ridge at 5381 ft, follow a ridgeline down to the Quick Creek junction, then more downhill to the lake, an 8.1 mile jaunt just to its shores.
We stayed along the ridge, as this made navigation a little easier, as did keeping Cone Mountain to our right shoulder. It was nice to have such a peak to use as a navigation aid that was relatively close, and remained in view for most of the way. Once we topped out on the ridge, even though the snow was deeper, the going got easier, and the views were magnificent! We had spectacular sweeping views of the surrounding snow capped mountains, under bright blue skies. It helped make up for the slog that we were enduring through the soft snow, which was melting under the midday sun. We stopped for lunch at an old deserted look out, all that remained of the tower were the concrete footings, and some scattered, rusting debris. You could see why they chose this spot, as it offered commanding views of the valley, and mountain ranges. Looking west, to northwest, you could see in the distance, Mount Rainier, and in the foreground, the peaks in the Chikamin range, Chimney rock, Lemah Mountain, Summit Chief Mountain, Dutch Miller Gap, and Bears Breast Mountain. As we headed down the northern tip of Polallie Ridge, we were looking for the point where trail #1317 came up the ridge from Owhi Lake, and joined into our trail #1309. We knew if we could find the signage for this, we would have another good point of reference for taking a bearing on. Again, we were still in 3 feet of snow here, so finding the trail without x-ray vision was pretty unlikely. As luck would have it, we must have been going in the right direction, for we did find the signs for the trail junction! Now, we would have a good point of reference! Looking at the map, we could see that we needed to follow a ridge line, which would take us down hill to the Quick Creek drainage. Once there, we felt pretty confident that we could follow the creek all the way to Waptus Lake. Ok, that was the plan…Now, on to blunder #2…We set the map down, placed the compass on it, and took a heading, just like you’re supposed to, stood up, and, looking around, I quickly surmised that the compass, or the way that I was reading it, was wrong. We just couldn’t be going that way; it had to be this other way! Greg looked at his GPS, and sure enough, it agreed with the compass. No way, they were both wrong, we need to go this way! The map only shows one ridgeline here, and we’re following it! So we did, and it didn’t take long before, once again, we realized we were going the wrong direction! Hmm…Could it be that the compass and GPS were right, after all? We were following a ridgeline all right, just in the totally wrong direction! Sigh…So, once again, we had to backtrack to a known point, take a heading, and this time, follow the compass no matter how wrong it seemed. And, you know what? It took us right down the ridge to the junction at Quick Creek! A valuable lesson was learned here…Compass trumps map, no matter how odd it may look to you at the time, especially when the map is in 1:100,000 scale. It’s a really odd sensation to feel in your mind that you are going in one direction, then find out you were turned around. It was a relief to occasionally run across logs cut to clear the trail, and a three or four foot section of the trail uncovered from snow, that let us know we were finally on the right track. We were in heavy forest, so it was hard to really see any of the mountains to use as navigation aids, just keeping the bearing of the compass. As we ran the gauntlet of brush, and downed trees, the constant whipping on our already scarred legs was not met with a lot of enthusiasm, other than the occasional “Yeow!” at the instant dose of sharp pain, with every smack of cedar bough, or Blueberry bush. Who knew that a Blueberry bush could feel like coiled steel concertina wire! I kept looking down, just to convince my mind that my legs were not being sliced and shredded to bits… Once to Quick Creek, we had to cross, so on went the sandals, and, after a quick ford across the icy cold creek, we followed the stream until we ran across the trail leading to the lake, a welcome relief to be sure! Now, we didn’t really have to think about finding our way, for now the trail was leading us onward. I say a relief, because having to be constantly on alert, looking, scanning, re-checking your heading, looking for signs, etc, can be mentally draining…Especially, when you don’t have that much brain power to begin with… Down, down, down we went, until we reached the banks of Waptus Lake! Amazingly, there were still large patches of snow here, at 2963ft, hidden in the shade of the large trees here on the southern side of the lake. Originally, we were going to cross the Waptus River, which runs out of the lake, and camp on the north shore, but…After our long trek, we only wanted to drop the packs, and plunge into the lake to wash the trail’s grime, and days of sweat from our tired bodies. We found a nice, flat camp spot that suited our purposes, and after jettisoning the gear, and boots, made the icy dip, and got cleaned up! Refreshing, but cold enough that you didn’t want to stay in too long. Still, the cold water was a relief to our newly opened wounds on our legs. As the last patch of sunlight on our side of the lake faded away, we looked enviously across the lake to see other hikers on the north side, still sunning themselves. We decided that we would have to rectify that situation in the morning, and move camp to the sunny side tomorrow…
Day 3. Again, we rose early, packed, and made our way to the north shore, for our share of evening sun, and within 10 minutes, we reached the river crossing…The hikers bridge had been washed out two years prior, and as the trails here allow horses, and other pack animals, the best place to cross was at the horse crossing, a 40 to 50 foot stretch that was supposed to be shallow enough to cross…With the week’s worth of hot sun, the lake and river were up, but, needing to get to the other side, we took the plunge. I went first, so that I could video tape Greg’s crossing, and the water was cold, hitting me about mid-thigh, with a pretty good current at the deepest part. Needless to say, it was a little deeper for Greg, and probably a little bit colder, too, as the water level reached areas a little more sensitive to cold water...After crossing the river, it was as if we had crossed into a completely different zone. There was really no snow here, and the trees were completely different, as was the vegetation! Mostly Lodge pole pine, sparsely populated, with a minimum of vegetation, where just on the other side of the river, there were large old growth fir, and cedar, with lots and lots of underbrush. What a dramatic difference. I assume it was because the north side basked in the full on sun most of the day, as opposed to the south side of the lake. We found a great site that gave us unparalleled views of SkyChief and Bears Breast mountains, and they cast their reflection on the stillness of Waptus Lake, giving us a perfect mirror image. Totally amazing! From our site on the other side of the lake, we were unable to see this view before. I can hardly believe this place exists so close to where we live. We manage to have camp set back up by 10:30am, and decide to hike up to Spade Lake, an alpine lake lying at 5200ft on the south slopes of Mount Daniel, 2600ft from the summit. Once again, I commit what I will call here, another blunder…I’m documenting my monumental mistakes in hopes that, if I’m ever tempted again to commit to these kinds of decisions again, these words will be here as a reminder as to why they are colossally bad ideas…In infinite wisdom, I don my pair of Chaco’s sandals, since my feet can no longer take my boots, having developed blisters on both heels…Did I mention I don’t care for pain? Anyway, I remember buying these at REI, and the guy there told me that one of his customers only hikes in Chaco’s, because he no longer suffers from toe bang wearing them. OK, sounded good at the time, and I know my feet felt much better after crossing the river wearing them…So we head for Spade lake, and the lower parts of the trail were great, relatively flat along the lake, and the trails were in good shape, but once we headed up the “goat trail” #1337 to the lake, I found out within the first 1000ft of elevation just what a bad idea it was to wear sandals on a trail like this. After several thorns, small branches, rocks, and anything else you could possibly imagine was jammed under my feet, and straps, causing more blisters to my already unhappy feet, I decided to pitch the sandals, and boot back up. It’s just as well, because as we reached the 5100ft trail, we ran into snow again, and lost the trail. Sigh. More off trail trekking through snow and brush. But, we figured, “hey, the lake is at 5200 feet, how hard could it be?”