My time at Nuk Tessli was drawing to a close.  On August 5th, friends flew in to share my last few days there together.  It was hot and sunny again and the following day we headed to North Pass meadows.  It did not seem that long ago that I made part of the trek with Doreen at the beginning of the season in late June.   Then, everything was covered with snow and we did not even reach the lake itself.

The trail is an easy climb up Beach Creek.  Soon you can see the southern mountains.

The flowers everywhere were stunning.  Anvil Mt is behind, and the meadows we were aiming for are on the ridge in front of it.

North Pass Lake was amazingly blue.

Once across the lake, we climbed steeply.

At first there did not seem to be a lot of flowers – everything is so late.  I did see a lovely clump of mt meadow buttercups complete with stink bug

And a pair of willow ptarmagin trying to entice me away from their young.

Then I moved around the hillside a little – and the meadows were astounding.

But my real destination was the ridge above the meadows.  First I went half way up to a viewpoint on Avalanche Lake Lookout.  From it, I could see the Chilcotin stone circle that created a flurry of interest in the media earlier this year.

It was a gloomy day and pretty chilly on the North Ridge, but there were no bugs!

The flowers on the more exposed parts of the ridge were finished, but where the snow had lain later, there was a wealth of growth.

Spotted Saxifrage

And a close-up to see why it got its name.

Lance-leaved stonecrop was abundant

And everywhere, there were the amazing alpine harebells.

In the lee of the ridge there was still quite a lot of snow.  This odd sausage-roll formation was the size of a large bus.

I worked my way toward the Mammaries.  Mountain avens had finished where they were blooming earlier, but there were still a lot of flowers between the top of the ridge and the snow.

There was even  a surprising clump of paintbrush there.

Roseroot was now in seed but still colourful.  (The seedheads of the mountain avens are behind.)

Water was scarce on the ridge but I found this chilly snowmelt pool for a drink.

And now we are coming down the west face of the last of the Mammaries.

And here were several vibrant clumps of the eminently photogenic moss campions

I am developing quite bad arthritis in both knees so have been finding the hikes quite painful and have not been able to cover the ground I had hoped this summer.  So it was a real treat to have Doron and friends, and my dogs, help me carry a 2-night camp to the top of Long Meadow, enabling me to explore the Mammaries at a leisurely pace.

Doron is in front, carrying part of my gear.

Badger doesn’t seem to care much about his pack

But Harry is somewhat more reluctant!

I put the tent in a tiny sheltered spot just below the last big clump of trees.  The place I used for my small fire is in the middle of the foreground, marked by the dogpacks.  (In the absence of tall trees to hang food in away from the bears, I keep cooking areas well away from the tent.  I have never had any trouble.)

Here is the view from the firepit.

In the afternoon I had ample leisure to explore around the camp.  Long Meadow was magnificent.

The less colourful, but equally dramatic false hellibore, a member of the lily family, reputedly the most deadly poisonous plant in Canada.

We were close to patches of snow, and the dogs had plenty of chances to cool off.

One day there was a lot of activity on the waterfront near my cabin.

Next thing, there was a platform.

Then some walls

Next was the waterpump

Then the snorkel stove

Et Voila!  A hot tub!