This is a trip of the Spider Meadow-Buck Creek Loop with additions...continuing on to High Pass,down to the Napeequa valley and out via the Boulder Pass/Boulder Creek trail...55+ miles. Sept 12 7.5 miles 1230-1700 Its a very easy trail to Spider Meadow of about 5 miles and the trail is always in great shape. The meadows have great views with many campsites. But we always choose to get up the steep path to the Gap overlook...its about 7.5 miles total. This is a fantastic place to camp for the views,etc. There is a reliable stream from the melting snowfield. For the best view, a little more work is in store. Take a right at the sign for the toilet and crawl up the very steep path to the top. There is a grassy saddle there which is vey good but persevere to the right up a little more steep to the balcony (penthouse). This is the view! Room for 3-4 tents...one of the best campsites in the Cascades!..only drawback is lugging water up to it. Sept 13 7.5 miles 0930-1500 Its an easy hike up the snowfield because of the warm morning...mile up to the top of the Gap. You can also take the path on the rocks to the East and follow the cairns. Both culminate past the Gap with incredible views of Upper Lyman Lakes ,Cloudy Pass, Bonanza Peak and other mounts to the North. Again it was an easy journey down the softening Lyman snowfield...no spikes,etc needed but would be it is is iced up. The bottom glacier off Chiwawa mountain continues to recede yet the area is very impressive for a closeup look at the glaciers and upper valley. It is a very scenic hike down to Lyman Lake passing/winding thru meadows and rockfields. Then an easy hike up to Cloudy Pass of 2.5 miles. we camped at a campsite at the pass, water is 10 minutes down the east side of the pass. Again great views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Two sidetrips then were done...#1 went south, up the rocks and along an up/down traverse of a ridge that extends from Chiwawa Mountain. We stopped after a mile at a rocky overlook of the upper Miners Creek valley. Let your feet dangle above this deep hole and gaze at Fortress Mountain with Glacier Peak not far off also. Then off to #2 take path north of the pass to a meadow, then take the highest path that contours above the meadow below Northstar Peak. Go to the end and then scramble up the ridge to the jumbled,rocky peak..8068'. Its about hour and half but you get in your face views of Bonanza,Boston,Buckner,Stormking,etc from this view looking north. Sept 14 17 miles 0830-1900 A long day hiking some of the most beautiful areas of the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Took the high route thru the rocks to Suiattle Pass, then down Miners Creek,up to Middle Ridge (didn't have time to do the ridge walk, highly recommended) then down and up to Buck Creek Pass. We watered up at the Buck Creek camp spring and then off to High Pass. Just follow the trail past the spring towards the far meadow and take the right trail which will lead you up and up. The trail (path) on the east side of the Buck Mountain Gap is very narrow,rocky,sandy and slippery. Will always recommend trekking poles past this point, if snow, turn back....you cant slip on this path. It was late afternoon by the time we got to the saddle overlooking Triad Lake...one of my favorite spots anywhere. No campsites but sublime meadow/view/lake/mountains! Then it is a verrrry steep up a knoll then around pumice laden basins to the (usual) snowfield you have to cross to get over High Pass. Ah, they were gone this year at this date...so we clamber over the boulders and then over the pass into the basin of the North Fork of the Napeequa River. We camped at a small area that has a grassy ridge protecting...this is a very exposed area to camp. The views and area are similar to the Enchantments but this valley is more isolated,wilder and lonely...perfect...so we finished off the day with a bottle of Ardbeg. Sept 15 11.5 miles 0930-1830 Little cool this morning, the mud is starting to freeze up on the trails and the way down is steep. The hike is on unmaintained,faint or nonexistent trails..saty on the far right (west) of the stream. Its a pretty steep headwall thru the heather down a gap by the waterfall. Then its staying to the west side but following the high mounds of the terrain until the west stream tumbles off the ridge...at this point, the trail will eventually lead you to a crossing of the east stream and then follow down until valley levels out. At this point, look for cairns on the west side of the main stream and cross over....the faint path leads to an obvious high plateau on the west side of the valley. Great campsite here, but hopefully you enjoyed this very scenic and wild upper valley...because ....the next part isn't fun...but it is short. Look for the path on the right side in the woods, follow it down a very steep,narrow,brushy,dusty or wet path. Hang onto roots,trees to break your slips. We emerge after 30 minutes, cross over the stream and follow the Napeequa trail down valley to Louis Falls. Stop here for a shower....very impressive high,cascading falls. After another 2 miles, come to a signed junction for the Napeequa Ford. Take a right down the gully...it will be between 2-3 feet and easy rocks....usually this late in the year. I don't think I would try it in July. Then up the rocky,switching,steep trail to Boulder Pass...past bleached out recent skeleton of a horse that didn't make it...don't recommend horses for this side of this pass or for Little Giant Pass either. Camped below the pass on pumice at the permanent snowfield. Sept 16 12 miles 0800-1400 Up early to get to Gustavs in Leavenworth for lunch. Lotsa switchbacks down the upper pass into Boulder Creek..then its an easy hike down the valley to White River trail and to the trailhead. This trail has been cleared of all deadfalls and brushed...in excellent shape. We ended up having the best September weather ever for this loop while enjoying some of the best trails/views of the Glacier Peak wilderness. The Fall colors were sublime but not at peak yet...will always recommend this loop for a great overall experience if you are ready for some tough trails and conditions.

