Babyshoe Pass, October 21, 2026

It was a glorious but chilly day on the northwestern side of Mt Adams. I was searching for Babyshoe Falls, which is a cascade not too far off Forest Road 23 at the Pass in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It has been such a dry fall, that most of the creeks and streams and this waterfall, were gone. The mountain is bare of snow, even near the end of October.

The Adams Glacier is shrinking, as are most of the glaciers in the Cascades. But it is still visible, while there is almost no new snow on the mountain.

This photo was taken at a pull-off/overlook along the drive up to Babyshoe Pass.

There used to be a real Forest Service sign at the pass; a typical looking brown Forest Service sign. , as (unfortunately) often happens, the sign was removed (stolen?). I drove up here on June 1st this year, and only the post with the shoes was standing. Yesterday, I found that someone had taken it upon themselves to replace the sign with a handmade sign. I love it!!!

At the pull-off/overlook, I was most pleasantly surprised to find a few wildflowers still blooming.

While there were probably a hundred Virginia Strawberries in bloom, there was only one Orange Agoseris.

I also found White Campions and Red Clover.

White Campions grow in clusters of flowers, each with a calyx that has stripes on it. The five petals are deeply divided making it seem as if there are ten petals. Each petal is also notched at the end.

We take clovers for granted, but in this close up you can see the intricate details of the petals and leaves.

The larches are changing from green to yellow. They stand out on this hillside of Mt Adams.

The Western Larch is a conifer but like only a few others, they change color and shed their needles in the late fall to early winter.

On the drive back down into Trout Lake, I came across the only waterway on this trip. Big Springs Creek is a year round stream coming down the hillside. The flow of the cascades made great music as it tumbled downstream.

And, amazingly, there were a host of Seep Monkeyflowers blooming in the moss along the streambank.

I hope that next spring I can get back up to search for Babyshoe Falls once more.