gonealpine.com - Alpine Lakes

As I sit here in Beaverton Oregon, drinking my iced soy chai in a local coffee shop, the reality of what we take for granted is all so evident. Travel... by car, sight see... by TV's and VCR's, and listen to our surroundings via CD players and the radio. I think about the story I'm about to tell you with the thoughts of no remote control to rewind, fast forward or pause. I personally completely enjoyed this, and knew this trip would be a bit of work, most of which is done prior to our leaving. I also knew I was with a great crew of peeps who are more than willing to take on the task.

This story started months ago when my friend Tonya from Seattle asked if I could take her & a couple friends on a backpack trip. My response was "HECK YA, I am so there!" From that point on our trip had been in and out of conversation for the past several months. When I started to write our story we sat just 2 weeks away from departure. June 24 - 26 were our dates, 12 lakes, 3 days, 8 females and the world of the great unknown. Majority of the 8 had some sort of experience with nature and the biz but nothing like what we were about to do.

The 3 weeks before had been something of a venture in itself. One comes to wonder how you can loose so much sleep over 3 days of backpacking... thing is... I think you can. We were doing our last minute boot breaking in, gear buying, and blister healing with lots of anxious sleep meanwhile all realizing the kind of shape we were in. This was too fun to watch. I've been through it enough times to know all the steps of the process, but to see everyone (including myself) scramble like spiders near a fire is just great fun. The reality is all to predictable but the way it all rolls out is the unknown part, you never know there may be a twist some where along the way.

Two weeks before our trip I had some of the girls from Portland come over to dig through some of the nitty gritty, pack & repack our packs, etc. I had one of the gals come over a bit earlier to go through a few things from our surplus. Her face light up when I showed her what a compression sac was all about, it was like seeing a miracle in action. I love green people, just as long as I'm not too green myself, it's all part of the fun. That is unless you are in a technical sport and risking your life at the experience or inexperience of others... then that's not too good, but in this case all was well.

Tonya - The eager beaver, the one I think of as Speed Racer. She gets the award right off the bat for 'most energetic'. She's the idea behind the madness, very willing spirited and on fire. Experience: hiking, sprint triathlons, some endurance riding, and backpacking as a teen. Personal note: She knows what she wants to do, just not so much where to do it. I give her the benefit of the doubt, with the desire to get the task done no matter what it takes to get there.

Lou - Our fair weather hiker who was going rain or shine. She's not known to get down in the mud and roll around, and may hesitantly takes on the task to do so. Yet Tonya drags Lou with her on some of her events, I give her a lot of credit and an A for effort. I don't think I could keep up with our dear friend Tonya, like Lou can. Experience: hiking, sprint triathlons. Personal note: Tonya says Lou could do so much more with her athletic abilities but holds back for some reason. We will see if she will kick it into high gear on this trip.

Michelle - AKA Flicker. This one was my first pick from the Portland area. Michelle is my dirt rolling, mud flinging, snow flicking, food fight starting fun loving friend. If there is mud to be stepped in she will have already been there, twice! I've never seen a mom more excited to have her kids get dirty than with Michelle. She takes pride when there is a mud ring after a bath and tub gets plugged up by mud and grit by her enthusiastic out-dooring daughter. This trip will be right up her alley. Experience: hiking, snowshoeing, sprint endurance event, plus a little of this and that. Personal note: though a little nervous about no showers and having to pee in the woods I do believe Michelle will adapt quite quickly.

Tara - She is another anxious annie. Totally excited she calls me one evening while on EBay checking out whatever else she can for the trip. Tara has had a very successful cleaning business and I'm sure she will be on the neat and tidy side, which is great! Experience: ski instructor, hiking. Personal note: I love her anxious eager energy, reminds me of someone else I know. Tara has been wanting to go on Survivor since the show started, this trip should be fun for her.

