Maybe wildflowers are a kind of drug. You see bright colors in flowing patterns, and they make you feel all groovy and relaxed. And when you come back down, you almost immediately want more.

I needed to get off the farm for a few days – I really needed to. It was forecast to be gunky weather here and gunky out on the coast (my usual favorite go-to). But east of the Cascades was showing warm and sunny and a friend out that way told me that the wildflowers were a-poppin’. East of the Cascades it was.

…you know, I kept spending another day trying to write this up, getting into a longer and longer, overly-detailed rehashing of everything I did: camping at Lake Wenatchee, paddling around the entirely deserted lake, short hike up to Hidden Lake (spoiler: it’s not particularly well hidden. There are signs telling you which way to go). Tromping around the Chumstick Valley luxuriating in spectacular vistas and fields of wildflowers. Tromping Eagle Creek Canyon for more wildflowers. Tromping around Blewett Pass for – you guessed it – more wildflowers, and some late-season snow. 

I’m going to skip the verbiage. Just have a look and enjoy the pretty pictures in this Photo Album here. And it’s okay, we’re all humming Tom Petty… (though I prefer the Wailin’ Jennys version)