Yellow larches…..It seems like the rage is to go and see the yellow larches in the North Cascades when fall rolls around. For years now I have desired to get up in the hills in the fall and see what all they hype is about but autumn tends to get a bit crazy and usually before I know it the season has passed and I have not been able to get up there in time.
This year I made a mental commitment to myself to get up there before winter, but then of course came life. The first three weekends of September were spoken for by work. Then the house needed some attention, then we told one of the kids we would take him and his friends to Portland for the Retro Gaming Expo (not that that weekend would have mattered the weather was so bad and winterlike that Timberline opened for a day after the brunt of the storm and pictures from backcountry skiers looked like mid winter powder pillows). Finally though on October 26th we took the chance to get up in the mountains with the intent to hike from the Rainy Pass Trailhead on the PCT to Cutthroat Pass and back.
We checked the weather almost religiously throughout the week and it said, sunny on the westside, sunny on the eastside. However we didn’t think to check it in the middle…. When we got up Saturday morning it was cloudy in Anacortes, which being so close to the water didn’t really mean anything and as we drove out of town the clouds went away and it was nice in the valley, but as we got closer to the mountains the clouds built back up and we noticed that there was fresh rain on the road in places. “Oh, well,” I thought after all we were headed towards the eastern end of the mountains and maybe we’ll get out of it. As we climbed from Colonial Creek it began to rain, then as we approached the magical white line on the trees above us the rain turned to snow, soon we didn’t even need our windshield wipers, and as we crested Rainy Pass there was snow sticking to the roadway. We turned left off of Highway 20 fishtailing our way onto a snow covered dirt road that led to the parking area for the PCT northbound.
“Well,” I thought, “This isn’t quite what I expected.” Inside I wondered if we should press on or go find a lowland hike in Mazama. I really desired to hike up there, one to get some vertical in in preparation for backcountry skiing, and again I wanted to see some yellow larches. Charissa didn’t seemed phased about hiking in some snow and Zach was game too so off we went.
The trail starts at the base of Whistler Mountain and Cutthroat Peak and goes up the Porcupine Creek drainage to Cutthroat Pass. It begins in the forest at the parking lot and gradually works its way up hill, most of the trail is gently uphill with some flat areas, this is not a thigh burner hike but the good news is that when you turn around to come down it is and easy downhill, fast and not jarring.
As we hiked up from the parking lot it continued to snow and while it did seem to be snowing steadily the clouds were light, thin, and quite dramatic. At points along the lower trail the forest would clear out for an slide path and we could see the mountains across the valley to the west of us, beautiful snow caped rocky peaks and fir forests.
At about 2 miles or so in we came to Porcupine Creek, a scenic creek bubbling and flowing its way down the mountain through the golden tan granite stones of the mountains. Spray from the creek had coated some of the branches next to it in ice, which seemed surreal to see in October and a testament to the prolonged cold temperatures at that elevation (around 5300′) already this year.
After the creek there are large boulders scattered through the forest the size of a cottage. Zach and I wondered if it would be possible to carve homes or rooms out of them and how cool that would be (don’t worry we’re not going to do it), we assume that they fell there from the peaks just above us and to the west long, long ago. Massive chunks of granite dispersed through the forest.
As we worked our way up the west side of the drainage, gradually but continually climbing the forest began to thin and the views of Cutthroat Peak began to open up. Finally we could see some Larches a little further up and across the valley. To our left and uphill we could see up the avalanche chutes to the imposing granite peaks to the west northwest of us and to the south we could see into the Rainy Lake basin. Stunning spectacular views of forested mountains and rugged granite peaks cloaked in clouds and snow and ever changing as the winds whipped the clouds across the mountains.
The snow fall had ebbed somewhat by then and every once and a while we were warmed by sunshine peaking through the clouds. While there was snow on the trail in many spots by the time we hit 5800 feet or so it was completely snow covered, but packed and easy enough to travel. It really was a joy to enjoy the scenery around us and the scent of the forest.
As we got to the head of Porcupine Creek we came upon our first larch trees, unfortunately they were past their peak and somewhat more orange than yellow, but I was excited to finally get to seem some up close. We were really enjoying the hike and being a little late to see them at their prime just gave us incentive to plan for an earlier hike next year.
It was getting late in the day and we decided it was time for us to turnaround and head down the mountain. Some trails are so steep on the downhill that they are just brutal, this one is not. The down hill on this is so gentle that you can fly down it at a nice pace and not feel like you are getting the snot beat out of you. In fact if I had realized that on the way up (which I should have) we probably would have pushed on a little further). We flew down the hill stopping here and there to enjoy the view and some of the creek crossings.
It was a great hike and I was really glad that we were prepared enough to hike in the snow and that we pushed ahead and did it.
