What to do on the 1st 3-day wknd. of summer? Go backpacking of course! Todd & I carpooled w/Opus & Karen to the Lk. Augusta TH & from then on (unbeknownst to us) it was essentially two separate trips, so O. may be posting another TR of his own soon....(I think Todd & I were only invited in order to cut down on the gas expen$e$ ).
Friday was a pretty nice warm day, though not the extremes that we had encountered in the Teanaway the wknd. prior. We left Seattle around 7:30 & then picked up Karen in Bellevue around 8, then took I-90 over Blewett Pass up to hwy. 2 to the bumpy rd. that led us to the Lk. Augusta TH. The parking lot looked like it didn't get much use as it was all grassed over & only 1 other car was there @ 11AM.
After slapping on sunscreen & bug juice we shouldered our packs & got ready to head up the trail.
Huge pack
Happy Todd
The beginning of the trail for the 1st 1/2 mi. or so is VERY brushy. Good thing the bushes were dry or o/w we'd be soaked!
Up we go!
After a few switchbacks we took a quick break for a snack. Opus & Karen took off while Todd & I finished up. Todd has an interesting way of getting his pack on.
Todd about to hoist his giant pack onto his back
Water was plentiful along the trail.
Water
Soon I reached the 5000' mark. Opus & Karen were out of sight & Todd had been behind me though I hadn't seen him for awhile so when I managed to catch up w/O. & K. & they asked where he was, I suggested we should wait a bit to make sure he was OK. Well, after about 2 minutes Opus & Karen had had enough of that & said they were moving on. Little did I know @ the time, this would be the last time I'd see them for HOURS.
5000' level
Flowers
I sat down & applied more bug juice as the mosquitoes were most annoying. A couple minutes later I heard whistling in the distance. Not knowing weather it was Todd or a bird, I walked back down the trail a bit & whistled back. Soon it became evident it was Todd. He was walking slowly up the steep trail & stopping to bend over & breathe often. Good thing I had waited to see if he was OK. We got some water & then moved on. He said he was having some breathing issues, probably due to the elevation.
A bit later we reached the junction w/the Badlands trail & took another break near a group of 4 or 5 other backpackers. We thought O. & K. might be waiting for us here, but they were nowhere to be found.
Trail junction
Soon we came upon the high meadow w/beautiful wildflowers all around! @ this point it sunk in that O. & K. wanted some serious alone time & we'd likely not see them before the lake. Good thing Todd's breathing issues weren't too serious & neither one of us got injured, o/w we'd be on our own & the others would have no clue.
Burn area
Trail through the meadow
Nice meadow
Todd @ the high meadow
Todd shooting flowers
Shortly after the meadow we reached another trail junction & then the main trail switchbacks 4 times to the valley below. On the way, we saw a cute (not so bloated) squirrel popping in & out of a rock on the hillside.
Can you see the squirrel?
We reached the valley & passed by numerous little creeks/falls.
Nice meadow
Lil' falls
Falls
After a few more breaks for Todd to breathe, we reached the lk. I managed to find Opus & Karen, who were kicked back next to their tent eating dinner already. I asked if they had even once stopped to wait for us/see if we were OK. O. claimed they did for about 15 min. one time, but then the main objective was to beat the group of 5 to the lake in order to score a sweet campsite. I then mentioned to them about Todd's breathing difficulty & then Todd & I found a spot for our tent across a snow patch amongst some trees.
We quickly set up camp & made dinner. Opus made one appearance later that evening for a quick few words & then was back to Karen.
Campsite
That night, the wind blew like crazy! I got slapped in the face by the tent; I think Todd had the non-face-slapping side.
In the morning Todd made oatmeal for himself, using his fireproof matches to light the stove.
Todd @ b'fast
Todd's b'fast & fireproof matches
Tent site
Lk. Augusta
White flowers
I glanced over toward O. & K. & saw their food bags still hanging in the tree. A bit later Todd & I got ready to check out a waterfall & as we passed by O. & K. we heard some mumbling inside the tent so just passed on by.
