Memorial Day Weekend in Trip Reports: Wildlife, Waterfalls and Wildflowers
Trip reports from Memorial Day weekend include dramatic sunsets, foggy ridge traverses, and roaming wildlife. Check out a sampling of trip reports to learn more about how other hikers spent their weekends.
Blooming wildflowers, fast-flowing rivers, and roaming wildlife were spotted on Memorial Day weekend. The Northwest's typical shifty spring weather made for dramatic sunsets, foggy ridge traverses, and sunny alpine hikes.
Check out the small sampling of trip reports below to learn more about how other hikers spent their weekends, and write your own report.
Bagley Lakes, Chain Lakes, & Wild Goose - Snowy peaks and sunshine
"We stopped about halfway up to the ridge and turned around and came back down and had a picnic lunch on a large rock overlooking Mount Shuksan and Bagley Lake."
- Chain Lakes trail. Trip report by craigellenwood. Photo by Craig Ellenwood.
Sourdough Mountain - Marmots, sweeping views, and a bear!
"Headed up to the switchback sections and ran into a curious black bear foraging around. After giving the bear some space and informing our fellow hikers further down the trail we were able to traverse around and get back on the trail. Plus we got to hang out with a group of marmots sitting in the rocks."
- Black bear on the slopes of Sourdough Mountain. Trip report and photo by nmdanielson.
Cowiche Canyon - Rattlesnake run-in
"Beautiful weather! This is such a cool place. Lots of birds, wildflowers, and geologic wonders . . . We encountered a rattlesnake heading up the south slope of the canyon."
- Western Rattlesnake: zoomed in extremely...stay safe! Trip report and photo by alexapolis.
Suntop Peak - Catching the last light
"... a beautiful sunset to watch. I think I could hang out here all day."
- Sunset at Suntop Peak. Trip report by Shells McBells. Photo by Shelly Rae Mann.
Oak Creek Wildlife Area - Big skies and wildflowers
"... there were still some nice desert buckwheats and linear-leaf & diffuse daisies. In the morning it was partly cloudy with a nice cool breeze, but it cleared up as we ate and became pretty warm. We saw a deer, 3 elk, and a bull snake, but no rattlesnakes nor ticks..."
- Hikers in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Trip report by mytho-man. Photo by David Hagen.
Boulder River - Waterfall action-shots
"My buddy and I wanted to take some photos of the river and the waterfalls in non-traditional ways . . . We had a great adventure scrambling among the boulders beside the river while searching for the best vantage points from which to secure our images."
- Waterfalls along Boulder River. Trip report and photo by geezerhiker.
Marmot Pass & Buckhorn Mountain - Snow-free summits on the Olympic Peninsula
"The snow near the trail is completely gone. We brought our ice axes for any lingering snowfields on the way to Buckhorn Mountain but we had no need for them. Just a quick use of hands up to the summit closest to Marmot Pass, which our mountaineering guide lists as the tallest of the arêtes."
- The trail to Buckhorn Mountain. Trip report by Erynn. Photo by Erynn Allen.
Check out more
Fresh trip reports are still coming in from this weekend's adventures. Read the latest reports and write your own!
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