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8.5 miles / 1,750 feet gained
Actually 12/31, I meant to go up to Observation Peak but I got onto the Sunshine Trail and it was a terrible mess of downed trees and brush and then something happened inside my knee. Turned back. Found a massive cauliflower mushroom on the way out.
7.5 miles / 2,000 feet gained
The Elevator Shaft has not improved since my last visit 2 years ago. Brushy with PO at the bottom. Bushwack through burnt part of basin at top. Good times for my hearty crew who were up for the adventure. We went over to Nesika and came back through the XMas Ornament Trail. We were going to return via Franklin Ridge and the Oneonta trail, but team was curiou...
4 miles / 500 feet gained
Enjoying the coast during the "river of atmosphere". Ground saturated, and all creeks at flood stage.
6.5 miles / 3,250 feet gained
Cool desert scramble with knife edge ridge. No trail. Approached using a wash, then following intermittent cairns up through ledges and ramps. HIked out in dark
8.5 miles / 4,500 feet gained
Started from Climber's Bivouac. Road there is still snow free and the gate was open, but there is some ambiguity about when it's going to close. Some sources say it is closed already, and a sign enroute also says closed. Another party came up from Marble Mountain and felt some anguish when they discovered that they could have saved 1300 ft of gain. Snow star...
5 miles / 250 feet gained
Fun trip to Ole's Cave, and collected mushrooms on the way out.
27 miles / 3,000 feet gained
We stayed in Kanab and went hiking every day! 1) Red Canyon and Dino tracks 4 miles, 500 ft 2) Starlight Canyon 8 miles 1150 ft 3) North Rim GC, Uncle Jim trail-beautiful aspens 7.5, 500 ft 4) Nampoweap=the best, many petroglyphs 3 mi, 300 ft 5) Many Pools slickrock scramble4 miles, 750 ft
4 miles / 750 feet gained
Wandering in the woods for hours. Got soaked. Found some fungi!
51 miles / 13,750 feet gained / 7 nights
I went to California for 10 days and had some fun hikes. 1) Castle Lake- 4 miles, 750 ft 2) Mt Hubris-with the Mazamas. 5 pitches of glorious granite. Amazing lofty summit. Nice park but the campground is unfortunately very close to I-5. Trucks and trains roaring all night. 6 miles, 2250 ft 3) Deer Pass in the Sierras. Started in Mammoth Lakes. Wanted to vis...
5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
Just a pleasant and cool wander on the piney paths in the forest. Still love this place.
4 miles / 250 feet gained / 1 night
I went up to check on a couple wildlife cameras for Cascadia Wild. Forgot to bring hiking shoes. HIked in flipflops and toes socks for first camera. Found a single shoe at trailhead that was just my size- used it for second camera. Bummer coming up through the burn area on the Clackamas. Miles of the canyon are completely scorched. Olallie area is a mosaic b...
13.5 miles / 7,750 feet gained / 2 nights
Really fun climb. We hiked in to a base camp on Ingalls Creek, then spent the next day scrambling up 4500 feet of granite. Only sketchy in one spot really with loose dirt and rockfall. The upper couloir is supposed to have a persistent snow field, but not this year. Some rain came through on approach day and climb day was nice and cool. Views limited, but we...
18 miles / 6,750 feet gained / 2 nights
Conditions very different from last year's attempt. Glaciers melted out and mazed with crevasses. Winnies Slide and the Hourglass features were ice walls, got to use my ice screws! We had to turn back after the first pitch on the summit block because a party ahead of us slowed us down and we were very worried about returning through the crevasses in the dark...
2 miles / 500 feet gained
I was taking part in a Mazama multipitch course over two days on Acker Rock. Went up and down to the LO tower twice. Climbed the 10 pitch SW face once. What a thrill!
37 miles / 8,250 feet gained / 3 nights
Family backpack like the old days! Everyone loved it.
4 miles / 1,750 feet gained
Went climbing. Had to hike up over Misery Ridge twice with heavy packs. Not bad in the morning, but brutal in the afternoon. Successfully led three of the five pitches of a route called First Kiss, what a thrill!
37 miles / 8,500 feet gained / 3 nights
Carefully planned Olympus climb foiled by rain! We chose this lovely backpacking loop and did a bit of scrambling too. The Lyman Basin and Buck Creek Pass areas were just spectacular. Team pretty happy with plan B.
12 miles / 7,000 feet gained / 1 night
We were going for the summit via the well defined DC route. Originally scheduled for the day before, but 50 mph winds had us almost cancel, with the forecast vastly improved for the next day, we went for it. Slept for a couple hours at Camp Muir, then started heading up at midnight. Just as we were finishing the rock scramble on the cleaver, a bunch of teams...
