Backpacking the North Cascades
August 19-23, 2006
A few photos of our lovely four night backpacking trip in the North Cascades. As Jill said, "It was the best backpacking trip EVER."
Jill stops for a snack along the trail up McAlester Creek.
McAlester Lake, in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, where we stopped for lunch on the first day.
The meadows that blanket McAlester Pass, where we spent the first night and saw our first bear.
Looking south and west to big peaks as we descended from McAlester Pass. From here, we could begin to smell the forest fires burning along Flick Creek near Lake Chelan. We're about 45 minutes away from seeing our second bear.
Eric pauses while hiking up Rainbow Meadows.
The lovely Rainbow Lake, our second night's camp. Eric went for a swim. So cold. So very cold.
Jill is happy after treating her face to a good scrubbing.
Before we leave camp on Day 3, we paused for a reminder photo of our campsite (and comfy tent platform).
A bee works a flower on the way up Rainbow Pass on the morning of Day 3.
Looking back down to Rainbow Lake from near the top of the pass.
Can you see the bear cub clinging to a tree in this fuzzy photo? Number three was a cutie.
The sign marking our return to North Cascades National Park. (We'd been in the Chelan Rec Area earlier.)
At South Fork Camp, Eric pauses in the shade of two cedar trees. (Two days later, when we passed by this camp again on the way back to the car we found a note from backpackers signed at 5:00 a.m. saying "bad persistent bears all night." But we didn't see any.)
Jill splashes some of the heat and dust away in Maple Creek, almost at the end of our hiking on Day 3.
The view along Bridge Creek, where we camped for nights three and four. Lovely.
Our cozy tent at Bridge Creek Camp.
The sign marks a hiker camp, but it seems to fit in other contexts too. A few minutes later, Eric took a header into Grizzly Creek while trying to rock hop across it. Just ford next time.
Eric stands beside North Fork Bridge Creek and dries off while soaking up the beginning of the good scenery. 9,200 foot Goode Mountain is behind him.
Further up the North Fork Bridge Creek Valley, Eric pauses in a meadow.
Waterfalls dropping off the high glaciers and snowfields on Stormking Mountain and Goode Mountain.
The sign says "Trail End" roughly 7 miles from our campsite on Bridge Creek. Worth every step!(Mountain Logan, 9,100 feet, is the main peak in this photo.)
Jill decides to stay here for good.
Another view of Mount Logan and the upper end of the North Fork Bridge Creek mountains.
On our final night of the backpacking trip, we enjoyed a whisky and river water. The perfect way to treat ourselves after 14-plus miles on the world's greatest day hike.
The end of the trail. Eric crosses Highway 20 back to the car.
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