Ipsut Creek/Carbon River Area

We had a 'blast' on the 4th of July weekend. The summer officially kicked off with nice northwest weather and it was the perfect thing for kicking my rear into getting down to Rainier to start the summer-long photo shoot for my book. Since the Carbon River Road has been washed out, it's 5 miles to the Ipsut Creek/Carbon River Trailhead. Most folks stroll along the road and never make the trailhead.

Since bicycles are allowed, we took our bikes and rode them on the 5 mile bumpy road in to Ipsut Creek. My pack weight was around 30 pounds- try that riding a bike on bumps....OUCH! It was a whole new level of pain in my shoulders, back and uh-hem....rear end. Anyway, once at the trailhead we locked our bikes securely and hit the hills. The snow level is extremely low- at about 4,000 feet, which is about 1 month behind where we should be for this time of year. We didn't make it all the way to Mowich Lake due to snow and good decision making skills to turn back instead of risk it. After that we shot up to the Carbon River lower crossing and washout to take a little break before heading back to the bikes and eventually- back to the truck. All in all, it was a spectacular day with a mini duathlon, hiking 10 miles and riding 10 miles!


A little history here. This tree that V is standing by is one of the oldest living Alaskan Yellow Cedars in the world. It's over 1,200 years old! Due to lack of fires (yes it rains and rains here) and lack of development this tree has been allowed to grow and thrive. It's circumference is not as big as some trees in this area, but for this particular variety it's simply enormous.


Tree fort!




Dwarf dogwood or bunchberry.