Life goes on, things change, storms of life come and go. One thing that always remains the same is the feeling and quiet peace I feel from being in the mountains. This was a spur of the moment overnight trip. It was so needed and such a beautiful time. Left the house around 2:30 PM, traffic was so slow heading up Hwy 20, lots of folks heading out of Mazama. Arrived at the trail head a few minutes before 4 PM, and we were off down the trail in a few minutes. Three quarters of a mile down the trail a bee or some kind of flying ant decided to bite my nieces eye lid, talk about hysteria for a moment. I was pretty sure our trip was over, but we were able to move on with a very cold creek soaked multipurpose face mask. The sun was sinking fast and the wind was howling by the time we reached the top. Made some quick decisions on the best place to park the tents, and we set up camp. It was truly an incredible evening, hiked around a bit and watched the sun slip behind the mountains.
Beautiful big views, abundance of flowers, snow capped mountains all around and singing birds. I love this hike when the flowers are blooming. This is a hike you can do multiple times in the spring and there is always new flowers blooming. The mountain views are incredible, a nice view of the valley floor looking up towards Mazama and back down towards Twisp. So much to see, hear and enjoy. This is the perfect hike for an evening adventure, not to long, a fairly easy hike, the birds are very active and keep you company as you make the loop. These pictures are only from one side of the loop, I ran out of good light to complete it since I stopped for every flower along the way. When the balsam root is blooming it is a beautiful display of golden flowers, intermixed with lupine and larkspur. I have hiked this trail many times over the years and am always amazed by natures incredible beauty.