Windfall and Dog Hair

I plotted out a route to a steep slope at the headwaters of a creek in the Northwest Cascades. While approaching the site I noted windfall trees on the edge of a clearcut.

While walking the road and a section of trail tookabout 2 hours to cover 6 miles with a fair bit of elevation gain and hiking out took about 1.5 hours as it was downhill, the last quarter mile took nearly an hour each way. 

Windfall trees and dog hair young trees

Dog hair western hemlock obscuring downed trees

It is a slow process navigating over fallen logs and brancheds that tend to break. It did not help that portions of the area were also steep. 

I did reach my goal of getting to the steep headwater slope - that presented its own challenge as there were cliffs in the forest.

Very steep forested slope

Made for a bit of a long day and light got a bit dim before getting back to my starting point, but I did get some nice views as the clouds broke up. 

Whitechuck and Glacier Peak

Whitehorse and Three Fingers