September 14 - 15, 2013
Andy and I were itching to go hiking all week. Stumbled upon Lake Valhalla so decided to go there. The trail head is literally across from Steven's Pass so it was a quick and easy drive. Started our hike at 10 am and got up to the lake by 12:30 pm. It was a pretty easy one and we could not have asked for nicer weather. We were debating whether to go another 4.3 miles to Lake Janus to set up camp there since Lake Valhalla was so busy, but I decided we found a nice spot just above the lake so we stayed put. Let me tell you, there were a lot of new parents with their babies, lots of adorable doggies, and just a good amount of hikers in general. After having lunch with some bees and splashing in the water, we headed out on an ~8.5 mile day hike to Lake Janus. Again, there was quite a bit of stock manure and quite possibly bear scat but we did not encounter any bears. Lake Janus is lovely - serene and secluded with nice meadows surrounding it and some floating lily pads. The sandy shore at Valhalla is definitely much nicer, but if you wanted to be alone Janus would be the place to stay. After snapping a few photos Andy and I made our way back to camp just in time for dinner. We rehydrated up some delicious homemade chili mac and reflected on our total 14.5 mile day hike. I believe that's the most mileage we have done in one day. We were also hiking at a good pace that day.
You know what is also cool? We got to chat with a couple solo PCT thru-hikers on Saturday. One of them had a late start in May (people usually begin in April)and had just about 10 days left before he would make it to Canada and another hiker was doing the hike in reverse - heading to S. Cali or as far as he could get. Andy and my long-term/life's goal is to hike the PCT in one go. I asked my boss once if I could take six months off to hike the PCT to which he replied, "Sure, as long as you take the days off on the weekends."
Here are some of our lovely photos:
Lots of mushrooms growing on this trail. This one was cool - reminds me of "1-up" mushrooms in Mario Bros.
Beautiful meadows - perfect for stock animals to graze.
Lake Valhalla and Lichtenberg Mountain.
Campsite
Andy bought us a cool new stove.
Cooling off in the water. Those are Andy's legs - he was doing a handstand but started sinking. You can also see the nice sandy shore in the foreground.
I love Andy!
Stopped for a photo on the way to Lake Janus. Lake Valhalla behind us.
Lake Janus was so nice.
Perfecting the night time pictures.
Caught a shooting start at 4 am.
Morning hike out.
Andy and I were itching to go hiking all week. Stumbled upon Lake Valhalla so decided to go there. The trail head is literally across from Steven's Pass so it was a quick and easy drive. Started our hike at 10 am and got up to the lake by 12:30 pm. It was a pretty easy one and we could not have asked for nicer weather. We were debating whether to go another 4.3 miles to Lake Janus to set up camp there since Lake Valhalla was so busy, but I decided we found a nice spot just above the lake so we stayed put. Let me tell you, there were a lot of new parents with their babies, lots of adorable doggies, and just a good amount of hikers in general. After having lunch with some bees and splashing in the water, we headed out on an ~8.5 mile day hike to Lake Janus. Again, there was quite a bit of stock manure and quite possibly bear scat but we did not encounter any bears. Lake Janus is lovely - serene and secluded with nice meadows surrounding it and some floating lily pads. The sandy shore at Valhalla is definitely much nicer, but if you wanted to be alone Janus would be the place to stay. After snapping a few photos Andy and I made our way back to camp just in time for dinner. We rehydrated up some delicious homemade chili mac and reflected on our total 14.5 mile day hike. I believe that's the most mileage we have done in one day. We were also hiking at a good pace that day.
You know what is also cool? We got to chat with a couple solo PCT thru-hikers on Saturday. One of them had a late start in May (people usually begin in April)and had just about 10 days left before he would make it to Canada and another hiker was doing the hike in reverse - heading to S. Cali or as far as he could get. Andy and my long-term/life's goal is to hike the PCT in one go. I asked my boss once if I could take six months off to hike the PCT to which he replied, "Sure, as long as you take the days off on the weekends."
Here are some of our lovely photos:
