Tom's Past Adventures

A late fall trip to the east-central Cascades to see the larch spectacle!  My friend, Scott, and I intended to go all the way to Lake Ingalls, but got distracted by all the glowing, twisted larch trees in Headlight Basin, just beyond Ingalls Pass.  So, getting older and less goal oriented, we succumbed to temptation and just wandered and hung out in the sun, enjoying the visual treats! Random Scenes After a wonderful afternoon, we headed back up to Ingalls Pass and enjoyed a last view back into the basin.  As we turned to head down toward the trailhead, we encountered a major obstacle!  A couple of mountain goats had decided that the trail was good grazing territory, so we had to pull back and wait a while.  Eventually, we made a dash for it without too much room to spare!  (For what it's worth ... the goats in this area are a little too habituated to people for my liking.)  "Oh Wow!" Moments Wandering through the magic of golden larch groves!! Mt Stu...

I headed up to an old favorite in the North Cascades for a day hike with my friend, Dominic.  This hike certainly has one of the highest bang-for-the-buck ratings.  After a couple of miles switchbacking up, you break out above treeline, and are surrounded by rugged, huge peaks.  And as you climb higher to Cascade Pass and then further up Sahale Arm, it just gets better and better.  Plus, the fall bonus ... some awesome colors!! Random Scenes Stopping at the pass for a rest and some lunch, I headed up the hill on the path to the pit toilet, only to be surprised by a nearby black bear.  I retreated back down to the pass, where Dom and I spent 10 or 15 minutes watching it while munching on our pastrami sandwiches.  We discussed the intelligence of eating such odorous sandwiches, but the bear was clearly too busy stuffing his face on blueberries to even notice us! "Oh Wow!" Moments The munching bear!! Big views and more big views!! Searching for the next berry ...