Palasades Lakes and Brown Peak

Randy and I reached the trail head at Sunrise Point about 2:30PM. The weather was perfect. After about a quarter mile we met a deer near the trail. We reached Clover Lake in under an hour. We hiked a comfortable pace and found the camp site at 4:23PM. A beautiful camp site. Very flat with flat rocks to sit on. A small creek flowed about 50 feet away near the bear pole. Se set up the tent and fixed some warm food before heading to Brown Peak. The climb to the viewing spot is about 1/2 mile. We rounded the crest with no elk in site. After about 5 minutes we heard a loud bugle and a big bull stepped out of the trees a long ways below us. He was with a single cow. Randy was watching through binoculars and he spotted a big black bear bounding in our general direction. We took a few photos and headed back. Niether of us wanted to spend a sleepless night listening for the bear so we returned to camp took everything down and headed home. We saw a marmot and a pocket ghopher on the hike back. The last 3/4 hour was in the dark.

[Click on images to enlarge]
Topo Map
Rock wall along the trail down near Sunrise Lake. Many Pikas live here.
On the trail
Dead silvered grove of trees. Must be diseased or insects. Fire would have burned the limbs off.

Nearing Clover Lake
Lichen on a rock at the Cemetary
In the dark these rocks look like tomb stones.
Brown Peak
One of only two camp sites at the Upper Palasades Lake
The tent is up
Hikers enjoying the sun and the camp site
A warm meal before climbing to the viewing site
Ascending Brown Peak.
We only saw this one bull elk and a single cow. He did some loud bugles
This bear was below us near the small lake
He kept moving closer and closer.
The view of Rainier from the peak
Our tent in the trees
A Marmott
Hiking out in the dark
The Pocket Gopher