[Matt]

Date: 10/26/14 Destination: Mission Peak & Wenatchee Mtn (USGS Mission Peak) Party: Matt, GeoTom, Sadie's Driver, Middle E, Snowdog (and Isabel), Rob This trip was an unexpected delight. Some of us west-siders wanted to escape the rain, so we joined Sadie's Driver and Middle E for a hike near their home base in Wenatchee. It seemed like this might be one of those not-so-worthwhile trips – six hours of driving for a few hours of hiking through a ski area to a sort of barren summit. But it was actually a late autumn cornucopia – blue sky and big bright western larches down lower, a frosty arctic domain in the clouds above, and a couple loop options to extend the day. We hiked in via the trail to Clara and Marion Lakes. Then I followed the ridge south to Wenatchee Mountain and descended through the ski area. The rest of the group made a wider loop back to Clara Lake by taking the Beehive Road and the Squilchuck connector trail.

Mission Peak GPS track

On the drive in, I stopped to misty clouds clearing off the peaks above Tumwater Canyon, and even a rainbow slanting down across one of the peaks.

Clouds and peaks above Tumwater Canyon

Rainbow on Tumwater peaks

The Blue & Gold Autumn Hiking to Clara and Marion Lakes, the forest was a feast of western larches popping out amid the darker conifers. I'm used to mostly visiting the alpine (Lyall's larches), which grow smaller and high up in their own cold alpine zone. The western larches were much bigger and mixed into the lower forest, standing out like bright pillars amid the cathedral of trees. And there was mostly blue sky above! The wind provided an aural accent, rushing in fierce gusts through the creaking treetops. Big Larches in the Woods:

The Transition Higher country brought a thin carpet of white snow underlaying the trees.

Larches and shadows at Clara Lake

Hikers by Clara Lake

Marion Lake

Then we came out into open rocky country, where it was just scattered larches above the snowy rocks. Some were what I call "survivor trees," growing new branches out of the broken remnants of a larger old trunk.

Survivor Tree

Hiking up the rocky slopes

More hiking up the rocky slopes

Another tree growing wildly out from a thick old trunk

Solo tree

We were coming under the edge of the ridge-hugging clouds, but views also opened up to see the warmer sunny lowlands out east. It was almost like looking from winter to fall to summer.

Looking off the edge

Sentinel trees

Mist starting to hide the slopes

a view across the seasons

The Gray & White & Very Windy Winter Then there was a trek through thicker dark forest higher on the side of the ridge, until we reached the high road, and then popped out onto a fully artctic frosty scene on the ridge crest.

Hiking into winter

And onward toward the summit

Frosted trees

There's actually a faint bit of sunlight touching the tops of these trees

Ghost Burn

Cold Crest

The summit was very windy. Everyone turned around and went back down so fast that I only got one photo with people in it.

Hikers fleeing from Mission Peak's windy summit

The Side Trip to Wenatchee Mountain Fleeing the wind, everyone else decided to forgo the loop to Wenatchee Mtn. However, because Barry & Suzanne are such good friends, they encouraged me to go ahead, all alone, into the wind, across endless fields of snow-covered rocks, surrounded by a white-out. They even kindly offered to take everyone else back to town in their car, so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping anyone waiting if I never returned.

The lovely terrain ahead

After stepping on several hundred thousand small snow-covered rocks, I found my way to the ski area reservoir, which isn't even on any of the maps. The road lead me to the top of Bomber Basin, where I even rubbed the bright spot on the wing fragment to help bring snow for the skiers. After some more travel on the jumble of ski area roads, I got back up onto the crest, which provided easy travel on wind-blown frosty grass the rest of the way.

The bomber wing

Cloudy view down to the ski area

I can almost see Wenatchee

More frost and wind and grayness

Ooh, a bit of blue with the frost

What makes this kind of tracks?

The radio tower of Wenatchee Mtn

It was very windy again, so I turned around, once again without time to drink my tea. Anyway, I needed to get back to the backcountry boundary before 3:30pm, so that I wouldn't lose my privileges and have my heirs charged for search and rescue.

Got back here at 3:21pm, nine minutes before the deadline

Clouds had closed in again, and I didn't have a ski area map to tell if I could descend directly, so I followed some nice mountain bike paths on the ridge back to Liberator Lift. Then I could have gone straight down, but got distracted by wanting to hike through the larches and wandered through a few cliffs.

Green and gold trees in the mist

More larches ahead

Oh, look, I'm on top of a cliff

I also came across the wreckage of the B-24 Liberator that crashed in 1944. I've come across other aircraft wreckage in the mountains, but it was usually smaller pieces. The larger wreckage here gave me a somber feeling of the people who would have been there when it crashed.

Landing gear

Engines

Window. Was someone sitting here when it crashed?

Then it was down through rest of the ski area. The larches must like this terrain. They were already sprouting up everywhere amid the rocks in the cleared areas.

Trees sprouting amid the rocks

Larches working hard to repopulate the slopes.

Round trip 9 miles, 3000 gain, 6 hours Back in Wenatchee, Sadie's Driver fed me borscht. It was very red. Now I know what you do to use up the beets and other vegetables that have been stored in your root cellar all winter.

[Michael Lewis]

I can't believe how vibrant the larches still are this late.

[GeoTom]

Wind? What wind? It was a more scenic trip than I had anticipated.

Larches through the gap

Golden

Hikers and larches

Larches across the meadow

Matt uses his camera

Larches at Lake Clara

Larches above the snow covered rocks

One of these kids is not like the others

Matt and larches

Larches and some clouds approaching

A band of larches

A look to the east

Log across the trail

Hikers

Icy trees

AMAZING summit views

Mission Frogpossible

View from Beehive Road

More golden

[Yana]

[Roly Poly]

Wow, that is amazing luck to find that color.

[Matt]

The color on the western larches around Blewett/Wenatchee usually peaks in late October, as compared to the alpine larches, which usually peak in early October. Did anyone notice, in Tom's summit video, how the wind is forcing Isabel's tail to only wag to one side?

[Sadie's Driver]

[Jasper]

[MLHSN]

[gb]

I did this loop today (or a version of it). The larches at and above the lakes have lost nearly half of their needles on average but are still beautiful. The weather will likely hold in this area tomorrow. There is no snow.