Carne Mountain

We drove up to the Phelps Creek Trailhead northwest of Leavenworth to hike up Carne Mountain. A long, rough drive on forest service roads (recommend a high clearance vehicle). This hike is 7.3 miles round trip with 3,600 ft of gain. We saw 2 other people hiking up as we were hiking down.

The day was mostly cloudy with some rain and snow on top. We came for the fall color and golden larches and were happy with what we experienced. A brief view across the valley a we were heading up the trail.

The forest was a mixture of conifer and deciduous trees, plus bright berry bushes.

Although the trail gains 3,600 ft in 3.7 miles, it did not seem steep for the majority of the hike, it was nicely grade. And we stopped frequently to enjoy the color and take lots of photos. 

Another partial view across the valley as the clouds moved around.

Lots of bright foliage!

The first golden larch we saw was about 6,000 ft.

A nice section of golden larches and bright fall foliage.

And then we came to the section where the trail does a large broad switchback through a basin filled with larches!!!

Wide angle photo of the trail going by this creek.

The larches are in varying shades of green to yellow.

Snow covered larches up on the ridge above us.

We sauntered slowly up from here, soaking in this golden goodness.

We would occasionally get peak-a-boo views of nearby ridges.

Then we started to see snow on the trees as we continued to gain elevation.

Views from below the saddle

Near the saddle, we entered the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

A large, old, twisted larch tree

From the saddle, it's only another 0.25 miles to the top of Carne Mountain.

Cloudy view from the saddle to the east

We saw some icicles.

Pano from the top of Carne Mountain looking west:

Pano from Carne Mountain looking east:

As we started down from the top of Carne Mountain, it began to snow for a short time.

The snow soon stopped and we had more peek-a-boo views as we descended.

The sun tried to break through the clouds, and the larch trees seemed a lighter brighter on our hike back down through the basin.

We were very happy hikers today, a nice welcome back to Washington State.

some of the flora we saw along the trail today:

 

 

Rancho Mirage Guadalupe Dunes Preserve

We need to leave our trip along the California Coast today. We stopped at Rancho GuadalupeDunes Preserve, walking along the shore on the outside of the Dune Preserve as it is still Snowy Plover nesting season. We did a short walk, 2.5 miles round trip.

A look at the edge of the dunes.

We had nice visibility for being a foggy morning.

We saw seagulls and other shore birds.

We also watched many pelicans flying overhead and skimming along the top of waves.

A nice beach walk as we end our coastal road trip.