Our Family Albums

The larches are peaking now (hiked on 10/24).
We started from Bothell around 7:30 and took us 3.5 hours to get to the trail head. The last 10 or so miles were very bumpy dirt road that you may want to drive through in a high-clearing vehicle.
It was pretty chilly when we started. The parking lot was pretty empty that day. If that were happen to you on your first time there, it means you REALLY have to pay attention to the trail fork that leads to the Carne Mountain. It was pretty close to the trail head and if you have crossed two creeks, you have passed it. It is a Y-shaped split with a sign on the left. Missing that fork cost us almost 45 minutes.
The ascend was not as steep as feared. And for a long stretch of time, we traveled in heavily wooded area. The view was good but not yet striking.
However, things changed really fast once we passed 2.5 mile. After passing the exposed slope mentioned in the trail guide, we soon reached the rim of the Carne basin. A step over the rim, we suddenly entered a different realm. The dense and bright gold larch forest around the basin looked like a flaming golden bowl.
There was some snow on the ground, and the trail hardened underneath because of ice. It was not quite 3:30 but the sun was hovering over the ridges. So we hurried to the top, always taking left-most trail at crossroads.
The view at the summit was more than rewarding. I would save my time and leave some space for imagination and motivation.


     

All weather forecasts say that the weeks before and after the Labor Day weekend are super sunny and nice. However, the Labor Day weekend would be windy and wet.

Yet we dont have breaks after this weekend until close to Oct. So we decided to risk it.

It turned out we hit the weather gap whenever it mattered---setting up the camp, cooking for dinner, etc. In fact, I saw a wonderful full moon in the night.

     

Gem is about 1.7 miles past Snow and some 1000 feet (or more) higher. But the trail was very pleasant--great view of the lakes and the Cascades. There are long stretches in the back of the mountains, so it was pretty cool.
Snow Lake was like a zoo (we met at least several hundred people in two days). But Gem was very quiet, it is a place "locals" go.
The good: quiet camp site, cool breezy night, serene scenery
The bad: bugs, bugs, bugs. The buzzing got so loud in the dead quiet morning, I thought I slept next to a saw mill.
The ugly: hordes of people. Some rude day hikers lack of trail courtesy. Even saw beer bottles at Snow Lake.