Maple Pass - 2010 vs. 2011

October 7, 2011 - The first two shots here are from one week later than last years hike and you can see why there are only two! I placed these in the same collection so that you can see the difference a year makes. The colors are much later this year with many plants dying out before they even fully change. Winter is coming to the high country fast! It was surprising to see wild flowers falling over in the meadows without going to seed, unripened blueberries still on the bushes, Larch with needles turning greenish yellow instead of brilliant yellow and dropping fast. But this is still a great fall hike and was beautiful despite the weather of fog, rain, sleet and snow.

Sept 30, 2010: Hiked Maple Pass off the North Cascades Highway today and hit it perfect! We had great weather and the autumn foliage was in full color. We’ve done this hike a number of times in the past but never timed the color as well as today. Maple Pass is one of the prettiest hikes around anytime of the year but is spectacular in the fall. Most of the color comes from the Larch (yellow), Blueberries and Huckleberries (reds) and a bit of Sumac (orange). Hope you enjoy the photos.