Karen and Tom Wanderings

Another glorious September day, another great hike.  This time, in what seemed likely to be a last hurrah for the season, we headed up to the flanks of Mt Baker.  Railroad Grade is actually the (narrow) top of the moraine adjacent to where the Easton glacier once extended.  And it was kinda narrow ... you certainly didn't want to misstep, since it was quite a fall down one side.  But nothing too uncomfortable.  There were some nice fall colors, and views galore.  If this is how the hiking season ends, what a great way to do it. Mt Baker and Fall colors  Twin Sisters Range    Happy Marmot Fireweed Steam vent near the summit of Mt Baker Hiking along Railroad Grade More Photos  

I couldn't let a rare opportunity pass, so I snagged a backcountry camping permit for Indian Bar in Mt Rainer National Park.  This has been on my must-do list for years, but the stars never seemed to quite align.  This year, part of the Wonderland Trail that circumnavigates the mountain was closed due to fires, so many of the people doing the full loop bailed on their permits, freeing up reservations for this high-demand location.  So I took advantage of the situation, and went on my first backpack in 3 years! With a significant shift to stormy fall weather on the near-term horizon, I lucked out with a perfect first day ... blue-skies and warm temps, with the mountain out in its full glory.  A long approach with significant elevation gain tested my fitness, but the views in all directions during the latter half (on Cowlitz Divide) were quite distracting and motivating.  Some of it was Sound-of-Music level!  And Indian Bar itself is incredibly beautiful....

Editors Note:  I'd recommend looking at this post on the actual blog via the "Karen and Tom Wanderings" link at the bottom of the page.   It looks way better, and there are links to more photos! For a conditioning hike, I went up Mailbox Peak.  Relentlessly up for 5ish miles.  As the fellow hiker I met in the parking lot before starting said ... We're gluttons for punishment!  It wasn't as bad as expected.  The trail through the big scree field approaching the top was particularly awesome ... huge rocks arranged so that every step you took was obvious, pretty flat, and stable.  But it must have take a hell of a lot of effort to build!  There were a few remaining flowers and pretty good views from up high.  Crowds were thin on the way up, but more dense on the way back down.  The advantages of an early start, I guess. Goldenrod Clouds hovering next to a nearby ridge from the summit Pearly Everlasting and Indian Paintbrush Trail...

Back in Seattle earlier than expected from our Canada/Glacier trip, we headed out on a day hike to Malachite Lake on the way to Stevens Pass.  I had been in the area several times in the past, but only once to this particular lake, over 40 years ago.  The trail started out nice, but got pretty rocky as we progressed, with a few fallen trees across the trail to negotiate ... not all of which were trivial for older folks.  And there were some BIG trees, too.  The lake was a gorgeous ... ringed by very large cliffs, and we were blessed with bluebird skies.  After a casual lunch and a bit of rest, we retraced out steps back down.  All in all, a bit gnarlier than anticipated, but it was great to get out and spend some quality mountain time with clean air! Big tree! Fortunately, this one had a path cleared! Malachite Lake More Photos  

We had big plans for a week at Glacier National Park.  4 days in the Many Glacier area as a base to explore the park's trails, and a final 2 nights in an epic backcountry chalet.  It was smoky when we arrived, but we were willing to give it a try, hoping things would clear up a bit later in the week.  Unfortunately,  the air quality index exceeded 400 during the first night (0 to 50 is considered good, 200 is very bad).  So, after figuring that the probability of it improving was pretty low, and not wanting to suffer in nasty air for any longer, we packed up camp and headed for home.  On the way, we drove through the park on Going to the Sun road, and you could see massive shapes, but that's about it.  But it was packed with visitors, and the line to get in as we exited was several miles long!  The trip home was uneventful, except for smoke the whole way until we descended into western Washington.  Ah, fresh air.   While the smoke d...

As we worked our way south towards our final objective (Glacier National Park in Montana) we decided to stop for a day in Waterton Lakes National Park, which is the Canadian sister park to Glacier.  Again, pretty smoky, but we went on a hike anyway (Upper Rowe Lakes).  The first part of the hike traveled through an area that was burned in 2017 ... a huge fire that covered about 1/3 of the park.  The rejuvination was pretty interesting.  Eventually, we transitioned into unburned forest, and, among other things, stumbled upon the biggest, best display of fireweed we've ever come across.  Not the greatest day ever, but still pretty dang good. Prince of Wales Hotel overlooking Waterton Lake View down Waterton Lake from the town Rejuvinating burned forest en route to Upper Rowe Lakes Fireweed! Upper Rowe Lake More Fireweed Even more fireweed View down the Rowe Creek drainage More Photos

After departing Lake O'Hara, we spent a day exploring Kootenay National Park a bit.  Marble Canyon, which is just a short walk, was pretty amazing.  A very deep, narrow gorge, with a lovely raging river in the depths.  We also hiked to Stanley Glacier. Much more of a real hike, with some big mountains to view.  Unfortunately, the smoke was significantly (though not horrible), which took some of the sparkle away from the sights.  We ended our day in the town of Radium Hot Springs, though we didn't actually go for a soak.  The smoke was bad, so we opted just to have dinner and an ice cream cone.     Marble Canyon Tokumm Creek entering Marble Canyon Fireweed, en route to Stanley Glacier View up towards Mt Stanley Admiral Butterfly More Photos  

Our next stop was one of the prime reasons for our trip ... Lake O'Hara.  It's located in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies, just over the mountain from world famous Lake Louise.  Access is via a bus up a 11 km road (~7 miles), or you can walk it.  Overnight options are limited to a very expensive lodge, a climbers bunkhouse, or a 30-site campground.  One big challenge is actually getting lodging or bus reservations, since access is very limited and there's tons of demand.  We fortunately snagged 2 nights camping, and were very excited to finally get to visit.   Since we were blessed with bluebird skies and no smoke (for a second day in a row!), we headed out on a hike as soon as we finished setting up camp.  And what a absolutely stunning place!!  Big mountains, lovely subalpine basins, tumbling streams, wildflowers galore, and gorgeous lakes!  And accessed by a a combination of excellent trails and some well-marked...