Jennifer - Her introduction to backpacking was by dumping she and her husband into the Grand Canyon and back. Needless to say they both made it out by their own two feet. Jennifer is Michelle's sister in-law, so if that leads you to believe that food fights run in the family... so be it, you would be dead on. Experience: hiking, biking, sprint endurance event, and some backpacking. Personal note: Determination and focus is on her side, if she can do the canyon she can conquer this easily.

Bridgette - This girl has one of the jobs I highly envy. She works for US Outdoor store here in Portland. She much like myself devotes time to investing in the store by way of monetary contributions. I love to go see her so we can play with all the new stuff that comes out, I find I have to pace myself or we'd be poor. Good store lots of fun people. Experience: snowboarding, hiking. Personal note: Bridgette is a pink wearing airlines mechanic. How she got to this point... I have no idea, but she is a gal after my own heart.

Shelah - My awe inspired friend with a quiet soul. She and her husband we indoctrinated with endurance sports by wining the first Munson Madness event. She managed to finish the 11 mile ride after taking a spill that left her hands resembling something close to hamburger. Her right hip was a beautiful shade of purple, green and black, never seen anything quite like it myself. Experience: hiking, sprint endurance event. Personal note: I think it is safe to say that if she knew what she was getting into she probably wouldn't go. But the fact that she doesn't know is what inspires her to do it.

Karin/me - I... am... the spaz! A nik-name I took on early in life. I don't like to get dirty, muddy and smelly, I LOVE IT! And I love being able to take anyone that dares to come with me. Experience: mountaineering, rock climbing, navigation, mountain biking, endurance sports, caving, mountain rescue. Self note: I may be more technically experienced in the group, but it's safe to say that I've never taken a group of my 8 dear friends into the heart of of the Cascades for a backpack trip before. The nervous, anxious and willing spirit of survival with this group is all to welcome in my arena, and I was way too excited to take them.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness area - Northern Cascade mountains, Washington state. The trip is off the south-west corner of the designated Wilderness area. Take the I-90 corridor to exit 45 hang a left under the freeway (heading north) then right (northeast) up road 9030, trailhead at the end of the road. Day 1 - to base camp near Rainbow lake, hitting Talapus and Olallie lakes along the way. Hike out to Island lake, Blazer lake and Mason lakes (apx 10 miles). Day 2 - up Mt Defiance and down to Thompson lake and back (apx 10 miles). Catching Lake Kulla Kulla on the way back. Day 3 - hike out, catching Pratt and possibly Lower Tuschohatchie lake on the way down (apx 9.3 miles). Approximately 30 miles total in 3 days. Map - Green trails Bandera # 206 or Alpine Lakes Wilderness by ALPS.

This was a perfect taste of the great outdoors. We all had just way too much fun. The trip was moderate, your typical Cascade Wilderness, lush alpine growth with your streams, lakes, dirt and a little bit mud. The first lake we came to is Lake Talapus, this was a welcomed stop. What a beautiful view. Perfect day, temperature was perfect, no rain, no direct sun. As we sat at the lake taking a break and a view I pointed out that our camp would be on the other side of Bandera Mountain, just NW of where we were sitting.

Leaving the lake stunk because that meant we had more work to do, but off we went. Our troop crossed several streams/creeks that proved to come with great excitement for some and a little anxiety for others but all crossed well. Olallie Lake was next on our list, this one we just passed over the top of. The view was incredible. Clear skies, a little warmth in the air, a bit of blooming bear grass and a view of Mt Rainier that took your breath away. Too bad that it didn't show up in any of the pictures... BUT IT WAS THERE! This part of the trail ended up being pretty grueling, especially for those who'd never carried a pack before. We had a bit of a elevation push with a little heat that proved us who we really were. At a peak moment in our unlovely push for the top I yelled out "is everyone swearing at me yet?" Laughingly Michelle said, "we were swearing at you before we got out of the car!" funny! but true I'm sure. There were times when we were all saying a few choice words... but you know that's all part of the reality of the hike, it's what turns us girls into tough girls.