Two of us hiked thirty miles over Spider Gap, past Lyman Lakes, over Cloudy Pass, then along the Pacific Crest Trail through Sitting Bull Basin and along Agnes Creek to Stehekin, WA. We had three days of great late summer/early fall weather, ate our fill of blueberries and met more than a handful of PCT through-hikers. Spider Gap is a walk at this time of year, but an icy one. Bring a walking pole. Yaktraks add an extra level of safety if you have them. The trails are in excellent condition. There are a couple of downed trees on the PCT between Sitting Bull Basin and the Stehekin Road--nothing to slow you down or worry about.

This is a superb backpacking trip and one of my favorites, often referred to as a “loop” that includes a boat ride on Lake Chelan. Although most hiking books start the hike at Stehekin and exit at Holden Village, I have always done it in the reverse, which happens to make for less elevation gain. The Holden Village bus at this time operates only on Sat. and Sun., which I did not know and I just lucked out, as it was Sat. when I began the hike. Also be aware that there is no wilderness information or updates posted at the Holden TH, although there is at the other end, so check wilderness websites for updates before leaving. From the TH outside of Holden Village, the trail is a gradual climb of approx. 4 miles to Hart Lake. Don’t pass up Hart Lake, either for lunch or for the night, as it has a wonderful pebble/rock beach, considerably wider in Sept. Very pleasant place to take off boots and rest, and essentially the same milky, light-turquoise color as the lakes above. Great waterfalls beyond Hart Lake. If confused about how to proceed along the trail beyond the campsite at Hart Lake, follow lower rather than higher ground. Beyond the lake, Rebel Camp offers a campsite in the woods with water source nearby and good flat tree stumps for a stove. Proceeding gradually upward toward Lower Lyman Lake, the trail passes through an area brushy with berry bushes in Sept. Eventually views open across the valley and before reaching Lower Lyman, you will see a truly magnificent broad waterfall. The last mile for us was quite exposed and hot during an unusual Sept heat spell, but much preferred over our experience a few years ago of thunderstorms and continuous rain the entire trip! Lower Lyman has nice, clean campsites, and a flat rock slab to contemplate the lake and view the waterfall/outlet from the upper lakes. Even the shallow water next to the outlet is milky turquoise color. When we passed through, only one party was camped at Lower Lyman. Upper Lyman, on the other hand, had a steady flow of people descending from Spider Gap or returning over the Gap, or coming from Suiattle and Buck Creek Passes. People camped anywhere, even near the shallow pools of water where I would have thought it would be prohibited. Upper Lyman area is stupendous, “other-worldly,” a unique landscape. Rocks, boulders and ground rock paths are pinkish-red and some white, contrasting nicely with milky turquoise water. As one pool spills into another, waterways weave through the basin and around piles of gravel-like ridges, and I found plenty of rock slabs to sit on and stare into space. With binoculars I could see people slowly making their way down the snowfield from the Spider Gap. Low-growing huckleberries among heather don’t seem noticeable at first, but once your eyes focus on the ground, they suddenly appear and we had quite a berry feast. We hiked two miles back down to Lower Lyman, passing beautiful meadows and interesting rock formations along the way, and then hiked the easy trail to Cloudy Pass. Views from the Pass are spectacular, and on both sides of the trail green meadows lift your gaze upward. I hated to have to pass through so quickly. We took the longer trails to Suiattle Pass, based on the recommendation of Hiking the North Cascades, but we felt that it added little in exchange for extra mileage. Sure, you see the backside of Cloudy Pass and a smidgeon of Glacier Peak, but it was a bit of a knee-shredder picking our way down the rocks to join the PCT. Next time I’ll take the direct trail to the PCT The so-called Suiattle Pass campsites are terrible. The first is a small, exposed spot of dirt with no water source that I could see. The second, a large swampy area, is very unattractive, and I can’t imagine what it would be like during mosquito season because it was bad enough in September. The first campsite under Sitting Bull is in an impressive setting and has a great large rock near the trail for sitting and eating. But the tent area must have had a yellow jacket nest nearby because they were swarming about the entire evening, and they got the only exposed area of my skin the following morning as we packed up the tent. Ouch! Beyond this campsite, a short