2010 Trips
Cooper Spur, Mount Hood
8 miles of hiking • 2500' elevation gain •
Second time here, and still cool but definitely pales a bit next to the lush meadows of the McNeil shelter hike on the west side of Hood. Hot day, some snow to the south of the rocky section, but overall easy navigation. Still one of the best and highest near Portland.
September 23, 2010
Camp Muir (attempt), Mount Rainier
4 miles of hiking • 2500' elevation gain •
Didn't plan this one too well, so didn't leave enough time. Perfect clear day, but in the morning the snow was very icy and slippery. Should've had microspikes - moved to the rockline and headed towards Moon Rocks. Stopped near Anvil Rock and decided to turn back due to time. Later realized I was less than 45 mins from camp. Dangerous descent, but snow softened eventually. Bears nears paradise, 2 cubs and 3 adults in the valley. Amazing day, one of the best yet.
September 14, 2010
Burroughs Mountain, Mount Rainier
5 miles of hiking • 1000' elevation gain •
Easy hike, but completely rewarding. Some icy snow on the shaded side of First Burroughs, but fine with trekking poles or spikes. Spectacular views of Rainier's Glaciers, Little Tahoma, the North Cascades, and even downtown Seattle. or more of a challenge, drop down and ascend Third Burroughs.
August 29, 2010
Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm
6 miles of hiking • 2000' elevation gain •
Amazing! Most beautiful hike yet. A long drive and overnight from Portland, but worth it. Cascade Pass is easy, keep going to Sahale Arm and up to the camp if late in the season and no snow. Stunning alpine views, wildflowers, and lots of bears on the trail.
August 22, 2010
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McNeil Point Shelter
9 miles of hiking • 2250' elevation gain •
Best hike within 60 miles of Portland. Climb the rocky ridge above McNeil shelter for closeups of the glaciers. Wildflowers, distant waterfalls, alpine scenery, views of other cascade volcanoes. Awesome!
August 4, 2010
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Diamond Lake, Crater Lake
4 miles of hiking • 0' elevation gain •
Visited Crater Lake for the first time, but it was early season so there was still snow and mosquitoes at the higher trailheads. Headed down to Diamond lake to camp, and did a short hike around the lake. Extremely crowded, families, dogs, RVs, etc. but fun atmosphere and beautiful evening. Amazing place, can't wait to go back.
July 23, 2010
Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain
5 miles of hiking • 1500' elevation gain •
This was really fun. Took the dogs, and they're not real athletic. Mirror Lake was okay, kind of crowded, but the bird's eye view of Government Camp from the top and the eye-level perspective of the ski slopes on Palmer Glacier were pretty great. Ollalie Butte and Jeff behind us were a nice change of scenery. This is a good family hike if you're ready to sweat a little. The dogs were parched and slept the whole drive home.
July 18, 2010
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Siouxon Creek Trail
5 miles of hiking • 750' elevation gain •
Love this trail for its remoteness and beauty. Never done the whole thing, usually join my husband while he mountain bikes. Good for swimming and trail running. Difficult to get to - road was washed out for a while, but is accessible again.
July 15, 2010
Saddle Mountain
5 miles of hiking • 1500' elevation gain •
What? I thought this was supposed to be an easy one! Surprisingly strenuous, but overall quick and over way too soon. Lots of touristy features, and quite an ugly summit. But we took some of our best wildflower photos on this hike, and it was nice to get out of the Gorge. Not my favorite hike ever, but definitely worth it.
July 9, 2010
Dog Mountain
3.5 miles of hiking • 1000' elevation gain •
Wow, terrible day. Really out of shape. Had a tantrum and quit. Gotta go running.
June 17, 2010
Pololu Beach, Big Island
3 miles of hiking • 750' elevation gain •
Short hike to beautiful beach with olivine sand on the north end of the island.
March 23, 2010
View trips from: 2011