{"id":4098,"date":"2016-10-28T15:17:33","date_gmt":"2016-10-28T22:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leslieval.com\/?p=4098"},"modified":"2016-10-29T21:00:34","modified_gmt":"2016-10-30T04:00:34","slug":"three-colorful-fall-walks-in-the-north-cascades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leslieval.com\/?p=4098","title":{"rendered":"Three colorful fall walks in the North Cascades"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Colonial Creek is at top and red lines show three hikes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For three days this late September, Eric and Val car-camped for three nights at Colonial Creek Campground just on the north side of North Cascades National Park.\u00a0 With this as a base we took three long hikes that ascended to elevations above treeline.\u00a0 Well maybe they were not all that long — about 6 miles or so each.\u00a0 But, what with a lot of elevation gain and lots of rocks to watch out for and stumble over, they were pretty good workouts for us septuagenarians.<\/p>\n

\"img_8240\"<\/a>These were fall hikes with extraordinary color in the landscape.\u00a0 Fields of bright red blueberry leaves fringed at the higher elevations with the yellow of showy larches with gray rocks and lowering clouds above.<\/p>\n

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View at Cutthroat Pass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first walk was northeast from Highway 20 up Porcupine Creek to Cutthroat Pass with a 2000′ elevation gain.<\/p>\n

\"rainylakehikes\"<\/a>The next was a loop southwest from the same start up to Maple Pass and back down and around Lake Ann.\u00a0 This trail can be done counter-clockwise which is said to give the best views and gives the hiker the steepest part of the trail on the downhill end.\u00a0 We decided to go the opposite way and get through the steep part before we were too tired.\u00a0 And, if the uphill view was all that much better on our downhill part of the trail, we could take plenty of rest breaks and turn around and see that view.\u00a0 Who would think we might want rest breaks.\u00a0 Well?\u00a0 Val likely would and Eric, not so much.<\/p>\n