August 16, 2015 Mountainkat Sprite Lake 19.82 miles 5,500 feet gained
We got a shuttle from the Snow Lakes TH to Stuart Lake TH and set out at 7:00 am. We got to Colchuck Lake before 9:00 am and after a break, we started to climb Aasgard Pass by 9:30 am. As we climbed, it became apparent that the smoke from the nearby fires would be impeding views at the top of the pass. We hoped the lakes basin would not be smoky, but, it was...
August 16 to August 20, 2015 Jen Iron Cap Mountain 32 miles 8,000 feet gained 4 nights
We were supposed to be going Round the Mountain this week, but had to change plans because of the fire. A look at one of the air quality maps indicated that the west side of the WA Cascades would be a good bet so we zeroed in on that area. I recalled TRs from Bosterson and Awildman of this area and the beautiful pictures(thank you for the inspiration!) and s...
August 16, 2015 Roman Goat Marsh Lake 2.5 miles 250 feet gained
My brother had time for a short hike, so we headed to where I hiked last week (less offtrail part). There's really high views to miles ratio, such a nice (and quiet) place! This trail got some brushing/maintenance in the past week.
August 16, 2015 Karl Lemei Rock 10 miles 2,250 feet gained
The forecast called for north winds. The thought was to get some views of the Cougar Creek fire on Mount Adams. First attempt to accomplish that would be climbing Sleeping Beauty. When we got to the trailhead, the smoke was so thick we didn't even bother getting out of the Jeep. The second attempt was hiking in to Lemei Rock from the east. When we got to thi...
August 16, 2015 Woodswalker Blue Lake 9 miles 1,750 feet gained
Great day, Nice clear air surprisingly. Smokey east of the Cascades. We didn't do the whole loop having heard from backpackers, who heard from someone else that the South Fork Toutle trail was washed out. We later ran into hikers who had done the loop and said that there was a easily managed rockslide, passable by even the unadventurous. Still we were happy ...
August 16, 2015 Mileage Mike Dry Lake 11 miles 2,000 feet gained
Plenty of smoke in the area but it wasn't bad on this trail! This is an awesome hike in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness but not many views for those that need open expanses. The Salmon River seemed cloudy and we were wondering if there was some ash from the fires that made its way from some tributary streams in the fire region? This is typically pristine c...
August 16, 2015 Rhonda Bear Lake 3 miles 1,000 feet gained
Since our hiking time wasn't working out to do a long mile hike this weekend, we decided to do some shorter hikes near home. We had never been to Coffin Mountain before and I have to say for a 3 mile round trip hike, this hike gave us one of the best 360 views in all of our hikes. Impressive! The gal manning the lookout was friend and informative and gave us...
August 16, 2015 Rhonda Independence Rock 2 miles 500 feet gained
On our way back from Coffin Mountain we stopped and did a quick run up to Independence Rock per the advice of the Lookout staff back at Coffin Mountain. This was a quick but nice jaunt up with a great view of the Marion Creek area!
August 15, 2015 Kinkilla Timberline Trail 12.5 miles 3,500 feet gained
August 15 to August 16, 2015 Stacey Mazama 44.5 miles 10,000 feet gained 1 night
Our second attempt at the Timberline Trail in two days, after getting thundersnowed off the mountain last year. This time, eight hikers completed Day 1, Vista Ridge to Timberline Lodge. Five hikers completed the entire trail! Beautiful weather, good company, great food and accomodations at Timberline Lodge.
August 15, 2015 Mountainkat Schaefer Lake 9.07 miles 3,000 feet gained
This was the first hike on our hiking vacation week. You have to cross the bridge-less Chiwawa River in the beginning of the hike. On the way in, we followed the maze of downed logs until we reached the other side. On the way back, we just removed our shoes and walked across. There were a ton of very tiny baby frogs. So cute. Schaefer Lake was quite beautifu...
