Not only was John Muir an incredible naturalist, he was also a wonderful writer. I have one of his most famous quotes tattooed around my ankle: “The mountains are calling and I must go.”
Here’s another one that calls me to the mountains time and time again…
“SAUNTER”
“I don’t like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains – not hike! Do you know the origin of that word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, ‘A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.” – John Muir
There’s a saying in Washington, “We don’t tan, we rust.” I certainly feel like that often, but sometimes we get lucky and have a few glorious winter days where it’s much warmer up on Mt. Rainier than it is in the lowlands. In wintertime, I live for those weather inversions! THIS is how I like to get a winter tan, and get a little bit of vitamin D to get through these short winter days 🙂 I only wish I’d had shorts on.
I’m changing the game up a bit – This spring I ordered a teardrop trailer, and we were able to pick it up just in time for my birthday at the end of September. The brand is Hiker Trailer, built in Denver, Colorado ( www.hikertrailer.net ). The company is absolutely wonderful to work with, and will customize so that you only pay for exactly what you want. Each trailer is custom-built, and I am so thrilled with mine!!!
I got a 5 x 8 foot size. It’s small enough that I can tow it easily, and it’s so light I can even move it around by hand if I need to. The inside fits a queen-size mattress perfectly, so I have a folding mattress that can lie flat for a bed, or fold up into a couch – perfect for reading! Perfect for one person, but plenty of space for 2 also. The back galley has large shelves, a pull-out table, as well as a detachable side table that is perfect for cooking on. Eventually I will have an awning installed, hopefully next summer.
I take so many road trips and do so much camping, this trailer is going to make those trips so much better. I won’t have to pack and unpack for every trip. I’ll be able to comfortably get out of bad weather and sleep in an enclosed, secure, weather-proof space instead of a tent. I’m in love!
I took my trailer out alone to test it at a Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, and it was so comfy I slept for 10 hours that night. It’s now tucked away in the garage for the winter, but I’ll be planning and scheming road trips for next spring and summer with it while I’m recovering from shoulder surgery 🙂
I’m still in awe of my trip to the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon. This place is pure magic! I camped along the FS road just before Two Pan Trailhead at the Lostine River, so I could get an early start the next morning. The hike up the E. Fork of the Lostine River toward the Lakes Basin is beautiful! Trail is a bit chewed up by pack horses and rocky in spots, but still fun to hike. After the 1st set of switchbacks you break out into miles of breathtaking meadows in the E. Lostine River valley. It’s hard to watch footing here, because you are definitely not thinking about the trail, but instead about the views surrounding you on all sides.
After another shorter ascent, you get to the Lakes Basin area of Eagle Cap, with Eagle Cap Peak as the perfect backdrop. I found a nice campsite at Mirror Lake, and after an 8 mile hike and 2200 feet of elevation gain, I was happy to take a nap and sit and enjoy the amazing views for the rest of the day.
rocky trailhummingbird mothalong the trailalong the trailE. Lostine River valleyE. Lostine River valleyLakes BasinEagle Cap – my tend is bottom right
On Day 2, I day hiked from Mirror Lake thru the Lakes Basin to Moccasin Lake, Douglas Lake, Lee Lake, and Horseshoe Lake. Another wonderful 8-mile day, but fairly level for most of it and just stunning views the whole way. I had lunch on a little island at Horseshoe Lake, and had the entire area to myself. I sat for a long time and completely enjoyed the peaceful quiet and solitude. I was impressed with the amount of wildflowers still in bloom at the end of August. This whole area is like a hybrid between Yosemite granite and Cascade sub-alpine plants. In other words = Perfect!
morning light on Eagle CapMirror Lake reflectionsmorning reflectionsmorning reflectionsmorning reflectionsyellow paintbrushcamp lifemore reflectionsreflected skylooking down on Moccasin LakeEagle Cap from Moccasin Lakewide open spacehuckleberries!Douglas Lakebeautiful graniteisland at Horseshoe Lakestepping stones to my lunch islandlunchtime in solitudemagma intrusions? cliffs above Douglas Lake
On Day 3, I got a very early start back to the car, campsite all packed up and boots on trail by 6:30 a.m. It was hard to leave, the morning light and the reflections on the lake are superb. I’ll definitely be spending more time here next summer.
