The" jagged skyline of the Cascades as we drove through the pearly early morning air on our way to the trailhead. Carolyn and I were on our way to climb "Three Fingers"--a challenging 7.1 mile climb (one way) to the summit of one of these jagged peaks.
At the trailhead. Two miles to Saddle Lake, two and a half further to Goat Flats and then the final 3 miles to the summit.
The beauty of "Goat Flats" which is a little over halfway to the summit. This provides a number of campsites (no fires though) and even a toilet! No walls though...just great scenery.
The second shot is a closeup of the upper peak in the first frame. You can see the lookout perched on the summit in the second photo. The ice field (in the foreground) that has to be circumnavigated before reaching the pinnacle peaks (directly above the icefield). From the lookout on top you can see down into the blue glacier ice crevasses below.
Distant views we enjoyed along the way as we climbed.
Our destination as visible from "Tin Can Gap". On one of those peaks there is a lookout bolted onto the rock summit. The last leg of the journey will be to traverse a set of ladders mounted to the rock sides of the peak. As one friend said they really are "ladders over the abyss" as to fall would mean certain death.
I've moved from the first onto the second of the ladders to the summit and Carolyn is on the third. We're almost there!
After ascending the ladders we are standing on the rock on which the lookout rests.
Just some of the great 360 degree views we enjoyed from the lookout.
Here Carolyn and I are in back of the lookout. By the time we got to the summit the temps were in the low 40's with a bad wind so I grabbed a sleeping bag inside the lookout and wrapped up in it. I still wasn't any too warm!
By the time we left the lookout the clouds had completely descended and this is what the "ladder over the abyss" looked like.
Coming down the top quarter of the mountain was a complete white-out. Here Carolyn and I are coming down the trail. To our right it was a sheer drop off.
One of the only type of wildlife we saw all day---the marmot. There were a few of these creatures and they were quite curious about us and not nervous at all. Wouldn't eat Carolyn's peanuts though!
The" jagged skyline of the Cascades as we drove through the pearly early morning air on our way to the trailhead. Carolyn and I were on our way to climb "Three Fingers"--a challenging 7.1 mile climb (one way) to the summit of one of these jagged peaks.
At the trailhead. Two miles to Saddle Lake, two and a half further to Goat Flats and then the final 3 miles to the summit.
The beauty of "Goat Flats" which is a little over halfway to the summit. This provides a number of campsites (no fires though) and even a toilet! No walls though...just great scenery.
The second shot is a closeup of the upper peak in the first frame. You can see the lookout perched on the summit in the second photo. The ice field (in the foreground) that has to be circumnavigated before reaching the pinnacle peaks (directly above the icefield). From the lookout on top you can see down into the blue glacier ice crevasses below.
Distant views we enjoyed along the way as we climbed.
Our destination as visible from "Tin Can Gap". On one of those peaks there is a lookout bolted onto the rock summit. The last leg of the journey will be to traverse a set of ladders mounted to the rock sides of the peak. As one friend said they really are "ladders over the abyss" as to fall would mean certain death.
I've moved from the first onto the second of the ladders to the summit and Carolyn is on the third. We're almost there!
After ascending the ladders we are standing on the rock on which the lookout rests.
Just some of the great 360 degree views we enjoyed from the lookout.
Here Carolyn and I are in back of the lookout. By the time we got to the summit the temps were in the low 40's with a bad wind so I grabbed a sleeping bag inside the lookout and wrapped up in it. I still wasn't any too warm!
By the time we left the lookout the clouds had completely descended and this is what the "ladder over the abyss" looked like.
Coming down the top quarter of the mountain was a complete white-out. Here Carolyn and I are coming down the trail. To our right it was a sheer drop off.
One of the only type of wildlife we saw all day---the marmot. There were a few of these creatures and they were quite curious about us and not nervous at all. Wouldn't eat Carolyn's peanuts though!