…You know, I’m getting to the point that I’m not ever going to utter these words again, for they have a tendency to come back and whack you in the face, not unlike tossing a sheet of plywood into gale force winds, and having it come back and say “hello, moron!” The map showed a stream coming out of the lake, and so we followed the stream uphill…To about 5600 feet, where we hit a shelf, which looked like it could be a snow covered lake…However, as we sat there, enjoying the stellar, clear views around us, the realization sunk in that we had missed the lake. No matter, it was hard to imagine the view from the lake being any better than where we were now. With Mount Rainier dominating the distant horizon, the rest of the mountains that we could see before from the lookout on Polallie ridge now sparkled like gems in the bright sunlight, a necklace of mountains strung out in a dazzling display. With reluctance, we headed back down the steep mountainside, carefully picking our path over rocks covered with streamlets of snowmelt runoff, and quickly softening snow. To help pass the monotony of downhill, we counted trees that were down across the trail. At first, it was with some levity, with glee counting “one!”, “Two!” out loud. By the time we got to “Forty-eight”, it was with derision and despair… It was hot today, and by the time we had made our descent, I had drank over a gallon of fluids, and upon returning to camp, the first thing I did after removing the torture chambers from my feet, was to plunge them into the icy water, and greedily drink down another bottle of water. We both enjoyed a quick swim in the lake, and then sunned ourselves on our own little private beach, complete with log benches to recline on in the full sun. It wasn’t long before we dried out, and repeated the process to cool off…A complete day, to be sure!
Day 4. Today would be an 8 mile hike back to the truck, this time along trail #1310, the Waptus River trail, the trail that we had intended to take on our first day. Looking back, I’m glad that we didn’t, as we were able to see much more by being on the ridgeline, not to mention the new experiences that we had gained…The first obstacle, of course, was to get back across the river crossing…You see, they told us to be sure to cross in the morning, because the water level would be lower, and that is the conventional logic. Make river and stream crossings early in the morning, because the snow melt by late afternoon and evening cause the water levels to rise. Last night, before we went to bed, we walked down to the banks of the lake, and noticed that the levels of the lake hadn’t really changed, maybe up an inch? We thought, “Good, then the river won’t be up much…” However, when we got up this morning, and looked at the lake, the water level was considerably up, having crawled up another foot or so up the bank.  I’m not sure how many inches in depth that correlated to, but, we knew then that the crossing was going to be up…This time, Greg went first, and not ten feet across, things looked a lot different from yesterday…He was quickly up to his waist, in swift moving water, you could see him struggling a little with the current, trying to make sure he got good footing before taking another step. Initially, I was busy taking pictures, then I could tell this wasn’t going as well as yesterday. I put the camera away, and I might add, watched with just a little concern as Greg fought his way across the river. Time seemed to drag on, as he made his way across, and I could feel my heart race. Finally, the opposite side!!! I could tell from the fact that there was no celebratory “Yahoo!” from the other bank, that this was not a fun experience…Then, it was my turn. As I took the plunge, I noted how quickly the water was to my knees, then mid thigh, then crotch, and you could really feel the current tugging at you, trying to sweep you along with it downriver. At its deepest point, where the water was close to my waist, the water would rush over the top of my trekking poles, which were feeling the river bottom in front of me for better purchase. With great relief, I reached the other side. Now, I was able to breath, and noticed that my heart was racing! Man, that was close!!! If that level had been much higher, I think we would have been carried down river, bouncing and tumbling over the rocky bottom, as if we had been thrown into an industrial sized washing machine, and not on the gentle cycle! I think it took us both a good hour on the trail before our hearts settled down. No more snow, but now we trudged along under the noon day sun, and was it hot! I think the temps today hovered around 95 to a 100 here in Eastern Washington, and we had to make frequent stops just to rest and water up. At one point, where the trail swept close to the river, we were besieged by mosquitoes. We couldn’t get our packs off soon enough, so that we could douse ourselves in bug spray! As Greg remarked, it reminded him of that commercial where the guy puts his arm in a box filled with the little buggers, and his arm is instantly covered with them…It was the thickest I’ve ever seen them. We’re sure to have spawned many a mosquito offspring with our fresh blood…Even though the bug spray kept them at bay, they still followed us for awhile down the trail, hoping to find a spot that we’d missed. Looking ahead, I could see Greg was still in the midst of their swarm, the sunlight glinting off of their wings, reminding me of an angry swarm of bees. Finally, we reached the trail junction where we had gone so wrong days before, and were amazed that we had missed it. We just stood there for a minute, shaking our heads, wondering how in the world we had walked by and not seen it. It sure felt good to get to the truck, and get the boots and weight off of our backs. And, now, Air conditioning!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh…
It was a great hike, filled with new sights, and experiences. We had never hiked so far without a trail to guide us, and it gave us more confidence to try doing it again, if the chance ever arises. Beautiful, rugged mountains abound here, and from the looks of the map, there are several more trails and areas that just beg to be explored. The Pacific Crest trail wanders right through the middle of it, from Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 to Stevens Pass, on highway 2… In all, we covered about 34, or 35 miles through a great part of the Alpine Lakes wilderness, saw several mountains with names like, Cone, Lemah, Summit Chief, Daniel, Bears Breast…Which brings up a point…As we were sitting at our campsite, enjoying the beautiful display of the mountains at Waptus Lake, and the towering majestic peak of Bears Breast, I wondered, “why not Arrowhead peak, or Diamond Head, or something like that, instead of Bears Breast?” I mean, if you have seen up close the magnificence of that mountain, I just thought it should be named something with a little more dignity befitting it’s noble stature, something with a nicer ring to it other than the description of a bruin’s mammary gland…I mean, really! How would it sound to say that, “Yep, this weekend I climbed Bears Breast!”, or imagine the pride that you would feel telling your friends that you had camped at the base of Bears Breast, or how your (do I dare say it?) breast would swell with pride to know that you had viewed the mighty Bears Breast from the shores of Waptus Lake? Sigh…Count me as one of the many prideful boasters of seeing Bears Breast in the flesh…Yuck. It just don’t sound right…

