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| Glacier Peak reflected in Image Lake |
Hiked the Spider Gap/Buck Creek Pass Loop in the Glacier Peak Wilderness with Sheri, Suzan, and her daughter Ingrid.
Day 1: Hiked from 2.5 miles below Phelps Trailhead into Spider Meadow (9 miles). Gorgeous camping at Phelps Creek Basin at the upper end of the meadow, with a refreshing bath in the creek.
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| Juliana, Suzan, Sheri, Ingrid |
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| Entering Spider Meadow |
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| View from Spider Meadow |
Day 2: Spider Meadow to the junction of the PCT and Image Lake Trail (9 miles). Started the morning with a hike up to Spider Gap, then over the glacier to Upper and Lower Lyman Lakes. From there, hiked up to Cloudy Gap and a couple of miles along the PCT through Suiattle Pass. Camp at the trail junction was a little cramped, but it worked.
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| Looking back at Spider Meadow |
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| Hiking up to Spider Gap |
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Spider Glacier
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| Looking up at Spider Gap |
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| At Spider Gap |
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| Lyman Lakes from Spider Gap |
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| Sliding down Lyman Glacier |
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| Lunch above Lyman Lakes |
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Lower Lyman Lake
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Lyman Lake from Cloudy Pass
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Shortcut to PCT
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Day 3: Hiked to Image Lake, with peekaboo views of Glacier Peak the whole way. Took a swim and set up camp at Image Lake before hiking out to Miners' Ridge and the lookout.
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Suiattle River from Miners' Ridge
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| Approaching the lookout at Miners' Ridge |
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| View from inside lookout |
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| Lookout view |
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Image Lake at sunset
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Day 4: Image Lake back to the PCT junction. Hiked the PCT for 3 miles or so to the Buck Creek Pass Trail. Slogged to the top of what we thought was Buck Creek Pass. It wasn't. So, down and up again to the real Buck Creek Pass. We camped about a mile beyond the pass at a windy but stunning campsite. 12.5 miles total.
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| Glacier Peak and Image Lake |
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| Trail at Buck Creek Pass |
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| Buck Creek Valley |
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| Mountain beyond Buck Creek Pass |
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| Campsite past Buck Creek Pass |
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| View from campsite |
Day 5: 10.5 mile walk out the Buck Creek Trail. We walked down the valley, past avalanche territory, and through several miles of the remains of the 2016 Buck Creek forest fire.
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| Avalanche remains |
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| Forest fire zone |
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| Mile 46 |
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