Yet another wonderful overnight backpack trip at Mt. Rainier, from Mowich Lake to Eagle’s Roost campground for a quick overnight (thanks to DH for driving me up that nasty road and dropping me off!). Early the next morning I continued on up to Spray Falls and then Spray Park, where I spent a long time enjoying the crazy lenticular clouds that were forming over Mt. Rainer. It was fun to sit up that high and just watch the clouds shift and morph. Not to mention the views of everything else – Mist Park, Mother Mountain, Seattle Park, Carbon River Valley, etc. This is one of my favorite areas of Rainier.
After lunch I started the steep and rocky hike down to Cataract Valley, where i had planned to stay a 2nd night. When I got there I realized that my water filter wasn’t working, so I kept on going down to Carbon River, over the bouncy suspension bridge, and to Ipsut Campground where my bike was waiting for me to coast back to my car. All in all it turned out to be an 11-mile hike/5-mile bike day, and my knees were very mad at me, but it was still worth it!
Fran and were supposed to backpack at Goat Rocks, but there was still snow where I wanted to camp so we changed plans and headed down to Crater Lake instead. We camped at Broken Arrow campground on Diamond Lake by Mt. Thielsen, just north of Crater Lake.
Mt. Thielsen / Diamond Lake
I’ve been before, but it was Fran’s first time. It’s such a beautiful and unexpected first sight, you would have no idea a massive lake was hiding up there. It has some of the clearest and purest water in the world. The secret geologist in me loves learning about how Crater Lake was formed. (It’s technically a caldera, not a crater.) Unfortunately there was a far-off wildfire and the smoke made everything quite hazy, and our pre-paid boat trip around the lake and exploring Wizard Island was cancelled due to mechanical failure. We still managed to have a great time, and I hiked some trails that were new to me. I also got in a little bit of “dawn yoga” at Cloudcap overlook. Such an amazing place, and we’ll have to go back next summer when the boats are working so we can do the boat tour, it’s well worth it.
sunrise from Cloud Capmorning lightmorning (freezing!) tea and coffeedawn yogadawn yogadawn yogaPinnaclesPinnaclesPhantom Shipalong the Rim Trailonly water access is via Cleetwood Trailtaking a dipWizard Island at sunset
Fran and I hiked out to Grand Park via Lake Eleanor on July 3rd, and we hit the perfect time because flowers were starting to bloom but mosquitoes were not hatched out yet. Perfect day! It was so good that we stopped at the ranger station on the way home and I got a permit to backpack there the next night. On July 4th, I packed up in the afternoon and drove back out. As I hiked up, all the other day hikers were leaving and I knew that I would have the whole place to myself… Apparently, Mr. Bear had the same idea in mind.
As I entered the meadow I saw him run across the trail in front of me and back into the trees. I decided to hang out for a while since I had about 3 hours of daylight left. As soon as I sat down, the mosquitoes swarmed. They had hatched within the last 24 hours and thought I was delicious. About 45 minutes later, I saw Mr. Bear again from a distance, in the general area where I had planned on pitching my tent. I decided that I’d head back to the car and not camp overnight alone in a bear’s home turf. Even though I didn’t stay as planned, I had a chance to break in my new Gregory Maven backpack and have some amazing solitude and peace in one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen. The Maven backpack did not disappoint, it is ridiculously comfortable and durable for being so light.
I hiked by the Carbon Glacier 5 years ago on my way around the Wonderland Trail, and I’ve been meaning to head back to the glacier for a few years, so yesterday I finally did it. Weather was perfect and I got a nice early start. I biked 5 miles on the Carbon River road to Ipsut campground where the bike was locked up, and then I hiked 3.7 miles to the Carbon River suspension bridge with views of Carbon Glacier. I could have gone a bit further and gotten a better view of the glacier, but a bad headache said otherwise.
