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Lewis River – Bolt Shelter

February 16, 2015 / doublemom94

My first backpacking trip of the year, in FEBRUARY!!! Our weather is so crazy, I never thought I’d be going out overnight this early in the season (I do NOT handle cold nights well). We drove to the Curly Creek trailhead at Lewis River and backpacked out to the Bolt Shelter. It was originally built in 1931, restored in 2013, and is one of the nicest shelters I’ve ever seen in Washington.It even had a very creative Hobbit table and we felt very spoiled.

We thought about camping 1/4 mile away in a much sunnier (and warmer) spot along the river, but the swarming ant hills and thousands of jumping spiders on the grass changed our minds for us very quickly. This quirky warm weather too early in the season is waking up all kinds of creatures that should still be sleeping.

After setting up camp and naming a few massive Douglas firs (William and Eleanor), we collected firewood knowing we’d want a nice big fire at night or we’d be too cold. Steve worked at getting a fire going with wet wood and we were able to keep it going until 11 o’dark, sitting around the fire having surprise birthday muffins and shots of Limoncello! It sure felt good to crawl into my warm and toasty tent and down sleeping bag, and I slept really well, like I usually do when I’m out under the stars.

The next morning Steve miraculously got a fire going again (thank you!!!) and we enjoyed a sunny, lazy morning by the river. After packing up and heading back to the car, we drove further up the road to Lower Falls, which was well worth the bit of extra drive. The falls are incredible right now with all the rain we had last week. Felt like I was at a mini-Niagara 🙂

What a good weekend with friends, sunshine, campfires, massive rainforest trees, waterfalls, and birthday cake!

Lake Tahoe – Eagle Lake and Echo Lakes

February 16, 2015 / doublemom94

We spent a wonderful week at South Lake Tahoe the first week of February. Unfortunately, the snow levels are dismal and our snowshoes never made it out of the car. But, we did get to do two wonderful hikes that were virtually deserted so we had the trail to ourselves.

We first went to Emerald Bay and hiked out past Eagle Falls to Eagle Lake. We have a lovely picnic lunch on the shore while soaking up the sun and making some much-needed vitamin D. The lake was completely frozen over, and it was beautiful to have the whole area to ourselves.

The next day we headed out to Echo Lakes and hiked several miles of the PCT along the shoreline. I had flashbacks of Yosemite with the huge pines and junipers, and granite everywhere. Again, the lakes were frozen over and beautiful, and we didn’t see another person the whole time we were out there. At one point we were serenaded by a coyote and then watched it run across frozen Upper Echo Lake, wish I knew what it was talking about.

For a final fun side trip, we took the Heavenly Gondola up to the observation deck and the Heavenly ski area. What a fun ride (and expensive, but worth it)!!! Many of the ski runs were closed due to lack of snow, but there were still a lot of people up top skiing on man-made snow. Again, we spent time walking around in the sunshine soaking it all in.

I’d like to go back sometime, it would sure be fun to rent a cabin on Echo Lake and take our kayaks. I think a week of summertime out here would be wonderful!

Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground, MRNP

November 19, 2014 / doublemom94

J. and I decided to take a long, steep way up to the Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground patrol cabin to see it in wintertime. Loooong. Steeeep. I’ve been through in summertime while on the Wonderland Trail, and in that season it’s a riot of wildflowers (and mosquitoes). Adding cold temps and a good amount of snow in November, it was a hard day, but still a lot of fun and The Mountain cooperated by letting us see her for about 2 minutes before clouding over. It’s 12 miles R/T from the Kautz Creek trailhead, with about 3200 feet of elevation gain, most of it through dense forest with no views, but still beautiful.

We crossed several small high meadows before getting to the actual Indian Henry’s meadow. We were just about to call it a day and turn around when we saw the patrol cabin on the far side of the meadow. It has to be the most beautiful little cabin I’ve ever seen. We only spent about 15 minutes resting on the front porch before heading back, not wanting to end up hiking after dark.

After the 6-mile hike back down 3200 feet of elevation loss, our legs were jelly by the time we got back to the car, but still very worth it and we felt like we were on top of the world for a little while. 🙂

Spray Park, MRNP

October 30, 2014 / doublemom94

Each time I hiked in October, I kept thinking that would be the last good hiking day of the season. And every time, I was wrong. On Oct, 19th Sharon, Steve, Fran, and I headed to Mowich Lake to hike up to Spray Park. I’d only been to the lower part of Spray Park before to see the wildflowers, and was driven out by ravenous, blood-sucking, thirsty, evil, vampire mosquitoes who seem to love me more than any other human on the planet. This time, there were no mosquitoes (and no wildflowers), but the weather could not have been more perfect for a late fall hike on my gorgeous Mountain with good, good friends.

