Fall Colors, Larches, Cathedral Peak and Amphitheater Mountain

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Andy Porter

The rain has set in and the days are short. Avoiding boredom necessitates a little creativity, which for me includes revisiting past hikes, editing images and trying to fashion a reasonable representation of a place.

The approach is from Tonasket, west to Loomis and then up the Toats Coulee Road to the Iron Gate Trail head.

The sky was blue and trees bright.
Iron Gate Trail Head Trees

The trip along the Boundary Trail (Doubling as the Pacific Northwest Trail) offer long vistas, green forests and in early October, brilliant orange larch.
Boundary Trail

Windy Peak

The trail is a lot of fun, the old Tungsten Mine is an interesting place to explore, and Apex Pass provides sweeping views of Remmel Mountain and the east side the of Amphitheater Mountain.
Remmel Mountain
The larch inhabit a band between 6,000 and 7,000 feet of elevation.
Amphitheater Mountain

Arriving at Cathedral Pass its a short stroll down to water and reflective views!
Cathedral Pass
Not a bad place to camp!
Cathedral Peak

Amphitheater Mountain, Reflected in a snow-melt pond

Heading down a little ways to Upper Cathedral Lake just before sunset provides all you need for a true orgy of picture taking!

Back up at the camp site the setting sun made the trees look even more afire!

The sensory overload was fun!

The hike back provided more changes in colors…

The trees along the road had a decidedly different look after only 4 days…

Enchantments

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Andy Porter

The Enchantments is an area with in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, near Leavenworth, Washington.

Crammed into a small area there are myriad lakes, tarns and jagged peaks. One of the many allures of the Enchantments are the larches which turn bright orange and yellow in the fall. The juxtaposition of (hopefully) blue skies, green spruce, orange larch and as we encountered, white snow, is a wonder on the eyes!

To camp overnight requires a permit. To get a permit involves entering a lottery and hoping for good luck!

Earlier this year I decided to apply for the permits and was lucky enough to win a permit for October. However the weather at the start of October was horrific, high winds, a veritable deluge of rain and in the upper alpine zones, snow. By the time my allotted time came around things started to brighten up, and so, off I went.

Parking area

Foot Bridge at the start…

Fall Colors on the way up

I managed to recruit two hardy souls to come along and we headed over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth and on up to the Snow Lakes Trail head. the first days hike was a little more than 10 miles and 4,000feet of elevation gain and we camped out on a sand bar along the shore of Upper Snow Lake.
Upper Snow Lake
Day two brought partly sunny skies and we hoisted our heavy packs for the 4 mile hike up to Lake Viviane. The trail was steep in spots and there was much snow. The area around the lake was very windy, and it took some time to find a flat, sheltered place for the tent.
Lake Viviane