Lilies
Water
After the waterfall, we hiked back up the trail, rounded the lk., & climbed up to Pt. 7571'.
Todd aside Lk. Augusta
0012
0013
0014
On our way up to Pt. 7571'
Lk. Augusta as seen from Pt. 7571'
Along the ridge toward Big Jim Mtn.
Todd atop Pt. 7571'
Can you see the marmot?
It was a mix of fog & light rain today, so views weren't the greatest. After we scrambled back down the pk., we got back to the campsite area & ran into O. & K., who had just returned from climbing Big Jim Mtn. Todd & I wandered around the north side of the lk. which was really pretty w/flowers & little creeks.
Reflection
Oops
Todd on the north shore of the lk.
Heather
Field of heather
Todd next to melting snow
Snow melt
Lil' falls
Melting...
Melting....
Lk. Augusta & point 7571' above
Still lotsa snow
We returned to camp & took a nap while the rain came down. We woke up around 9PM & decided to just have a cold dinner since it would be getting dark soon & we didn't feel like fighting w/Todd's fireproof matches anymore.
We returned to bed while the rain started up again, but luckily this time it wasn't nearly as windy so I think I got more sleep.
We awoke around 6:30AM to clear blue skies. We went through a few more matches & got the stove lit & had a combo of last night's dinner & b'fast. Over the wknd. we went through 2-2.5 boxes of fireproof matches. Time to bring a lighter!
Wenatchee in the distance
Lakelets
Todd's crazy morning hair
I snuck a peek over to O. & K.'s campsite & saw O. up & eating but not K., who was presumably still in the tent. Todd & I cleaned up & packed up for our 9AM departure since T. had to go to work in the early evening. We passed by the others to let 'em know we were heading out; they'd be shortly behind us.
Looking back
Trail junction
We stopped @ the 1st junction for a pit stop & quick romp in the snow, meanwhile O. & K. caught up.
Then we were off through the beautiful meadow area again!
Trail through the high meadow/burn area
Todd shooting pic of flowers
Lupine galore!
Near the end of the meadow, O. & K. had actually stopped on a log for a snack. I captured a photo of the rare sighting:
Karen & Opus on log eatin' lunch
Todd carried on as he wasn't hungry (for once!) & I soon followed. We got to the junction w/the Badlands trail for a drink & snack. O. & K. quickly passed on by; we were not to see them again until the car. Todd & I soon continued on down the steep switchbacks through the woods, & before we knew it we were back to the brushy section & then the car. A quick change of clothes & we were off. Here's my souvenir from the trip.
Souvenir
Back in L'worth we stopped for cold drinks & snacks, then on the rd. again. Only brief delays on I-90 between Cle Elum & the pass & the rest was smooth sailing.
EDIT: Todd's pics added below!
Burnt forest and Cashmere Mtn.
BC & Lk. Augusta & Todd's bright yellow tent (dot on right, center)
Spying on people at a little lake (bright green dot)
Cascading waterfall
-------------- Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
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-------------- Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
i think this is a lesson on a partners hike. there should be some form of communication.
*let's hike our own pace and meet at the camp site
*let's meet in time for dinner
*let's tent together and bs all night
*let's share gas only
*let's be responsible for our own self
*let's ........
looks like a beautiful place and you and todd enjoyed yourselves. next time have todd take the pictures so you can be the main focus!
-------------- bobbi ૐ
"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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-------------- bobbi ૐ
"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
-------------- ♫ You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you're the one who will decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss
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-------------- ♫ You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. And you're the one who will decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. - Dr. Seuss
Isn't it amazing that some areas are covered in snow/ice as low as 3,000 ft, but on the other hand, other areas are perfectly clear of snow and ice all the way to 7,000 foot level.
Great report and pics.
Lets just say miscommunications and assumptions abounded, resulting in two unintended separate trips.
After reaching camp and doing some chores we crawled into the tent. It was much colder than I'd anticipated and with all my layers on I was still chilly outside. It wasn't that much warmer in my Tarptent. But the harsh part was dealing with the wind - gusts I'd say 30+ mph fairly often all night. My Double Rainbow Tarptent fought it all night long, badly bowing and slapping me in the face, but it held. Cheers to you Henry Shires for building one tough little tent! I had my doubts most of the night though, and neither of us slept a wink.