August 15, 2015 B-Dog Windy Pass 14 miles 5,000 feet gained
Saturday was a perfect day for this climb. It was sunny with a nice cool breeze at our backs. The trail was dry and bug free. We hit all 4 lakes on the way up and had some incredible views high up on the ridge. We had the summit of Cashmere in our sights and could have pressed on, but it would have been an additional (4) hours to our trip and we had a turn a...
August 15, 2015 Woodswalker Cloud Cap Saddle Campground/Day Use 5.76 miles 1,750 feet gained
Totally beautiful day with excellent views. The smoke didn't start making a haze until later in the day and then mostly eastish. The glacier actually looks a lot more broken up than when I was there a month ago.
August 15, 2015 Mileage Mike Gobblers Knob 10.2 miles 2,250 feet gained
Another PCT adventure! We parked on NF-68, about 3 miles NE on the PCT from Panther Creek. We immediately met the PCT hiker ICYHOT at our car and gave him a couple packs of Oreo's. It seems his name was from almost freezing in the California Mt.'s and then needed to be re-hydrated in a hospital after being dehydrated in a desert! We only saw two other PCT se...
August 15, 2015 Chris Broken Top 15.5 miles 2,750 feet gained
August 15, 2015 BeaverDawg Bear Lake 17 miles 0 feet gained
We hiked from the Thomas Lake Trailhead to Blue Lake then onto the PCT for a lollipop loop around Clear Lake, a side trip passed Bear Lake to Elk Lake and back on to the PCT to Blue Lake and back out. Cool, foggy and drippy weather to start gave way to partly sunny skies though it remained fairly cool especially around Blue Lake where it seemed much cooler t...
August 15, 2015 Rhonda Stahlman Point 4.5 miles 1,500 feet gained
Our hiking time was short for Saturday so we took a quick trip to Stahlman Point. We had never been here before and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The views up top were amazing! I did my first ever trail run back down to the car and I loved it. 6 months ago I wouldn't have been able to run even a tenth of what I did. Love how hiking among some added week...
August 14, 2015 Mileage Mike Fall Creek 8 miles 1,500 feet gained
We started out this hike in thunderstorms, which lasted about an hour, which was followed by about two hours of hard rain! The thunder was quite loud at times and it was a surreal environment! It was so nice to be out in the rain and we were prepared for this cool, windy and wet weather. Nobody on the trail system which really made this a nice hike with plen...
August 12, 2015 Woodswalker Lake Branch Cascades 8 miles 1,500 feet gained
With the heat I wanted to end my hike with a lake. So I headed east out I-84 to Lost Lake. On the way I saw a a huge smoke cloud which I later found out was the Cougar creek fire on S.E. Mt. Adams. The way up to the butte goes through some really nice forest. Lots of Rhodies and not a lot of dead tree. Surprisingly I was not seeing a ton of impact offtrail c...
August 11 to August 13, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci Crater Mountain 8 miles 2,000 feet gained 2 nights
Camping trip with the Mrs. Day hiked Thunder Knob on the west side of the cascades and then drove over to Winthrop and hiked the Patterson Mtn. Loop. The loop hike was very dusty & hot, approx 105 degrees, w/ minimal shade & zero water sources. Wife chanted "serenity now" through out the hike to get through it. Views were also muted on both hikes by haze & s...
August 11, 2015 Vikki Rays Lake 3 miles 0 feet gained
August 11, 2015 Vikki Rays Lake 3 miles 0 feet gained
August 10 to August 11, 2015 Karl Olallie Campground 23 miles 2,000 feet gained 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day Five! This one was totally off my radar, but a friend had mentioned she wanted to go see it, I took a quick look at the 'net, and couldn't have been happier to accompany! What a treat. The water has a mystical blueness to it that defies the imagination. Tamolitch Pool, aka "Blue Pool", is positively electric! Never seen such a stretch of bea...
August 9, 2015 Mountainkat Lake Kwaddis 12.04 miles 1,500 feet gained
We started at the Thomas Lake TH and intended on getting to Lemei Rock, but we were majorly sidetracked by ripe huckleberries!
