The Portals hike

The Portals keep calling to me, especially as the end of high country hiking season is approaching. The weather report for yesterday looked good and the road to Artist point was still open so we drove up an hour earlier than our usual start time and hoped we could hike to our destination and back before nightfall.

My husband and I had made it all the way to the end of the trail to the Portals in 2016, you can read about that trip HERE.

I did the hike by myself in 2020, you can read about that solo hike HERE

Photo of how far I got in that trip below.

The last time I was there we backpacked to Goat lake and did a day hike to the Portals in 2022. I wasn't blogging during this time period so no post to share. I really wanted to get to the Portals again but my Cancer treatments and Plantar fasciitis had really changed how I was hiking. I was in an immunotherapy treatment program during the time of this hike. I was done with chemo and radiation treatments, but a recurrence was discovered. After some genome testing results found that I was msi-high my Dr. suggested we start immunotherapy. We began that in May. I had a positive response to immunotherapy, it was successful in destroying my inoperable tumor and by July I had a clear scan. I continued receiving Ketruda infusions as a maintenance routine every 3 weeks. As a result of all of these health issues I was much slower and we believed I wouldn't be able to get there as a day hike again, so he sweetly planned a backpacking trip so we could split the distance up and have success getting to the end of the trail. It was bittersweet as I really wanted be able to do these longer hikes as day hikes and that didn't seem to be my future. A photo collage of that trip is below. That was a great trip and I'm very thankful that he planned that for me. *note: I stopped receiving Keytruda infusions in Dec. 2022 and have had clear scans ever since.

Yesterday the weather forecast was correct, it was a beautiful day. Our starting temp. was 38 degrees.

My husband signing in at the register.

Mt. Baker is in view for this first mile of the trail.

Entering the wilderness area. We've seen goats before in the green area below, but not on this hike.

At our trail junction. The chain lakes hikers take a right turn and the Ptarmigan ridge, Goat lake, and Portals hikers continue straight.

We ascended through fall colored blueberry bushes and rocky areas.

Nice views of Shuksan as we made our way up.

Baker with Coleman Pinnacle.

One of the long rocky sections

Basalt Columns

Happy Scoutina got to roll in snow. 

At Goat lake there is a nice full view of Baker and the Portals.

Looking down at Goat lake.

Love these full expanse views of our mountains.

Making our way up and past Goat lake.

The trail leading to the climbers camp and the Portals beyond.

After going up a steep rocky section we made it to the climbers camp.

A nice view of the Portals. 

Heave frost at the climbers camp.

We spoke with hikers coming towards us as we made our way up the trail and asked them what the conditions were for the last section of the hike, most said there were sections with snow and ice. Going up wasn't bad but coming down was tricky with the ice. We chose to stay put at the highest point of the climbers camp area and have our lunch. A strong cold wind was blowing so we put on our layers. I ended up with 4 layers to keep me fairly comfortable. We found some shelter behind some rocks to help keep the wind away. I was strangely content to call this our ending place for the day, but It's a tricky ascent and descent on a good day so I was ok to not test how we or Scoutina would descend with ice, remember she's always attached to my husband with a waist leash bungee harness. Hiking the trail seemed easier than I'd remembered. It had only taken us 3 hours to get there. I was filled with emotion as the last journey we'd had here I was thinking I'd never do this as a day hike again, so the happiness I felt at being there again was very large. We stayed and enjoyed the views and the area for about an hour until the cold got to us. 

Scoutina enjoyed the views during lunch.

As we started down the trail we spied a herd of goats. They grazed above us as we walked by. I made a collage of the photos.

Making our way towards Coleman pinnacle.

Back to Goat lake with it's wonderful green color.

My husband was visiting with someone we know that we happened to see on the trail and I loved how he looked with Baker behind him. I joked with him that his fuzzy white hair with the sun shining through it reminded me of the goats we had seen on the trail😂

Almost back to the parking lot and a view of Shuksan as the evening shadows were beginning.

A grouse was flushed by our dog. Thankfully she was leashed and no harm was done. Scoutina was very excited about it though. The grouse seemed to not be very upset by her, after it was flushed out of the bushes it just stayed on a log and watched us.

We took our time hiking out since we'd gotten there so quickly. Even with our slow poke pace going down we were still at the car by 6pm. I was pretty dissapointed after not summiting Hannegan peak on Monday so yesterday's hike helped my spirits soar. My dreams and hopes were filled 100 fold.

Yes, pizza was had at Chair 9 on the way home.

Trail rating: moderate (I guess because this trail is at a high elevation to start)

Total miles: 11

Total ascent: 2078 feet

Hannegan Peak attempt hike

 We choose yesterday for our hike to Hannegan Peak to give us another day to recover from our colds and to hike on a nice sunny day. We got home late, so posting a day after.

We got up early so we could have as much daylight as possible for our hike.