The expansive views at the upper areas of Spray Park are incredible, and I loved seeing the Mountain from a new angle that I’d never seen before. We also had a wonderful view of Cataract Valley and down into the Carbon River Valley, Mother Mountain, the whole north Cascades, and Mt. Stuart.

Of course, I had to support my favorite team while up there, so I hiked in my Seattle Sounders FC shirt and scarf, and it was Scarves UP! at the top of Spray Park for all of us 🙂

Some day, when I’m brave enough to fight the mosquitoes, I’ll make it up here again during wildflower season, which I imagine will be spectacular.

Headlight Basin, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA State

October 7, 2014 / doublemom94

I’ve wanted to see the golden larches for several years, and this past weekend the weather was beautiful, so I went for it!! I packed up early Sunday morning and headed to Cle Elum, north from there, and hiked out to Headlight Basin on the Lake Ingalls trail. Wow! Once I came over Ingalls Pass and saw the larches down below, I knew the timing was perfect, the basin was gold with larches.

I pitched my tent overlooking the basin, with Mount Stuart as my backdrop, and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around taking photos of larches and mountain goats. Unfortunately, the goats were a little too comfortable with humans, and decided that it would be fun to hang out at my campsite. I had to “vacate the premises” several times – luckily they didn’t feel the need to eat or destroy any of my gear. They’re cute and fluffy, and were totally non-aggressive, but too close for comfort a few times and I had to leave and give them plenty of space. (Note: goat photos were taken with a zoom lens.)

Sunset was wonderful, the moon was almost full, and the wind was relentless! I didn’t sleep most of the night because of the wind, but at least it wasn’t too cold out. Sunrise again was beautiful, and lit up the larches like they were electric. Once again, my 3 goats decided to “visit” right as I was packing up my campsite and I had to leave for about half an hour while they checked things out … again no damage or interest in my gear, just liked the view, I guess.

Overall, an incredible 2 days spent in a very magical place 🙂

Sunrise at Sunrise… It never gets old (MRNP)

October 7, 2014 / doublemom94

My annual pilgrimage to Sunrise, Mt. Rainier, at sunrise to see the sky and mountain light up. I hate getting up at 4 a.m., but this is so very worth it! J and E and I were on the road before 5 a.m., and after hiking a little bit out of the parking lot we settled in to watch the dawn. My advice… JUST GO DO IT!!! The road to Sunrise usually closes mid-October for winter, so this is my way of saying goodbye to this section of Rainier every year.

After watching a gorgeous sunrise, we hiked out to the Fremont Lookout Tower and had a relaxing picnic lunch with wonderful 360-degree views. Beautiful day with good friends, in a most spectacular area of Mt. Rainier. GO!

William O. Douglas Wilderness, WA State

October 7, 2014 / doublemom94

I spent a wonderful fall weekend in the William O. Douglas Wilderness with S & S. Fall colors were wonderful, and we had a relaxing 2 nights at a gorgeous lake. Weather forecast said 47 degrees overnight, but it got cold enough to partially freeze our water bottles, Brrrr!!! Huge campfires each night helped keep us warm, especially since it gets dark earlier this time of year. We even had our very own creeper-ranger, but that’s a story all in itself 🙂 Beautiful weekend with good, good friends 🙂

Skyline/Panorama Point, MRNP

October 7, 2014 / doublemom94

Another wonderful hike along the Skyline Trail to Panorama Point at Rainier. Coming out of the parking lot I said I’d like to see marmots, and we definitely got marmots! They were posing and flirting with us… great way to try out my new camera. Even though the wildflowers were spent at the end of September (and it’s the BEST wildflower hike I’ve ever been on), it was still an excellent hike, amazing views of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Hood. And marmots… a lot of marmots!

Skyscraper Pass (and 32 goats, oh my!), MRNP

September 27, 2014 / doublemom94

Best day ever at Skyscraper Pass, out of Sunrise. J. and I headed out early and spent the day with 32 mountain goats who were all about showing off and posing for us for a couple of hours. We were fortunate that they were much more interested in sunning on rocks and eating than 2 hikers with cameras. They were amazing, and looked very healthy with a lot of new kids. Rangers told us the goat herds are getting larger and stronger every year, and it shows. It was an amazing day, one I won’t soon forget.

Tolmie Lookout (and bears, oh my!), MRNP

September 27, 2014 / doublemom94

I have to get out to Eunice Lake and the Tolmie lookout once a year, it’s tradition. The view from the Tolmie lookout is one of the best in the park, with sweeping views of the Mountain, Mowich Lake, Eunice Lake, and the Puget Sound area.. This year, I had the bonus of spending 30 minutes watching a mamma bear with her two cubs foraging on the far side of the lake along the cliffs. This is the day I decided I needed to get a camera with a better zoom!!!