Blueberry Extravaganza

On the last weekend of September, Sam and I decided to go for a trail run (mostly hike) out and back along Lost Ridge in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Fires raged to the south, while rain and dark clouds clung to the North Cascades. So this quiet trail, which we knew would have abundant blueberries, seemed like a good choice for the day.

It’s a 3,000+ ft climb to your first view on this trail, but the tree line meadows are splendid. Some smoke wafted down the valley from the Red Mountain fire, which is just smoldering at this point. But otherwise, it was a clear fall day.

While the blueberry plants mostly had lost their vibrant red leaves, they were still loaded with fruit! I have never seen such loaded plants. The lack of leaves made it even easier to pick them in handfuls.

I actually backpacked this trail with my dad ten years earlier, in 2015. With places I frequent, like Snoqualmie Pass, memories are jumbled together. But with places like this, the sense of time – where I was in life at that moment, what I was feeling – is inextricably woven into the place. It is a bit like taking a trip back to an earlier point in my life.

One memory was certainly coming back to me – the ruggedness of this trail. Past the Round Lake turnoff, the trail is steep, diving up and down, and frequently off camber. As a result, Sam and I did little actual running. We continued all the way to “Little Siberia”, a beautiful plateau above Lake Byrne with a close up view of Glacier Peak.

The clouds slowly broke as we made our way back, bringing the hill sides to life in the filtered sunshine.

We took a brief detour up to the summit of Zi Lob Peak. There is a weather station up here, but we’re not sure who is operating it.

A decade on, a lot of things have changed, but Lost Ridge felt remarkably unchanged. It still feels a bit “lost” – a trail that comes in and out through meadows and steep hillsides. While certainly not my choice if I was trying to get in runnable trail miles, it was perfect for a nice autumn meander through the lovely Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Notes:

• Even at the end of a dry season, there were a few trickling water sources along the trail as we traversed beneath Breccia.