This morning, we were up at the usual 5am we packed up and ate breakfast. I enjoyed my cup of coffee and then got ready to go. Instead of leaving right away we had a chance to get a drawing lesson from Claire. This was a fun opportunity to learn a new skill and I learned that drawing a landscape is a really good way to really take in the details of these beautiful landscapes we were exploring.

When we were all packed up and ready we began our hike up the snow field to Spider Gap. This part of the hike was technical and tough, to go up we used a technique where we sidestepped and crossed our legs. For me using this method required a lot of concentration with being conscious of each step, it took a lot of mental and physical energy to get through this stretch of the trip. We took a break before the last stretch of the snowfield, and I got an opportunity to collect a sample of watermelon snow for a research project being done at Washington State University. Watermelon snow is a phenomenon when snow appears pink, it is caused by a green algae species that contains a second red pigment in addition to chlorophyll. This species is a freshwater microalgae that grows in cold environments which is why they thrive in snow. After our break we did the final stretch and reached the top of Spider Gap.

 

At the top we stopped for a short snack break to catch our breath and take in the view. Looking down at the valley we were about to cross we had an excellent view of the Lyman Lakes and the mountains that surrounded the valley. You cannot see it very well in this picture, but we also caught a glimpse of the summit of Mount Baker between other mountains.

After we reached the top of Spider Gap the hard work was behind us, and we got to glissade down to Lyman Lakes.

At the bottom of the snowfield, we stopped for lunch at a spot where we could see the Lyman glacier. Here we talked about the process of glacial recession and how the valley was formed, we also saw pictures of what the glacier looked like less than 20 years ago. I was shocked by how much the valley had changed and how significant the difference between the picture from 2006 and the glacier today.

After lunch we kept hiking through rocky terrain, mosquito swarms, and more snow to reach the Upper Lyman Lakes campsite. This site was beautiful. We were surrounded by tall mountains and cliffs and the water of the Lymon Lakes appeared turquoise and it was something I had never seen. The Lakes flowed into one another generating incredible waterfalls between the lakes. The only problem with camping here was the immense number of mosquitoes. We stopped at this spot for a break and considered camping there, but we decided we would go to the Lower Lyman Lakes campsite where we were promised less bugs. If it weren’t for the mosquitos I would have loved to stay at this site.

 

We hiked a little less than a mile to reach the campsite at Lower Lyman Lakes. Despite this stretch being so short, and mostly downhill, it felt incredibly long and by the end of it I was certainly ready to take off my pack and jump in the glacial lake. However, the last stretch was worth the exhaustion as this site was by far my favorite during the trip. The lake was refreshing and the mountainous views surrounding us were breathtaking. This stretch took the longest, as we were hiking from around 10 am to 6 pm, and many of us were ready for a rest day. We ended our day with dinner and an engaging discussion about the reintroduction of grizzly bears into the North Cascades. I think this discussion was very interesting to me because I gained a lot of new perspectives on how we go about preserving biodiversity and when it is truly necessary when thinking about positive outcomes for both humans and nature.

For me this stretch of the trip was the most pivotal and the day I remember the most because of the extreme ups and downs. Parts of this day were simply incredible, the view at Spider Gap, glissading down the snowfield, jumping in Lower Lyman Lake, were some of my favorite moments from the trip. However, hiking up the snowfield and the final stretch of the day were some of the lowest moments for me. During this day of the trip, I learned about how backpacking is difficult and strenuous, but it is also fun and it is a chance to see the most beautiful natural landscapes that you couldn’t see on a day hike. This was my first time backpacking and I can say with certainty that this was one of the hardest things I have ever done, however I would go again. Seeing a view like the Lyman Lakes from Spider Gap was inspiring. The way you feel after accomplishing this hike and getting through a day like this, while carrying everything you need for a week, drives me to do it again.

Writing excerpt:

During our rest day at Lower Lyman Lake when we had alone time to write and relax, I thought about how powerful nature truly is. This is something we hear all the time but as I was sitting by a glacial lake surrounded by forest and mountains, I felt immersed in nature, and I thought about the complex and numerous processes that have happened and are happening to create this landscape. As we learned from Tim the valley, we were in is a u-shaped glacial trough, this shape is created by a glacier eroding the landscape uniformly into the U shape. Thousands of years ago the valley we stood in which was brimming with life, was entirely covered by a glacier. Today the glacier has nearly entirely receded and will likely be gone within our lifetime. The forest around us is standing and supporting life because of the complex interactions between animals, plants, microorganisms, and humans. But there is also an abiotic component, the weather, climate, geological processes, wildfires also determine how and if life will thrive in a given area.