August 9 to August 10, 2015 Karl Collier Cone 18.5 miles 3,500 feet gained 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day Four! The original plan was for an in/out lollipop to Obsidian Falls, but we had a strong group so the hike was extended into a full loop along the PCT over Opie Dildock Pass to the Collier Glacier Viewpoint, then back down the Scott Trail to our starting point. Despite a persistently overcast sky, it was yet another incredible day along the...
August 9, 2015 Mileage Mike Gotchen Creek 9.2 miles 1,750 feet gained
We had the opportunity to drive a bit further than normal, as the dog was being watched for part of the day. We haven't been to the Mt. Adams area this year so we decided to try a new trail. The Gotchen Creek trail is a 3 mile long trail to spans between NF-8020 and NF-8040. There also appeared to be other trails we could investigate that could add to the di...
August 9, 2015 Roman Goat Mountain 6.18 miles 1,500 feet gained
Visited the lakes & than tried to ascend Goat Mtn from east side but was cliffed out. Saw a herd of elk on the way back, and sunset on MSH was really nice. Fun day. GPS track is attached in the link.
August 9, 2015 BeaverDawg Packard Creek 4 miles 0 feet gained
We'd never been to Whipple Creek so we checked it out, hike the loop trails throughout the park and picked some blackberries on the way out. It's a nice park, with forested trails for equestrians, hikers and bikers.
August 8 to August 9, 2015 Karl Scott Mountain 12 miles 1,750 feet gained 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day Three! This awesome little loop heads out directly from the Scott Lake Campground, our basecamp for five nights. It winds through a pleasant forest, while passing a succession of beautiful lakes. Benson and Tenas Lakes were most gorgeous. We then wound up towards the summit of Scott Mountain, which offered sweeping 360° views across much of ...
August 8, 2015 Rich Pine Creek 8 miles 1,250 feet gained
August 8, 2015 Mileage Mike Frog Lake Campground 8.4 miles 1,000 feet gained
My daughter-in-law had just read the book "Wild" and wanted to hike on the PCT. Her and my son don't go hiking very often so we took them on this very tame section of the PCT. There are some great views of Mt. Hood along this stretch. In addition, we met another bunch of through hikers and handed out Oreo cookies! A great time was had by all!
August 8, 2015 Pablo Hamilton Mountain 18 miles 7,000 feet gained
There are a few ways to do this, originally I spec'ed it as a bike n hike between the Hamilton TH and Bonneville Hot Springs but with Hamilton Creek being low I thought I try one of the pure hiking versions. I could have (and should have) parked at Bonneville HS or the Aldrich Butte TH and gone up Table from there to return on the offtrail piece below Hamilt...
August 8, 2015 BeaverDawg Goat Mountain 14.1 miles 3,000 feet gained
We hiked the cinnamon trail from the Kalama Horse Camp. We went counter clockwise to get the elevation out of the way early, and are glad we as it allowed a nice return trip along the stream. Due to our early start 6:30am, we did not see any equestrians until the last 1/3 of the 14+ mile hike.
August 7 to August 8, 2015 Karl Belknap Crater 8 miles 2,000 feet gained 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day Two! Enjoyed another glorious sunrise at Scott Lake, followed by a trek along the PCT following 1500-year old lava flows to their source. First detour was a short 0.2 mile spur to Little Belknap Crater, enjoying a few lava tubes and generally insane topography along the way. Then we left the main lava flow and climbed what amounted to an 800...
August 7, 2015 Mileage Mike Goat Marsh 7.6 miles 1,250 feet gained
We got out late and had to find a close-in hike. This area of Mt. St. Helens is fairly close and has some excellent views! We had never completed this trail before so we decided to hike up the Kalama Ski Trail and head out to Blue Lake. There were quite a few campers at the lake but we quickly crossed the stream and headed north. The trail north of Blue Lake...
