Marmot Lake
I decided that one of the things I really really need to do this summer is to go on a back packing trip and sleep under the stars. Micah does not like hiking, much less back packing, unless there is a climbing objective at the end.
I decided to go by myself for a few reasons:
1. I could not find anyone else interested in a short backpacking trip that weekend
2. I enjoy the quiet time by myself to think
3. Being alone for that long is a challenge and pushes me to be more independent both in my camping skills, but also emotionally.
I had the most difficult time trying to decide where to go. I finally made my decision at 10pm the night before leaving. I had packed everything except my map. I wanted to push myself, but not too much as I would be carrying a heavier pack than I'm used to, and would be alone. I wanted to be away from the crowds, but not completely isolated. I thought about going some place familiar, that I've been to before for the comfort of familiarity. In the end as I poured over the map, I decided that there are too many trails I have not explored yet that deserve my attention.
My first miss calculation was in how long it would take me to drive to the trail head. I've not driven all the way to the end of the Cle Elum river road. It is slow going because the the road is not paved most of the way. So I got a bit of a late start from the trail head. (later than I wanted).
The first few miles were really easy, hiking up the valley to Hyas Lake. It was a pretty hike with lots and lots of wild flowers and beautiful views of Cathedral Peak above the lake. I've hiked along the trail up on the ridge before, but this was my first trip along the lake. After walking 3 miles around the lake my muscles were nice and warm for the climb up to Deception pass.
Deception pass has 5 trails radiating off it. Fortunately this intersection was easy to navigate and I easily found my trail leading to Marmot Lake. I had not studied my map in detail, and did not realized I was going to drop 500 feet as I left the pass (4500') only to have to make it up on my way up the lake (4900'). I got concerned at one point, wondering if I might actually be on the wrong trail and spent a good deal of time consulting my map (which was now in my pocket instead of my pack). This stretch was incredibly scenic and unique. I passed a beautiful cirqe with more waterfalls than I could count, walked through a clearing full of humming bird that buzzed my head while I was walking. I crossed two enormous piles of avalance debrit that had left enourmous piles of trees that had been snapped in half. It was quite a bit of work getting through the debit, and probably the most dangerous part of the hike as the snow that was holding the trees in place was starting to melt so was a bit unstable and it was easy to either slip or break through into holes in the snow. (I got some pretty good scratches getting through this part.
The trail from here on was pretty over grown and it became apparent that not very many people travel on this trail. I got a bit nervous with the isolation, (I do worry when out by myself that I'll have an accident and be sitting by myself in pain or worse for more than a day waiting for someone to realize something is wrong and come looking for me). I did consider hiking back up over the pass and down a different trail to Tuck and Robin lakes where I knew there would be lots of people, but it seemed from that map that I was closer to Marmot Lake than Robin Lake, so I pressed on and sang songs to myself very loudly to scare away any bears or cougars.
The trail turned sharply up hill when I reached the outlet creek from Marmot lake. I had to cross the creek a number of times and was very pleased with myself for crossing them all without getting my non-waterproof boots wet, until I came to the last crossing just before the lake. As I stepped onto one of the mid-stream rocks, my shoe slipped and I landed ankle deep in the ice cold water. It was a soggy last 15 minutes, but fortunately the boots dried very fast once I got them off and set in the sun to dry.
I was very surprised to find two other people at the lake. It was a bit of a relief at first as I realized I was not alone if something went wrong. It became a nuisance as one of them took a fancy too me and would not leave me alone, wanted to rub my feet, insisted on walking me back to my camp after I had come over to share a cup of cocoa with them after dinner, and was in my camp in the morning when I woke up. He just didn't get it that a woman who heads out on a backpacking trip by herself is probably most comfortable in her own camp alone. (there have been exceptions to this general guideline, but the generally involved scary things like fresh cougar tracks in the snow by my tent).
I had a very lovely afternoon sitting on the warm rocks by the lake enjoying the sounds of the wind in the trees and the birds. I had a deer walk right through my camp, just feet away from me. I did not see any bears or cougars at the lake. I wished that I either had another day or far more energy to explore the area beyond the lake shore trail, but I was wiped out! and in the morning decided that I probably needed most of my strength to do the hike out, so passed on exploring the other lakes and ridges that required scrambling to reach.
I had another perfect weather day on my way out. It was an easier hike in that I knew exactly what to expect, but harder because I was tired and my knees were hurting. I was very very glad when I reached the shore of Hyas lake and no longer had any significant elevation change to deal with (down hurts my knees more than up).
I picked up a few interesting treasures on the hike out. The first was a small tuft of what I believe is bear fur just after crossing the pass and seeing a fresh bear track in a small patch of snow. (I started singing trail songs again). As I got close to the lake and the number of wild flowers started increasing, I started picking an example of each one I saw, and at the end counted 26 different flowers, and that was just the ones along the valley floor.