The Carbon Glacier is the lowest elevation glacier in the lower 48 states. The water flowing in the Carbon River is really high right now with warm temps and snowmelt. Every time I crossed a foot bridge I was thankful for our Park Service who maintains these every year. One bridge was brand new, and it would have been impossible to cross the river without it.
A long but excellent day, and overall I covered 17.4 miles, home by 1:30 in the afternoon!
I just got back from an amazing solo trip to the northern California Redwoods. I was last there when I was 12, and I decided it was time to (((hug))) a few really big trees again. These trees are so huge that it’s hard to photograph them well. I had to put myself in a bunch of the photos just to show the sheer size of them. I camped at Jedediah Smith State Park campground, which was very nice. There are really no appropriate words to describe what it feels like to stand at the base of one of these trees and know that it’s 350 feet tall and 1000 years old. Incredible. My 2 favorite hikes were the Tall Trees Grove on day 2, and the Cathedral Trees on day 3.
Day 1 – The afternoon I got to Jed Smith State Park, I walked through Stout Grove, and then hiked out to the Boy Scout Tree. It’s a beautiful hike, and since it was late afternoon I only saw a few other people. Just me and the trees…
Stout Grove:
Notice the tiny human wearing and orange shirt
Boy Scout Tree
just a random big treehugging Boy Scout Treesuch a beautiful trail
Day 2 – I drove to the Thomas Kuchel Visitor Center in Orick and got a permit for the Tall Trees Grove, which is limited to 50 people per day. I was looking for solitude, and this was by far my favorite hike of the trip. At one point, the tallest recorded tree on the planet was in this grove. From the Tall Trees Grove a trail accesses Redwood Creek, and I stayed out on the banks for a couple of hours enjoying the quiet, the solitude, the sun, and a little bit of yoga thrown in for good measure.
on the way to Tall Trees Grovelove the bark on this treehanging out at Redwoods Creeklunchtime yogain my happy place
I stopped at the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and did a bit more yoga IN a tree. Even though the tree was completely hollowed out, it’s still very much alive and well with a huge canopy, and seemed quite happy to have a yoga “tree” in it for a moment.
Day 3 – I drove out to the Gold Bluffs road and hiked through Fern Canyon, did a bit of log-jam scrambling over trees only to find the trail was closed on the other side once I got through the jumble of branches. The canyon is beautiful and so green!
Last but not least by any means, I drove along the scenic Drury Parkway and hiked out to Cathedral Trees. It’s very obvious why this cluster of trees are called “Cathedral,” they are huge and beautiful and I had them to myself for the afternoon 🙂
at Cathedral Treenotice this tree growing onto the side of a stump, absolutely no rootsCathedral Tree
Not necessarily a hiking entry here, but it sure was fun! Yoga is what gets me through our horrible, gray, wet, cold winters here in Western Washington. If not for yoga, you could all be visiting me at the State mental institution right now.
I bought some goat feta cheese from a new vendor at our local farmer’s market, and noticed the words “goat yoga” on their business card. That was enough for me to hop on the Internet and immediately buy a ticket for one of their classes (laughing to the point where the husband and kid wondered what was wrong with me).
I’ve always thought goats are amazing creatures, very curious, friendly (usually), and generally adorable. Especially the ones with floppy ears. No boundaries of personal space, “in your face.” I’ve said for years that I want pack goats. What better way to get to know them than spending an hour attempting yoga with baby goats jumping all over me???
I spent that hour of goat-yoga laughing, and basically didn’t stop laughing for the rest of the day. I’ll admit, there wasn’t much actual yoga going on, as there was too much laughing and being knocked over or jumped on to really concentrate on down dogs. Avoiding piles of goat poo became an essential skill. Scratching those amazingly soft and floppy ears was the icing on the cake. I think that particular yoga mat will never be used again. Would I do it again? Absolutely!!!!
Links to newspaper articles about this class below the photos.
attemptuing splits with assistancenom nom hairgoat hugsgoat hugsview from downward dogtakeover of a yoga matwell hello there!!!not me, but a great photo!selfiestretching… with goats
