Roll out the Red Carpet

Mid September always brings the first blast of fall colors, when the bushes turn bright red, yellow, and orange. I have found the extensive alpine meadows of the Central and North Cascades to be my favorite place to visit at this time of year. This year, I wanted to complete a route along the Baker Highway from Excelsior Pass to Goat Mountain. This is a popular area, but I had reserved it for many years for a splitter fall day.

I got a bunch of friends to join: Chris, Chris, Liz, and Anthony. Anthony got off a shift at 7 AM, so the rest of us set up the short car shuttle before hiking up Excelsior Pass. Anthony would intersect us at Welcome Pass.

A few blueberry plants had already dropped their leaves on the dry south aspect, but once we reached the pass, it was clear that we were at prime time for fall colors. We eagerly bounded off along the ridge, following the incredible High Divide trail as it soared 4000 ft above the valley, with Baker and Shuksan across the way. This trail would be fabulous with summer wildflowers, but it really shines in fall.

We ran into Anthony shortly before Welcome Pass, so we were all united. After Welcome Pass, the trail becomes a steep bootpath over Keep Cool Butte. There was one section where we traversed across a technicolor slope. Below, a steep hillside of yellow and red extended below us like spilled paint. In the bright sunlight, it was almost sensory overload.

Yellow Aster Butte is a super popular (deservedly so) fall hike, the only section of this route I had done before in autumn. Yellow Aster is a wildflower, but in the fall, this butte has remarkable yellow and red plants.

When we took the turnoff to Gold Run Pass, we left the crowds behind. In theory, one could do a ridge traverse to Winchester, but it looked complicated and slow, so we opted to ascend the north side.

At around 5k on the north side of the pass, we left the trail and started boulder hopping over towards the north side of Winchester. Travel was easy and brush free.

We followed a nice stream into a beautiful little basin with Larabee towering above. Eventually, we found a gully to follow up to the right, leading us to an upper boulder basin. The final bit to the saddle just west of Winchester would have snow most of the year, but we were able to avoid the snow on the tacky dirt. The entire climb went at just class 2. From there, we hopped on the trail and took it to the summit.

Winchester is one of the more scenic lookouts in the state. I previously had visited Winchester in winter 2015, the winter that never was. I was able to drive a mini van all the way to the Yellow Aster Butte trailhead in March that year!

I took it easy on the descent to Twin Lakes, trying to save my legs for later in the day. It was warm enough that we jumped into the lakes for a swim – likely the last alpine lake dip of the year! Interestingly, I believe this is the first time I have ever passed through a trailhead in the middle of one of my big routes.

Just past the east end of the lakes, we ascended up a heather gully. To our surprise, we found an intermittent bootpath up over the ridge and all the way towards Bear Peak! Although not very prominent, Bear Peak has a cool position with Shuksan right behind the sharp pinnacle of Goat Peak. Haze from fires to the east had mostly cleared out, so we could see all the way to the Pickets and Cascade River Road peaks.

At the Goat / Bear saddle, we dropped further to about 5700 ft, where we found easy travel in post glacial terrain up to the foot of a dying north facing glacier. The more recent moraine was a little loose, but it was still pretty easy overall.

While the glacier looked steep from afar, it was realistically only 10-15 degrees. None of us brought traction, so we were happy to find that the ice was highly textured and easy to walk on. Above the ice, there was about 20 feet of steep dirt where you really just had to trust your lugs. This was probably the crux of the route.

At the East / West Goat saddle, we exited the world of choss and ice and returned to the land of dazzling sunshine and vibrant fall colors. It was only 4 PM but the light was getting soft and the shadows long. I love how long golden hour lasts in the fall, as the sun tracks closer to the horizon.

After descending a bit, we began traversing through the colors, towards the sun. The colors had been incredible to this point, but this was something else. The entire hillsides were painted red and yellow, and the sun shone through the leaves at just the right angle. The world beneath us was literally glowing. It was truly a magical moment.

We hit the trail at around 5600 ft and took some time to just soak in the vibes. The upper section of the Goat Mountain trail looked as colorful as anything, but we all felt content with our day and ready to depart.

We bounded down the trail into the evening light. I was running on such a high that my legs felt almost fresh for the final descent, probably the best I have ever run at the end of a 10k day!

Autumn is off to an incredible start for me. Excelsior to Goat was probably the best single day of red meadows I have ever experienced. The route is extremely pleasant, with no bushwhacking, generally easy off trail travel, and views almost the whole day. Thanks to Chris, Chris, Liz, and Anthony for joining on a special day!

Notes:

• Our route was 25 miles and 10.5k ft gain. It took us 10 hours.
• The direction we chose was optimal for fall colors because we were looking into the sun most of the day, and the bushes look much more vibrant when backlit.
• The fall colors seem slightly early (half a week to a week) this year. I think mid to late September is a pretty safe bet for this most years.
• There is nothing really above class 2 on this route. The most challenging bit was some steep dirt on the north side of the Goat saddle – poles were a must have here.
• If you do this route earlier in the season, you might face some moderately steep snow on the north side of Winchester.
• The Goat Glacier was fine for us without any traction, but could have been challenging if it was much steeper. There were no open crevasses. It will be gone in a few years, and I think the choss underneath will be easy enough to travel on because it is low angle.
• If you’re looking for a slightly shorter route, just Excelsior to Yellow Aster Butte would be a great day.
• The first water source we hit was the Yellow Aster Butte tarns. Then there is abundant water – north side of Winchester, Twin Lakes, after Bear Peak, and south side of Goat.