First views heading up Polallie Ridge trail, looking S.E.

Here we lost the trail, on manual navigation now!

Brief respite from the snow, Cone Mountain in the middle.

Our island in the snow...First night camp.

Greg on Polallie Ridge, with Sky Chief in the distance.

Moon and Cornice.

Polallie Ridge Views. Chikamin Ridge, Lemah Mountain

Sky Chief Mountain, as seen from old lookout tower.

Waptus Lake, as seen from the south shore.

Waptus Lake Reflections...

5600ft mark, above Waptus Lake.

Sky Chief distant, with Alpine waterfall foreground.

Mount Rainier, in the distance

Sky Chief, up close.

Greg makes another steep descent.

The old south shore camp, with new inhabitants.

One last look, Waptus Lake from camp, near dinner time.

Crossing the Waptus River...Barely...

Waptus River swimming hole, close to campground.

 Getting there:
Drive Oregon Highway 242 over McKenzie Pass to 1.4 miles west of the town of Sisters, turn left (southwest) onto Forest Service Road 15. Will be paved then turn to gravel. Stay on FR 15 all the way to the roads end, at Pole Creek trailhead. The road has several branches, and a couple “Y’s”, but it is well marked “15” all the way to roads end, 10.6 miles.
Once there, follow the trail 6 miles to Camp Lake, at 1.4 miles in, you will come to a trail junction, and one sign says “to PCT” one way, and the continuing trail says “To Green Lakes”. Stay on that trail. You will cross a couple streams, Soap Creek, which has a foot bridge across, and will have to ford the North Fork of Squaw creek. Just beyond the crossing, you will see the turn off to Demaris Lake, but continue southwest on the same trail to Camp Lake. Should see some signs pointing the way. From Camp lake, it’s all off trail from here, over the saddle between the South and Middle Sisters, by Chambers lakes, and about another 2 miles beyond the last of the lakes to the junction with the PCT trail. Head Right on the PCT until you reach trail #3511, turn left headed west, for a little over a mile to a multiple trail junction. From here, nead north on trail #3547 which will shortly bring you to another “Y” junction. We headed left on trail #4348 towards Husband Lake, and eventually to Eileen Lake. Continue on the same trail back towards Linton Meadows, till you join up again with trail #3547. This will take you left to join back up with the PCT in about another mile and a half. Turn left on PCT, and stay on PCT all the way to Scott Pass, by South Matthieu Lake. Turn right and go down Scott Pass trail, #4068, appx. 2.2 miles to junction that turns right, and will lead you back to Pole Creek trailhead. Just before you reach this trail junction, you will see a slightly used “trail” leading off to the right also, that leads to Yapoah lake. Your junction should be just a little further ahead, to the right. Follow it to the junction that you saw the first day, and turn left, and follow the trail to the Pole creek trailhead. 
Maps: We got our original idea for taking this hike from “100 classic hikes in Oregon”, published by The Mountaineers Books, and I suggest strongly that you also pick up this book, as it has some very useful trail information. Also, the map we used was by Topo.com, I purchased it on-line. It was a little expensive, but very worthwhile. That way, you only have to really print the grids that you want, or need. I thought the map was extremely useful. We also, because of the amount of snow on the ground, used a Garmin GPS unit, with our trail data loaded in, so that the entire trip, we never got off trail…Much…Actually, I think we shortened the trail by a few miles, as we crossed snow fields, and cut off mileage. Of course, when the trail is completely visible, you should use the trail, so as not to trample everything under foot.
Permits: In order to complete this loop hike, it will require a special permit, as you will be passing through the Obsidian Limited Entry area. , and you will need to plan ahead, as they will accept applications up to 30 days in advance of your hike. The only exception to this rule, is if you are doing the PCT trail thru-hike. You will also need a Northwest Forest Pass to park at the trailhead, and you will also need to fill out a backcountry permit at the trailhead. For more info, call the McKenzie River Ranger District at (541)822-3381. Or, for more info, check out the website for Deschutes and Ochoco National forests, and look for the 3 Sisters Wilderness Area.

