RHH's photos with the keyword: peak

I believe this is Lone Pine Peak in the Sierra Nevada of southern California. The photo was taken near the town of Independence, California, as we traveled south for a conference.

Here is another photo from our summer backpacking trip in the Colorado Rockies, this is of Cathedral Lake near which we camped, and of Cathedral Peak. To the right of the photo is Electric Pass to which we hiked later in the day.

Cathedral Peak is in the Colorado Rockies west of Aspen and was our destination last summer when we backpacked in the Rockies.

Taken on our recent hike to Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm, this photo was shot from the steep trail up to the top of the Arm and looking south over Pelton Basin to Pelton Peak (on the left) and Magic Mountain. The reds and oranges in the foreground are the autumn colors of the mountain foliage, especially of the blueberries which were at their peak of ripeness and were being avidly sought by the black bears. On the way down from the arm we saw three adults and one cub, several of them on the trail below us and had to make sure that we did not run into any of them. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/cascade-pas...

I've not posted a picture since last week Thursday and this is the reason. Two friends and I went backpacking in the North Cascades Friday and Saturday. I offered and they won the trip (all equipment and food provided and all expenses paid) at a fund-raiser earlier in the year and we were finally able to go this past week, taking advantage of the spectacularly beautiful weather we've been having. We hiked Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm, the most scenic and beautiful hike in the North Cascades, in my opinion. We hiked in four miles over the pass to Pelton Basin (our camp was in the trees on the left of the picture). The trail climbs 1800 feet through 34 switchbacks over those four miles and then drops about 400 feet to the camp. We arrived and set up camp around noon and then hiked back up to the pass and up Sahale Arm to Sahale Peak and Glacier, gaining another 2700 feet in elevation over two and half miles. There is a camp at 7700 feet at the foot of Sahale Glacier, the highest camp in the Cascades, but this was their first time backpacking and we were not sure that any of us could make it with packs to that camp. We did not get back to camp until late and after our evening meal and a good night's sleep and some time for relaxation the next morning, hiked out again on Saturday afternoon. We had great weather, awesome scenery, saw lots of wildlife and arrived home tired and satisfied. One of the high points of the trip was the fact that the wild blueberries and huckleberries were ripe. Another high point was all the wildlife, black bears, deer, marmots, pikas, grouse. The bears were out in full force and we had eight sightings of bears including several cubs and had to be careful in places on the trail. We had one large bear that was on the hillside across from the camp the whole time we were there, but he was busy feeding on the berries and did not bother us at all. We heard something come snuffling through the camp after we had gone to sleep, but could not tell if it was a bear. All our food and personal items were away from camp and out of reach of the bears, and whatever it was that came through did not bother us. The camp was as comfortable as a backcountry camp can be and in spite of the intrusion we all slept soundly. The two peaks shown in the picture are Pelton Peak and Magic Mountain, and the basin, the trail following it, goes another thirty miles to the old town of Stehekin and Lake Chelan, a hike I would very much like to do some day. My wife was unable to come along, but after seeing the pictures will probably be the reason why we do make this hike again. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/cascade-pas...

One of our last hikes of the season was in the North Cascades and up through Cascade Pass to Pelton Basin where we camped over night. This view looks down Pelton Basin from near the top of the pass with Pelton Peak in the distance. I made the hike with two friends who were backpacking for the first time and we had fabulous weather, beautiful autumn color and a spectacular place to hike. I had posted as few pictures from this hike earlier and wanted to post more. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/cascade-pas...

This was our destination the first day of our hike after setting up camp in Pelton Basin. Sahale Peak is around 8000 feet and there is a camp at the foot of the glacier to the right of the peak in the boulder field there. We did not make it quite that far, but the views from below were spectacular. The trail can just be seen winding from the right side across the middle of the picture. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/cascade-pas...

Taken with a zoom lens from Cascade Pass, Pelton Peak dominates the lower end of Pelton Basin. The glacier at the right of the peak in the saddle between it and Magic Mountain is Yawning Glacier. The haziness of all these pictures is due to wildfires burning further south in the Wenatchee area. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/cascade-pas...

Another view of the alpine lake that was the end of a hike last summer. The hike follows an old road, partially washed out, to the old ghost town of Monte Cristo and then up a very steep and rugged trail through Poodle Dog Pass to Silver Lake, a total of about 15 miles round trip with an elevation gain of around 3500 feet. This photo was taken around the middle of August and the lake was still partly frozen. Silvertip Peak, I believe, is actually the tallest peak in the second photo. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/poodle-dog-...