12 miles / 3,000 feet gained
Wonderful old growth forest on the edge of the blast zone
26 miles / 9,000 feet gained / 2 nights
Got a cross country permit for the Pyramid zone. Approached from Longmire via the Wonderland to Indian Henry's patrol cabin, then turned up the Mirror Lake trail. Had so much fun travelling up to the alpine over slabs of glacier scoured rock with waterfalls and snowfields. I set up camp on a saddle just north of Pyramid Peak with Tahoma, Pyramid and Kautz gl...
7 miles / 2,750 feet gained
We set up a car shuttle, then went up the south ridge and came down Grouse Vista. Stopped for a scramble up Pyramid Rock on the way down. Not a big bear grass bloom this year, but lots of lovely flowers.
5 miles / 1,250 feet gained
Another trail maintenance trip thwarted by hailstorms. So beautiful anyhow.Flowers blooming and the smell of the sage delicious.
13.5 miles / 1,500 feet gained / 1 night
Here to do trail maintenance for ONDA. 3 creek crossings between miles 2 and 3. Fast and swift. 2 of them mid thigh deep. We crossed in our underwear and sandals. Camped around 6900 ft under some big cottonwoods, in view of the headwall-gorgeous! We got hailed and snowed on overnight and awoke to a light snow fall. Had planned to do trail maintenance further...
14.5 miles / 5,000 feet gained / 1 night
So nice to camp up in the alpine again! Bugs have not started quite yet, but they are waking up.
6.5 miles / 2,750 feet gained
Early morning hike with friend to beat the heat. Flowers on the wane, and the summit is buggy, we didnt linger.
5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
Did two different hikes in the area, a lot of off trail. Looking for morels, but I'm a few weeks late, only found 3. But I did spot a baby bunny!
11 miles / 6,000 feet gained
Summit attempt, but we turned back at 9850 ft. The route had melted out significantly during the recent heat wave. A few teams ahead of us were knocking down rocks. As we began climbing the steepest section, rockfall became more frequent, and we didnt feel safe. We stopped to reconsider. When a small rock came down without warning from above and hit our team...
6 miles / 3,250 feet gained
Came back for the views! With Mazama pals and some new BCEP grads. You can drive to lower TH and glissade chutes were funl
5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
Got the kid to go hiking with me! Cant do the full loop yet, so we just went up to the observation deck. Found a bit of shade and relaxed and sketched, listening to the wind in the trees. Best Mother's Day present. Delphiniums lining the first half mile of trail.
12 miles / 1,750 feet gained
Came up here two days in a row. The ghost of Basil Clark has been very busy in the area. The firebreak roads now have some well maintained single track with lovely wooden signs. Unfortunately, someone also completely festooned the trails with flagging. So much flagging. Flagging ad nauseum. Flagging on every other tree. Several times I stood in one spot and ...
7 miles / 2,750 feet gained
The understory was warm and only a little drippy, but the open meadows were socked in and wind was roaring. Scurried up and down that section. Not many out today. Balsamroot and friends just starting to open up in the lowest meadow. Feels like the snow just melted off the top. There was some snow coming down, but not likely to stick.
8 miles / 2,250 feet gained
Spring has begun! Havent been on some of these trails since before the fire. Interesting mosaic burn pattern,with scorched hillsides alternating with intact old growth. The Primrose Path is now nicely grubbed out with signs. Larkspurs just starting to bloom down low near Coopey Falls.
9 miles / 2,750 feet gained
We were supposed to do the Elk /King traverse, but had to curtail our plans. Large group and deep wet snow above 2200 ft slowed us considerably. We were breaking trail for most of the trip beyond Elk Mtn. Very surprised to see multiple avalanche debris fields on the way out. Forecast was iffy, so we were happy it turned out to be a dry day!
16 miles / 1,750 feet gained / 1 night
Escape to the High Desert. Did three different hikes. The first two were off trail wanders up and down the rimrock basalt bluffs above the Deschutes. The first night I camped- it was warm and pleasant. Explored Tenmile Creek and Gate Spring Canyon(waypoint). On the second day I visited the lower section of the Criterion Tract ( Lost Valley). Was going to hea...
7.5 miles / 2,000 feet gained
We were expecting terrible weather, but it was actually quite nice. Lovely fluffy snow for an hour or two at the top, but not much rain or wind, even a few sun breaks.
11.5 miles / 2,250 feet gained
Got a cabin for two nights at Cottonwood Canyon SP. Weather was a little rough on the first day, we hiked the Pinnacle Trail in the park. The second day was perfect for our big adventure: dropping down into the John Day canyon from the high tablelands above. The goal was to find some petroglyphs, and that was successful, but the journey was what made the tri...
5.5 miles / 1,000 feet gained
The 2023 BCEP class has begun! First hike with the Alpenhounds. They were good sports in the dreary weather and were game when I suggested a switch up to get a bit of steep climbing in.
5.5 miles / 1,500 feet gained
I've been working too much, and mostly skiing and climbing on my days off. It was nice to get out for a quiet hike. I didnt see anyone except near the trailhead. Snow floating down all day, it was magical. I took the Vista Trail above Fairy Falls and had to break trail in knee deep powder!