Heading back down to our camping elevation was well earned. We didn't head down to far before we leveled out. Hearing from the first group that they had reached the lake gave the rest of us the excitement and energy we needed. Crossing through some wet lands, bug infested ponds, mud and shrubbery we find ourselves coming into where were were going to spend the next 2 1/2 days, Island lake.

We quickly found the kitchen, bathroom and tent areas and set up camp. After enjoying the first of our freeze dried meals, and taking in the sights of our new home, some of the natives got a little restless, for some the day stopped there. There there were 4 of us that had some sort of death wish for the day and decided to trek out and find some other lakes. Carrying a light pack and water we set out for Mason Lake. In the process we crossed Rainbow, No-name, and Blazer lake somewhere (we never saw physically). Once we reached Mason we treked a little further to cross some old boulder fields I remembered hitting on a prior trip. Lucky for me the trail had changed and we got to use our old map and compass to find the field. After we noted our tiredness we decided to head home for the evening. With some of us limping back to camp and Tara saying if she closed her eyes she could fall asleep on the trail, we made it home. We all felt such a feeling of accomplishment for the day, this... was... a good day.

After settling in, hanging our food and getting comfy in our sleeping bags Lou and I continued with late night conversation. Talking about this and that until she mentioned that every time she goes out hiking, camping etc. she see's wildlife. I asked her to "please define wildlife". Her answer was a little un-nerving. She said every time she goes she see's either deer or usually runs into bear. My answer to that comment was "DUDE! Get the heck out of my tent!" This may have been a little insight she could have shared a little sooner like when we were picking tent-mates. After calming a little and thinking about actually sleeping Lou says quietly "there's something big out there... I mean it, what is that?". Oh man she was freaking me out! Thank goodness it was just a shadow or something. Usually I don't have any issues sleeping out in no-mans land after a days hike, but this time I kinda did. I heard every critter creeping through our camp. We had some rustling from little critters to definite feet of something a little larger but luckily no bear.

Day 2 - this was our big day. Everyone up and heading out to Thompson or Mason for the day. Everyone left camp at the same time and we heading to our intersection, passing by once again the beautiful alpine lakes that some of us had already seen the night before. Still seeing no one else but ourselves we trek on. I think we may have seen a total of 10 maybe other people during the bulk of our stay, it was so nice to be away from everything. This section of the trail was beautiful but turned a little crazy. There is this lovely hill/climb down to the intersection and of course up on the way out that made this day most worthy. At the intersection we broke into two groups, one heading to Mason Lake and the other to Thompson. After readjusting ourselves, making our plan we said chow and headed out.

Mason Lake group - Mason is a very calm lake tucked into the hills of the Cascades. You could spend all day here fishing, reading, or just taking in the sound of nature. There is a beautiful out going stream that gives one a sense of tranquility and awe as it falls over a steep bank. The group that fell upon this lake for the day definitely didn't miss out on anything.

Thompson Lake group - I knew this was going to be a struggle. We had a total of 12 miles and 3200ft of gain and loss. It might not seem too bad however the first 1,300 ft were straight up Mount Defiance. Then on the other side of the mountain we headed down. We did a up down across down thing, then reverse on the way back. The center several miles were relatively low grade it was the ending hills that were killer. The Mount Defiance trail itself is well marked and a popular trip for those who are into aggressive hiking/climbing. If you were to just climb Defiance to the summit then you would also take in a 3rd class scramble to the top. This we passed on the way in, thought if we had time and energy we'd do it on the way back. This part of the trip was fun. We ran into 2 groups of guys on the way up. They saw us girls coming and you could tell they gave us a lot of credit for doing the trip. What they didn't know was our real destination.

