Knife's edge between seasons - hiking pics

NorthCascades

It's been a while since I've posted photos, these won't be quite up to my usual standards. My computer died, I haven't made a priority of dealing with it. But I saw a lot of beauty yesterday and want to share a little.

Only so much, though. This was a sekret "trail" and I'm not going to say more than that it was in the Washington Pass area. You can see why the North Cascades captured my heart and soul.

I came to see these trees, called alpine larches, or larix lyalli. They have needles and cones which makes them conifers, but they drop their leaves (needles) which makes them deciduous like a maple. The needles grow back in June, spend four months being green, turn a shade of yellow that's gold in the sun, then wait it out. They took this strategy up because they live in the highest elevation places (with extreme cold and wind that make leaves a liability) whose beauty complement their own.

Here's Cutthroat Peak, Golden Horn, and the "we need a poet" highway.



I'm going just to the right of this:



The "other side" from the ridge. It was 32F when I parked my car, about 15 here and windy. Brrr! I got sweaty hiking up, it was short but very steep (1,600 feet of vert over about 1.5 mile). Changed into dry clothes at the top, in fact I dressed up like a tree. 😁



When I'm home, there are a million things I want. When I'm on a snowy ridge in the wind, being warm is magical and suddenly - how could I want for anything?

There's a thread on another forum where people are showing their backpacks, I shot this for that thread but I'll drop it here too for the background. 🙂 It's a ski pack, one pocket is meant for wet things and the other is waterproof, so I can have sweaty clothes and down jackets and be fine. ❤️



Ok that's what I've got at this point, I might post more later.

NorthCascades

middlehaitch

So happy to see you posting your trips again. I’ve missed them.

Wonderful PNW scenery as always.

Also, cos I sometimes worry about you, glad your absence has been more computer related, not, hopefully, Covid related.

Cheers, h.

NorthCascades

cmriverside

When I'm home, there are a million things I want. When I'm on a snowy ridge in the wind, being warm is magical and suddenly - how could I want for anything?

Thanks for this, and thank you to Mom Nature.

Retroguy2000

Very nice, thank you.

Looks cold though!

mjbnj0001

Great pics, great locale! Enjoying vicariously!

Djproulx

Really enjoy these pictures. Nice work.

robertw486

As always, awesome stuff. I'd love to have that kind of terrain and scenery here.