All in all a great weekend!
I decided to go by myself for a few reasons:
1. I could not find anyone else interested in a short backpacking trip that weekend
2. I enjoy the quiet time by myself to think
3. Being alone for that long is a challenge and pushes me to be more independent both in my camping skills, but also emotionally.
I had the most difficult time trying to decide where to go. I finally made my decision at 10pm the night before leaving. I had packed everything except my map. I wanted to push myself, but not too much as I would be carrying a heavier pack than I'm used to, and would be alone. I wanted to be away from the crowds, but not completely isolated. I thought about going some place familiar, that I've been to before for the comfort of familiarity. In the end as I poured over the map, I decided that there are too many trails I have not explored yet that deserve my attention.
My first miss calculation was in how long it would take me to drive to the trail head. I've not driven all the way to the end of the Cle Elum river road. It is slow going because the the road is not paved most of the way. So I got a bit of a late start from the trail head. (later than I wanted).
The first few miles were really easy, hiking up the valley to Hyas Lake. It was a pretty hike with lots and lots of wild flowers and beautiful views of Cathedral Peak above the lake. I've hiked along the trail up on the ridge before, but this was my first trip along the lake. After walking 3 miles around the lake my muscles were nice and warm for the climb up to Deception pass.
Deception pass has 5 trails radiating off it. Fortunately this intersection was easy to navigate and I easily found my trail leading to Marmot Lake. I had not studied my map in detail, and did not realized I was going to drop 500 feet as I left the pass (4500') only to have to make it up on my way up the lake (4900'). I got concerned at one point, wondering if I might actually be on the wrong trail and spent a good deal of time consulting my map (which was now in my pocket instead of my pack). This stretch was incredibly scenic and unique. I passed a beautiful cirqe with more waterfalls than I could count, walked through a clearing full of humming bird that buzzed my head while I was walking. I crossed two enormous piles of avalance debrit that had left enourmous piles of trees that had been snapped in half. It was quite a bit of work getting through the debit, and probably the most dangerous part of the hike as the snow that was holding the trees in place was starting to melt so was a bit unstable and it was easy to either slip or break through into holes in the snow. (I got some pretty good scratches getting through this part.
The trail from here on was pretty over grown and it became apparent that not very many people travel on this trail. I got a bit nervous with the isolation, (I do worry when out by myself that I'll have an accident and be sitting by myself in pain or worse for more than a day waiting for someone to realize something is wrong and come looking for me). I did consider hiking back up over the pass and down a different trail to Tuck and Robin lakes where I knew there would be lots of people, but it seemed from that map that I was closer to Marmot Lake than Robin Lake, so I pressed on and sang songs to myself very loudly to scare away any bears or cougars.
The trail turned sharply up hill when I reached the outlet creek from Marmot lake. I had to cross the creek a number of times and was very pleased with myself for crossing them all without getting my non-waterproof boots wet, until I came to the last crossing just before the lake. As I stepped onto one of the mid-stream rocks, my shoe slipped and I landed ankle deep in the ice cold water. It was a soggy last 15 minutes, but fortunately the boots dried very fast once I got them off and set in the sun to dry.
I was very surprised to find two other people at the lake. It was a bit of a relief at first as I realized I was not alone if something went wrong. It became a nuisance as one of them took a fancy too me and would not leave me alone, wanted to rub my feet, insisted on walking me back to my camp after I had come over to share a cup of cocoa with them after dinner, and was in my camp in the morning when I woke up. He just didn't get it that a woman who heads out on a backpacking trip by herself is probably most comfortable in her own camp alone. (there have been exceptions to this general guideline, but the generally involved scary things like fresh cougar tracks in the snow by my tent).
I had a very lovely afternoon sitting on the warm rocks by the lake enjoying the sounds of the wind in the trees and the birds. I had a deer walk right through my camp, just feet away from me. I did not see any bears or cougars at the lake. I wished that I either had another day or far more energy to explore the area beyond the lake shore trail, but I was wiped out! and in the morning decided that I probably needed most of my strength to do the hike out, so passed on exploring the other lakes and ridges that required scrambling to reach.
I had another perfect weather day on my way out. It was an easier hike in that I knew exactly what to expect, but harder because I was tired and my knees were hurting. I was very very glad when I reached the shore of Hyas lake and no longer had any significant elevation change to deal with (down hurts my knees more than up).
I picked up a few interesting treasures on the hike out. The first was a small tuft of what I believe is bear fur just after crossing the pass and seeing a fresh bear track in a small patch of snow. (I started singing trail songs again). As I got close to the lake and the number of wild flowers started increasing, I started picking an example of each one I saw, and at the end counted 26 different flowers, and that was just the ones along the valley floor.
All in all a great weekend!