[Nancyann]

A week ago Friday I had a hunch that the PCT from Stevens Pass south to Surprise Mountain would be high enough to be smoke free. I took a quick trip up Tunnel Creek to take a look and was excited to see that my hunch was right, sort of. There was still a light haze in the air, but much better than down low. Hiking Partner and I decided to take advantage of a little weather window the following Wednesday and do the loop with a little side trip. The only people we saw the first two days were several PCT thru hikers, a couple of section hikers, the wilderness ranger, and two fishermen of similar vintage as me. We stayed at Trap Lake the first night and had it all to ourselves. These pictures were taken the previous Friday.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

The second day I took care of some unfinished business and visited Thunder Mountain. Watching the smoke from Western Washington pour through Stevens Pass was an amazing sight. Thankfully we were high enough to be above the toxic gray cloud that covered the east slope. I was excited to be able to see the little tarn where I sheltered during an unplanned overnight stay a few years ago. It was an emotional moment and kind of like seeing an old friend again.

Fog and Wildfire Smoke, Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Fog and Wildfire Smoke, Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Fog and Wildfire Smoke, Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

It was a lovely afternoon when we arrived at our destination for the second night. We chatted with two friendly fishermen who informed us that the wind just about blew their tent away the previous night and they were leaving because it was supposed to rain in the morning. Oh well, we had prepared for unpredictable bad weather, so we just tried to enjoy the sun while we could.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Alpine Lakes Wilderness 8/23/18

Tarns 8/23/18

Tarns 8/23/18

Tarns 8/23/18

Tarns 8/23/18

Tarns 8/23/18

Tarns 8/23/18

Tarn 8/23/18

Tarn 8/23/18

Tarn 8/23/18

Paradise Lost

Tarns 8/23/18

About 5pm, the fun was over and dense fog began to roll in and a cold wind came up. We ate dinner and then battened down the hatches on our Big Agnes Copper Spur tent. It proved to be a very long and mostly sleepless night as the wind buffeted the tent relentlessly, blowing fog inside the rainfly, which caused water to drip from the ceiling all night. To add to the fun, we got an incoming call on Hiking Partner’s new InReach from my horse sitter letting us know that our well quit working and there was no water. About 6am we took turns typing a message to our well repair guy, trying to get him to come out that day, Friday. Why did we take turns typing? Because we had to remove our gloves to type, and our fingers quickly became numb due to the wind chill. Fortunately, we did get ahold of him despite the freezing fog and gale force winds, so we felt like we were on a roll as we stuffed our wet gear into our packs and bailed out of there! The remainder of the trip out Surprise Creek was surprisingly enjoyable, as we dropped in elevation, the weather became much more benign. I even ran into a couple of thru hikers who had the same cheap FroggToggs as me, and we had fun sharing all the ways to keep using them after they wore out. One of the highlights of the trip for me was seeing quite a few families with kids hiking up the Surprise Creek trail to spend the night at Surprise or Glacier Lakes. Everyone was so excited to be free from the awful wildfire smoke that has been plaguing us all month, and the kids were all enthusiastic about their big adventure. Despite the sudden deterioration in the weather, this was a very enjoyable trip to one of my most favorite areas and it felt good to wrap up some unfinished business!

[joker]

Nice! I recognize that tarn ;-) (and I still need to ping you when I'm heading to Stevens sometime, haven't forgotten)

[timberghost]

Seems you are kind of partial to that area. Nice write up and pics

[Roly Poly]

Were the thunder mountain tarns busy? Seems like it’s a popular spot the last few years.

[Geography Nerd]

Looks like a great trip, and it really is a special place. TML has been on my list for some time and I had a chance to sneak up last Monday the 20th and had the place to myself for the evening. The smoke was thick Monday but much better Tuesday morning. The temperatures were mild but the wind was variable and gusty and kept me awake as well. I actually got up around midnight and moved my tent to a more sheltered location so I could get some sleep!

[Nancyann]

Roly Poly wrote:”Were the Thunder Mt. tarns busy?” We were the only ones there for the night, but the wilderness ranger was there with a shovel when we arrived, so I’m guessing there is some activity during the weekend. I actually gave it quite a bit of thought before posting this. In the end, I decided that since it is not a well-kept secret anymore, and we’ve had such a dismal month, I might as well put up some photos that people would enjoy. I feel no need to go back though, instead I would like to explore the area farther east that is much less traveled. Yes, Bootpathguy, that bird perch is really amazing, as are many of the other rock formations nearby. Geography Nerd, I think we had one of the most sheltered spots available, but the wind was still raging all night! I kept peeking outside to see if it was snowing because there were a few potentially treacherous areas on the return hike out if that was the case. Thanks timberghost, yes, that general area between Stevens Pass and Deception Pass really appeals to me, so easy to drive to the trailheads from where I live. No worries joker, I’ll bring your jacket to the Tenth Anniversary Calendar Contest Social if I don’t see you before then!

[Kenji]