[Stomp]

I'll probably find people with torches and pitchforks outside my door for sharing pictures of this place. I've been carless for a few months now (look at me! I'm a bike commuter!), so when my Aunt called me up and said she needed a hiking partner, I jumped at the opportunity. I quickly steered her to the Walt Bailey Trail, which has been the subject of my lustful eyeballing for ages now. And no misty, cloudy, rainy, wet conditions were going to deter me. Actually, I rather like hiking in light rain. We set out from the trailhead past a group of eight or so scouts (?) at an unfathomably early 10:00 AM, and I proceeded to clear the trail of spider webs for everyone that was set to hike the trail that day. We met no one but barkin' pikas on the way up. It's a beautiful hike, alternately climbing through old bouldery forest and meandering through pond-pocked meadows. There were few obstacles that didn't seem like they were supposed to be there. Just one deadfall, IIRC, and a lot of mud. The trail is nice and rustic during much of the time it spends in the forest (the meadow bits do have some gravel and bridges), as a trail should be, so a log or two across the trail are an aesthetic necessity. The fall colors are in full force, especially on the blueberries which were displaying more shades of yellow, orange, red, and purple than I thought existed in nature. Foragers can still find a few overripe berries left, too. Incidentally, blueberries seem to be the plant kingdom's experts on retaining hundreds of lovely jewel-like droplets of rain on their leaves, then depositing them on the pants of passers by. Digression. A lot of the ponds in the meadows on the way up are getting a bit low, and many streams and gulleys are devoid of water. I suppose it's about time to start replenishing the snow pack, although you will still find several tenacious mini-glaciers strewn about the steep north-facing cliffs at the 3800' (or so) level, before you climb to the lakes. The Cutthroats look amazing wreathed in the vibrant hues of the season, even when blanketed with thick mist. I can't imagine them not looking great in any season, though. It's a very swell area. Keen even. Since the mountaintop was socked in with thick clouds, we decided to call it a hike at the lakes and forego the ridge and summit of Bald Mountain. Two backpackers passed through the area while we were having lunch at the upper lake, and we met one more on the way down, in addition to the scout troop who had apparently never heard of packing light. After a descent featuring plenty of carefully avoiding slipping on mud and rocks, we got back to the trailhead at about 3:30 and flopped muddily into the firebird (go figure) Mmm. Pictures. http://homepage.mac.com/stomp/PhotoAlbum7.html