9 September 2017, Saturday

In the morning’s light the open campground at Pearrygin Lake looks quite nice. We are camped beneath a large, shady locust tree. After baking some breakfast muffins, the four of us, plus Zephy of course, pile into Vincent for the drive back up to the mountains to begin our hike. We find the trailhead without difficulty and are soon climbing up towards Lake Ann, a beautiful alpine lake located at the foot of a glacial cirque and surrounded by huckleberry bushes.

After the 1 mile detour in and out from the lake we begin climbing the switchbacks up the wall of the cirque. Splendid views of the lake and the surrounding Cascades come into view as we climb higher.

The day is cloudy and cool. K’s sharp eyes spot a critter well down the cirque wall on top of a rock in the meadow. With binoculars we can identify a marmot. I do my best to zero in on the furry animal with my camera, not an easy task without a tripod.

Meanwhile, O is also looking at “the marmot.” The rest of us note that our marmot has jumped off the boulder and is no longer visible. O insists he can still see it. Of course, he’s been observing a different marmot the entire time. As I finish my photo attempts, another group of hikers passes by on their way down the trail. “Have you seen the bear?” they ask, with the assumption that is what we were photographing. “What bear? We are photographing marmots.” They point out the black smudge in the meadow below that the four of us had missed in our excitement over the marmots. I take out my camera once again for some long distance blurry bear photos.

Now we continue our march upward and find some comfortable rocks with an excellent view of the mountains. It’s a perfect lunch spot. We eat our trail snacks. Zephy also has a snack but seems more interested in gnawing on a gnarled tree root.

After lunch we proceed ever upward, still climbing the cirque wall. We eventually arrive at the border of North Cascades National Park. In the valley on the other side of the cirque K spies another bear, this one cinnamon colored, far below. We watch through binoculars and debate whether it is a grizzly or a black bear. The question remains unresolved.

Onward and upward we go, over Maple Pass and around to the other side of the cirque. As we near the summit we come upon a “guard marmot” eyeing us from its boulder alongside the trail. I could swear the marmot smiled for its photo.

By this time we are in the clouds and beset by a steady drizzle. None of us wants to don rain jackets as we are all convinced the drizzle will stop soon. Zephy’s white paws are now brown with caked dust moistened by the rain. The white tip of her tail is looking a bit bedraggled. As we hike on, Zephy seems confused as to why we follow the switchbacks when going straight down is so much more direct. “Repeat after me, Zephy,” says O. “Shortcuts cause erosion!” Zephy remains silent and trots along with the rest of her pack.

This section of the hike travels along a scenic knife edge. To our left we can still see Lake Ann. To our right there is likely another lake, but all we can see is clouds. We finally descend below the clouds to a view of turquoise Rainy Lake, complete with waterfall cascading down into the water below.

As we pause for more photos, Zephy decides a boulder makes a comfortable bed.

We stand gazing at the lake below while gray jays visit looking for a handout. In another few kilometers we arrive back at Vincent and drive back to Pearrygin Lake. We all agree this was one of the most perfect hikes ever.