To Cle Elum and Beyond!

This past Sunday we decided to ditch the overcast skies of the Seattle area and head for some hiking among the eastern slopes of the Cascades where the sun was shining. As with most of our trips to the east side of the mountains we passed through the town of Cle Elum. And, as with most of our passages through Cle Elum we stopped by the Cle Elum Bakery where we enjoyed a Maple Bar and Maple Pershing.

The pastries gave us the strength to power through the town of Leavenworth and to the Lake Stuart trailhead. We didn't reach the trailhead until noon but since it was the day after the summer solstice there would be plenty of daylight for our hike to the lake and back. Soon we reached the crossing of Mountaineer Creek and made our way up some rocky switchbacks.

The trail became a gentle roll as we reached a meadow with views of the Stuart Range.
After one more set of switchbacks and crossing over some summer snowbanks among the trees we reached Lake Stuart nestled below snowy Mt. Stuart.


As usual the hike back to the trailhead was quicker and we made it to the car with daylight to burn.