Cascades (WOW!)

Jeff and I passed the boys off on my sister Kami for a few days and headed to the mountains. We picked a few day hikes in the North Cascades (Washington) and I had no idea how impressive they would be - the trail book defined it accurately: panorama paralysis. I had a hard time sifting through the photos I took, but the only ones that even begin to do the scenery justice are the wide panoramas (so please click on the images to see them bigger!).

Friday was Maple Pass, a 9 mile (14.5km) loop hike:





On our drive back to camp, we saw this perfect little swimming hole for getting cleaned up (well, perfect except for the sign on the road saying that the flood gates could open anytime and wash us away to our deaths, but we ignored it!).


And our camp just outside the little town of Newhalem.


Saturday we decided to do Cascade Pass/Sahale Glacier, an 11.2 mile (just under 18km) hike that had our jaws dropping just at the trailhead.






The day took it's toll, however. Jeff grew a terribly painful blister and I had to perform first aid on my boots when the right sole came completely unglued.

Our planned hike for Sunday, therefore, changed from climbing Sauk Mountain to doing the Factory Outlet stores in Everett! What a weekend!

I can't say we didn't miss the boys, though, as we talked about them a lot and thought about them even more.