Photo Diary: Fall in Washington

I know, I know. It’s nearly Spring 2023 and I’m finally getting around to uploading some photos from trips I went on in September and October. In my defense, work happened to get extra busy at the same time a summer’s worth of backcountry trips left me physically exhausted and mentally drained so I went on a little hiatus. But, I’m back and ready to fully throw myself back into the backcountry while I endlessly search for that perfect balance of going on soul-filling trips without completely depleting myself.

In the fall I went on two beautiful backpacking trips.

First, over the last weekend of September, Alex and I went on an overnight backpacking to Snowy Lakes just on the outskirts of North Cascades National Park. We went about one week before peak larch season but were still treated to a spectacularly colorful show along the trail and at the final destination.

Then, the summer of 2022 just wouldn’t quit, in both the best and worst way. Warm and sunny days lasted well into October, but along with that warmth was smoky air from wildfires that continued to rage without any of the precipitation we usually get in early fall. So my friend Andrew and I threaded the smoky needle the second week of October and went on an overnight trip to Cooney Lakes in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Unfortunately we missed peak larches by a week, but the trip was stunning nonetheless! On the drive back to Seattle we took Highway 20 and drove through some truly apocalyptic scenes (I included those photos at the very end).

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snowy lakes - north cascades

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cooney lakes - okanogan-sawtooth national forest