Despite wet, windy conditions, the girls and I managed to get out most days for some sort of walk, hike, ramble amid the beautiful trees, rocks, meadows of the north cascades. The colors were saturated and the air was fresh and clean. My favorite time of year.
What’s it like to stand on the edge of a rocky outcropping waiting for sunrise on a cold September morning? Is it worth it? Were the dogs bored? I love the way the warmth of the sun spreads across the mountains, bathing them in its light leaving behind the blue hour of dawn.
The girls and I drove up the bumpety bump Harts Pass road yesterday and enjoyed a brief respite from the intense heat dome that has kept our afternoon and evening temperatures above 100° F. Sixty degrees at 7000′ was incredibly refreshing. On the way up, we saw mountain goats at their traditional salt lick. They are pretty shaggy looking this time of year.
We met some people walking up the road to the lookout with skis. They were planning to ski down the backside of the mountain! The snow fields are pretty small already so it was a short run.
The mountain views were incredible and the flowers were just lovely. The snow recently melted up there so the wildflower peak is yet to come.
We did this hike a month or so ago with Molly and Mary. It’s fun to see the changes during the season. There was less water and different wildflowers and it maybe wasn’t as green but it was still beautiful. Rozie and Kim joined us this week.
Summer has come to an abrupt end. The good news is that wildfires no longer threaten people and their homes and soon the smoke will be gone from the valley.
Last week Mary and I and our pack of dogs headed for Harts Pass and the Pacific Crest Trail. We had a good hike to Grasshopper Pass, going past many PCT thru hikers who were anxious to keep walking. If everything went well for them, they’d be in Canada, 35 miles away, the next day. A few flowers were still blooming and we heard marmots and pikas and we ate a few huckleberries along the way. We had a little sunshine, some breezes, a little misty rain and ever-changing light. It was really lovely.
My Everyday Photos 