North Fork Squaw Creek, with Middle Sister in background

This time, we decide to expand our horizons beyond what the mountains of Washington hold, and plan a trip into Central Oregon, on a loop hike around the 3 Sisters, outside the town of Sisters, Oregon…OK, actually, it might be better described as a loop hike around 2 of the 3 Sisters, as that would be more accurate. Foregoing the 55 mile loop around all 3, we instead decide on a route that will cut off the South Sister, a move that shortens the loop by 20 miles, and one mountain. Once again, snow helps to alter our plans, as the region around the mountains has had record snowfall, that is slow to melt out. Talking to the local ranger stations, they all tell us that there is still a lot of snow on the trail, so the shorter of the two loops seems a better fit.
Day 1. Mostly the drive to Sisters, Oregon. A six hour drive from Puyallup, and we didn’t feel like hitting the trail after that. We stay at Cold Springs Campground, on highway 242 outside of Sisters, for our first night. Not a bad site, only about 3 other campers there. No trail food for us tonight, as we head into town and eat at one of the local burger joints, “Bronco Billy’s”…There’s a sign on the wall that says they were awarded the “best burger in these parts”, or something to that effect. I think it was for Central Oregon, but “these parts” just sounds better, you know? After spending an hour in town, I felt like buying a ten gallon hat, listening to country music, putting my trekking poles in the gun rack in the rear window of Greg’s truck, (ok, we might have to get one of those first), and hollerin’ out as we headed out at sunset for our digs, “Saddle up, pard! We got a long ways to go before nightfall!!” Instead, I refrain from embarrassing myself, realizing how foolish it would be, in my latest North Face synthetic gear, aimed at light weight and quick sweat evaporation, and my Chaco Sandals…Nope. With great effort, I decide not to be just one more silly tourist, overcome by the local Western nostalgia. Instead, we head to our campsite, and start a fire, it would be the only fire we would be able to have this week, and the night was blustery, and cool. In fact, as we were sitting around the fire, the wind blew a large ember into Greg’s hair, unnoticed by him... Then, I had a choice to make. Wait, to see how long it would take for him to burst into flames, or gesticulate wildly, flailing my arms and hands around, trying in vain to blurt out “Fire!” all the while pointing and making strange gurgling noises as the words stuck in my mouth…Yep, I chose the latter, but it seemed from my agitation that he was able to figure out quickly that something wasn’t quite right, and brushed the offending ash out of his hair. Having saved Greg’s bouffant, I was able to retire with a clear conscience, and slept soundly.
Day 2. Having resisted the temptation to succumb to buying me some cowboy boots, (might clash with my outfit), we head out early for the Pole Creek trailhead, after a hearty breakfast at “The Gallery” in town, and start out towards Camp Lake, our destination for tonight. The first 4 miles, or so, were snow free, but around 12:30pm, we ran into snow. For the remainder of the trip, except for the last day, it would be our constant companion. It was around this time, that a couple that had headed up the trail in front of us, had lost the trail, and they were making circles, trying to pick up where the trail had gone. They shouted out at us, if we had a good map, or knew the way? We shouted back, “better! We’ve got GPS, and Greg’s on the trail like a bloodhound!” …Or, something like that…They fell in behind us, keeping us in their sight, the rest of the way to the lake. I was just hoping, though, that we weren’t in their sight the WHOLE way, as on one particularly steep snow field, I had the chance to practice self arrest, and it was not the most coordinated effort put forth to date…There might have been some yelling involved, I don’t know…I will say, though, that the melting snow on my backside was a welcome cooling from the sun. We arrived at Camp Lake around 2:30pm, and quickly tried to find a spot to hunker down. It was a beautiful location, the lake rested at the base of the saddle between the South and Middle Sisters, surrounded by some very windblown pine trees. They were all gnarled, and twisted, and from the direction of the lean, it was pretty evident which direction the wind prevailed from. The same direction it was howling from now, so it was critical to find a spot that provided some relief from it. At first, because of the backpacks claiming spots, it seemed all the good ones had been taken, and we would be forced to set up tent in an area not unlike a wind tunnel. Thankfully, this was not the case, and the guys that had dropped their packs off, ran over and moved them, so we took a spot that looked like a little parapet, a rock wall about 3 feet high in a semi-circle, to help break the wind. Obviously, this was not the first time the wind raced down from the saddle, and across the lake, unchecked. After setting up camp, we walk around the lake, taking pictures of this beautiful area, and end up at the western edge of the lake, which has a large section of the snow field at its edge. As we are standing on a firm section of it, a huge chunk gives way, and crashes into the lake, sending ripples out across its surface. It would continue to calve off large chunks throughout the day and night, startling me out of sleep more than once, as it sounded like ten bull elephants hitting the water, after a 3 day march without water. Imagine dropping your VW bug into the lake from about 10 feet up…Yeah, it was like that…Thankfully, by nightfall, the wind subsided, and we were able to get some sunset shots of South Sister reflecting off of the surface of the lake.
 Day 3. According to the map, there is no trail up and over the saddle between the South and Middle Sisters, however…Once we clambered up the snow field, and across the saddle, it became evident that we were not the first to try this route, as there was, (when the snow did not cover it), a faint trail that was pretty easy to follow. Which made sense, since we got the idea for this hike from the book put out by the Mountaineers, “100 classic hikes in Oregon”…We continued our way between the two sisters, and passed several small tarns, part of the Chambers lakes chain, and huge snow fields. By now, the snow was prevalent, and the “faint” trail non-existent, so we relied heavily upon the landmarks, and GPS…Once we met up with the PCT trail, we came to a scenic little lake to stop and have lunch. It was here, that we learned just how well a hummingbird can smell nectar. Coupled with the bright red shirt that I wore for most of the trip, I’m sure he must have thought he had hit the mother lode, for I must have been the biggest “flower” he had ever seen. You see, I like to bring with me the PowerBar Gelpacks, for that little boost of energy. With relief, I had set down on the rocks overlooking the lake, tore open one of the gel packs, and within seconds, as the scent of glucose hit the air, I had “called in” a hummingbird, and he flew like a guided missile right at my coveted gel pack of nectar, which only happened to be a couple of inches from my face, and came to a screeching halt, like only a hummingbird can, staring me in the face. Well, I’d like to say that I was only mildly amused that such a small creature might want to share my only gel pack for the day, but…That would be inaccurate. Instead, I hollered, so loud that I’m sure it reverberated off of the South Sisters walls, causing minor avalanches, and almost causing Greg to jump into the nearby lake, in an attempt to escape what was surely a mad charge by a bear, given my reaction…Hey, I didn’t know what had almost drilled into my face, just that I didn’t want it there…It was only after the shout, and hand waving, that I could recognize it for what it was, as it flew off just as quickly as it had flew into my air space. Once my heart beats no longer matched the speed of his departing wings, we packed up, and headed off again, but this would not be the last time we saw the little daredevil…For a while, we followed several footprints in the snow, as they seemed to be following the same route as we were, but as we neared the base of The Husband, another mountain in this chain of mountains, they veered off in another direction, so our footprints were the only ones left in the snow behind us. We make our way to Eileen lake, our next campsite along this loop, and as we near its shore, we hear the strange chirping of several small voices, and notice that in the muck at the edge of the lake, it looks as if it is boiling. Boiling, that is, with hundreds of frogs, or toads, it’s hard to tell…They move away from the waters’ edge, so it’s hard to get a good look at them, but they are maybe 5 inches long, and have the warts of toads, yet they are swimming in water, and they make a strange chirping, almost cooing sound, as if imitating birds. Strange. They seem to be the only inhabitants of this lake, and It seems more fitting to name the lake Frog lake, than Eileen. Still, we find a great site here, with an amphitheatre of the best nature can give. Displayed before us for backdrop is, left to right, the Middle Sister, South, then The Husband, and in the foreground the valley, with a small stream winding through its middle like a ribbon, which eventually feeds Linton Creek, which gets its start out of Linton Meadows, one of the large snow fields we had passed through earlier. The stream seems to bend back on itself, almost to the point that from our perspective, it seemed that the water had learned to flow uphill, looking every bit like the ribbon candy I ate out of my Christmas stocking every year as a child. As we got here at a reasonable time, we walk the banks of the lake, looking for good photo opportunities, as well as a good place to go swimming…Or wading…Snow is still at its banks, and the bottom of the lake seems to be covered in mud, which is great if you’re a frog. I had taken a few tentative steps into the muck on the bottom, and quickly sunk in, to the point that I feared any deeper, and I may not be able to get back out. Still, I managed to walk out on a downed tree that was submerged and get myself clean. Before turning in, we had to hang the bear bag, and Greg did a great job of finding a high branch, and securing the bag to the tree…So great, in fact, that as he tried to pull the bag back over the top of the branch for a better position, it got stuck. So stuck that pulling at it from all different angles, with both of us for weight, we could not budge it! The tree refused to give it back, and I felt like Charlie Brown dueling with the tree that refused to give his kite back. With resignation, Greg decided to give up, and would salvage as much of his line as he could the following morning.
