First Hike of the Season

Saturday morning...alarm at 6 a.m. is so wrong...the views better be worth it!

I headed north and over Stevens Pass this morning to meet up with some friends who had camped overnight in Lake Wenatchee State Park. (I couldn't go--there is also something wrong about working a full day on a Friday.)
We headed to Leavenworth to park a car and then drove to the Eightmile trailhead. The sky was a deep cerulean blue and the air held warmth and a beautiful breeze. It was thrilling to leave the clouds behind and find nothing blocking the sunshine.

We started seeing wildflowers almost immediately on the trail - lupines, paintbrush, trillium, and mariposa lily. The beautiful color was actually best within the first mile. The trail does not have much elevation gain. There is one switchback to the first lake, about 2 miles in, and then about 1.5 miles and a bit more elevation gain with a couple switchbacks later you come upon Eightmile Lake.

At the first lake we met up with a chipmunk and then at Eightmile Lake we had a visit from a marmot. The chipmunk wandered up to my feet and stared up at me for a few brief seconds. Once I had my camera ready, however, he was out of there. The marmot wasn't quite so friendly, giving us mostly a rear view.

We spent some time at Eightmile Lake, admiring the views, including a possible avalanche across the lake, and watching for more wildlife. Good grub for a wildflower hike is definitely pistachios, cheddar cheese, and chocolate-covered pretzels. Some of the group preferred gnawing on a round of sausage and cracked pepper and olive oil Triscuits, or downing a can of sardines.

On the way back we enjoyed the antics of a Boy Scout group also on the hike, including their group photo on the log bridge over the raging rapids caused by the abundance of snowmelt.