Only about 23 miles up Hwy 2 from Monroe, in just a little pull-out on the westbound side of the road, the hike begins. It is only a mile-long hike, but is uphill the entire way, gaining 1000 feet.
Morning sun peeking through the moss-covered trees.
Moss everywhere, so thick that the ferns appear to be growing out from the rocks, though they find root in a deep layer of moss.
A bit of bouldering...... :-)
Run-off water falls along the trail.
Moss covered rock 'caves'!
Many, many trees reaching skyward toward the sun.
Looking for whatever bird is singing that beautiful song!
View from the trail across the valley.
First glimpse of the lookout tower......... just a little bit farther.....
Climbing that last steep slope.........
Lookout Tower
At the top!
Looking down at our packs......
Looking across the valley at the Lake Serene area.(Telephoto lens)
Looking down at the Skykomish River.(Telephoto lens)
Looking west down the valley.Lake Serene in snow bowl.
Bridalveil Falls below lake.
Telephoto lens close-up
Looking eastward up the valley.
Eastward.
Looking at Mt Baring and Mt Dunn to the east.Barclay Lake is at base of Mt. Baring.
We ate our warm, squished peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit at the top, then headed back down the trail. Going down was the hardest part of the hike. Knees jarring. Legs became like jelly. We saw many interesting mushrooms, plants and a bird that entertained up while we ate. I will blog those separately in a series the next few days. All-in-all, it was a very pleasant hike! Good for a quick hike some morning for you younger ones :-)
1 comment:
Gorgeous pictures...but that looks like a lot of work!
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