Day 4. The first order of business, after retrieving our bear bags, was to cut as much line as possible off of his snagged bear bag line, so, I pull it as taut as I can, Greg whips out the knife, and cut the line, and, as it snaps back, the bear bag slips gracefully out of the tree, as if nothing was holding it at all…Huh??? After all our tugging, and pulling, we could not get it to budge, and now this??? Oh, brother…It really was the tree that ate all of Charlie’s kites!!! All Greg and I could do was look at each other with incredulity, as he wound up the remains of his now severed bear bag line. I was informed that for the remainder of the trip, we would be using mine. Before leaving the lake, I wanted to fill my Camelbak, so I go to the lakes edge, on the snow shelf, to start collecting water. However, before I trust the crust, I want to make sure it’s solid, so I kick at the edge with my heel, and start breaking off small chunks. About the third kick, I hear a loud crack, and stare in amazement at a 12 foot long fissure that opened up…Behind me. Avoiding a certain dunking, I skedaddle off of the ice, and decide that there might be a better place to get my water for the day. And, once again, I leave Greg wondering what in the world I’m up to now, as all he can hear is, “Cr-r-a-aaaaaaa-a-c-k…YELP!!!!” Somewhere, behind the trees between us, I can hear his head shaking in disbelief. Once again, it’s a constant slog through snow for most of the day. About fifty feet before reaching Obsidian Falls, I do my own falls, once again…It seemed to me, at the time, anyway, that the snow crust was deep, and would hold my weight, as we were continuing to try and follow the trail up the steep hillside, when I plunged through, falling to my knees on the trail below the snow crust. Did I mention that we were near Obsidian Falls? We learned the reason for the name, as it appeared the hillside that the falls plunged down were made of pure obsidian, sparkling darkly in the afternoon sun. Very cool looking, all of that black, shiny, rock, kept gleaming by the constant spray. However, one drawback to obsidian is that it’s basically glass, and cuts just like it. The trail I fell on? Yep, had plenty of obsidian shards in the footpath, that opened my knee right up. Great. I just can’t seem to get through one hike with being a stumble bum…Sigh. Pass the first aid kit, please… It was here that we met our first person in over a day, a guy named Erin soloing this part of the PCT. One of the first questions he asked us, was, “Are your footprints easy to follow?”, and, I thought as I looked down at my size 14, “Well, following these Bigfoot tracks should be easy…” we replied more politely with, “yeah, should be…” He had a map, but had been following the footprints in the snow. We traded notes, and if you’re reading this, Erin, hope you had a great trip!!! After saying our goodbyes, we continued on through some pretty alien terrain, lots and lots of obsidian everywhere, sparkling in the sun like gems. Boulder sized gems. The trail remains hidden, and we continue or trek across snow. When we were planning our trip, all we could do was try to find, mileage wise ,good stopping points for the night, and the point that we had picked for this evening was a place on the map called “Sunshine Shelter”. When the GPS finally said, “this be the spot!”, all we could do was stand in a clearing, and look around at 4 feet of snow on the ground. We saw no shelter, and were dejected…No real clearing to set up tent, and it was in the middle of the forest, so nothing even really to look at. We drug out the map, and saw that about a mile and a half further up the trail, was a place called Sawyer’s Bar, right next to the lava flow, and a stream for water, called White Branch. We push on to Sawyer Bar, and boy, are we glad we did! It was an island of trees, poking into the lava flow, and under the trees, the sandy soil was bare of snow, flat, and made an excellent place to camp for the night! Once again, as I opened my final Gel pack for the day, I was visited by Hummer, the Hummingbird, and again, he divebombed m from out of nowhere, almost startling me to the point of losing my grasp on the pack. “Did you see that?” I yelled at Greg. “The little dude made another attempt at my Gel Pack!!” It’s possible it was an entirely different hummingbird, but we liked to think it was the same guy, given his penchant for aerial acrobatics. This routine would continue every day that I opened one of the packs From here, we watched a beautiful sunset, the rays reflecting off of nearby Little Brother mountain, and the lava around us. As this is in part of the Obsidian Limited use area, we (thankfully), had already acquired a limited use entry permit for camping overnight, so we were covered there.
Day 5. Another bright, sunny day and the morning stillness is broken, (or was it shattered? I don’t know), by the cry, “Here, JoJo!!” “Here, JoJo!”. At least, to me, that’s what it sounded like. There was one bird here at Sawyer Bar, that felt compelled to call JoJo over and over again. Why doesn’t JoJo answer? Why won’t the blamed bird come home when he’s called? Is he in trouble? Or, is he just trying to avoid the inevitable lashing when he gets home for staying out all night…These questions, and many others entered my mind, as I actually entertained the idea of helping look for wayward JoJo…hey, I figured if I could help find him, then maybe the danged bird would shut up, or at least start singing something else…Once packed, we headed away from Sawyer Bar, away from JoJo, and up over Opie Dilldock Pass. (Nope. Not making that name up…Wonder if he was related to good ol’ JoJo?? Opie and JoJo…Sounds like a criminal duo to me…) Since we had made up an extra 1.5 miles from the day before by pushing on to Sawyer Bar, we decided that when we got to the Collier Cone, we should take the little side trip around it’s rim, which topped out at 7526ft. Awesome views from there, of the Collier Glacier on the Western Slopes of the North Sister, and all of the barren terrain at the base. When we reached the high point of Collier cone, we were afforded a magnificent 360 degree view, of the Middle and North Sisters, Little Brother, West as far as the eye could see, and the smaller mountains rumpled up in succession like large ripples on a lake, to the northwest, we could see, in order, Mt. Washington, 3 Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and in the far distance, towards home, we could see Mt. Hood. Back in the eastern direction, you could see the tiny town of Sisters, although not very clearly through slight haze that hung around. I would definitely recommend, if you get the chance, of making this side trip. Reluctantly, we head down the north side of Collier cone, and pick up the trail again, but notice that the snow isn’t as deep, and we find the trail more and more in the bare patches. We cross paths with two more guys on the trail, and they ask us how the snow is ahead, if it’s like this. We tell them, that unfortunately, no, it gets worse the further south they go. We get a bit of good news from them, as they tell us that the trail from Scott Pass back down to the trail head is mostly snow free! Great news, since this day will be our longest. Saying our good-byes, we continue towards our destination for today, and the trail takes us through another lava bed, and skirts the edge of the Yapoah Crater. Again, strange lava formations, invaded by the occasional tree, hang on doggedly in this inhospitable terrain. It seems so alien, that I expect Capt. Kirk, or Spock, with their phasers set to stun, around any corner. Finally, we reach South Matthieu Lake, our destination for the evening. The hike here was pretty easy, very gradual, interrupted only by the occasional rise, so we get to the lake around 1:00pm. Lots of time to explore, if we have the inclination. Or, I’m thinking, as I eye the lake, a nice swim first, to get the trail grime off. We claim our spot, and then go swimming. Ahh…No mud here, and the water is a great temperature, probably helped by the fact that it’s a relatively small lake, so the sun has had time to do it’s trick. After a nice swim, we decide to hike down to North Matthieu Lake, a little further along, and according to the map, quite a bit bigger. We take only a day pack, our cameras, and still in sandals, head out. Within 15 minutes, we are at Mosquito haven. I mean, the lake. Beautiful lake, but, we decide that if we linger long, the mosquitoes lurking about will drain us dry in about 10 minutes flat. Couldn’t wait to get out of there, and we’re very thankful that the south lake is not infested with the little bloodsuckers like this one is…Man. Even as I write this, I begin to itch, the memory of the little buggers attacking us is still fresh in my memory. Back to the lake, another quick dip, and then we stretch out in the afternoon sun, to let the sun dry us out. Once you stand up, you notice the wind that just never seems to quit blowing, and as evening approaches, it continues to howl. We had deliberately set up our site in an area protected by surrounding trees, and it was then that I noticed something peculiar. I kept hearing this clicking, and popping noise. No, it wasn’t my knees, but something even louder. And, close by. Intent on finding out what it was, I wandered over closer to this old dead snag, and the sound got louder. It was then that I noticed the large crack in the tree, and that it was leaning from having been split almost in half! Every time a gust would come through, it would creak and pop…Boy, I hoped it would last through the night, as it was almost 20 feet tall, and about 10 inches thick! We eyed the other dead trees behind out tent suspiciously, as the direction of the wind would bring them down right on top of the tent. We decide to live dangerously, and leave the tent where it is. It’s possible that laziness might have played into our decision, but I’m going with the “living on the edge, take one day at a time, laugh in the face of danger” approach. It just sounds better, don’t you think? After dinner, we find a place to hunker down away from the constant barrage of wind, and play a game of dice before turning in.
Day 6. The wind did not tear down the trees around our tent last night, and we head out early, wanting to get a jump on our 10 mile day. True to our gleaned information, there was no real snow on the trail, just a few spots as we dropped down off of Scott Pass. Then, it was clear sailing along the 10 mile foot race to the truck. A nice, easy, gradual slope downward for most of the way, then a 500 foot slight incline, then all downhill again to the truck, through a forest that seems destined to die, so many of the pines here are dead already, leaving behind their empty husks, as a reminder of how things once were. The only real thing that slowed us, where the several downed trees across the path. As there isn’t really any underbrush along the trail, however, it made it relatively easy to get around the obstacles, in fact, from people doing just that, it almost appears that the trail has been re-routed, leaving a clear path around them. Many times, I have to almost run to catch up to Greg, as he is practically flying down the trail. At this pace, we arrive at the truck at 11:30 am! Before noon, for crying out loud! I have to douse my feet with water, as they have spontaneously burst into flames from flying across the central Oregon rock and sand. After packing, and putting on some comfortable shoes, we travel to Bend, to see my friends, Jim and Tange Taylor. They were willing to put us up for the night, so that we could get an early start to head back to Puyallup, but since we tore down the trail so quickly, we decide that instead, we would enjoy some food and conversation first, then head back tonight. After a great burger at Pilot Butte Burgers, (they make a great one!), we say our farewells, and head home.
What a great trip! If I ever get the chance,  I would take this trip again, maybe this time take in the South Sister? And, definitely would like to see the meadows covered in brilliant wildflowers, instead of drifted snow. Where else can you take in the scenery like this, with 3 distinct 10,000 footers in your sights, lava flows, alpine lakes, old growth forests, and running streams everywhere? Truly a land of beauty, and a hike that should be required viewing for those interested in the best 30 miler plus category in the Pacific Northwest.

