Hi Everyone--

On Sunday 7/14 I hiked in the general direction of Alta Mountain, more to see the place than with any great expectation of hand-feeding the ptarmigan. Alta Mountain is reached from the Rachel Lake Trail (FT 1313) near Lake Kachess, roughly 10 miles east of Snoqualmie Pass (I-90 exit 62, go north on FR 49 to the lake, then left on FR 4930 to the trailhead). It's a somewhat steep 3-mile slog to Rachel Lake, with 3 water crossings that can be treacherous if you're not light on your feet. The next 1/2 mile is very steep, there are some extensive snowfields to deal with, and it's very easy to get off the trail. The more-or-less official trail to Alta Mountain veers right from the top of the ridge, it's another 2 miles or more to the summit. If you go left to follow the trail of footprints, in 1/2 mile you'll end up at Rampart Lakes, whence you need to traverse cross-country to get to Alta Mountain. It's very snowy around Rampart Lakes, with streams undercutting the snowfields; I advise against cross-country travel. My legs gave out at Rampart Lakes, so I did not get to sufficient elevation to search for ptarmigan, but I could see Alta Mountain from where I sat, and there appeared to be little snow there. There are places to camp around Rachel Lake, just remember it's a wilderness area. That said, there are birds and other creatures to look at along the way. There's some nice old-growth (Red Cedar, Silver Fir) in the first two miles, with willow and alder thickets along stream edges. Birds here included a sapsucker which I did not identify to species (Red-breasted/Red-naped); Steller's Jay; Brown Creeper; Winter Wren; Hermit, Swainson's, and Varied Thrushes; Chestnut-backed Chickadee; Golden-crowned Kinglet; Yellow, Townsend's, MacGillivray's, and Wilson's Warblers; and Dark-eyed Juncos. A mammal popped out on the trail here which appeared to be a Shrew-Mole, an odd-looking little black guy with a long nose and short legs. I also saw Townsend's Chipmunks, Red/Douglas Squirrels (these are gray with red tails), and Golden-mantled Squirrels (the dull Cascade kind). Several Vaux's Swifts circled around Rachel Lake, and a Hoary Marmot stood in the snow on the far shore. Above Rachel Lake, the only birds were Rufous Hummingbird, Gray Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Varied Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, and Red Crossbill. Butterflies were few here, but a Phoebus Parnassian, the high-altitude counterpart to the Clodius, was at Rampart Lakes. I was on the trail for roughly 12 hours; I'm stiff and sore today, but I enjoyed the hike and the scenery.

Mark Miller
Vancouver, WA
snowyowl98683 at msn.com