AXEcellent day on the mountain.
Technical-ish alpine climbing off of the Snow Lake Trail, to Source Lake, then Bryant Peak. Snoqualmie Pass, Central Cascades, WA, USA. 28 January 2017. Route here. Details of the route's difficulty: Difficulty: "Steep Alpine Snow Scramble. Class 3." (edited for accuracy/naiveté).
Washington: THE COAST! AKA "Surviving the Great Tsunami Scare of '22!"
January 2022. Smu and I escaped Seattle for a two-night adventure down and around and over to the Washington Coast! It had been a good 6 or 7 years since I made it to the Pacific side of the Olympic National Forest. After handing in my laptop and sending in my resignation for my last job, I thought it was about darn time to head back!
The weather cooperated and we eventually got our devices connected to the WiFi. Night one, we drove into the kitschy village of Seabrook to pickup a pizza and other snacks before retiring in our WiFi-free beach house. Not to worry, the WiFi magically appeared over night and the fear of having to actually live without our screens subsided! Phew! On the first full day, I tried to sleep in while Smu got up at the ass-crack of dawns to work just like the fast-paced, always on dat grind New Yorker that she is! <3
All caught up on zzzzs, I got into my morning routine -- breakfast, coffee, bathroom, run route mapping, one more bathroom stop, and out the door on an MLR from our Beachouse and into the hillz and logging trails of the Quinault Reservation. I found a 11 and a half mile-ish loop to run that had a mix of roads -- paved and forest, dirt trails, and some that were 100% flooded! Once I emerged from first climb, I encountered a bit of a sand pit and rock quarry. I went off the loop just a bit to seek out some views of the coast. There were some really neat vistas looking north to a small bay with nice waves. The sky was nice and blue and the conditions were quite warm for mid-January.
Made it back to the beach house in about an hour and a half, then went straight to the ocean to cool my legs -- the water was brisk!! 48.4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the internets! For a few moments, it was glorious. The sun, the swell of the tide moving back and forth, a feeling that only ocean waters can provide. What a treat.
Dinner was a night in -- Smu had a roasted veggie, quinoa bowl dish she wanted to try out, so we enjoyed that with the fancy $25 Malbec we picked up at the wine store in Seabrook.
The weather cooperated and we eventually got our devices connected to the WiFi. Night one, we drove into the kitschy village of Seabrook to pickup a pizza and other snacks before retiring in our WiFi-free beach house. Not to worry, the WiFi magically appeared over night and the fear of having to actually live without our screens subsided! Phew! On the first full day, I tried to sleep in while Smu got up at the ass-crack of dawns to work just like the fast-paced, always on dat grind New Yorker that she is! <3
All caught up on zzzzs, I got into my morning routine -- breakfast, coffee, bathroom, run route mapping, one more bathroom stop, and out the door on an MLR from our Beachouse and into the hillz and logging trails of the Quinault Reservation. I found a 11 and a half mile-ish loop to run that had a mix of roads -- paved and forest, dirt trails, and some that were 100% flooded! Once I emerged from first climb, I encountered a bit of a sand pit and rock quarry. I went off the loop just a bit to seek out some views of the coast. There were some really neat vistas looking north to a small bay with nice waves. The sky was nice and blue and the conditions were quite warm for mid-January.
Made it back to the beach house in about an hour and a half, then went straight to the ocean to cool my legs -- the water was brisk!! 48.4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the internets! For a few moments, it was glorious. The sun, the swell of the tide moving back and forth, a feeling that only ocean waters can provide. What a treat.
Dinner was a night in -- Smu had a roasted veggie, quinoa bowl dish she wanted to try out, so we enjoyed that with the fancy $25 Malbec we picked up at the wine store in Seabrook.
Snownadoes Snowshoe near Snoqualmie (Pass)
Followed the Kendall Lakes Snowshoe trail, back-country'd a bit, and latched to a few snownadoes to reach the Kendall Peak Lakes. Snoqualmie Pass, Central Cascades, WA, USA. (click "play" to start slideshow).
Day-glo to Del Campo
Pretty delicious Saturday Brunch: A trek to Gothic Basin, then a tasty, vegan scramble up to Del Campo Peak. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Snohomish County, WA, USA. 20 August 2016. (click "play" to start slideshow).
Peak to peak: mailbox to dirty box
Hike up to Mailbox via the old trail. Extended the route about a 'k' to the southeast to seek some seclusion. (click "play" to start slideshow)
Wednesday (double) workout shenanigans w/ Becky.
Becky of YIP fame stopped by the cat cave for a mid-week Summer visit. Lake Union, Seattle and Little Si, North Bend, WA, USA. 17 Aug 2016. (click "play" to start slideshow)
Memorial Day in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Holiday Hike with @PhillyEcoGirl along the Ira Spring Trail to Mason Lake. Snoqualmie Region, WA, USA. 30 May 2016 (click to start slideshow).
A 'brushtastic' Saturday to Revolution Peak
A 'brushtastic' Saturday around and across and beneath the felled trees, past the snow, over some rocks, and along the brush-covered ridgeline to Revolution Peak. So. Cascades, WA, USA. 7 May 2016 [please 'pause' the slideshow to read the longer captions. Thx! xo]
April Fools Backpacking with my Uncle
Hike along the Forsee Creek and Johns Meadow Trails. Overnight at Johns Meadow. San Gorgonio Wilderness, San Bernadino Mountains, CA, USA. 1 & 2 April 2016
Mayday Parade in the Middle Fork Backcountry
A hill step through the beaten-up forest and past some snow; a siesta on the lake; and, disappointingly, no pepper spray or molotov cocktails to dodge in the Southern Cascadian wilderness on this Mayday 2016. Granite Lakes, So. Cascades, WA, USA. 1 May 2016
Snowshoe Lanham Lake, Central Cascades, WA, USA
O&B Saturday Snowhoe to Lanham Lake from the Stevens Pass Nordic Center in the Central Cascades. Lanham Lake, Central Cascades, WA, USA. 6 February 2016
Lake Valhalla Snowshow, Central Cascades, WA, USA
Snowshoe through the Snowy Pacific NW Wilderness from Hwy 2 out to Lake Valhalla, January 2016 [click 'play' to start]
Summer Backpack to Spade Lake, Okanogan-Wenatchee Nat'l Forest, WA, USA
Backpack to Spade Lake in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest via the Waptus River and Waptus Lake trails. August 2015. [click 'play' to start slideshow]