Day 158 - JMT Donahue Pass

As we climbed the hillside trail towards Donahue Pass and our exit out of Yosemite, the vista opened up, exposing high arête, glacier-carved walls and a rocky path up to a mountain pass. We took this portrait showing the color scope of the Sierras--pink flowers, yellow grasses, green trees, grey mountains and blue skies.

Near the first pass, the trail climbed further left, passing a high lake, and then up past the green trees to the rocky alpine tundra above. You always have further to climb than you think.

The view at the pass was spectacular. Blue mountains in the distance chanted to us--beckoning us forward, but smoke far in the distance reminded us of the challenges and likely early-ending that our trip could face.

After a few miles of dusty paths leading through pretty but mainly just rocky terrain, the view changed: a powerful, mystical, compelling mountain began to dominate our view and our minds. The blue mountains spiked into the sky, their sharp edges countering the smoothness of the lower grounds with masculinity and power.

Mount Ritter finally came into clear, epic view at Thousand Island Lake. We stood in awe.

We considered camping here but continued instead to the next lake, called Garnet Lake. We had been told by a friend that Garnet was the most beautiful lake in this area. How it could top Thousand Island was beyond imagination.

But it did. Ritter towered over the lake like a general over his army. We found a hillside camp with narrow, level camp spots perfect for us.

We settled in, cooked a great dinner, setup our bear hang and watched the sun set over Mt. Ritter and Garnet Lake, our first true show of nature's divine glory, since setting out yesterday. What a great life?! What a wonder?! I felt blessed and so very happy. This trip was going to be special.

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Day 104 - Glacier to Vancouver

The hike up Balu Pass was supposed to be fairly easy, beautiful and dotted with waterfalls, but when I talked to the park ranger and learned that Vancouver was an eight hour drive away, I decided to skip Balu and drive west. I left behind this pretty view. And drove many hours through pristine mountains, fewer and fewer snow-capped ones the further west I drove. Some of the valleys were flooded to make reservoirs, leaving scenic sights. I eventually made it to Vancouver and drove right on through to Point Roberts USA, a five mile by five mile coastal land just below the 49th parallel and thus in the USA. The park ranger had suggested this as a good place to camp but being late of the Thursday night before the Fourth of July there were no spots available. I drove around instead and stopped at a forested coastal park. After ten minutes of walking I came to my first grand Pacific view with Mount Baker 60 miles east. The San Juan Islands and Orca Islands could also b...

Day 122 - Mount Saint Helens

Mount Saint Helens is sinister and wonderful. I spent the morning at Rainier watching the end of the British Open on my phone, then drove south to Saint Helens. I arrived at the park's northeast entrance by early afternoon. A massive bulge of rock built up on the northeast side of the mountain before the 1980 eruption and then caused a tremendous landslide when the eruption started. I drove to the Windy Ridge at the end of the road, listened to a ranger describe before and after photos of the mountain, then hiked up to a high viewpoint. You can see the circular ridge with a notch missing where the landslide occurred, the desert-like exposed right-side where the landslide blew away life and covered 15 miles of terrain with 150 feet of dirt and rock, the greenery that was on the lucky side of the eruption, and Spirit Lake which was covered by dirt and slime and fallen trees for years. The mountain was over a thousand feet higher before it erupted. After taking in t...

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon. The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion. Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4. The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...

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