Greg, and the Middle Sister

Looking back towards Broken Top

South Sister with Camp Lake

Tent site at Camp Lake, with windbreak

Camp lake, wildflowers, and the Middle Sister

Greg and the ice at Camp Lake

Camp Lake at Sunset

Reflections on Camp Lake the following morning...

Dave feels tiny at The Great Wall of Snow...

The Husband.

South Sister, with unnamed lake by the PCT

Eileen lake, looking towards the South and Middle Sisters.

Serpentine flow of stream that feeds Linton Creek, near Eileen Lake.

Little oasis in the lava flow, at Sawyer’s Bar

Sunset at Sawyer Bar

Ghostly sentinels at lights end, Sawyer Bar.

 Mt. Washington, Three fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson.

View from Collier Cone, looking at the Middle and South Sister.

Collier Cone, Middle and South Sister, from the PCT.

Trail winds through lava beds, on way to South Matthieu Lake.

South Matthieu Lake, at sunset.

North Sister

Brother, can you spare a drink??? I’m dyin’ here!!!

Getting there: Take I-5 north from Tacoma, and merge onto I-90 East, towards Spokane, and follow I-90E for 76 miles.
Take exit 85 for State Hwy 970 N/State Hwy 903 N toward Wenatchee, go .3 miles.
Turn left at Sunset Hwy (signs for WA-970 E/WA-903 E/Cle Elum/Wenatchee), and go .4 miles.
Turn right at WA-970, go .2 miles.
Slight right to stay on WA-970, go another 9.7 miles
Slight right at WA-97, go 1.3 miles.
Continue on US-97, for 33.9 miles.
Turn left at US-2, go 5.6 miles. This will take you into, and through the town of Leavenworth.
Turn left at Icicle Rd, on the outskirts of town. Go another 4 miles.
Turn left into the parking lot. This is the trailhead for trail #1553, the Snow Creek Trail, which leads you up to Snow lakes, and beyond, into the Enchantments. And, if you are going to leave a shuttle car at either end of the trail, the other end of the trail comes out at the Stuart Lake Trailhead. Continue on the Icicle creek road another 4.3 miles, until you reach the turn off at Bridge Creek Camp. Turn left, and follow the road until the end, another 3.7 miles, at the Stuart Lake trailhead.
 Maps: The Alpine Lakes Protection Society puts out a great waterproof map, of the entire Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. Check out their website at http://www.alpinelakes.org/. For higher resolution, try Topo maps, or print out a 1:24,000 scale map at one of the Kiosks at REI, or Joes, that will focus just on the areas that you want for mapping. Another good resource is offroute.com, and mytopo.com, where you can pick out the type of map you want, and they’ll print it and mail it.
Permits: Be sure to stop at the Ranger station in town, to pick up your permit, the day before, or the day of your hike. Overnight camping requires a permit, and it is a lottery process .The permitting process starts by mailing in your permit request after February 21st, and then waiting to see if you get your dates, for times between June 15th, and October 15th .  All the necessary data is found at this website…http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/passes/enchantments/index.shtml, or call the call the Wenatchee River Ranger District’s Leavenworth office at (509) 548-6977
 

