I FINALLY explored the Mt. St. Helens area, after having lived her for 25 years. It’s gorgeous, especially when the wildflowers are in full bloom. It’s pretty incredible to see evidence of the damage and complete destruction that was caused 30+ years ago, and then to see the life coming back into the area.

We hiked the Harry’s Ridge Trail, which offers excellent views of the crater, blast zone, and Spirit Lake. (even better than from the Johnston Ridge Observatory). One part of the hike is a bit sketchy, a long traverse carved into a steep hillside with a large drop-off below, but the views of St. Helens from here are just incredible, it’s hard to focus on keeping feet on the trail without always stopping to look around and imagine what it would have been like there in 1980.

The views from Harry’s Ridge down to Spirit Lake, with Mt. Adams in the close background, are definitely worth the hike. There was a herd of elk down below on the banks of the lake enjoying the sunshine. Overall, about 8 miles round trip, with only a few hundred feet of elevation gain and loss. Spectacular hike, spectacular views, and definitely something I’ll do again.

To quote John Muir: “… the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings.”

He got it right, because the wildflower meadows around Mt. Rainier  are second to none that I’ve ever seen. Though the Paradise/Skyline area is crowded in summertime, it’s worth the crowds to see these wildflowers and incredible views at least once every summer. It’s so different seeing it melted out and blooming, compared to when I do this as a snow-shoe route several times every winter. Crowded? Yes. Worth it? You bet!!!

I got to spend 3 great days at Crater Lake National Park while my girls were getting their Shakespeare fix in Ashland, Oregon 🙂  The Mazama car campground inside the park was great, big spots that weren’t too close together… best part was 3 days of day hiking all over the park 🙂  Yes, the water REALLY IS that blue, impossible to describe and photos don’t quite do it justice. The first night there I hiked up to the Watchman fire lookout for sunset, beautiful!

On the second day I took a boat ride around the lake. I was supposed to get 3 hours to hike around on Wizard Island but because of mechanical problems nobody was allowed to be dropped off on the island that day. Still, it was a great way to see the lake up close and personal. I hiked the Annie Creek trail after dinner for an evening stroll, got to see deer and marmots and lots of wildflowers.

On the last morning there I was up at 4:30 to catch the sunrise at Cloud Cap overlook, then hiked up to the top of Mt. Scott, the highest point in the park at 8900+ feet elevation. I was the only one on the trail the whole time, beautiful views all around 🙂  Definitely glad I got to spend time here and finally see it for myself.

Got copies of my cousin Ken’s photos from the Zion Subway, since he was smart and had a waterproof camera 🙂  I had my not-at-all-waterproof camera tucked away in a dry bag for the middle part of the trip including the rappelling and swimming.  Thanks Ken for sharing!  (All photos in this post are credited to Ken Barnes)

A few months ago I got a message from my cousin asking if I’d be interested in hiking the Zion Subway with them… it took me about 3 seconds to say “Yes!!!”  I’m a Washington girl… I’m used to forests and huge trees and mountains and snow, etc. Going to Zion NP was like stepping onto another planet for me… one that I definitely want to see more of!

The Zion Subway is a hike I’d never attempt on my own, I didn’t know how to rappel, in many places there is no trail and you have to find your own way, etc. My cousin and his son were excellent guides and teachers, and I’m counting myself as one extremely lucky person to be able to go on this hike with them.

It’s 9.5 miles of some of the most incredible scenery on the planet (and I’ve been all over the world…). The hike starts out innocently enough, through some wooded area, over a gorgeous downslope of slickrock with great views… then you come to a point where you can see a small black crack in the huge wall ahead and realize THAT’S where you’re headed. There’s a lot of steep rock scrambling to get down toward the canyon opening.

Once in the canyon, it’s like stepping into a different world. My first time rappelling was a bit nerve-racking, but oh-so-much fun!!!  From the first rappel on we spent quite a bit of time hiking through the river, scrambling over rocks and boulders, and a few spots of swimming through pools of cold water. A good dry bag and waterproof camera/case are a necessity on this hike. After several short rappels and going through a series of surreal “rooms” and sections, we came into the Subway itself. Gorgeous!!!

Upon leaving the Subway, we hiked several miles down river… in the river itself, with some incredible waterfalls (that make good water slides). Spent quite a bit of time just playing and hanging out in the water, soaking wet, and it felt great in the heat.

The climb up and out of the canyon to the ending trailhead is a big rock scramble up up up… with some jaw-dropping views down into the canyon that we had just come through.

All in all… by far the best hike I’ve ever been on in my life. DO NOT attempt to do this hike if you’ve never rappelled before, if you don’t have the proper gear, and if you have any problems with route finding. Go with someone who already knows the way and who knows the “ropes” literally. I can’t say a big enough THANK YOU to my cousins for this once in a lifetime opportunity 🙂   I’m one lucky girl….

(p.s. there are a ton of photos for this hike… there’s no way to condense it all into a dozen shots)

I’ve wanted to hike the Zion Narrows for a while, finally had my chance 🙂  DH and I ended up renting 5.10 Canyoneer boots for the hike, and glad we did, though we would have been fine in trail runners. The Zion shuttle dropped us off at the last stop down the valley, the Temple of Sinawava. There is a 1-mile paved path that ends at the point where you have to start hiking up the river itself.

Considering it had been over 110 degrees the day before, stepping into the water in a shaded canyon felt wonderful, and the temperature was perfect the entire day for us. Walking up the Narrows is like walking several miles over wet bowling balls, constantly crossing rocks and weaving from side to side of the canyon, sometimes walking on dry land depending on the water level, but mostly being in the water itself. It’s amazing being in this narrow canyon looking up at 800-foot walls to see a small crack of sunshine coming through from the top. Photos just can’t do it justice, it’s a must-see-in-person kind of thing.

We got as far as the Orderville Canyon fork and decided to go up that instead of continuing on the main Narrows canyon. Glad we did, it was smaller, much less crowded, and the perfect lunch spot on some big rocks near a log jam/waterfall.

One more hike I can now check off my bucket list….   one word of advice: GO!!!

We had a most incredible 2.5 days at Zion National Park… not enough time to see it all, but enough to make me very happy that I’ll be heading back for more exploring in October. When we flew into Vegas it was a balmy 113 degrees, which is quite a shock coming from somewhere were 75 is considered a nice hot day 🙂  We didn’t have much time that afternoon, so we took the short Weeping Rock trail to ease into the heat and take in some of the jaw-dropping views throughout the park. The Zion shuttle system is wonderful, so glad that it’s in place to keep the park unclogged from thousands of passenger vehicles and big RVs.

Weeping Rock is a little oasis up a short paved trail, and a perfect spot to get wet and refreshed in the heat, plus some pretty amazing views down into the Zion valley. The water constantly drips out of the rock face above, so plants have an easier time here with a continuous water supply.