Three Fingers 2007

My hiking buddy Rex and I hiked Three Fingers again. The weather was very uncertain, so we decided on the exact date only a day ahead of time. Three Fingers is a brutal 7.5 mile hike each way with a mile of elevation gain. There is a price to pay in your body, but the views are incredible, and you can stay in a cabin at the destination.
	We started out early. As we took the turn-off to the trail-head, we saw the moon going down.
	There were four of us on this trip: Davey, Rex, myself and David.
	After a couple of miles we had our first view of our goal. I was a bit worried because there were some clouds around the top - even though they were moving.
	We passed through woods and meadows.
	The mountain blueberries were ripe and delicious. I have never seen as many as this year. A patch by the trail was often a good reason to stop for a moment for a snack. As I write this, my fingers are still stained with berry juice. There seemed to be two types of plants: a bushy kind like this one and another one that grew only a few inches high.
	We reached Goat Flats. It is a beautiful meadow area with some ponds and camping spots. Three Fingers is in the distant clouds.
	This point was more than half way, so we stopped for lunch.
	The red is mostly leaves of the low-growing blueberry plant. We climbed the hill.
	And then went along it's side.
	As we climbed, we passed from fall into summer into spring. The flowers were in full bloom here.
	They were in all colors.
	We went up the switch-backs to tin-pan gap. The cabin is on the distant peak on the left. Sometimes it looked impossibly distant.
	At the gap we took a break. Again, the cabin is on a tall peak in the middle.
	Up from the gap was one of the few snow crossings. However, this one required care.
	We went along the top of this ridge and then to its back side.
	Finally we came to the last climb to the summit. Clouds were still obscuring things sometimes.
	At last to the lookout cabin. Some people are frightened by these ladders.
	They are actually secured very well to the rock.
	At the end there is a little scramble to the 'front porch'.
	We made it - tired, but very excited.
	It is hard to convey just how vertical everything is! There is a back porch, but you cannot walk on either side of the cabin to it.
	You have to go through the cabin to it. (See the open window.)
	The drop-offs are vast.
	This actually created an amazing effect called brocken spectre. We were able to look down on wet clouds below us. The sun cast a shadow into them and also made a rain-ring.
	The cabin is cosy with chair, tables and a bed. The device in the middle was used to locate forest fires.
	There was some reading material - quite eclectic. The table was where we cooked.
	There were so many mountains to be seen! They were in and out of the clouds at first.
	As the day ended, the shadows lengthened. The clouds started to clear up.
	We could see the Puget Sound as well. The setting sun lit it on fire.
	The sunset was gorgeous.
	The moon came up as the sun went down.
	And then we could see the lights of the cities.
	Next morning, we had the same show from the other side.
	Mt Rainier was glowing on it's eastern side.
	We left after 8AM and slogged our way back to the car. This was a last look back to the cabin.
We were tired, but all agreed that the work was worth it. Epilog: The clouds were coming in as we went down. That evening, snow levels dropped below Goat Flats and snow fell.
Pictures taken by David and I.