We awoke to fog - a state of being, within a cloud, literally. So we hung out. Nothing cleared by 10 am, so a rest day was declared. I decided I needed a warmer sleeping bag and more padding, and jogged down to the car to pick up a few things, including the Megamid. Good thing too, as about 6 pm it started drizzling, and kept at it until morning.

Aaron thinks a rest day means 'rest'. Funny boy.

Bucky pic of Joanie and local veggies.

Bucky pic of Joanie and local veggies.

RAM, ram and Bucky hiked up to the "Upper Camp" in the whiteout, to check out conditions, etc.

Up through the fog, the snow, the meadows, the flowers... quite a few flowers.

Nice yellow lily thing. Bunch of big patches of these... Erythronium grandiflorum Liliaceae (Lily family) Common name: Yellow Fawn Lily Location: North Cascades National Park, Boston Basin; July 22, 2008. Elevation: approx 5600 feet NAD83: Lat/Lon: 48.51170°N / 121.0567°W Dominance: Scattered large patches. Comments:   Source: (1) Spellenberg, Richard. (1979, 1994) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-394-50431-3. Plate # 280; Description page 579.

Big green cool plants - very common in a lot of places in the Cascades: Veratrum viride melanthiaceae (??? family) Common name: False Hellebore, Indian Poke, Indian Hellebore, Green False Hellebore, Location: North Cascades National Park, Boston Basin; July 22, 2008. Elevation: approx 5600 feet NAD83: Lat/Lon: 48.51170°N / 121.0567°W Dominance: Common: scattered large patches. Comments:   Source: (1) Spellenberg, Richard. (1979, 1994) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-394-50431-3. Plate # 115; Description page 594. (Veratrum californicum, not viride)

Lots of nice heather around, several different colors showing... Phyllodoce empetriformis Ericaceae (Heath family) Common name: Pink Mountain Heather Location: North Cascades National Park, Boston Basin; July 22, 2008. Elevation: approx 5600 feet NAD83: Lat/Lon: 48.51170°N / 121.0567°W Dominance: Common: scattered large patches. Comments:   Source: (1) Spellenberg, Richard. (1979, 1994) National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Region. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-394-50431-3. Plate # 559; Description page 482.

Indian Paintbrush. good stuff. ID? (#5)

Phlox and some kinda penstemmon. ID? (#6)

Some lovely orange-yellow cups - ID? (#7)

The boys found a new friend while out on their trek ----

Set up the mid just in time. Making dinner in the mist.

The mist descends and intensifies as the sun sets.