The weather forecast was correct it was a nice clear morning when we arrived at the trailhead. It was a bit chilly according to our truck's temperature display, it showed 37 degrees. I tend to get really warm when I hike uphill so no gloves, hat or coat for me at the start. I did put on a thin long sleeve shirt over my short sleeved top, but other than that and shorts that's what I chose to wear. I really wasn't cold at our start and true to myself I heated up as soon as we began our uphill journey, so off came the long sleeved layer. I always bring extra clothes on hikes, usually a fleece long sleeve, a rain coat, long fleece pants, fleece buff and gloves so I'm prepared for whatever the day may bring.

We parked at the trailhead which is different now because of a washout. 

I hadn't been here since the washout. As I was looking for a date for when the washout happened I came across this article talking about the area as the Hannegan caldera. I hadn't heard this before, and found it interesting. Here's a quote from NWHikers.net: "This caldera, essentially a large volcanic crater formed by huge explosive eruptions with subsequent edifice collapse, was only discovered as to its formation less than twenty years ago.

The eruptions have been dated at about 3.7 million years before present. You won't see a large 'hole' such as at Crater Lake due to details for original shape and also due to extensive post- caldera collapse erosion. Another even less obvious but younger caldera is the 1.15 m.y. old Kulshan caldera, which is closer to Mt. Baker. If you have hiked out on Ptarmigan Ridge you have traversed the rocks of that caldera. You can check out the post and see the beautiful photo's with descriptions HERE

As you can see in the photo below there has been some work done to try and reclaim the old parking lot. Hopefully sometime next summer we'll see the finished work. I don't know what the timeline is for completion.

So thankful for the blue sky start.

Signing in at the register.

Looking up the Ruth creek valley.

The sun was very bright and was shining directly into our eyes, even with my sunglasses on it was hard to look straight ahead. I was happy to see the fall colors when I wasn't blinded by the sun. 

We heard Pika and saw them as well💓

Ruth mountain visible in the distance.

We hiked past the Hannegan pass camp.

The footbridge across the camp stream is visible in the photo below.

After a steeper section of switchbacks we came to the pass.

We sat on some logs at the pass had a rest stop, enjoyed the view and had some food before we continued up the Peak trail.

Onward and upward. 

I was hopeful that we would make it to the top. I knew it was be work & I set my brain on the task at hand.

As we began our way up we were treated to wide open views, even as some clouds were beginning to show.

Ruth Mountain with Shuksan peeking out on Ruth's right shoulder, Shuksan is showing in the V area in the hills.

Shuksan zoomed in

I realized quickly after going up the few very high steps that I was tiring easily. I began stopping often to let my heart rate & breathing settle down. It didn't take long for my husband to say we are both getting tired I don't think we're going to make it to the top. I was sad, but knew that this was true. I wasn't in the shape needed to complete the hike.

The blueberries were in full color.

We stopped above a small tarn that Scoutina loved. She had a nice cool down. We found a place to stop and mentally adjust our thoughts. The last section was visible and we knew we definitely didn't have it in us. The top is about 1/2 mile further from where we stopped. We had another snack and rest time.

I sadly took my "bucket list selfie" with the trail to the summit behind me. A sobering day of reality of my fitness. The last and only time I had summited was in 2016, we had been training for a Spartan Beast event, so I was literally in the best shape of my life.

A cold breeze began to blow as we were eating. When we were in the shade it was quite cold.

I took a video of the view as we made our way back to the pass.  Not the 360 I had hoped to get but still wonderful.

The beautiful views on our way back down the trail helped to revive my spirit.

Some clouds had began to come in as we made our way back down the valley and with the sun no longer in our faces I could take a few more photos that I missed on our ascent. 

Ruth mountain

The fall colors were more vibrant without the sun directly on them.

I was glad that I didn't miss the surveyor benchmark on the way down.

I took way too many photos of the fall colors, so I tried to pick out the ones I liked the most.

I took a video as I walked along. Hope you enjoy seeing the corridor of color.

The vine maples along the hillsides were brilliant and breathtakingly awesome.

A good day on the trail even though my main goal hadn't been reached. 

Trail rating: Hard

Total miles: 11

Total ascent: 2685 feet

We rewarded ourselves with dinner at Chair 9!

If you'd like to read about the other times I hiked this trail you can pick from this list:

September 2013, Hannegan pass, Trailblazer hike with special guest "my Dad"

September 2014, Hannegan pass, Trailblazer hike with special guest "my husband"

September 2015, Hannegan pass, Trailblazer hike with our fearless leader "Pat"

August 2016, Hannegan Peak Summit with my husband

I thought of this quote while walking through fall:

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~ Albert Camus

Did you know that there's a word for those that love the mountains?

Orophile: a person who finds peace and serenity, and connects with themselves more deeply in mountainous settings; a lover of  mountains

I'm glad I got my day in the mountains even if it wasn't a summit.