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August 15 to August 20, 2026 46 miles 6,500 feet gained 5 nights
Family visiting from NYC and Chicago. We had 9 people- 4 sexagenarians and 5 people in their 20s. 1) Shake down trip on the beach. We hiked from 3rd Beach trailhead to Scott Creek. It was super busy, but we had fun on the sketchy ladders and beachwalking great tidepooling on the headlands. 8 miles, 1000 ft gain, one night. 2) Hoh River- 38 miles 5500 feet ga...
August 3 to August 6, 2026 Lake Lillian 18 miles 5,650 feet gained 3 nights
I saw a call out for volunteers to monitor marmots in Olympic National Park and was able to convince my pals to join the fun. After a half day of classroom training in Port Angeles, and a few hours in the field on Hurricane Hill, we set off for our study area. We left the Obstruction Point trailhead at 5:30 pm and hiked south on the ridge, then dropped into...
August 3 to August 4, 2026 Eliot Glacier 5 miles 1,000 feet gained 1 night
Snow skills weekend, got a little bit of ice climbing in.
July 21 to July 24, 2026 Prusik Peak 22 miles 6,750 feet gained 3 nights
I was fortunate to be invited on this climb by a friend who won the lottery. It's a darn long approach for a 5 pitch rock climb. But it sure is beautiful there. We were worried about the smoke as we drove up through Yakima, but it cleared as we started hiking. Climb day was bluebird. We stayed at Snow Lake, and had some delightful swimming! Saw goats and mar...
July 11, 2026 11.5 miles 1,500 feet gained
Anniversary weekend with my beloved partner of 30 years! We did a little hike every day. It was cool in the morning, got quite hot in the afternoons. We look forward to returning to explore more in a cooler month. 1) Aspen Peak 4.5 miles, 750 gain. Got a late start, so we drove up to the ski area to avoid the heat. Huge groves of aspen up here. Nothing bu...
June 28, 2026 Gray Butte 6 miles 1,500 feet gained
As you drive south on 26/97 from Madras to Terrebonne, look east, just north of Smith. You will see several ridgetop pinnacles. This area is referred to as Mendenhall Ridge on Mountain Project. The biggest horn shaped tower has an offensive name, but I call it Picnic Rock. The precarious pinnacle with a narrow base has been called both Hanging Rock and the P...
June 24, 2026 Dog Mountain 6.5 miles 2,750 feet gained
Quick sprint up the Dog. Balsamroot is done, but other flowers are out to enjoy,
June 10 to June 13, 2026 Hart Mountain 25 miles 5,500 feet gained 3 nights
I had 3 days to get to Lake Tahoe for a climbing trip, so I decide to explore some desert peaks and look for petroglyphs in the Great Basin. 1) Diablo Peak. This is northeast of Summer Lake OR. Crossed a sand flat, then wandered up to the Diablo Rim. Stopped at Picture Rock pass to find a panel. 9 miles 1700 feet. 2) Warner Peak at Hart Mountain National Ant...
June 7, 2026 South Sister 12 miles 5,000 feet gained
Fun trip with the Mazamas up the standard south side route. Original plan was to camp at Green Lakes, then circle around to the north side, and ascend via Prouty Glacier, but the weather came in on Saturday, so we bumped it to a one day climb on Sunday. Weather was perfect!
June 3, 2026 Hidden Lake 5 miles 750 feet gained
Nice little leg stretcher in the woods. Rhodies and beargrass are in bloom
May 29 to May 30, 2026 Emmons Glacier 12 miles 5,500 feet gained 1 night
First Mazama lead of 2026. Steamboat Prow (9700 ft) is a peak on the east side of Mt Rainier near Camp Sherman. We hiked in to the Glacier Basin back country camp and had the place to ourselves. What a pleasant evening watching the marmots frolic in the nearby meadow and the clouds roaming around the mountaintop. Woke up to goats grazing on the hillside, and...
May 21, 2026 Table Mountain 9 miles 3,250 feet gained
Started from Bonneville Hot Springs. Trails are in great condition with lots of signs. Views and flowers were delightful, but the buggies are very active above 2000 ft. Had to keep moving.
May 9, 2026 Echo 10 miles 3,500 feet gained
I was recruited by a friend to help place some acoustic monitoring devices for songbird data collection. The trails in this area have been abandoned, and hit by the Holiday Farm fire of 2020. Although we didnt cover many miles or eg, it was strenuos bushwacking for all four placements. Slightly ridiculous but also fun in a type 2 way.
May 6, 2026 Eagle Creek Trail 5 miles 750 feet gained
Attempted to go up Ruckel Ridge, but the PO is pretty bad after Buck Point so I turned around. There is a large landslide (likely from the December river of atmosphere event) onto the paved gorge trail just west of Ruckel Creek, but there is a well worn workaround footpath. The Ruckel Creek trail is still closed with a piece of fence and do not enter sign at...
April 30, 2026 Angels Rest 4.5 miles 1,250 feet gained
Lucky Day- my son agreed to go on a hike with me!
April 25, 2026 Coyote Wall 7.5 miles 1,750 feet gained
Last Alpenhounds hike, bittersweet.
April 23, 2026 Sacagawea and Papoose Rocks 6 miles 1,000 feet gained
Lovely Earth Day. Spring coming on strong. Enjoying more of the new trails around Bonneville. Got in some ridiculous bushwacking too, looking for a quarry marked on the map. No trace of the quarry visible, but I did have a wild turkey encounter.
April 1, 2026 22 miles 4,500 feet gained
Trip to the Arizona desert. Day 1- visited Perry Mesa in the Agua Fria National Monument. This plateau has 7 or 8 pueblo ruins and many petroglyphs. I visited Pueblo La Plata, then ventured onto rugged roads toward Baby Canyon. Maybe I took the wrong road, because my rental SUV could not handle it. So I stopped and just headed down a side canyon and found so...
March 27, 2026 Butlers Pond 5 miles 750 feet gained
Explored some of the new trails being built in the area. Lower Greenleaf Falls has had some big washouts since the last time I visited, including taking out part of a new trail.
March 20 to March 21, 2026 Macks Canyon 12.5 miles 1,750 feet gained 1 night
This was supposed to be a ski trip to the Tilly Jane Cabin. But there was thin cover and rain predicted, so we pivoted to the Deschutes! It's so beautiful here.
March 14, 2026 Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area 9.5 miles 2,250 feet gained
Alpenhounds!
January 23, 2026 Vista Point 5 miles 1,500 feet gained
Chilly and a few icy spots.
January 15, 2026 Monitor Ridge (Climbing Route) 8 miles 3,000 feet gained
Beautiful sunny day. So warm. Lower mountain did not refreeze overnight. We forgot snowshoes. I thought there would be a good bootpack- nope. It was total mashed potatoes, posthole city, exhausting. Very thin coverage on the Worm flows, so we were able to scramble along the rock spine for a bit, but that was slow too. Then I tweaked my knee and became very w...
January 8, 2026 Carpenters Lake 6 miles 1,250 feet gained
It was a rainy day so we did a short hike from Bonneville Hot Springs to the Cedar Falls overlook. Since the reopening of the Dick Thomas trail, the whole area has been resigned and well maintained. Look forward to going back and revisiting the trail system that has been hard to access for several years. Soaked at the hot springs afterward ( 25$ for 2 hours)...