way along the trail, there is a camping sign posted in an avalanche field. We checked it out, following a rock-lined trail, and found a fire ring and water source but could not imagine attempting to put a tent there because there was no flat ground! Maybe at one time there was flat space. The previous night we had heard a huge rock landslide coming from somewhere and wondered how safe it would be to sleep in an avalanche field. About 1.5 miles beyond this site, there is a campsite in the woods, up several switchbacks, just beyond the last Sitting Bull avalanche basin. If you plan to sleep here, first fill your water bottles in the basin because the camp has no water. It appeared to have been built primarily for PCT through-hikers, with sitting “benches” and a large fire ring, a sort of communal set up, with room for only a few tents. We looked forward to sleeping at beautiful Hemlock Camp, about 7 miles after my yellow jacket sting, and we were surprised to find signs posted throughout Hemlock stating that it was not safe to sleep there due to falling trees. (Although there was no info on this at the Holden TH, there was a notice at High Bridge). So we went on to Cedar Camp, comfortable but not particularly attractive. 1.5 miles beyond Cedar, Swamp Creek looked better. We stopped to snack at huge 5-Mile Camp (don’t worry about finding a tent spot) before proceeding to High Bridge. Although the last 9 miles had several prolonged brushy areas, and offered no views or real beauty, the rest of the hike was stupendous. This time of year, there was no wildlife and no wildflowers, but huge, contorted shapes of all types and colors of mushrooms, as well as bountiful huckleberries in the mid- and upper elevations. I found it a plus to be hiking when the PCT folks were rushing through on their way to Manning Park, as they all had different stories and adventures to tell, including a man traveling the entire trail with his father who had just retired, and two very young siblings. Just after passing 5-Mile Camp, we passed two men in camouflage fatigues & jackets, with rifles prominently displayed, presumably hunters. What a contrast to the other folks we met along the way!

We started our loop hike at Trinity TH on a beautiful sunny day. Little did we know what the weather had in store for us! Day one was mostly perfect: the thunder we heard in the early evening dissipated and allowed us to do the side trips to both Flower Dome (nice) and Liberty Cap (amazing!), plus cook dinner before the real storms started. We were even able to glimpse the stars and see a spectacular meteor before the clouds rolled in. We were awakened several times that night by the storm, but the clouds burned off quickly on Saturday. We witnessed a mass exodus of backpackers out of Image Lake, our intended destination. It seems the Friday night storm was worse there, and people were wet and perhaps a little miserable. We were undaunted. Our reward was having Image Lake all to ourselves! We could hardly believe our luck--Saturday night, and not a soul around. We had just enough time for a quick swim before the next storm arrived. I didn't even have time to cook a dinner due to the storm! I ate my extra snacks and dove into the tent, but not before the hail storm hit. It was interesting to cower under some trees and watch the rain turn to hail, and then to watch little rivers of run-off form and come down the hill. The ground was white with the hail, and we found piles of it left over on Sunday morning. Sunday was clear but missing the alpenglow we were hoping for. Then the sun came up, the air warmed, and we were off- and on- in the clouds for most of the morning. We did the side hike out to the lookout, but by the time we hiked out the mountain was completely shrouded in fog. By the time we reached Cloudy Pass, the thunder was back. We were afraid we were in for more of what we experienced the night before, but fortunately this time the rain was short-lived. We were able to eat our dinner in only a little rain, and were rewarded by a sunset rainbow as we did the sidehike out to Lyman Falls. On Monday we went up and over the Gap, and were able to play in the snow on the way down (still plenty of snow for playing in, and good travel conditions). The only downside is that we weren't able to find anyone willing to give us a ride back to Trinity, so we had to finish with a little road walking (with sore knees from all the downhill at the end). Do this backpack, and then sponsor me for Hike-a-Thon--please!http://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1468&AID=2449&PID=368763

