After a few weeks away from the mountain, last night I decided it was time to check back in on Lakes Clara and Marion as the calendar flipped into August. I headed upslope from the Base Area around 7pm, right as the light began to soften toward sunset and the mountain air cooled off into a brisk and blustery evening, perfect weather for a comfortable ascent.
Since my last trip, the fireweed has exploded to life across the whole length of the trail from base elevations all the way up to Lake Clara. Dense patches are painting those hillsides in the distinctive pink-purple wash, with higher elevations just about to peak and lower elevations now just a touch past. That’s a sure sign that late summer is creeping in before we know it.
Trail conditions are in good shape. Being a higher and mostly shaded route serves it well this time of year, keeping the tread packed and avoiding dusty conditions.
As the light dropped, the views opened up over both Lake Clara and Lake Marion. Clara’s looking as fresh as ever, ringed by lush vegetation and conifers. Marion’s stark talus backdrop of Mission Peak’s lower slopes never fails to catch the eye, and even moreso now as the lake level has dropped a bit as summer progresses. After enjoying the payoff for a few minutes, I headed back down to close out a trip of a bit over 3 miles and around 1000 feet of elevation gain.
All in all, a great excuse to get out on the trail for an evening. I got back down in time to grab food at the Chair 5 Pub and catch the tail end of a set from Micah J, who’s always a familiar and welcome face at the Pub. Thank you to everyone who came up and made it a great weekend; we’ll see you back on the mountain starting next Friday.
Base Area Forecast
Sunday 8/2: Sunny, with a high near 63. Northwest wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.
Monday 8/3: Widespread haze after 3pm. Widespread smoke before 3pm. Sunny, with a high near 69. West wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable.
Chair 5 Pub Schedule
Restaurant open Fridays from 4-9pm, Saturdays from 11am-9pm, and Sundays from 9am-2pm.
No chairlifts run during the summer season.
Summer Access Policy
During the summer season (May–October), public access within the Mission Ridge Special Use Permit area is permitted except where restricted due to maintenance and construction. We love seeing the Mission Ridge community in the mountains and on the trails year-round, but please make sure to check out the full access policy by clicking the link below.
