Maple Pass Loop Trail, North Cascades

Life finally caught up with me in July. Things became a little overwhelming, work started to consume my time. We had a office gal decide that Oklahoma looked like a better spot to live, so with a short notice she up and left us in our busiest season. I have truly enjoyed hiking and leaving it all behind. Maple Pass Loop Trail has always been a favorite. It is where I first starting hiking by accident and It continues to draw me back. I decided this year I wanted to see if I could squeeze it in on a weekend while the heather was still blooming, just barely made it. While the rest of my hiking buddies were enjoying the Pateros Apple Pie Jamboree I headed for the mountains. Temperature was right around 55 degrees at the parking lot. Took me a little bit to stop jumping at every sound and turning around looking for people, not used to hiking on my own. At first I thought I would bust a move and make the loop in good time, but my lovely heels that have been giving me fits since April started forming blisters again. So I took my sweet time and made plenty of stops and admired the view and all the flowers. There was still lots of snow on top, seemed more than usual for the heat we have been having. The views were nice and clear of the mountains, lots of flowers blooming. Returned to the valley floor in Methow and the temperatures were pushing 100 degrees. I will hopefully be returning come fall to enjoy the views and color once again.

Comments

Cutthroat Trail.......Snowshoeing North Cascades Highway

I have a confession to make, I have been having some winter blues. Not sure if they can be officially called winter blues due to we have had little to no winter. I have been very impatiently waiting for the snow to arrive, it comes, blows through, makes the ground white, then its gone. The last few days we have been sitting at temperatures in the 40's. What is up with winter. One thing I can say for sure is I am very thankful for the few trips we made up highway 20 before the silver star gate was closed. Our trip to Cutthroat Trail was back in November, when we had visions of winter coming to the valley very soon. The snow was nice and fluffy and deep. Pleasant day to get out and enjoy it, one of those days where your not sure if the clouds where going to allow the blue sky to show it self or not. We parked right off the highway with a couple of other cars and Snowshoed up the road to the trail head. Wasn't very long and more hikers, cross country skiers, and furry

The Places We Can Go

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.

Carlton Complex Wildfire, Pateros Washington

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I spent last weekend moving my animals back home to a mostly burnt out barn yard. We had a small patch of trees and garden space that escaped the fire, which was where my dog pens were located. So they were able to return to a fairly normal life. The horse pen was kind of a hit and miss burnt area, since there wasn't a whole lot of vegetetaion in it the fences took most of the heat. The metal panels got a nice rusty color to them, with some serious scorch marks. Besides my horse having red smudge colored marks on his nose from the fencing he seems to be adjusting to his return home. We have found temporary living close by so it has made taking care of my animals easier, and a stress off of where we be this winter. The town is slowly getting the debris removed and homesteads cleaned up. Lots of piles of rubble and cut down trees piled up in the city lot areas. I understand that Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes Of the Co

Lost In The Right Direction

Search This Blog