Hooray! We got our cameras out of the woods. We hiked back in the last weekend in September and the beautiful shades of gray brought a constant stream of rain to keep us nice and wet. We didn’t think (read prepare) we would encounter heavier rains and subsequently wore our trail runners… Wet muddy feet kept us moving and changing our socks frequently. We hiked in to a sweet spot we camped at last time near Birch Mountain. We came in late and made some tasty food by headlamp light.

We’re still dehydrating tomato’s and cilantro for bean and chip bowls. This trip we experimented with instant mashed potato’s with freeze dried peas and corn (mmm). Likewise, we had an amazing pasta bowl. We make a broth with dehydrated tomato, roasted red pepper, garlic, and basil. This with some olive oil, salt, and Parmesan cheese this was fantastic and a new favorite.

We allotted time to summit Birch Mountain this trip and were glad we did. It was a nice walk up its flank and on the way we crossed a massive saddle chuck full of Western Larches! These look like yer evergreens, but change their color to gorgeous shades of amber and gold in the fall. It was very nice to see. We made it up the summit to an old fire look-out and met with high winds and heavy sleet. We descended quickly back to the saddle.

We hiked on and retrieved camera #1 and made camp. Preparing for more rain we rigged a sil-nylon mini tarp we bring so we could cook in the tent. This worked out great and we had lots of ventilation for the stove, which was mostly outside.

We had yummy angel hair pasta this night and were pleasantly surprised with the foil bubble wrap insulation we made into pot and bowl cozy’s. It worked well at keeping our meals hot.

Our final day we moved quick as we anticipated more weather. We had a dry breakfast and some coffee then went looking for camera #2. We had high hopes for #2 as we felt it was in a better location for wildlife. The hopes were a result of the  data on camera #1 showing that it had only captured 170 some-odd shots as its batteries had died after 2 days.

Camera #2 delivered the goods. 700 plus shots!

Most of them were deer in cute poses. A lot of them were just of our target tree blowing in the wind.

I think the camera must have made a noise as the deer tended to be looking at the camera in numerous shots which only added to the cute factor.

As so, “I’m ready for my close up Ruehlen’s.”

Then, the money shot. Bear cub! We got very excited. Was it a grizzly? Who knew? We didn’t study zoology. We saved the shots to a flash drive and raced home to ask google. It turns out to be a black bear as any bearophile will tell ya, “look at dem ears!” Black bears have small round ears (just like this cub’s) and grizzly’s have tall prominent ears.

This picture had us mostly convinced that we had a grizzly as their name comes from the grizzled hair on their backs. This cub was only molting its coat. Then we caught a glimpse of the deadliest creature you’ll ever encounter in the wild…

The human. With their possessions strapped to their backs they head into the woods in search of recreation and tasty berries to munch upon. If you ever see one be careful, say hello, and wave your hand from side to side. If you’re lucky they will wave back back and share some good tales with you.

Many marmots reside in the North Cascades. This trip we saw a dozen of them. They just hang out on the rocks and watch. I get the feeling that after we pass they get busy creating a scene out of a Beatrix Potter illustration.

Cheers!

M&N