With a surprising downturn in the nice weather eliminating a planned 3-day backpack, we instead headed off for a single night to an favorite old haunt - Rampart and Lila Lakes. Even then, the outlook for the first day was iffy, but supposed to clear and be nice by later in the afternoon. We did our usual himming and hawing, but decided to just go for it.
We well knew that the trail is relatively benign for the first few miles, then turns sharply up a hillside, with a rocky, rooty tread. What we didn't realize (or perhaps admit), is that since we were last there, our bodies (knees in particular) had decayed quite a bit, so it was much more of an uncomfortable grunt than we expected. We persevered, however, and found a lovely campsite above Lila Lake. Then spent the rest of the afternoon visiting Lila Lake and wandering to a gap in the Alta Mountain ridge line, where we had pretty sweet views of surrounding peaks and valleys. We always enjoy visually connecting all the various places we've visited from different perspectives.
It's pretty well known that the west and east sides of the Cascades have dramatically different climates, with the west side being more moderate and wet. In practice, what this means is that the west side is often cloaked in clouds while the east side is sunny, and the line of demarcation can be quite abrupt at the crest itself. This particular area that we visited sits just on the east side of the crest, and we got treated to a continuous display of clouds/fog blasting over () and down the ridge above us. Of course this display was propelled by gusty, cold, damp winds. Not the warm, sunny that we were hoping for, but it was quite mesmerizing (like watching a fire).
After a blustery night, Tom popped up to wander around and take pictures in the early morning light, and ended up going much of the way to the top of Alta Mtn. The sunrise and accompanying views were a delight. After breakfast and packing up, we wandered the couple of miles over to our old friends, Rampart Lakes. Kind of like going home. Familiar, and just as stunning as ever. A bit of wandering around and some relaxing in the warm sunshine (finally!), and then we headed off down the trail towards Racheal Lake and the trailhead.
Quite a nice trip, despite the truly sad excuse of a trail (though it likely reduces the hoards somewhat). Only a few other campers (not a certainty in these Covid days, even during the week), so we got a nice sense of solitude. And essentially no bugs!
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Alta Lake below Highbox Mtn.
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East Alta Mtn beyond unnamed tarn
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Huckleberry Mtn and Chickamin Peak above Gold Creek Drainage
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Detail, Chickamin Peak (note PCT cutting across lower portion of image)
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Huckleberry Mtn
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Evening light
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Moonrise
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Ridge, fog, light, and shadow interplay at sunrise
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Highbox Mtn and Alta Lake, Sunrise
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Morning light on Alta Ridge
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Ridge and unnamed tarn in morning light
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Morning Light on Peak 6300 and Mt Daniel
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Rampart Ridge above one of the Rampart Lakes
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Rampart Lakes and Highbox Mountain
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One of the Rampart Lakes
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Rachael Lake
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"Oh Wow!" Moments
- The color of the lakes (Rachael and some of the Ramparts, in particular)!
- Views over Gold Creek drainage from the Alta Mtn Gap!
- Moonrise!
- Sunrise!
Random Scenes
- Tom, while minding his own business hiking along the trail and following his mental bliss, suddenly found himself sliding down a hillside beside the trail! Only about 10' due to the vegetation, thankfully. Dude, watch where you're walking!!
Random Questions
- What was that little thing rolling, bouncing down the trail right in front of us. A mole? A mouse? We didn't get a great view, but didn't seem like it had a tail, and seemed kinda small for a mole (do they even live up here)? A little research (but not enough to sort it all out) indicates that mice, moles, voles, and shrews do, in fact, inhabit the Cascades, so are likely candidates.
Tom's Daily Stress Points
- Will the weather cooperate (stress level = moderate)
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