White Pass and Foam Creek
With knee surgery approaching in a few weeks, and the unusually good fall weather continuing, I (Tom) felt compelled to get out one more time. While this time of year is typically focused on the fall larch display, I felt it was perhaps my last, best chance to visit a long-standing bucket-list trip ... White Pass in the Glacier Peak area of the North Cascades. It had been calling out to me ever since Brian went there for a week-long trail maintenance camp one summer during high school. While the weather looked perfect, wildfire smoke was moving in and out of the area ... a potentially major buzz-kill. But, when I spotted a few days when the smoke models suggested the winds would clear it out, I decided to take my chances and go, and trust that my fitness level was sufficient, and any pre-surgery abuse I would inflict on my knees would be ok. Plus, I had gotten a quick replacement for my wounded camera (see previous post), and it needed to be put thro...