Forum Index > Trip Reports > Greeting September in Horseshoe! (Pasayten) 9/1/19 -9/2/19
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Get Out and Go
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Joined: 13 Nov 2004
Posts: 2127 | TRs | Pics
Location: Leavenworth
Get Out and Go
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PostMon Sep 02, 2019 7:52 pm 
Even from Leavenworth, the drive is a pain - between distance and the Subaru-worthy Irongate Road, but oh, so worth it. I had been here on a previous September trip Horseshoe 2016, and on the fly found myself heading back again. Bugs are now defunct, evenings chilly and windy, and even on a Labor Day weekend, people were sparse or just spread out.
Some September Wildflowers Still Hanging On
Some September Wildflowers Still Hanging On
Why We Hike
Why We Hike
Find the Tent
Find the Tent
Velox 1 Still Rockin' It
Velox 1 Still Rockin' It
Ramblin' Area
Ramblin' Area
Pasayten is Huge!
Pasayten is Huge!
Playing with HDR
Playing with HDR
Around Sunny Pass
Around Sunny Pass
Pasayten Zoom West
Pasayten Zoom West
More Pasayten
More Pasayten
Looking Back (Camp was in the gap)
Looking Back (Camp was in the gap)

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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Brushbuffalo
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Joined: 17 Sep 2015
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Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between
Brushbuffalo
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PostTue Sep 03, 2019 7:05 am 
Indeed, the Eastern Pasayten is unique in the Cascades and can accommodate many LNT people without bumping into each other or infringing on a sense of isolation. Our party of five camped at Smith Lake on Sept. 1 ( where we also heard the coyote chorus mentioned in your 2016 report) and we slept on top of aptly- named Windy Peak on the 2nd. The other four were thus introduced to the area and will be back, no doubt. They also are now converts to the thrills and joys of summit bivies. We had no trouble finding water, including at Louden Lake, which is rumored to dry up in some years.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Nancyann
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Location: Sultan Basin
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PostTue Sep 03, 2019 8:13 am 
I love the solitude and the wide open spaces of the Eastern Pasayten. We justify the long drive by spending a week at a time out there. We rarely see anyone except trail crew, wilderness rangers and horse packers. Smith Lake was pretty, but a freezing cold wind seemed like it blew straight out of the Arctic, even in July. I’m trying to get my nerve up to go back during larch season this fall, but not sure my pack will hold all the cold weather gear I’ll want to bring!

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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostTue Sep 03, 2019 2:19 pm 
I’ve been snowed on during two separate Labor Day trips up there. And pretty much had the place to ourselves. Your report makes me want to return – SOON!

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Get Out and Go
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Location: Leavenworth
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PostTue Sep 03, 2019 7:41 pm 
Brushbuffalo, I too had heard that Loudon was a mud-pit in late summer and I was surprised to see it clear and almost full. What's more, that entire end of the basin was deserted so I settled for the pleasant camp there. I soon found a few even more beckoning sites; there are so many nooks and crannies around in which to hide away. I'll have to save those for another trip. tongue.gif The best water I found was coming off the drainage between Armstrong and Arnold, still fresh and cold. Nancyann and Kim, I thought I was going to get hit with a cloudburst, but it remained dry, breezy, and just cool, but not cold in the evening (subject to change at any moment). September lighting is spectacular up there at 7200 feet.
Threatening Sky
Threatening Sky
Loudon Lake Evening
Loudon Lake Evening

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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Brushbuffalo
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Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between
Brushbuffalo
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PostTue Sep 03, 2019 8:40 pm 
Your pictures do the area justice. Love it, only wish it wasn't so far from Bham. However, if Horseshoe Basin was 1-2 hours from Megalopolis,can you imagine what the area would be like? embarassedlaugh.gif I think we saw your yellow tent just above to the west of Loudon Lake on Saturday when we five went for a run out and back from Smith Lake, then again as we hiked up Armstrong on Sunday morn. We were concerned about the t'storms on Saturday but were only sprinkled on at Smith....wouldn't want to be up on a summit though!

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Animal Chin
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Animal Chin
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PostWed Sep 04, 2019 6:55 am 
Louden was muddy and close to dried up in the Fall of 2016. I also heard wolves howling one evening which was something I have never heard in the wild before.

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Greeting September in Horseshoe! (Pasayten) 9/1/19 -9/2/19
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