Bean Peak
7-11-09


After the heat in Horseshoe Basin the week before I was ready for a cooler hike. No such luck. The flower show in Bean Creek Basin should have been near its peak. Kim and I headed east. The NF Teanaway Road has not been graded. The potholes are deep. We drove slowly to the Beverly Creek turn off. The drain ditches cut across the Beverly Road are as deep as ever. Absolute insanity that they were put in. We reached the trailhead at 9:00 am. It was already warm. Cle Elum was heading for 92 degrees. I hoped we could get in Bean or Earl Peaks before the heat wore us down.

We hiked up to the Beverly junction and turned right on the Bean Creek Trail. Some flowers started there. After crossing Bean Creek the scarlet gilia began. This has been a very good year for scarlet gilia sightings. Some lupine and paintbrush mixed in as well. It was a little cooler on the forested section. We came back out of the forest into the lower basin and the flower show improved. There were shooting stars around the creek though they are past their prime.

Lots of lupine and other flowers before reaching the upper basin. There to, the shooting stars were still going but past the peak. There were big clumps of Indian paintbrush. We also saw some elephant head, bog orchids, thistle, asters, and more. Bean Peak also came into view. So far we had seen only one couple hiking out and no tents. Since there were 4 or 5 cars in the lot I expected to see more people.

It was now getting really hot and the plan boiled down to getting up Bean Peak and back without melting. I don't particularly enjoy the direct climb to the ridge connecting to Earl Peak. I prefer to wind my way up from beneath the summit. Our route meandered around a bit but did offer some periodic shade much of the way up. Glacier lilies were all withered but the ground was still wet much of the way up. Our route was easy on the knees and we stowed poles for the last 100' of rock to the summit.

On top we found nobody. In fact, we spent nearly two hours on top and had no company. There was a whisper of wind which did provide a little cooling. I figured we would not stay on top too long. Then Kim moved 15 feet to the other side of the summit. There was a steady wind blowing there. If fact it was a cold breeze. The temperature dropped 30 degrees. It was fantastic. I walked back to the other side. No wind. I went 15 feet back. Steady cold wind. Hmm.... what was going on. I have no idea. I do know we stayed on the cold side.

There were no clouds when we summited but they steadily crept in. That too helped to cool things off. We really hated to leave. At 3:20 we did head on down. Back in the basin we passed three overnighters who were out for a walk. A fourth person was back in camp. The clouds provided occasional shade which helped with photography. Below the upper basin we ran into one final person. It was John Morrow of the Forest Service hard at work. He recognized both of us. John is an interesting guy and we had a nice conversation. More flower shots and then back into forest. With all the stops it was nearly 7:00 pm when we returned to the lot.

We stopped at the Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum for dinner before the drive home. It was after 10:00 when I arrived home. It was a long day and a hot one. The saving grace was the narrow breeze across the summit and the clouds. It made the day much more manageable than I expected. The flowers were not the best I have seen in the basin but they were still very good. The views from the peak were excellent. All in all, it was a fine day to be on the trail.

002
White On Black
018
Aster
020
Multiple Colors
031
Scarlet Gilia
044
Shooting Stars Along Creek
055
Bistort
063
Field Of Paintbrush
065
Bean Peak Above Basin
072
Elephant Head
074
Red Paintbrush
078
Thistle
080
Balsamroot
084
Ascending Bean
087
Reddish Rock
092
Summit Above
093
Slanted Rock
096
Kim  & Basin Below
098
Starting Summit Scramble
099
Scrambling
101
Near The Top
102
Summit Visitor
106
Mt. Stuart
108
Volcanic Neck
113
County Line Trail
115
Stuart Summit
119
Sherpa Balanced Rock
121
Clouds
125
Fourtune & Ingalls
130
Bean Creek Basin
132
Earl Peak
134
Descending Bean
140
Yellow Flower
143
Different Paintbrush
145
Deep Red Paintbrush
151
Bog Orchid
159
More Gilia
166
Better Light
169
One More Flower
174
Columbine
176
Hiking Along Bean Creek
Click on thumbnails to get larger pictures.

Trips - 2009

Home