Mountaineer Creek

Once again, we decide it’s a good idea to head back into the Enchantments, and the initial plan, one that we have planned for over a year now, included the same group of 4 that went previously. Unfortunately, Dan was unable to go this year, so we would be whittled down to 3.
This time instead of doing a Yo-Yo hike, we wanted to travel the length of the trail that ran through the Enchantments, so instead of relying on our thumbs to get us back to our car, we decided to take two, leaving one at the Snow creek trailhead, and the other at the Stuart Lake trailhead, which would be our starting point.
We meet in town for the first night, and stay at our usual haunt, the HJ’s in town…Then; into town for Prime Rib at the Katzenjammers restaurant…The Prime Rib is excellent, worthy of any 4 star establishment! After stuffing the larder to the point it’s almost painful, we wander around town, harassing the locals with statements of the obvious. We fail in our quest to find something at least remotely akin to Slurpees, before turning in for the night, leaving the evening slightly undone. No matter, for we came to town for more than eats…
Day 2 Up and at em early, we drop off one car at the Snow Lake trailhead, and jam Greg and his gear on board and head for the Stuart Lake trailhead. There are several cars here, a good reminder of just how popular this place is. We gear up, and head out, and are pleasantly surprised at how nice a trail it is, winding through the forest and alongside chuckling Mountaineer Creek. 2.5 miles in, we reach the junction for Colchuck Lake, and start climbing…Gradually at first, and then it starts to steepen, as we get into the granite slabs and jumbled boulders. From this point, up to Colchuck the trail becomes a little more demanding. Just a little over a mile to the north end of the lake, and we are happy to see it! Very beautiful, with the jutted peaks of Dragontail and Colchuck towering ominously at the end of the lake. Keeping our eyes on the undulating trail, all the while trying to steal quick glances at the jagged mountain peaks surrounding the lake, we missed the first campgrounds, and continue hurriedly along the trail, looking desperately for a good spot, and were dismayed to find that the remainder of the sites were occupied! By this time, we had traipsed the length of the lake, and had found nothing promising…We turned around, and headed back, and at the one site that we had already passed that might work, someone else was already setting up camp! Had we made a bad mistake, in not taking the first site we had seen?? After talking to the hiker, though, she told us that they were moving out of their site, in favor of this one, as it had a better view of the lake. Relieved that we had found a spot, we plopped our gear into the site that she was vacating. Undaunted in our quest for an even better site, (this site would be a tight squeeze for our tent footprint), we left our gear, and headed back north, and found a much better spot with a larger footprint next to the lake! I stayed to claim our spot and Ed and Greg went back to get their gear, and once they returned, our site now secured, I went and retrieved my pack. It was after we had set up camp, and were looking around, did we find out who our neighbors would be, a rather rambunctious group of about 8. We bathed in the lake, rather quickly, to avoid forming ice crystals, and then prepared a meal. I thought the water a little too cold to be in for long, but the group next to us??? They had brought inflatables, and played in the water for almost 2 hours!!! I would have died of exposure long before they retired for the day…Greg thought ahead, and brought a new tarp, which we had to rig out to protect ourselves from the showers that broke out during the evening. It was nice to have shelter without having to hole up in the tent for hours…During the night, we could hear loud rock fall, the sounds echoing and crashing off of the surrounding granite walls, almost like peals of thunder from an approaching storm…
Day 3 Again, we awoke to the sounds of rock fall, feeling pretty certain that they were coming from the vicinity of Dragon Tails Peak, at the south end of the lake, and, I might add, the vicinity of Aasgard Pass, which we would have to negotiate to gain the Enchantments once again…Heading off for the “facilities”, I stored that thought away in the dim recesses of my mind. Right about the time I was headed down Memory Lane, with T.P. in hand, I could hear someone yelling something, I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but it almost sounded like “HELP!”…Hmmm…That’s not good…I listened for a minute or two, and it repeated...I still could not make out what they were saying, but before I could decide on which call I would answer first, I could hear feet pounding the trail, and was met by 2 of the boys that had camped next to us…”Do you hear someone yelling for help?” they asked, and I told them I thought so, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. They hurried on down the trail, and I told them that we would be along shortly.
We packed up, and headed for Aasgard Pass, and the sound of the yelling. When we reached the south end of the lake, we could hear distinctly the cry “We need a helicopter!” By now there were probably 5 or 6 people up with the injured climber, and several at the base of the slope, and all were trying to get out on their cell phones, but it was no use. So, one person decided to head out for the cars, and get help, and we told them that we would continue on over Aasgard Pass, to see if someone there had a cell that would get out. The injured climber was in a V slot at the base of Colchuck Glacier; about 1,000ft up an incline of nothing but tossed boulders from our location on the lakes edge.
Aasgard Pass was basically just a ravine that heads up and over a saddle between the Enchantment peaks, and Dragontail Peaks. At the lake the elevation is around 5600ft, and at the top it’s over 7800ft, which is gained in less than a mile, so it’s a pretty steep scramble over jumbled granite of all sizes and shapes. Once we reached the top, we met a group of 4 women that had a cell phone, and they seemed to remember getting service further back, so they followed us back towards their camp at Sprite lake, looking for reception. When they were unsuccessful, they allowed us to continue on, with their phone, to see if we could reach help. She told us that when we were done, we could drop the phone off at their camp at Sprite lake, her husband and son were there. It wasn’t long before we were able to reach 911, although faintly, and we relayed the information that we had. Because we didn’t know the condition of the climber, his vitals, etc., the guy on the other end told me that they would not send help, until they had some kind of verification, and they would pass along the info to the local SAR’s. I turned my head, to look at the guys, and lost the connection. Before I lost contact, I did find out that I was the 2nd person to phone in, so maybe??? We just didn’t know. We dropped the phone off at their campsite, and explained everything to her husband; imagine 3 guys showing up at his camp with her cell phone! There was a little confusion at first, that’s for sure. We made our way to Leprechaun lake, and once again, it looked as if it was going to be a struggle for a campsite! We just missed an awesome site by 20 seconds!!! “Curses! Foiled again!”, I mutter under my breath…Or, maybe it was out loud…With different words… with resignation, after learning from our mistakes at Colchuck lake, I plopped down on a marginal site, again, and waited for the guys to scout out another site, as we could see from here that the great tent site we had used last year was already taken. 20 minutes later, I could see Greg waving from across the lake, so I picked up my pack and headed across. This was a great site, as well, nice and flat and still had great views of the surrounding peaks. There was also a large snow bank close by to serve as our refrigerator, a great luxury! Great, now I’d be able to resurrect my melted Fruit Smoothie!!! Aaahhh…A nice cold treat at the end of the day. What? Don’t know what a Fruit Smoothie bar is??? Man, you gotta catch up! They’re great ice cold instead of the melted goo they turn into from being in the sun too long… After setting up, once again Greg and I took the icy plunge to get clean. We were never able to convince Ed to give it a try, he was happier to simply watch the idiots splashing around in the water. We finally get to see the Mountain goats the area is so famous for! And, up close and personal, I might add! They practically wander through camp, posing for us on the large boulders around us, for Greg and I to click away to our hearts content. They bray at each other,(or whatever it is goats do) seeming to vie for the better spots for grazing. One of the Ewes has 2 kids, cute little buggers. It was during our picture zapping frenzy, that two of the women that we had borrowed the cell phone from, stopped by our site for a couple of minutes to let us know that a helicopter had showed up at the snout of the Cowlitz glacier, so it seemed that someone had convinced them that a helicopter was necessary. We thanked them for the info, and wondered if the climber was ok. By now, we’ve turned a wary eye towards the skies overhead, as they looked bruised, swollen, and lumpy, as if someone had beaten them with an ugly stick. There were rumors of thundershowers tonight, and I was hoping that’s all they were…
