[jaysway]

I took the afternoon off and went for a quick sunset yesterday afternoon, hoping to see a few more larches before the end of the season. On the way into Bean Creek Basin I ran into two hunters on their way to set up camp in the basin, but they were the only people I saw out on the trail. The views from Bean Peak were great! The scramble up the SE side was fun. After a snack break, I made my way down the SW side and then descended into the basin west of the peak. I had not read any reports of people doing this, but I knew from Caltopo that there were a good concentration of larches in this basin, and my experience in the Teanaway and looking at Caltopo indicated that this off-trail route wouldn't be difficult. The larches down here were beautiful, albeit past peak. I made my way SW, climbing up Mary's Peak from the north. I made it to the top of Mary's with about 30 minutes until sunset, so I put my things down and had a longer snack/water break while enjoying the last light of the day. I descended cross-country back to Bean Creek Basin, where I talked to the hunters once more before heading down. Having now been to Mary's, Bean, Earl, Navaho, and Three Brothers, I love seeing the Tenaway and the imposing Stuart Range from slightly different perspectives. Earl is probably still my favorite, but these peaks are all amazing.

Looking at Earl from Bean

Mary's is just to the right under Rainier

Volcanic Neck looks so cool

Tons of western larch near the Stafford Lookout?

Dropping into the basin west of Bean

My favorite grove of the hike

Summit of Mary's

Such cool rock in the Teanaway

This tree was my muse for the evening

[RichP]

You are lucky to get out in this great weather.