Porter and Cascade

June 22, 2014

Bill, Anda, Doug, Barbara, Arlene, and I set out at around 07:30 from the Cascade Pass trailhead. The closest lot to the trailhead was fairly full, but we managed to squeeze both cars in right at the stairs. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I was hoping to get my first view off of Cascade on this third ascent. We hiked along together for a while, and then Anda and I got chatting and started to pull ahead. Since the trail is impossible to get lost on, we kept going for a while until we found a flat area where we stopped to wait up for the others. Doug came along shortly, and then a little while later the other three. We decided to split into two groups, with Anda, Doug, and I going ahead to Porter, while Bill, Barabara, and Arlene planning to just hike Cascade, agreeing to simply meet back at the parking lot at the end of the day. A fairly uneventful climb brought us to the top of Porter where we began seeing the first people of the day. We stopped for a while to soak in the views, and then noticed that the other three were also on the summit of Cascade waving at us. We trucked back along the ridge to Cascade, and had some fun scrambling the summit cone, where we met the other three beginning their descent. At the top we met the friendly Summit Steward who took our photo for us and chatted with us about the alpine environment. After some relaxing up here it was starting to get crowded so we decided to go. We slowed down significantly for the descent which now was a zoo of people coming up. Almost everyone was friendly and happy so our spirits were kept high, especially from meeting the many small children out for a mountain climb on this fine day. We arrived back at the parking lot at noon, where we congratulated ourselves on a fantastic Hike-a-Palooza weekend and then drove home.

Hiking along the rugged but well worn path.