With sun finally in the forecast, Jim and I headed out last Wednesday in hope of seeing some Golden Larch Trees. The forecast was for below freezing temps which we were willing to deal with in exchange for some views.
Since the Golden Larch Tree can only be found in Eastern Washington at elevations above 6000 feet and recent trail reports had as much as 2 feet of snow in the Chelan Sawtooths, we headed for Big Jim Mountain and Lake Augusta in the Chiwakuam Mountains. After looking at Big Jim Mountain for the last 30 years from McCue Ridge at Scottish Lakes High Camp, I was eager to climb it.
We arrived Lake Augusta Wednesday night just after sunset. Found a great campsite right next to the lake. There was only a few inches of snow so it was easy to set the tent up on bare ground. The temps were already dropping so we jump in the tent, had dinner, and made a couple of hot water bottles. The night was cold with a nearly full moon. Not a puff of wind.
We both woke just before sunrise. The sky was blue and there was absolutely no wind. The lake looked like glass.
The reflection in the lake was as good as a mirror.
We spent an hour next to the lake watching the Golden Larch Trees come to life.
This might be the first day all year that I have eaten breakfast outside the tent.
As we ate breakfast, we decided to do a loop and gain the ridge to the right of Big Jim Mountain and come down the ridge to the left of the lake.
The snow was so light and powdery. The black boulders were not slippery at all. Frankly, they weren’t even wet. The air was so dry.
The ridge run to the summit of Big Jim Mountain was delightful.
Looking down on Lake Augusta, you could see that the larch trees were not in their prime but the snow made everything so pretty.
The air was so clear, we could easily see Mt Rainier. These were the best views we have had all year.
We hiked around the lake on the ridge crest.
Then dropped down to the lake shore. I couldn’t resist hiking back to camp through the Golden Larch trees. Very magical.
We got back in camp by 1pm. Just in time to have a lunch and then pack up camp. We both wanted to move camp down to break up the hike out.
On the way home on Saturday, we stopped at the new 59’er Diner for lunch. They did a great job rebuilding it. Lots more room between the tables. It was nice to see it as busy as ever.
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