After taking a day off work to hopefully boost our chances at getting a lottery Enchantments permit, it was looking promising. With only one other group in the drawing, we liked our chances. But, it wasn't meant to be. However, our backup plan wasn't too shabby. Disappointment was only temporary as we hit the road to the Phelps Creek Trail and shortly afterwards came home happy! We started on the trail around 9:30am with only a few cars in the parking lot. One other group was getting a start as we arrived. We made it the 5.5 miles to the entrance of Spider Meadow in 2.5 hrs moving at a modest pace and one 15 minute break. There were several stream crossings and a few trees blown down over the trail... but all were safely passable with the appropriate waterproof high-top footwear. We had lunch at the entrance of the meadow, along with the other group. This is the last we'd see anyone for the next day and a half! Complete solitude. We made our way through the meadow, upper meadow, and came to the junction to Spider Gap - Phelps Basin. It's clearly marked showing Phelps Basin to the right and Spider Gap to the left. We'd explore Phelps basin on the way down (a very short 5 minute detour). It was steep going up to the base of Spider Gap, but the trail was well marked/maintained. At the base, the route turns to snow. There's a toilet at this point, and it's the last one until Lower Lyman lake. Better use it here if you need it. And, it's quite the loo with a view! We took our time up from the meadow and on the snow field as we were taking lots of pictures. The snow traveling was fairly strait forward. We chose a route just right of center, as it looked the safest. At the top of the gap, we took a short side trip over to the right side to peer down Phelps basin below. It looked like a Cathedral of source snow feeding the Phelps Creek. Pretty awesome. We then travelled just a bit further left to the top of Spider Gap where we got our first shot of the Upper Lyman Lakes. All in all we spent about an hour at the top. We glissaded down to the Upper Lyman lakes in fairly quick time, hugging the right side of the snowfield on the way down. The lighting at the Upper Lymans was epic, as very vibrant blues, greens, reds, and blacks/grays were out in full force. We crossed a section of the uppermost lake to explore the glacial tributaries. It was very beautiful but BE WARY, as you approach the short of the lakes/tributaries the glacial silt can sink on you. It didn't seem too dangerous, except for the section where the water entered the lake, where it almost swallowed me into the freezing water! We spent a little more than an hour here. After we realized we should be moving on, We found the trail again to Lower Lyman lake. The trail was difficult to find in the rock, but the path is pretty clearly marked once you get into the meadow. We reached Lyman Lake at about 6pm. We set up camp near the drainage point. There were only a few campsites available here, as the spots close to the lake were "closed for restoration." Had we gone a little further on the trail, we would have found a couple more sites before heading up to Cloudy Pass. The bugs are Lyman Lake were out. Not vicious, but the worst they were during our entire trip. We left Lyman Lake at 11am, headed past the Upper Lyman lakes only pausing to take photos of the Lyman Glacier. Then, we hoofed it back up the snowfield to the top of Spider Gap. The snow was steeper going on the way up, but our switchback route was plenty safe. We encountered the other group at the top of the gap around 1:45pm as well as others admiring the views. We took a quick trip down the gap, and over to Phelps basin. There were a few groups camping here, a pretty awesome spot if you ask me! We then made it to the entrance of Spider Gap around 3:30-4 where we claimed a campsite (it was pretty packed at this point) and took a dip in the freezing Phelps Creek to re-charge our batteries. At evening, the deer came out in full force. Most of them were grazing, but one couple was rutting, which seemed very unusual since I think that stuff happens in the fall. They were sprinting through campsites, chasing each other through the meadow. Very entertaining to watch. The bugs at Spider Meadow were not bad at all. And, the valley had a slight smoke haze in it as pretty much every group had a campfire going. We left in the morning, and made it back to the car in an hour and 45 mins! Overall a great 2 nighter! Summary: - Quick going to get to the entrance of Spider Meadow - Waterproof footwear pretty much mandatory with all the creek crossings - Bugs not bad at Spider Meadow, non-existent at the campsites at Spider Gap, didn't notice them at the Upper Lymans, and somewhat annoying at Lower Lyman Lake - Spider Meadow campsites pretty packed, only a few groups camping in Phelps Basin, and no one camping at Upper Spider Meadow - Only a few snow patches and blowdowns until you reach the base of Spider Gap - Wildflowers blooming, but not in full force. Full photo album: http://on.fb.me/15HNtEp