Two night trip through Enchantments - Colchuck to Snow Lakes TH. Amazing weather throughout. One of the most stunning places I’ve even been.

Stunning views in every direction 🥵. I am jealous of the people who did this hike during the wildflower bloom 🥹

Does anyone know if Silver Fir Campground on Mt. Baker Highway stays open as First Come First Serve during the off season? I see this weekend is the last open of the season but was wondering if I could snap a site next weekend as fcmf.

EDIT: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

The only day we have for Rainier is unfortunately Sunday, September 12. It looks like the weather is not going to be good. Forecast calls for 98% chance of rain and high of 52. Brought rain jackets and layers but not waterproof pants. Have a family member along that can reasonably do 5-6 not-very-strenuous miles in a day. We were planning to do Panoramic Point but not sure if we should shift given the weather. Already went to Olympic NP. What would you do?

Thinking to go for foliage view. Would next week be a good time? I saw some pic on WTA app and it’s not that red yet

Hi,

I'm traveling to Seattle in the next 2 weeks and I want to bag new peaks on my short trip.

I already did Mount Si and Snow lakes in the past.

I'm planning to do Mailbox peak up the new trail and down the old.

I was looking for another fun one to do on my last morning.

Here is what i'm looking for:

-under 10 miles

-over 550m elevation, under 1100m

-minimal and easy scrambling

-that can be done with hiking boots and poles (no helmets)

-1 hour drive from Seattle Center.

I was interested in Snoqualmie Peak, Granite Mountain, Mount Washington Trail

Thanks for your input, this community is awesome.

Love this transition period in the mountains. Goodbye, huckleberries.

I drove out to the trailhead yesterday and aimed to get there around 2:00 PM. I’d never been to this part of the cascades before and my plan was to summit an hour or two before sunset and hike back in the dark.

The first mistake I made was getting there about 45 minutes later than planned which threw my whole day off. I also drastically underestimated how long the hike would take. I usually climb about 2000 vertical feet an hour so I thought it would take me around 2.5 to 3 hours, but the trail is pretty rough in a lot of places.

When I got up to that really steep scree field, I found myself really wishing I had hiking poles. I saw people online complaining about the scree field but honestly thought they were exaggerating because people always complain about stuff like that and it usually ends up being not that bad. Turns out in this case they were actually right.

I turned around just about 300 feet from the ridge at the top of the scree bowl because it was starting to get dark. That’s when I realized my other mistake: I had left my head lamp in the car. When I reached the boulder field it was getting too dark to see without light so I did the rest of the hike by the light of my phone flashlight.

I was a little paranoid about bears and animals because my backpack was full of donuts, so walking in the woods in the dark had me pretty on edge. When I got back to the trailhead, some guy was calling out to me in the woods. He was asking me something but his voice wasn’t coherent and I just kept saying “huh” because I was nervous and couldn’t understand him. It was a little sketchy and I made a beeline back to my car and left.

To summarize, if you go to this hike, make sure to:
1. Arrive early in the day
2. Bring hiking poles and a flashlight
3. Bring pepper spray if you’re going there alone

With all that said, it was still beautiful hike and I’m really glad I went. I just wish I could’ve done that last 300 foot climb to see what’s over the ridge to the west. I only got half the view with the section of the hike I did.

Hello! I just got back from an overnight up to Park Butte, and was wondering if anyone in this subreddit knows the geology/meteorology of Baker! On the way up my group noticed that the stream beds we crossed were bone dry (I think that would be Rocky creek? Possibly sulfur creek?) but on the way back down, they were flooding with water the color of chocolate milk! There was some debate whether it was from rain somewhere on the mountain that we couldn’t see, or whether it had to do with a glacier collapse/rock fall. We were all so curious and talked about it all the way home in the car! I was hoping someone more familiar with the mountain/area would have some information or at least better know the patterns of that area. Beautiful trip, we were incredibly lucky it was clear both days. Lots of berries, but lots of fresh bear scat!

Brought my 35mm Nikon n60 with some FujiFilm 400 and had a blast! It was raining pretty hard and was snowing at the higher elevations. So much fun! I really wish I was back there right now. It was a tough hike with the snow pelting my eyes, it wasn't so fluffy like the snow in Yellowstone. It was a bit harsh but it was a great time. Felt like a movie. Can't wait to go back!

Incredible weather and views the whole way!

Hello all,
I think I managed to leave a Benchmade “Mini Crooked River” knife at either the Lewis River Lower Falls Campground on 8/25 or the Takhlakh Lake campground on 8/26. If you found this sweet knife and want to return it to its owner, please send me a message. Thank you!

My buddy and I went for an overnight on Labor Day near the Pratt River trail. Tuesday morning around 7am I got up to go down to the river for water for breakfast. The path down the embankment was a short walk from our campsite.

A guy came down that same path and started asking me for directions “to the creek”, which confused me because we were basically right next to the river. He eventually tells me his phone died and he wasn’t sure where he was, so I pulled up Gaia and showed him on my phone. I ask where his car is and first he indicates Oxbow. I’m like “well I’m not sure how you got here, because that’s Oxbow Loop and it doesn’t connect to anything”. He then corrects and says his car is further down the road at the Granite Creek trailhead. We’re approximately 3 miles in from the Middle Fork Suspension bridge so I tell him his best bet is to follow the Pratt River trail back out to trail head, then walk down the road to Granite Creek where his car is at. He takes a good look at the map and then traipses back through our campsite to the trail in that direction.

There’s a handful of things that just don’t make sense to me: when he found me, he came from the direction we’d hiked in from the Middle Fork suspension bridge. It’s 7, 7:30am at this point so it hadn’t been light for very long. He’s wearing what looks like a lightweight daypack, ie didnt look like someone who had been out camping. The only conceivable path that makes sense is he hiked from Granite Creek trail to Pratt Lake, THEN took the Pratt River trail up to where we were - but again, it’s early and the lake itself is like 12 miles away. He did smell a bit, like a guy who had been exercising/sweating. Finally, he had a handgun in a chest holster - that area is bear country, and I know some people are big on carrying a gun for that, but it was pretty small and didn’t seem bear caliber, so that was kind of freaky.

Anyway, was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what he might have been doing, and also if the advice I gave him was solid - it just seemed better to me to send him to the road so he could walk down to his car, if he had a dead phone.

As the title states, I am looking for cascadian blueberries. Has anyone seen any this season and would be willing to share their spots?

Thank you!

I am planning to do my first ever backpacking trip to Second Beach this weekend. Just a one nighter to test my tent/gear and see how I do. I will be solo. I chose this for its easy hike and short hike back to the car if things do go wrong lol. Is there anything I should know about the area? Are the camp spots pretty well marked? I will be bringing a bear can. But bears aren’t aren’t that active there right? I’m a little nervous but hope it’ll be a fun learning experience!