For Thursday, I had two options: get up in the cold and head back up to the Concord-Lexington col… or, go to the Mazama Country Store, enjoy a cup of tea with a fresh, baked scone, and do some fall hiking. It didn’t take me long to make my decision.
After sending George and Jim off to climb Lexington Tower, I headed to the Mazama Country Store. My plan was to hang out in the store until temps were at least 60 degrees. Today turned out to be the warmest day in weeks. Temps were in the low 70s by the time I headed to Washington Pass at 10:30.
My first stop was Cuttthroat Lake. I have never been to the lake when it wasn’t covered with snow. I arrived the parking lot to find it nearly full. The hike was an easy 2 miles with 500 feet of gain.
I arrived the lake with another couple. Everyone was in a good mood. Warm sunshine, fall colors, and no bugs. Best type of hiking.
After spending 15 minutes visiting with people at the lake, I headed back to the car. I had one other hike in mind before I was schedules to meet George and Jim.
On the way up to Washington Pass, I got a great view of Liberty Bell. I wondered if Jim and George were sitting on the summit. Lexington Tower is the one in the middle with a bump for the summit.
I arrived the Blue Lake parking lot just before 2pm to find a single parking spot left. It just happened to be right next to George’s car. How convenient. We had agreed to meet in the parking lot at 4pm. This gave me 2 hours to hike to Blue Lake and return to the trailhead. I had never been to Blue Lake so I was not sure how far it was. As it turns out, it is a nice 3 miles with less than 1000 feet of gain. Very doable.
When I arrived the basin, the sun lite up all the fall colors.
The hike through the basin to Blue Lake was short but offered some incredible views.
I thought Blue Lake was pretty…
… but I feel what Blue Lake really has to offer was views of the basin and Liberty Bell. This was by far the best view of the Liberty Bell Massif I have ever seen.
I could have spent an hour here but while I was taking pictures, I could hear Jim and George in the basin. They were definitely going to beat me to the car.
Though I knew I should be hurrying back to the car, I couldn’t help taking pictures of the beautiful fall colors…
… As well as more pictures of Liberty Bell, Concord, and Lexington
I arrived the car at 4:01pm to find Jim and George waiting for me. I don’t remember the last time, I spent the day just hiking in the sunshine. It was perfect!
—————– Complete Photo Gallery ———————-
