[Nancyann]

Sometimes it’s hard to find words to adequately describe a deep wilderness experience, so I’ll just keep the words to a minimum. Day 1: Cathedral Drive Trail to Horseshoe Creek on the Chewuch River Trail. 5 1/2 miles, elevation loss 1,200 ft.

Cathedral Driveway Trailhead

We found a sweet campsite at Horseshoe Creek, complete with hitching posts and amazingly few bugs. Saw no one.

Chewuch River Trail to Tungsten Lake 7/25-7/29/19

Day 2: Tungsten Trail to Tungsten Mine and nearby meadows, 6 miles, elevation gain 2,100 feet and it was blazing hot.

Chewuch River Trail to Tungsten Mine 7/25-7/29/19

Tungsten Mine, Pasayten Wilderness 7/25-7/29/19

Again, we found a splendid campsite just below the Boundary Trail.

Chewuch River Trail to Tungsten Lake 7/25-7/29/19

Many beautiful wildflowers were blooming in the meadows, but they were thick with mosquitoes!

Chewuch River Trail to Tungsten Lake 7/25-7/29/19

Chewuch River Trail to Tungsten Lake 7/25-7/29/19

Saw no one. Day 3: Bushwack up to Tungsten Lake, where a cool breeze kept the bugs away. The lake was absolutely stunning and we spent the entire day there. Moose tracks everywhere!

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake 7/27/19

Tungsten Lake dinner 7/27/19

Saw two people pass by on the Boundary Trail early in the morning, one young man from England who was going to try to hike all the way to the end of the PNT at Cape Alava. Day 4: Hike from our camp at Tungsten Meadows up the Boundary Trail to Apex Mountain. Approximately 2 1/2 miles, elevation gain 2,300 feet. One peakbagger passed by our camp in the morning. Weather was sunny and breezy, great for a little climb up Apex.

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Tungsten Lake from Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Tungsten Lake from Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Tungsten Lake from Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Tungsten Lake from Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Tungsten Lake from Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

It was an easy walk up, and when we got to the top we found another human, a peakbagger named Ian. He showed us where the summit register was and I signed it, my first top 100 peak!

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

Apex Mountain 7/28/19

We were the first people Ian had seen in 2 1/2 days! While we were sitting on the summit chatting, suddenly Hiking Partner spotting a bobcat approaching us, until it realized we were humans! Ian grabbed his phone which I had been taking pictures of him with and was able to get some photos of the bobcat as it was running off. The whole experience was quite amazing and really made our day! After we visited a while longer, Ian headed down the mountain and over to climb Wolframite, and then over to Cathedral. We would have liked to go up Wolframite as well, but sadly, had to break camp and head back down the way we came to spend another night at Horseshoe Creek before hiking out the next day. Day 5: We lingered at our lovely campsite by Horseshoe Creek a bit too long and really paid the price when we began the 1,200 foot climb back up the Cathedral Driveway, because it was HOT! Eventually we made it, and regretfully said goodbye to the Pasayten for a little while, thankful that we were able to spend as much time as we did in such a wild and lonely wilderness.

[wildernessed]

[RichP]

Oooh, finally a portrait with Hiking Partner. You look so happy, Nancy. Lovely area to explore.

[Nancyann]

Thanks, Rich! Yes, this has been an awesome summer, beginning with a week in the Alps hiking with my son and brother on the Via Alpina, and then Mt. Adams and the Pasayten with Hiking Partner. Life is good! Wildernessed, that sounds like a killer day. What’s funny is that I casually told Ian that it would be no big deal because it would only take an hour and a half. I forgot to consider all the extra time it would take to rest in the shade and take a water break at the creek halfway up the hill.

[fourteen410]

Good stuff Nancy!

[cascadetraverser]

Not many reports on Tungsten lake; thanks for the great photos.....Bobcat sighting too!👍🏻

[Randito]

Wow!