August 7, 2015 B-Dog McClellan Butte 6 miles 2,750 feet gained
Got a quick climb in after work on Friday night. Simon and Keetaan joined me. We hit the summit at just the right time and were able to catch the last bits of sun before the rain sets in this weekend. We took the short cut and used Forest Road 9020 as our access point. This worked out great and proved to be the perfect after work hike and excellent way to en...
August 6 to August 7, 2015 Karl Black Crater 8 miles 2,500 feet gained 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day One! Started and finished the day at the Scott Lake Campground, just a few miles west of Dee Wright Observatory. It was to be our basecamp for five nights, as we wandered around the Three Sisters and Mount Washington Wilderness Areas by day. Black Crater offers one of the most spectacular views of the Cascade volcanoes I believe I have ever ...
August 6, 2015 acorn woodpecker Goat Mountain 4 miles 2,000 feet gained
Visited the cluster of tors east of Goat Mtn. Started on the south ridge of Point 3961to gain the ridge. Steep! Walked along the undulating ridge and visited two of the four tors on my way to scope a route up Goat Mtn from the east. Only made it part of the way up and had to turn around due to time constraints. The eastern buttress is very steep and may requ...
August 6, 2015 Jen Mount Saint Helens 9.5 miles 4,500 feet gained
Got my 12 year old and few other first timers to the top on a glorious day. After an active summer of backpacking and ultimate frisbee, my skinny kid CRUSHED it, all I had to do was feed him regularly.
August 3, 2015 Jim Double Peaks Lake 9 miles 2,500 feet gained
Finally managed to get away for some hiking. I decided to visit some off trail lakes above Red and Averill lakes. Several of these lakes hold (held) small populations of trout left over from a previous aerial stocking program. It seems there is no natural reproduction from the efforts and the few remaining trout have disappeared due to the warm water temps t...
August 2, 2015 Mountainkat Walupt Lake 14.11 miles 3,500 feet gained
A quick hike up to Cispus Pass. The weather was not great, but Curtis Gilbert, the Goat Rocks massif, and Ives Peak were visible. Great scenery- we wished that we had better weather so that we could spend more time there and go down into the basin. The many huckleberries bushes along the lower reaches of the trail and along Nannie Ridge were pretty much devo...
August 2 to August 3, 2015 Roman Chenamus Lake 4 miles 250 feet gained 1 night
Since I had one more day off, headed over to Placid and Chenamus Lakes. Placid was half dry - it's always much prettier early in the season, but I've never seen it THAT low! Chenamus didn't drop by much, still very nice at this point, but the best part were huckleberries, I ate as much as I could but didn't make a dent. Expected some rain, but only had coupl...
August 2, 2015 Mileage Mike Service 8.3 miles 2,000 feet gained
It was a last minute decision to head out to the Lemei trail as it is quite a long drive. That said, this is an awesome hike in Indian Heaven and I'm very happy we decided to go here! There were NO hikers on the trail during the entire hike! The Huckleberries were somewhat past peak but there were tons of them and they were so tasty, and we spent much time p...
August 2, 2015 B-Dog Clark Lake 2.5 miles 250 feet gained
Went out for a nice stroll with Mayumi yesterday. She has been sick and had a bad case of Cabin Fever. It was really nice to just get out and stretch our legs.
August 2, 2015 Chris Camp Lake 15.5 miles 2,500 feet gained
August 2, 2015 BeaverDawg Cougar Canyon 6 miles 0 feet gained
Getting in some extra miles hiking the local Greeway trail. Saw a bunch of turtles and a deer.
August 1 to August 2, 2015 Kinkilla Yakima Peak 32 miles 5,000 feet gained 1 night
August 1, 2015 Mountainkat Fairy Falls 15.77 miles 4,750 feet gained
We hiked the Wonderland trail from Box Canyon to Indian Bar. The flowers were all gone and the meadows were getting pretty dry. It was a beautiful hike, but, it would be really nice to hike it when the wildflowers were at peak. It was a very hot day, and the trail has some elevation gain and up and down moments, including a 500 foot drop into Indian Bar. We ...
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