Author: doublemom94 (Page 6 of 20)

The Dungeness Spit near Sequim, WA, is the longest natural sand spit in the United States at just over 5 miles long. The hike out to the New Dungeness Lighthouse (built in 1857) is 11.2 miles round trip, and well worth it on a beautiful day. This area is also within the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

Dungeness Spit with Mt. Baker and the New Dungeness Lighthouse in the distance to the right.

Mama Nature called me, and I listened I spent a glorious 2 days hiking on the Olympic Peninsula, total 17 miles hiked. The highlight was the hike out to New Dungeness lighthouse, 11.2 miles R/T, with 10 of that beach walking. The lighthouse is normally open for public tours, but due to COVID is currently closed. There is a restroom open, though.

I started at first light, it was overcast, and then ended up being a most amazing and incredible sunny day. I saw about a dozen people all day on the Dungeness Spit, more near the parking area ~ but to be able to walk miles and miles alone with nothing but the waves and driftwood for company filled my happy-meter up to FULL. So beautiful. Part of my hike out was during high tide, and though I had to hop away from a couple of waves, the beach is accessible 99% of the time.

Mt. Baker decided to show off in the afternoon, framing the lighthouse. Icing on the cake I didn’t realize how much I needed quiet solitude, time outside to think and disconnect from civilization for a day, the sound of the ocean, and wide open sky. I imagine it can get crowded during the summer, but during the week on a sunny January day was pretty much perfect.

It’s a 2-hour drive from my house to the Paradise area at Mt. Rainier, one I usually avoid in the non-snow months because of crowds. But, every once in a while I make the drive to look for wildlife, and this trip did not disappoint, even though there was haze from wildfires.

I first stopped at Reflection Lakes to take in the beautiful views of Rainier, and then headed to Faraway Rock, which is a fantastic place to look down onto Louise Lake and across to the Tatoosh Range south of the volcano.

I headed up toward Mazama Ridge and the Sluiskin/Van Trump/Stevens Memorial, commemorating the first climb of Mt. Rainier in 1870. Though wildflowers were spent for the season and fall colors were setting in, the views are wide open and beautiful from this area.

Near the memorial I saw the biggest, fattest black bear I’ve ever seen in my years of hiking these trails, foraging for berries and getting ready for his long winter sleep. I saw him again in a different area on my way back to the car some time later, still working his way through fields of berries. I also played peek-a-book with a beautiful deer near Faraway Rock.

Mt. Rainier – every time I hike here, I have a feeling of coming home, of being in the place where I’m the best version of me and where I belong. I never take her for granted.

A couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful hike up to Second Burroughs in the Sunrise area of Mt. Rainier. I specifically was looking for mountain goats and I hit the jackpot! So thankful I had my camera with zoom lens with me. I’m also very thankful that I was able to spend about an hour alone at the stone bench at Second Burroughs before others started showing up (that’s why it’s so worth it to me to get up early). Wildflowers were at their prime, always an added bonus.

I heard reports that there were goats on First Burroughs, so I hiked up as quickly as I could. By the time I got to First (there are 3 Burroughs mountains, FYI), the goats were heading up to Second. I hightailed it and slowed down part way up Second where the herd was across the trail. It was me and a herd of 30, and I spent at least 20 minutes photographing them and thanking Mother Nature for being able to spend time with these beautiful animals.

I decided to take the trail down the back side of Burroughs to get back to Sunrise, with only one sketchy snow crossing along the trail, and beautiful views down to Emmons Glacier and the White River.

Near the bottom, I heard from a ranger that there was a bear at Shadow Lake, so for the third time that day I hiked as quickly as possible, and I was again able to spend about 15 minutes alone with my zoom camera and a beautiful juvenile bear munching his way through the wildflowers meadow. (Note: I was not too close to Mr. Bear, I used my zoom lens to get these photos.)

What a day, what beauty, what good fortune that I can call Mount Rainier my playground.

Just outside of Las Vegas is a wonderful gem, the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The bulk of the area is a one-way drive with many stops along the way, wonderful rock formations like the Calico Hills, sweeping views, and canyons to explore. We spent quite a bit of time scrambling around the rocks at Calico Hills, then hiked into Icebox Canyon, very appropriately named since we found puddles of frozen water in there. It’s a beautiful area, and well worth exploring it if the lights and noise and frenzy of Las Vegas don’t suit you (like me!)

I’m not much of a fan of Las Vegas, but there are some beautiful areas to explore outside of the city. Valley of Fire State Park is a must-see if you ever go to Vegas. One of my dreams has been to hike The Wave, but honestly I’ll probably never get a permit or get there. The Fiery Wave at Valley of Fire S.P. is a pretty good alternative and easy to get to.

We were fortunate to see a herd of bighorn sheep on our return from the Fiery Wave, I’ve seen them before from further away, and was able to get some better photos this time.

There are also many other places to hike, including Mouse’s Tank which is a canyon with hundreds of petroglyphs carved into the walls. We didn’t get to spend much time here, and would definitely like to spend more time exploring on another trip.