Day 2
5.07 miles, 1862ft gain/765ft loss. While still dark outside, we gather our things together, say good bye to the camp hostess, and head out on the trail. As I mentioned earlier, High Camp caters to back country skiing/snowshoe, so there are several trails marked by signs around the camp that lead through the woods up to McCue Ridge. It can get a little confusing if you’re not paying attention, but we managed our way to the top of the ridge, and were pleasantly surprised by the bright blue skies. At the top of the ridge, the trail continues uphill gradually, through tall grass meadows following cairns. Sparse firs and some pines dot the ridge and make it easy to see to your next cairn, and the surrounding area. The trail is faint, and it’s more following the beaten down grass than anything. Finally, near the top of the ridge, you join up with trail #1574, which leads to the shores of Chiwaukum Lake. Turning left here onto a well maintained trail we follow it for another .2 miles along the top of the ridge, before angling downhill to Chiwaukum Lake.
“……I find myself salivating at the prospect of these tasty mushrooms…”
Here at the high point, we get views of the season’s first snow fall, lightly dusting the tops of the Chiwaukum mountain peaks in the distance. Very pretty, for the sharp contrast between white and dark makes all the jagged lines of the mountains stand out in stark contrast. Nearing the lakeshore, we come across several fresh Comb’s tooth mushrooms, or Hericium coralloides for those that know the proper name…I find myself salivating at the prospect of these tasty mushrooms, but with a deep sigh of regret, we move on, for I have no room to lash mushrooms on for later…If only I could find some closer to camp…
Woods surround Chiwaukum Lake, a large alpine lake at 5200ft, and we see the telltale expanding rings of fish jumping on the surface of the lake. We stop to take pictures, as snow covered peaks reflect off the still waters, creating a scenic postcard view. There’s a nice campsite here where the two trails meet, lots of flat clearing near the water’s edge, and there is a couple camped here. They, too, are heading up to Larch lake, and we will run into them later…At this small clearing under the forest canopy, the trail joins up with #1591 to Larch Lake.
“… I’m sure it was maddening for Dan, for I could not go fifty feet, without stopping to take pictures of the incredible fall scenery…”
At the inlet to the lake, is a large marshy meadow called Ewing Basin, and beyond its upper reaches the trail heads up again, reaching the lake in a scant 2 miles from the end of Chiwaukum Lake. By 11:30am, we had reached the lower meadows of Larch Lake, and were astounded at the larch, now glowing like electric lights as the sun’s rays pass through the golden needles. At their base were scarlet red huckleberries, as if the ground had glowing coals scattered about. Sprinkled along the ground were the remnants of the season’s first snow, mostly melted out here at the lakes, but the mountain peaks still held their snow, creating a captivating backdrop to all the fall colors. I’m sure it was maddening for Dan, for I could not go fifty feet, without stopping to take pictures of the incredible fall scenery…I could not believe our luck, and didn’t want to miss a thing…
As we arrived at our hoped for campsite, we were disappointed to find it was still occupied, so we went to the place we knew, where we had camped just a month before. How different things looked! Even the small pool below our campsite had a crust of fresh ice over it, melting rapidly in the full on sun. We dropped our stuff to claim our spot, then set to the real business at hand…Capturing as much of the resplendent colors as we could, before the light changed. We could see some high clouds starting to roll in over the top of the peaks to the SW, so we knew we would have to hurry.
“…I had scratched my itch to the point of bleeding…”
Where to begin? It was hard to focus, for there was so much color against dramatic backdrops, that I didn’t want to miss anything, so we hurried from one spot to the next, snapping pictures as if there were no tomorrow. I had an 8GB memory card on board, and was not worried that I would fill it up. By the end of the day, I had 50 pictures left to take…Its’ a wonder that the shutter release button didn’t burst into flames…Finally, after reaching the upper meadows, I turned to Dan, and said, “I think I’m done taking pictures…” To which he quickly replied, “yeah, right…I’ve heard that before…” I had scratched my itch to the point of bleeding…Like a kid in a candy store, that eats so much of the sweet stuff he’s quite sure he’ll explode, and has no intention of picking up another piece until the end of time…Wellll, at least till tomorrow. I’ve saved 50 pictures for tomorrow, after all…
“…something big in the trees that didn’t want to be seen…”
During our picture taking fest, we each wandered a bit out of each other’s sight, and it was during this time that Dan had happened across a lone backpacker that had camped the night before in the small meadow below us, and had a chance to talk to him for a brief moment. I say brief, for the guy was dead set on leaving the area ASAP. I asked Dan why, and he told me that the guy told him, with wide eyes, that there was “something big in the trees that didn’t want to be seen”, and he was sure it was a bear, for according to him he had seen it last night. “I’m getting out of here”, then he was gone…I never saw him, he had packed and left like the summer weather, before I had a chance to see him. During our picture fest, we never laid eyes on anything bigger than a squirrel.
What a gorgeous day! The weather couldn’t have been better for us, nice clouds to dot the sky, fresh snow highlighting all of the jagged rock and peaks that surround the lake, calm waters to reflect the colors of fall, and the multi layered terrain dotted with sculpted rock and gold larch truly made it a one in a million spectacle. This area around Larch Lake is not very big, but like a multi faceted gem, held up to the light, it sparkles and dazzles from all different angles. All one has to do is move 50 or 100 feet or so, and with the variance of objects to photograph, the picture changes with each different angle. It’s no wonder that I used up a complete card, I urge you to find out for yourself what this magical place looks like once it’s been transformed by the Technicolor explosion of fall. Another bonus? NO BUGS!!! Our first trip this year, where we weren’t the main entrée on the menu, a great relief for a change…
Knowing that the daylight will fade quickly this time of year, we prepare our meal early enough so that there is still some light left for cleaning up. After dinner we set around and watch the last glimpses of the sun fade away in the west, and then as some stars start to show, the moon rises above the ridge behind us to the SE, around 6:30 or so, before it really started to get dark. It was amazing to see, like a giant floodlight moving slowly across the evening sky. Once the sun finally dipped below the far horizon, and the night took its place, the brightly lit moon acted like a street light, illuminating our campsite in lunar glow. By 9:00pm, the temperature had dropped into the upper 20’s, and every time we opened the tent flap, we would disturb the frost that had settled on the rain fly, allowing it to slough off like a thin layer of dust. No longer able to fight off the yawns, we turn in, glad to have nice down bags.