So up and over we went. The back side of the trail down to Thompson wasn't as well maintained. You could tell there aren't many who dare go this way. A ranger may have cleared some of the trail part of the way down but the rest was a matter of following and finding the trail that was still there and finding new ways over some of the obstacles that lay a head. The views were humbling. We went down the back of Defiance, across the backside of the ridge, over the top of the ridge and down to Thompson. After crossing the steep rock slides on Defiance, downed trees and bee infested tundra we were so glad to have made the lake. We met a couple frogs and enjoyed fine conversation as we refueled and filled our water bottles. It had taken a little longer than we'd hoped to get in, so we knew we didn't have much time to sit. We told the Mason group what time to expect us... needless to say... we were going to be late back. While it lasted, it was fun to sit on the side of the lake thinking about the guys we saw on our way up Defiance. Since they didn't see us ever again we were sure they were thinking that we never made it up the first hill. Little did they know by the end of our day... we had climbed Defiance TWICE!

After pummeling our bodies and over exerting ourselves we tried to enjoy the views on the way back. So hard to do when you are wondering how the heck you are going to make it back down the really icky part of Defiance without blowing a knee. After stopping a couple times for food, water and to pee we headed back down the first side of the mountain. We were about half way down when I heard Michelle from the Mason lake group call me on my talk-about asking if we were still alive. What a welcome voice. I let her know we were going to be a little late. She called me when we were already 15 minutes past our 'late arrival time'. That was one concern I didn't have to worry about any more, the other was that we were still almost 3 miles from camp and we had some pretty grueling terrain to conquer. We had to finish the down of Defiance, the up from Mason and the ups and downs and distance our bodies were all not wanting to give. With ankles swollen, knees aching and people falling asleep, the girls that left camp that morning returned hairy mountain men.

Sitting around camp and discussing the day was calming, and well worth the trip. The piece of mind one gets and calm spirit of the mountains is such a refreshment to our busy daily lives. This is what it is all about. Knowing that the next morning was just a matter of getting out, this night proved to be a good reflection of what we had accomplished thus far. What this trip was all about was different to everyone. Some it was about personal confidence and accomplishment, some about growth and survival and others yet realizing that this may not be their cup of tea but noting the experience for all that it is. The fire it all stirs is something different every time we go out. The sense of reality and determination to deal with all the elements is most worthy for everyone.

Day 3 - home. We all knew what our bodies were in for on the way back out. Some of us woke up limping and knew to take it easy. We all stuck together and helped each other out. This day was truly about determination. The pummeling and survival already took place the prior two days... this day was about will power. Saying good bye to our 3 day home and heading out had it's own sadness. Walking away from the lake held all it's own memories that grows with each passing moment. But we all took away something from this spot that we hope to treasure forever.

The hike out was a reality check for how much gain we made that first day. The six or so miles took it's final toll for several of us. With each passing step we knew we were that much closer to the car and real food. We crossed over the rocks, mud and streams we passed on the way in, our bodies were on autopilot which is to be expected by this point. We all reached Talapus and rested for the last time. Our final reflection point. Knowing we only had about 2 miles left of our multi mile weekend, some of us weren't in so much of a hurry to leave, yet others were waiting to bolt for the car. After our final breath of the lake our last couple miles held moments of sadness, contemplation of future trips and note of pain emanating from our bodies. I personally was looking forward to the double-stuff Oreos we planted in the car prior to leaving for just the occasion.

After conversing with several of our people in our group via talk-abouts we decided that the unexplained child that was taking us on needed to be put about 6 feet under. This kiddo was the final challenge to take on, but we finally made it. Back at the car we unloaded our packs, kicked off our boots and piled our stinky bodies back into the suburban for which we came. A real meal was in wait! Not too long after we got in and sat down at the North Bend Bar and Grill, the clouds we were walking in let loose, and man did it rain. We just missed the down pour of the week. It was so nice to just sit and watch from the inside of a building. It was nice just to sit on something other than a rock or tree. Being all together eating, relaxing and reflecting on the weekend most in silence was the final bonding we needed to end our trip together. This was definitely a defining moment in our lives, life changing for some and motivating for others. Until we meet again... our bond from moments like these will last a life time.

To read some personal views an reflections of the trip click on the photos listed in the beginning of this article.