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25 miles / 1,000 feet gained
Stayed at Sunriver for a few days. On the first day we were able to ski out the door. Visited Benham Falls and Swampy Lakes Snow park. Highlight of the trip was getting a cat ride up to Paulina Lake from the 10 mile Snowpark. We skiied around for a few hours, then had dinner at the lodge.
13.5 miles / 1,500 feet gained
Started at Mazama Snow Park and took the Barlow Trail to Trillium. Then miles of fresh tracks on the Mud Creek loop.
10 miles / 3,000 feet gained
So happy to be out in the woods. Grinning for hours. PSA: it's time to start carrying microspikes!
4 miles / 750 feet gained
All of my recent adventure plans have been thwarted by responsibilities. Today I was able to sneak in a morning romp. It was wet,but I was happy to get out and be absolutely alone in the woods.
4.5 miles / 500 feet gained
Trying to burn a few calories before I consume several thousand.
16 miles / 500 feet gained
Spent time with the aged ones in North Carolina and Connecticut. Saw the devastation from the recent hurricane in the south. Just missed the peak of fall in New England.
3.5 miles / 750 feet gained
Tons of mushrooms out there, but I did not find many edibles- just a few chanterelles plus some yellowfeet and early hedgehogs. Totally soaked, but I carried some hot soup with me and enjoyed a misty mountain lunch hunkered under a massive hemlock. Posted are some beauties I did not collect.
10.5 miles / 3,250 feet gained
Beautiful October Day. Saw 8 goats and 0 people! I meant to go to Shellrock too, but took a nap in a meadow instead.
5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
No luck on first try. Hit the jackpot after some rain and dogged persistence.
7.5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
Monday exercise, two different Mondays here:10/1 and 10/8.
7 miles / 3,250 feet gained
Finishing what I started last week. I had left my bike hidden at the Crown Lake trailhead, but made a navigational error and ended up in the Mildred Lakes basin(arduous bushwack) and came out a different road. Hitched a ride with a hunter back to my car and drove straight home. Today I returned and started at S Breitenbush TH, hiked up to Bear Point and went...
28.5 miles / 9,000 feet gained / 3 nights
Glorious! Fall color coming on, huckleberries still plentiful. Went up the S Brietenbush trail to Jefferson Park and stayed two nights at a designated site on Russell Lake. Climbed up the NW side of Jeff to the base of the Whitewater Glacier on day 2. On the third day I took the PCT to Park Ridge and headed off cross country, traveling north on Adventure Rid...
5.5 miles / 2,000 feet gained
Very busy up there today. Went with family and friends, and a Corgi. Terrain was rough for Pickles, he ate a lot of dust.
9 miles / 2,000 feet gained
Via Bluff Mountain Trail. Return trip very slow, collecting huckleberries!
4.5 miles / 500 feet gained
The Wildwood is a concrete sidewalk. Ditto the connector trails. Thank god Lief Ericson and the firelanes have a little give.
8 miles / 2,000 feet gained / 1 night
Brought my son up to Mt Rainier. Last time we came up here it was rainy and overcast. We started out Thursday in the Portland smog and were delighted to find blue skies and the mountain out. We wandered around Longmire, set up camp and went up to Paradise after dinner. Had a wonderful evening up there, brought our chairs and sketchpads. Set up above Alta vis...
19 miles / 5,500 feet gained / 1 night
Started out at Longmire and took the Wonderland to Indian Henry, then headed up above Mirror Lakes. Rather buggy between 3500-5000 ft, but once in the alpine area, it was really nice.However, the whole area is very smoky/hazy. The meadows between Mirror Lakes and Pyramid Peak are lovely. Just need a cross country permit to camp there,I was the only one. Pyra...
17 miles / 5,000 feet gained / 1 night
This was a (mostly) fun solo adventure. I started at 5pm at the Upper Dungeness TH and hiked in to the junction with Royal Creek and set up camp. Next day I hiked up the Dungeness to the super steep Goat Lake trail. Saw a bear! Swam in a gorgeous alpine lake! Took a nap next to a gorgeous alpine lake! After lounging over an hour at the lake, I scrambled up a...
