Monica Meadows

We've been planning a quick hike to Monica Meadows to see the fall larch color and have been waiting for an opportunity in conjunction with the height of fall color in the alpine. Monica Meadows is possibly one of the most scenic areas around here. Last fall we had a glorious day hike at the end of September with beautiful color in the larches, a blue sky and warm temperatures. This year we weren't so lucky.

We've been having a cold spell recently and some rain which almost always translates into snow up higher. As you can see from the photo, there was certainly snow up where we hiked. In some places, it would have been over my boots if I hadn't had my gaiters on. Did I mention that it was also pretty cool? Fortunately, there were blue patches in the sky and spots of sunshine here and there. The drive up Glacier Creek was, as always, very scenic, and the hike in and out of Monica Meadows was pretty fast, helping to burn up some calories on the day before Thanksgiving day dinner. This was also Andrea and Demitri's first visit to this area, although I have this feeling they were looking at the snowy slopes trying to figure out how they could get in here for some skiing this winter.

The photo looks out across some of Monica Meadows to the south, towards the Horseshoe Glacier which is just west of Jumbo Pass, the place where they still (thankfully) don't have another ski resort. For more pictures, visit http://picasaweb.google.ca/dave.mcc51/Summer2009#