Oh my gosh. I guess I was working a lot and got way far behind on my photos. This hike was to Twisp Pass at the end of September. My girls didn’t get to go since Sky was recuperating and it was a pretty long hike for Luna. She probably could have gone but it was best for her to keep Sky company. Lindsey and I saw a Golden Eagle and a mountain goat in the distance.
We have had a good long season of fall colors following the hot dry summer of 2017.
Our next venture out and about was to Cutthroat Lake. It’s a short hike to a beautiful place and I especially like it in the fall. It was a real test to see if Sky was actually healed. I really wanted to take it slowly with her for fear that she would start limping again. Not only did we give up our walks and hikes, we also gave up agility and retrieving. As you can imagine, this was a real hardship on the dog. Fortunately, she has not had any setbacks!
The larch trees were magnificent.
Face it. Many people in the west have had to battle smoke and wildfire for weeks. Even months. Those things stole our summer from us. Now, it’s cool in the mornings and you might need a sweater in the evening. Colors are changing. Not so much with freezing temperatures but endless weeks without any moisture. I don’t expect a big fall colors show like last year. So even though the calendar doesn’t agree, I think summer is over.
Luna and I got out of the car at the trailhead this morning and I was reminded that my brain is still in summer mode. Fortunately, in my car, I had a light jacket and some gloves to get me started up the trail. It did warm up after we got to the lake and the changing colors are beautiful.
Yesterday the girls and I joined with Molly (remember Molly from last year?) and Mary for a nice hike, mostly above tree line in the North Cascades. We drove through a layer of wildfire smoke to get to the trailhead and found perfect blue skies with fluffy clouds. Ground squirrels and hoary marmots and pikas gave their warning calls as we walked by. At the end of the hike we could see the smoke column from the Diamond Creek wildfire east of us. In the meantime we were treated to vast vistas of mountains in all directions. We all felt grateful to have this in our ‘backyard’. The dogs were most grateful for the last of the snow and a creek of snow melt leading to a clear refreshing pond for cooling off.
The girls and I have been out and about on some trails this summer. After a wet and cool spring, we have not had any rain in weeks. The paths are all dusty and dry. I carry water for my dogs and they appreciate it. The streams and lakes and snow patches are welcome sights!
