Fall is here!

The sunny weekend continued! So I ventured out to the North Cascades to hike the Heather Pass and Maple Pass Loop.

The larches are beginning to turn, which brought out the crowds... Luckily, I woke up late and didn't get to the trailhead until 1pm, so while the parking lot was full, the trails were mostly empty.

This trail had everything, multiple passes, fall foliage, wild children, well behaved dogs, pika, chipmunks, multiple lakes, rocks, and it was a loop! no out and back on this day!


Those colors...


Heather Pass


Lake Ann


So the trail starts in Okanogan National Forest, but at Maple Pass, you can cross into the North Cascades National Park, so I did... and you get some reallllly nice views!


Larches in the Valley!


Looking back at Maple Pass


Heading down!


One last view before you hit the treeline!

Skyscraper Mountain

For the weekly hike, we went Skyscraper Mountain at Mt Rainier. It has been three-years since my previous visit... and as usual, Sunrise was chosen over Paradise.

On my previous Rainier hike, we went to Fremont Lookout, which actually provides views of Skyscraper Mountain (see the peak on the tree lined mountain on the right).

Anyways, the day started out pretty clear, but more clouds started to move in by the time we reached Skyscraper Pass.


We ate lunch at the pass and started up the mountain. Halfway up, it became a party of clouds.


350-feet to go!


We hung out at the peak for a while, waiting for the skies to clear, but they didn't.

^those jorts.

When we got back to Sunrise, not much had changed.



...which was still fine, as we had good views at the start, and the temperatures were in just cool enough. Also, we stopped at a Sonic Drive-in on the way back  :-D

The Cascades

I had not completed a local hike since Teneriffe Falls, so this past weekend was spent at my favorite hike, and one that's been on my list for a while.

First up, was the annual trip to Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm!

Drew and Jill approaching the pass

Later in the afternoon, the meadows began to glow

Heading back...

On Sunday, Sara, Gerson, and I went to Blanca Lake. It was hot, the trail was steep, we were tired, and there were people, kids and dogs all over the place... but the lake was worth it!

The High One

We wrapped up the trip with a day at Denali National Park and Reserve. The word "Denali" means "the high one" in the native Athabaskan language and refers to Mount McKinley.

Denali is different from other parks in that it is only accessible by bus. There is one road that this bus follows, and one can get dropped off anywhere along that road.

Unlike the other days, it was rainy, cloudy, and cold...

^can you spot the wildlife???

Caribou


Dall Sheep


We got off at Toklat, and hiked along the Toklat River...


Toklat River Valley with Divide Mountain on the left. On the way back, the rain stopped and it started to clear up.


The next day, smoke and haze from the Funny River fire arrived...



ANC was especially hazy, but it also had some pretty slick planespotting opportunities as it is a major air cargo hub.

If you notice, the Alaska Airlines jet doesn't have windows in the front of the emergency exit. This is a B737-400C, and is used for used for salmon shipments (and other stuff).

^relevant airlines...

A Cathay Pacific Cargo B747-8F sitting next to the EVA B747-400F


A Conoco-Philips B737-76N(WL). Ewww...


It was a hazy flight back to SEA.

The Last Frontier

So United operates flights to ANC in the summer.
They also had a fare sale, so I went.


Chasing the Midnight Sun






Anchorage at 11:41pm.


We woke up early for some suburban wildlife spotting

^the neighborhood moose... crosses streets safely...


Then we ventured off to the Matanuska Glacier






Did I mention the GREAT views?!


Next up, a flightseeing tour of Mt. McKinley courtesy of K2 Aviation!


I played co-pilot.


The Alaska Range






The smoothest landing. EVER.


Don Sheldon Amphitheater


It was a good first day.

Sahale Arm

My original hiking plans fell apart this past Saturday, so I decided to return to the N. Cascades on Sunday.

I've done the hike to Cascades Pass three other times, but I've never continued on to Sahale Arm. So, I woke up early and drove the three hours to the trailhead. The old E36 handled the gravel and washboard roads like a champ, and so did the BRZ... for the most part....


^great life decisions.


The previous time I hiked to the pass, there were some spectacular clouds. Today was no different, although, their fluffiness made for some really tricky lighting.


^just me and some mountains.

I came across an NPS film crew that was putting work together for their Wilderness YouTube channel, and I also met a nice NPS crew that was heading to Sahale Arm to perform a butterfly survey. It was their fourth year performing this study; to document population growth/decline and migration of the various species in the park. Having never been to Sahale Arm, I followed them from the pass to the arm.


^Doubtful Lake from Sahale Arm.


While on Sahale Arm, some showers appeared and made their way towards me, not having packed a shell, I got rained on, and I eventually turned back when I hit the snow fields. Before this, while trudging up the arm, I passed a group of Chinese backpackers. However, they would pass me when I'd stop for photos, and I'd catch up (and pass) them after I had gotten my shots.

After this had happened a handful of times, one of hikers goes, "他又来了! 他像一个小火车!"
He's back again! He's like a little train!

 


On the way back to the trailhead, an NPS search and rescue chopper started scanning the ridges for a climbing team :-(  And when I was nearing the trailhead, a series of HUGE avalanches occurred. I wanted to take some video, but I couldn't turn my eyes away from the sight... Next year's plan is to hike to Sahale Peak!

The Four-Mile Trail and Camera Phones

On the third day, we hopped on a bus to Glacier Point, hiked 900-ft up to Sentinel Dome, and then hiked down 4100 (knee busting) feet on the Four-Mile Trail.

Sentinel Dome was a windy mess, but offered 360-degree views of the area, and Glacier Point provided in-your-face views of Half Dome. The highlight however, was the hike down on the Four-Mile Trail.

The sun was setting along the trail so we had to hurry a bit, but we were able to get good views of the falls and valley.

Upper Yosemite Falls

The Valley Floor

^Cathedral Rocks, the Merced River Canyon, and El Capitan.

Now during this trip, I started playing around with the not-often used camera phone, which turned out to be surprisingly decent! The photos below were taken by the phone and processed in Instagram...

The phone was able to capture quite a bit of dynamic range in the shot of the falls (especially in the rock's shadows).

For the Valley Floor shot, the phone did a better job of handling lens flare IMO.