Navaho Peak

For our first backpack of the year, we headed to the east side of the Cascades to Navaho Peak. We'd attempted to go here twice before, but had been thwarted once by weather and once by helicopter logging! The hike in was a significant effort, and we were very thankful for the below-normal temperatures.

After a setting up camp and resting a bit, we headed up towards Navaho Pass, climbing through an interesting very barren area (the hiking guide calls it a moonscape, and that seems about right). After evaluating our energy level, we opted to head toward the summit of Navaho Peak, and see how far we'd get. As we climbed, the views just got bigger and bigger, always egging us on a bit further. Quite a grind, but we spent a good while hanging out on the summit with big views and no people! Can't beat that!

After our descent back to camp, our dinner was interrupted by several bucks wandering through and around camp. It was kind of unusual for two reasons. Normally, unless you're in the National Park (where hunting is not allowed), big wildlife typically keeps their distance. Also, it seems that we typically see does (not bucks). Not sure why, perhaps because the hunting (which is limited to bucks, I believe) makes the bucks more scarce or makes them more wary of humans. In any case, it was a treat to watch them grazing around.

The hike out and trip back home were uneventful. We smiled as we hit clouds and rain as we headed over Snoqualmie Pass into western Washington. Very glad we picked a trip on the dry side of the mountains!