Tired, we turn in for the night, and it’s not long before we’re fast asleep. That is, until I hear footsteps clattering across the granite outside, but I’m not alarmed, I figure it’s just the goats outside, stumbling around in the dark…Until, it tries to get into the tent, then it’s got my undivided attention!!! I reach across Ed’s bag, and start hollering, all the while trying to keep it from getting in the tent!!! “HEY, HEY, HEY!!” I holler frantically, trying in vain to stop if from clambering in … This wakes up Greg, and he yells, “WHAT!!” And, before I can answer, the goat outside replies, “Dave, it’s me Ed”, and calmly enters the tent…Heh, heh…Sorry about that, Ed. Great… Now my heart is pumping so hard from adrenaline, I may never get back to sleep…But I do, and am dragged from sleep again, this time by bright flashes, followed by loud thunder! And, it was really active, flashes every 20 seconds or so, followed by the crashing of thunder!!! Now, I’m wide awake again, staring intently at the crossed aluminum poles directly overhead, and counting…”One thousand one, one thousand two…” I figure if I get to 1003, flashes separated by thunder, I’m bailing!!! Thankfully, they never did, so I did my best to convince myself that it was ok, and go back to sleep…And, I might add, Greg and Ed slept through the whole thing, blissfully unaware of Dave’s latest trepidation…
Day4 Once again, the wind howled at night, and hours before we arose, we endured another soaking. That’s one good thing about the constant wind…It did a good job of “blow drying” the tent, and the ground did a good job of absorbing the rain. Today, as planned, we have a whole day to explore the area, and decide to head up and over Prussic Pass, towards Shield Lake. Very different here from the Enchantments, more trees, grass, and shrubbery, which transforms the area into one of greenery, as opposed to the stark white of abundant granite, prevalent on the other side of the pass. As we round the shoreline, we see several pan sized trout darting away from the banks, making us wish we had brought fishing poles. Once past Shield Lake, we continued on the west side of the creek that joined together 3 lakes, Shield, Earle, and Mesa Lake. Mesa was unusual, as there was a large granite hillside that plunged right into the east shore.  Having reached our turn around point, we trek back to Earle Lake, and cross over to the opposite shore line this time, for different views. Lots of sign of bobcat, deer, and other critters here. One thing that we thought was interesting. The whole time we ventured on this side of Prussic Pass, we never saw another person. Yet, we counted 3 toilets!!! I wonder if there is another time of the year that this place is more popular??? Back at camp, we take the plunge, and allow the afternoon sun to dry us out. The goats were waiting patiently for our arrival, hoping we’d leave some salt behind…We seemed to never get tired of watching them roam around, looking for something good to eat, never in a hurry, always the same plodding gait. They seemed totally disinterested in us, until we got up to leave the camp site, then they eyed us eagerly, to see if we needed to go yet…I’m not kidding! The moment you had to relieve yourself on the rocks, here they’d come running, hooves clacking over the granite, in a rush to get there first! Not exactly a comforting feeling when you’re trying to go to the bathroom! 
After turning in for the night, we are greeted by showers, again, and wind that tries vainly to blow over the tent…I can’t remember a time when I’ve been here in the Enchantments, that the wind did not howl...At least, the lightening is brief, and the thunder is only a distant rumbling.
Day 5 Today is the day that we leave for Snow Lake, but, knowing that it will only take a few hours to get back down to Snow Lakes, we decide to do some more sightseeing, and scramble up the granite towards Prussic Peak. From there, we figured we could get a good view of the valley, and spy out Temple lake, which we could see on our map located above Lake Vivian. Sure enough, at the base of Prussic Peak, we had great views of the surrounding area, and found a small tarn surrounded by jumbled boulders with a granite sand beach. Very beautiful here, with the peak reflecting off of the water. The sand is imprinted with the signatures of thousands of hoof prints, as it’s obvious here in this little draw, the goats come to get out of the wind. Back at camp, we pack, and head for Snow Lake, and along the way, we pass the cell phone women again! Seems they too, are leaving today…We also pass several people on day hikes headed up to the Enchantments, and we begin to worry, “are we going to have trouble finding a place to stay??” Seems that has been the problem the entire hike, wondering if we can find a place to pitch the tent. The fears are unfounded, though, as we find a great place between the upper and lower Snow lakes, right next to the HUGE boulder. If you’ve ever been in the area, you know the rock that I’m talking about…I say great for 3 reasons…First being that if we have to endure howling wind, again, then we have a great place to get out of its path…Secondly, we have our own granite table, circa Bedrock chic, to play dice on, and lastly, we have our own rodent exterminator, as we catch a glimpse of a large pine marten running through camp with a mouse in its mouth. Great! Shouldn’t have to worry about the mice tonight! We have to play several games of dice on the granite table, may never get another sweet set-up like this again…
Day 6 Up and out today!!! And, though it’s been a great trip, it just didn’t have the same impact as last time we ventured here…We got some good pictures, and were able to see the goats, but…Other than heading up and over Prussic Pass, we really didn’t see that much different. We stop briefly at Nada Lake for more pictures, and then make our way to the Snow lake trailhead to get Greg’s truck! Aaaahhhh…It feels really good to sit on something comfortable, after 5 days sitting on rocks and logs…We drive back to the other end, to retrieve the other car, and get jolted by the washboards in the gravel road…The scattered pieces off of cars along the road were testimony to how badly the road pounded the less fortunate. I counted 3 hubcaps, and 2 tail pipes on the way up. Relieved to reach the Nissan, and find it unmolested, we return to Leavenworth, slowly, committed to keeping the vehicle in one piece and our teeth from chattering together over the bone jarring ride out. We meet at the Hiedelburger, an awesome local burger joint that serves up masterpieces smothered in onions and mushrooms, with blackberry shakes as accompaniment! Don’t forget the Tater Tots!!! The lines are always long here, but well worth it, trust me!!!
It’s been another memorable trip, and I didn’t have a byte of memory left on the memory card, all we can hope for now are a few that are keepers, and that the video turned out. We missed Dan on this trip, and we made sure to pay homage to him, by taking snapshots of us flying in “Missing Man” formation…Even though some of the shine might have been worn off by being there 2 years in a row, I still believe it to be a magical place, filled with sights and sounds of a landscape unique
 

Dragontail Peak, Colchuck Peak, and Colchuck Lake

Camp at Colchuck Lake, Rigged out for rain...

Ed and Greg scramble over jumbled granite, up Aasgard Pass.

Greg and Ed standing on top of Aasgard Pass, with Dragontail peak. 

Isolation Lake

Ptarmigan near Aasgard Pass.

Still lots of snow in the upper Enchantments.

On the trail next to Perfection Lake.

Leprechaun Lake, with McClellan Peak.

Reflections on Leprechaun Lake.

Mountain Goat Strikes a pose...

The sky at sunset...Before the thunderstorms.

Sprite Lake, waterfall from Perfection Lake.

Ed and Dave, at the beginning of Earle Lake.

Prussic Peak, viewed from above Enchantments.

Prussic Peak reflections.

Upper Snow Lake.