As I look around the landscape, I think about how many events and processes had to happen for me to see this view, and I think about how much it may change during my lifetime. The glacier that once dominated this valley is now nearly fully receded and will likely be gone within the next 20 years.

However, because the glacier has receded and because the climate is growing warmer the extent to which the forest can grow up the mountain has grown, possibly bringing in new life to the area increasing its biodiversity. The forest in this valley may be completely burned by severe wildfire and left barren, I’m sure the forest has experienced such fires before. However, after fires secondary succession comes into place bringing new life and new ecosystem interactions, it may look different from before, but the forest will return.

Nature is not static and never has been, it is constantly changing and adapting, and it will probably keep doing so when humans are gone. The more I learn about the natural world the more impressed I am with the adaptability of nature. How do we keep up with the rapidly changing environment, how do we bring about the best outcome? These are questions that I worry about but as I sit in this valley I appreciate where I am now and though it may look different 100 years from now, of course it will. Nature is not static, not all change is bad, sometimes change is beautiful.

Reflection:

This wilderness experience was unlike anything I have done, despite many hiking and camping trips I have done across America’s diverse landscapes none of my previous outdoors experiences compared to this backpacking trip. It was difficult and grueling at times but after each day I was so happy to be there. I felt strong and accomplished and feeling that way at the end of a difficult day immersed in a beautiful landscape makes me want to do more backpacking trips in the future. Participating in this course has greatly increased my confidence in doing new outdoor activities. This week I proved to myself that I can go into the woods for a week and that I can do these difficult hikes with technical parts and that I can learn new skills and apply them.

Many parts of the course work challenged my way of thinking. Especially what we learned about National Parks, as I have spent time in many of America’s National Parks. Of course, I am aware that the National Parks sit on stolen land from America’s indigenous populations, I did not know that some of the parks removed Native American in order to be established. Parks like Yosemite, a cornerstone of America’s natural landscapes, removed Native Americans and kept them from doing cultural practices on their sacred land. Yosemite is not the only example as at the time Americans looked down on how Native tribes were changing the landscape. Now that these ecosystems that we tried to protect by creating these National Parks are collapsing we look to Native knowledge of the land and ask their help. They had different philosophies for taking care of land and instead of learning from them we removed them. This is a common theme across America and its history, and it has always led to negative outcomes. Learning about this aspect of National Parks has made me think more deeply about the history of the land that I now enjoy for recreation. I wonder what the landscape would look like if we learned from the Native Americans instead of dismissing and removing them from their land.

Despite the complicated history with National Parks, I do see immense value in these places continuing to exist, especially in the Anthropocene. Many of these places help people get outside and experience nature, which is critical to mental health but also to the environmental movement. The more people there are that care about nature the more people there are making more sustainable decisions. I think the biggest flaw with these spaces is that they are not accessible to everyone. The National Parks Service has not been doing enough to increase access to diverse populations. For these spaces to remain relevant and successful they need to increase accessibility and make a stronger effort to be more accessible to minority groups. There are many flaws with the National Park system in America, but they do have an irreplaceable part in a more sustainable future.

Another topic that I learned much more about that changed my viewpoint was the grizzly bear reintroduction. Before this trip if someone asked me what I thought about reintroducing grizzly bears to the North Cascades I would have said that they should be reintroduced without hesitation. I strongly advocate for supporting endangered species and ensuring that they do not go extinct as we are in the middle of a mass extinction. However, reintroducing grizzly bears is a much more complicated issue than I previously thought. There are a lot of different people that will be affected by this decision and there are a lot of reasons that these bears should not be reintroduced to this area. On a personal level I would feel a lot less safe on this backpacking trip if there were grizzly bears in the area. I am sure that many other hikers feel the same way. Because there have not been grizzly bears in Washington state for quite some time there is a problem with educating both hikers and people who live in rural areas near the North Cascades. If education is not done well, it will mean negative outcomes for both people and the experimental bear population being reintroduced. After our discussion I felt less inclined to support this decision, but I don’t think that I can confidently support one way or the other.

One part of this class that I appreciated was how much I learned about the world, not necessarily from course work but from talking to a group of people who came together to experience the wilderness and learn. Between discussions and just talking to other students on the trail I took away a lot of new knowledge about the world. Each student brought different experiences and different perspectives on the world. We came from a broad array of unique majors and goals in life, from social work, speech and hearing science, physics, history, and many others. Just from talking to other students about their studies I learned so much. Due to the diversity of the students’ backgrounds, we had very meaningful discussions which I was happy to be a part of. I think the biggest take home message I learned from this class was the value of diverse perspectives and how important it is to meet new people and learn all that you can from them.