Elevation Gain: Approximately 3300 ft
Time: 3:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Weather: Partly cloudy and hot, really hot for the PNW.
For the third September in a row, I returned to Blanca Lake. This is a wonderful, short, and steep hike. I think of this place so fondly. It was the first real blog entry, back in week 4, and was the first real intentional hike of the streak. Creighton and another friend from work came along. About a year later, week 54, I returned with some students and Creighton. It was a tough hike, and I was a little discouraged after a solid year of hiking to have my butt kicked so thoroughly. Fitting with the last week's theme of repeating hikes and doubling down on Saturday and Sunday, returning to Blanca was natural. I was also planning on hiking into the Necklace Valley on Sunday, just on the other side of Highway 2 from Blanca. Given some school commitments on Saturday morning, I couldn't get to the trailhead until late afternoon, and I was going to just stay the night in Skykomish. I mentioned my plans to Creighton, and he wanted to come along.
We were geared up and walking by 3:40 pm. The first 3 miles gains 2700 ft. And as I have wrote up above, two Septembers in a row this stretch has kicked my butt. This year was different. I hiked consistently, and while it was steep and challenging, my body felt good. Creighton and I cranked it up to the small meadow above the Virgin Lake. We then kept moving and were down at Blanca Lake by 5:20 pm, a 2.1 mile per hour pace.
The lake was busy with people overnighting and a few packing up to leave. The great pace had us nice and warm and the only option was to swim. I go in a good dip and cooled down pretty fast. We dried off, ate a few snacks, and geared back up for the walk out. We met a nice guy and chatted for a while. We took off at 6:15 pm. The hike back up to the meadow took about 30 minutes, 600 ft in a half mile. On the way back down, I kind of jogged a bit, but also stopped to take lots of photos. It was great. We were back at the car by 7:45 pm. I love this hike, and I think next September will be a perfect time to return again.
Orchid: My pace and, of course, the dip in Blanca Lake.
Onion: No blue huckleberries in the meadow.
Picture:
Google Map
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