In the morning we napped late due to the lowered wind. Rolling out of the tent I walked over to find Fran and Todd gone, so we had breakfast and went on our way up Big Jim. On departure skies were blue but became gray and cool when we reached the ridge. Here we ran into a ptarmigan with several chicks. She distracted us wile the chicks fled into the rocks. We skirted around to avoid disturbing her further. Arriving on top we were treated to views of fog and not much else. It was starting to drizzle so rather than run the ridge over Pt.7541 we backtracked to the lake. Karen went in the tent for a nap while I poked around with my macro lens. Walking up towards a rocky outcrop I spooked a coyote, standing in the snow.
We turned in early and each took a Benadryl for quicker lights out. The drizzle was continuing and I was really worried about the tent. There was a cigarette-burn shaped hole in the vestibule and several points along the pole arch were dripping slowly. I could see some loose threads. I hope the winds haven't damaged it beyond what some seam sealing can fix.
In the morning we hiked out under blue skies and warm temperatures. We yo-yo'd back and forth with Fran and Todd, before pushing ahead on the descent. My broken boots were giving me real grief now and caused a huge blister on the bottom of my heel. Towards the end it was like walking on a nail. I was incredibly glad to see the car!
If Scott and I had done some better research on Big Jim, we might have run across you guys at Lake Augusta yesterday. Instead, we tried for the North Ridge of Big Jim, tempted by the 12 mile round trip described in Smoot's Climbing Washington's Mountains book. Leaving the TH at 10:30 didn't help much either
Ope, awesome photos. Enjoying the macro lense, huh? Lucky-duck.
I recall horrendous brush at the beginning of that trail, too.
The silvery snags are gorgeous with the flowers in full bloom; when PiB and I were there, that section of the trail wasn't in bloom yet, but the rest of the trail - oy vay! the flowers!
The "stalks" are bistort. Gorgeous flower. I like the intersection photo - has all the makings of a magazine photo! "red flower" looks like a scarlet gilia invaded a lupine leaf.
I'm hope the wind-battered tent can be repaired. If not, the conditions are still testimony for the durability of the tent; it didn't fail.
-------------- "...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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-------------- "...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate."
Nice report, It's a nice place this time of year with all the flowers. I can't imagine hauling overnight packs up that long trail. It must have been a good workout.
Good job you guys! Looks like a 3days weekend well spent! I miss backpacking trips!
Great macro shots. I have been dinking around with our new camera in town.
When I get a better feel for it, let's plan a photo hike!
I was telling Quark this weekend about the terrific wind that blew all night when I was at Lake Augusta. Tent bent down and hit me in the face all night long. Wondered if you folks woud have the same. Didn't take long into the report to find out. Opus, you left that warm and strong Nallo at home?
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Todd & I carpooled w/Opus & Karen to the Lk. Augusta TH & from then on (unbeknownst to us) it was essentially two separate trips, so O. may be posting another TR of his own soon....(I think Todd & I were only invited in order to cut down on the gas expen$e$ 
).
Well, after about 2 minutes Opus & Karen had had enough of that & said they were moving on. Little did I know @ the time, this would be the last time I'd see them for HOURS. 
A couple minutes later I heard whistling in the distance. Not knowing weather it was Todd or a bird, I walked back down the trail a bit & whistled back. Soon it became evident it was Todd. He was walking slowly up the steep trail & stopping to bend over & breathe often. Good thing I had waited to see if he was OK. We got some water & then moved on. He said he was having some breathing issues, probably due to the elevation. 
& decided to just have a cold dinner since it would be getting dark soon & we didn't feel like fighting w/Todd's fireproof matches anymore. 
We went through a few more matches & got the stove lit & had a combo of last night's dinner & b'fast. Over the wknd. we went through 2-2.5 boxes of fireproof matches. 
Time to bring a lighter! 