14 miles / 4,750 feet gained / 1 night
We started in the late afternoon and hiked up the Upper Big Quilcene. Set up camp in the meadows just below Marmot Pass. Beautiful sunset. Got up early the next morning to summit Buckhorn, then returned to camp, packed up and headed out. Very nice day.
4.5 miles / 500 feet gained
Trying to get a little am exercise before the oven turns on.
7.7 miles / 3,750 feet gained / 1 night
What a great day of off trail rambling in alpine terrain. Alternating travel between rock, snow and meadows kept it interesting. Saw one goat and lots of marmots.
5.5 miles / 750 feet gained
Our last day in Skye: an introduction to the Black Cuillins. This is where I would return for backpacking. Jagged ridges, high lonesome lochs. Best of all-no sheeps! Makes a big difference in the botanical diversity. The big gabbro slabs are so grippy and invite scrambling up the ridges. It was an overcast day, and my pictures do no justice to the ominous be...
16 miles / 3,000 feet gained
Two different hikes in the same area. Coastal cliffwalks overlooking "The Minch". One of these was solo and I had absolute solitude(except for the sheeps).
4.5 miles / 1,250 feet gained
Absolutely spectacular loop hike.
8 miles / 3,500 feet gained
The Quinag(pronounced Coon-yak) is a Gaelic word for milk pail. We stared at this massive sky island for 3 days, and then climbed it! It was hot and there are no trees on this mountain. Magnificent views all around and fun ridgewalking on the top. Never saw the milk pail resemblance, oh well.
5.2 miles / 1,000 feet gained
First hike on our trip to Scotland. Bonnie weather and crackin views!
12.8 miles / 3,500 feet gained
Can't recommend this trail. So much blowdown from 2009 fire. We started at Tamanawas and took it to Polallie to the Bluegrass Ridge trail. Took it south for the long slog over a million logs. At Elk Mtn,, we dived down 2000 feet of crazy bushwhacking,which would have been fun if we handt been crawling through blowdown for the previous 3 hours. The best part ...
9 miles / 2,000 feet gained
Cool, early morning wanderings. The understory is SO BUSHED OUT right now.
8.5 miles / 1,250 feet gained
Started at the Eagle Creek end and went up to Wildcat. First two miles of trail are overgrown, wearing shorts, shins pulped.
15.5 miles / 5,250 feet gained / 1 night
Did S Sister on a Mazama Climb. Gorgeous day. Also included in the mileage is the little hike I did the night before around Devil's Lake to Devil's Garden which is a magical area with pictographs, marmots and pikas!
7.5 miles / 1,750 feet gained / 1 night
Took the kids camping. The Clear Creek campground is a gem, just 7 well spaced spots, very quiet. Although I usually avoid campgrounds like the plague, this is where the trailhead is, and it was so inviting, we decided to stay! Did the Camas Prairie Loop hike, and the next day we visited Mill Creek Buttes, east of Surveyor's Ridge.
10.2 miles / 3,250 feet gained
Gorgeous day, we were the only ones up there! Road to Cloud Cap still gated. Snow appeared around the Tilly Jane Campground ~5700 ft.
8 miles / 2,000 feet gained
Had fun in the magical forest around Duncan Creek. I continued upstream beyond RailcarFalls and found myself in a maze of Weyerhauser logging roads.Tedious wandering through clearcuts and monoculture reprod, what a sad juxtaposition to the fairyland I had departed! Ended up on the backside of Archer and came down the powerline.
16 miles / 4,500 feet gained
Long day but conditions were perfect. Last time we were stymied by the snowfield above St Helens Lake. This time we brought Ice axe and crampons. Only used the former. Snow very soft.
8 miles / 1,750 feet gained
Beautiful day. This is the perfect bike shuttle, uphill on foot via trail, downstream along the road by bike.
8.5 miles / 2,000 feet gained
Escaped the rain. Flowers coming on strong!
