PNWSights

By Astrid · 7 places

The Long Days of Alpine Summer

High lakes, granite and the short snow-free season

The high country opens for a few months and I try to spend all of them in it. Light at altitude lingers past nine, wildflowers rush the meltlines, and the granite holds warmth into the evening. These are the trips that fill my summers.

  1. Wide view over Colchuck Lake with vivid turquoise water reflecting the granite walls and jagged peaks of the Enchantments. Foreground boulders, dusty trail, and scattered evergreens frame the calm alpine basin in soft golden-hour light.
    1

    Leavenworth

    Colchuck Lake

    Glacial melt gives the lake its improbable blue-green beneath Dragontail Peak, eight miles round trip and worth every foot of the 2,200 you gain. Summer weekend parking fills by six, so I sleep at the trailhead.

  2. Granite slabs and boulders fill the foreground, with a shallow rocky channel leading into an alpine basin dotted with golden larches. Pale gray cliffs rise behind the trees under a calm, blue evening sky.
    2

    Leavenworth

    The Enchantments (Core Zone)

    Polished granite basins, lakes named Perfection and Inspiration, and mountain goats moving through the boulders. Win the February permit lottery or commit to the 18-mile through-hike in a single long day.

  3. Wide view from Cascade Pass looking down a steep, rocky alpine slope into a broad green valley framed by towering granite peaks and lingering snowfields. Morning light and shadow stretch across the mountains, with bright meadows and a blue sky dotted by small clouds.
    3

    Marblemount

    Cascade Pass

    A trade route for centuries, now a 7.4-mile round trip to alpine meadows below Johannesburg Mountain. Late July brings the wildflowers, and the rough Cascade River Road keeps the numbers sane.

  4. A wide view looks out over an unbroken green forest canopy stretching to low, hazy ridgelines on the horizon beneath a pale blue sky. The scene feels expansive and serene, with soft afternoon light and no visible structures or people.
    4

    Concrete

    Sauk Mountain

    A high trailhead makes this the region's most efficient panorama, 360 degrees over the Skagit Valley to the San Juans in 4.2 miles. Late July wildflowers line the switchbacks.

  5. South Sister rises in a broad alpine panorama, its dark volcanic slopes streaked with late-season snow and ice under a clear blue morning sky. Middle Sister appears smaller in the background, with distant Cascade ridgelines fading into the horizon.
    5

    Bend

    South Sister Summit Trail

    Twelve miles and 4,900 feet to Oregon's third-highest summit, no ropes required, with the Cascades running from Hood to Shasta at your feet. Teardrop Pool near the top is the state's highest lake.

  6. Todd Lake fills the lower half of the scene with calm blue water, reflecting the golden-hour glow on Broken Top and the dark evergreen forest beyond. A tall pine frames the left side, while the mountain ridge and orange-tinted sky rise above the shoreline.
    6

    Bend

    Todd Lake

    A half-mile walk to close-range reflections of Broken Top, with July wildflowers in the meadows and mosquitoes to match. Dawn is calm; bring repellent.

  7. Clear turquoise water fills the foreground, reflecting a steep granite amphitheater with lingering snow patches and dark evergreen slopes under a blue sky with scattered clouds. Leafy branches frame the lower edge, and the calm lake surface mirrors the mountain wall in the warm light of summer.
    7

    Index

    Lake Serene

    The lake sits directly under the sheer north wall of Mount Index, which fills the water on a still morning. I take the spur to Bridal Veil Falls on the way up.

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