Category: Overnight Backpack (Page 1 of 4)

I’ve obviously not been hiking as much as usual, because this short but steep hike knocked me on my butt earlier this week! I had planned on spending a week in the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon, but the wildfire smoke is heavy there and I didn’t want to make the drive and spend days trying to simply breath. I opted for the Olympic Peninsula instead, and was able to get a last-minute permit for Grand Lake.

The drive up to Hurricane Ridge is windy and beautiful, especially stopping to look down to the coast and Straight of Juan De Fuca and seeing the thick cloud layer below, when you’re above it in the sunshine. Vancouver Island, Canada, is visible in the distance.

From Hurricane Ridge, it’s an 8-mile narrow dirt road to Obstruction Point Trailhead.

This is what I call a “reverse hike” – you hike down to the destination, which means that it’s a climb to get back to your car. It’s less than 4 miles and 1800 feet of descent from the TH to Grand Lake, across exposed Lillian Ridge (definitely not to be attempted in bad weather!), and down down down down to Grand Valley and the 3 lakes there: Grand, Moose, and Gladys. I saw 1 marmot and 1 rabbit while hiking. Along the way I stopped often to take in the many layers of the Olympic Mountains.

After setting up camp I sat out at a rocky beach in my amazing Helinox camping chair and read for hours in the sunshine, watching fish jump and soaking in the solitude. There is a beautiful waterfall nearby, well worth a short stroll to see.

Wildflowers were stunning, and surprisingly the mosquitoes were out but not horrendous like I was expecting. I saw many long-time flower friends, and also several that were new to me that I haven’t seen at Mt. Rainier.

My first backpack trip of the year was a very simple one, from the Sunrise Visitor Center at Mt. Rainier National Park to Sunrise Campground, less than 1.5 miles away. As usual, mosquitoes and wildflowers go hand in hand, at Rainier and many places in Washington State you don’t have flowers without mosquitoes. It’s the price we pay for nature’s beauty.

I had a lovely dinner and reading time at Shadow Lake close to my campsite. I kept an eye out for bears, as there’s one who hangs out here almost every year. No bears, but I did see fresh scat, so I know he was nearby.

I did the short hike up to Glacier Overlook for sunset. This is a great place for newbies to Mt. Rainier to take in the sights without a huge amount of effort. I was the only one there, except for a single marmot who was soaking up the warmth of the rock wall before bedding down for night. We spent about 20 minutes together in companionable silence. I didn’t attempt to get too close, we both kept each other company while also giving each other space.

The next morning I woke at 5am to go back to Glacier Overlook to watch the magic of sunrise happen. The eastern side of Rainier is where the sun hits first, and it’s well worth the early wake-up alarm to watch the Mountain light up like a Christmas tree. It’s so nice to see the light change from the same spot over the course of 24 hours.

Trailhead to Royal Lake: 7.9 miles and 2850+ feet elevation gain one way
Royal Lake to Upper Royal Basin: 1.9 miles and 900 feet elevation gain one way

I love finding new places to explore, especially as some of the National Park areas near where we live are becoming increasingly overcrowded.

We were fortunate to get a permit to spend 2 nights at Royal Lake in Olympic National Park. It’s an 8-mile all uphill and sometimes rocky hike to get there, tiring but well worth the effort.

Some of the campsites at Royal Lake are honestly not great, in several our tent would not fit at all, but we managed to find a wonderful site with a beautiful view of the lake a few feet away. Evenings and mornings were spent sipping tea & coffee, reading, and simply letting the solitude and beauty soak in.

Exploring around Royal Lake we found massive Shelter Rock and a beautiful waterfall across the basin, where we sat and enjoyed for several minutes.

