Mike E. Member
Joined: 13 Sep 2002 Posts: 687 | TRs | Pics Location: Mount Vernon |
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Mike E.
Member
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Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:32 pm
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I have a particular fondness for high elevation, off trail meadow hikes. My, "mountain maiden", Pam, seems to like the same sort of thing, so we decided to check out the small lake and meadows that are indicated on the Greentrails map just to the east of the summit of Mt. Cashmere. I closed my shop early Saturday and we were up the Icicle and at the Jack creek trailhead by 4:30PM. We took the trail up Jack Creek, (dry, dusty and HOT), turned off on the Trout Lake trail and were at the turn off onto the Eight Mile - Carolyn Lakes trail by 7:00 PM. Up until this point there were very few mosquitoes, after the turn they were in abundance. For some reason those little ******** just love to hang out on steep hills where you're sweating and moving slow . In any case we got to the upper traverse below Windy Pass and camped just past the outlet stream of the lake by 9:00, just as the sun was going down.
The next morning we got up, sprayed down with mosquitoe repellent, packed up our stuff, hid it in the bushes and started up next to the stream. We had only gone a few hundred yards, up a steep hill, thru some alpine firs and,POW!, we're in Shangri_la ! The pics tell the rest of the story. BPJ, if you're reading this, the ridge to the left of center in "Shangri_la" is above Ruth Lake, which is above Victoria Lake ... just so you know what's on the other side, when you go up there.
Shangri_la ! About halfway to "Windy Lake"...nothing but meadow, creek and FLOWERS ! "Windy Lake", the point directly over the lake is the high point due north of Windy Pass. This is Pam in front of the excellent campsites at the lake. This photo is from the campsite looking towards Jack Ridge, Highchair Mt., the Cradle and the Granite Mountains
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