On our full day there we hiked to the Upper Royal Basin and Imperial Tarn and spent the day wandering, doing a lot of rock hopping, sitting and just taking it all in. The hike from Royal lake to the Upper Royal Basin follows a beautiful and pristine meadow before the final climb via a sometimes sketchy trail up a gully. Baby steps, baby steps, carefully watching footing. Upper Royal Basin reminded me of the beautiful alpine lake basins in the Eastern Sierra mountains, at tree line with towering peaks overhead and beautiful tarns to explore.

A tiring but amazing 3 days with solitude, Mother Nature, incredible views, morning tea/coffee stillness, and all kinds of Mother Nature treasures. Much better than staring at a screen, I’m so thankful I’m still able to do this!

I didn’t spend a single night sleeping in a tent last year, due to 2 foot surgeries. I decided to start easy this year, and after hearing all the sketchy log bridges were replaced at Greenwater Lakes recently, I decided to make that my first overnight trip of the year. The new bridges are amazing!

I was fortunate to find the campsite I wanted, about 1/4 mile past the 2nd Greenwater Lake, along Lost Creek. Bonus: No mosquitoes! After setting up camp, I spent the afternoon sitting and reading for hours, listening to water and watching birds, and generally soaking up the peace and quiet of Nature.

I was only out for 24 hours, but it was perfect, exactly what I needed to disconnect from the hectic pace of life for a day.

I just got back from an incredible 9 days backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Eastern Sierra mountains ~ Click Ansel Adams Wilderness 2021 to see the full trip!

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” ~ John Muir

I get restless this time of year, knowing hiking/backpacking season is coming to a close. I crave wilderness time, solitude, Mother Nature, wild beauty, silence, connecting with the natural world around me. It’s how I recharge my batteries, replenish my soul, and give myself a much-needed break from civilization. Time to pack up my Gregory Maven backpack and head to the wilderness.

Time slows out here as the light changes throughout the day.

Spending days away from people, sleeping in a tent, staring at a campfire, waking up to incredible views like this… it’s where I’m the best version of myself.

Food tastes better out here. Air smells so much fresher. Everything looks crisper, colors are more vibrant. I hear whispering breezes and birds and insects I would not be able to pick up at home. All senses become more heightened.

The first night it got to freezing, and the 2nd night it was 28 degrees. And I was warm and cozy with my layers of fleece and down, tucked inside my extra-puffy down sleeping bag in my tiny little cocoon of a tent. I usually sleep deeply in the wilderness, one more way it helps me restore and refresh.

I can’t describe how glorious it was to see the full moon rise over the mountains and to feel the morning sunshine reflecting off the lake as it warmed me up.

Our original intent was to hike the Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood this summer, but we decided to stay closer to home and spent 2 nights at Ipsut campground instead, with a beautiful day hike out to the Carbon Glacier.

To get to Ipsut campground is a 5-mile hike or bike (I chose bike) on a gravel road that is closed to vehicles. It’s luxury backpacking since it used to be a car campground, so there are 2 bathrooms (with toilet paper!!) and bear lockers at all the campsites. It’s along the Carbon River, perfect for an evening read sitting on a log listening to the water rush by.

On our full day there, we hiked just over 9 miles from Ipsut to the Carbon River suspension bridge (bouncy, bouncy) which we crossed and scrambled up some rocks for a beautiful picnic lunch spot. The river was raging and we thank the NPS and rangers who put in log crossings.

Not far from the suspension bridge is the terminus of the Carbon Glacier, the lowest elevation glacier terminus in the lower 48 states. It’s amazing to be able to look into the mouth of a glacier and see the birth of a river right before your eyes. On cue the clouds above parted and we had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier and Willis Wall directly above Carbon Glacier.

On our way back to camp for the second night, we saw a mama bear with 2 cubs, mama was foraging for berries and the cubs were practicing tree climbing. No good photos as the underbrush is very thick here and they were too fast for us to focus on. Later on we saw a solo bear right on the trail, and gave him several minutes to decide which way to head off before we continued on.

Again, so fortunate that I’m able to do things like this so close to home. 🙂