Dad, Hiking and can you guess Cornhole!

My dad was in town this past weekend.  We were able to get out into the woods and of course we played a little cornhole.  I think the west coast has gotten into my blood and thus diminished my cornhole playing ability.  My dad who has lived in the midwest his entire life won at least 5 games in a row against me. 

Wenatchee National Forest

Our Summit, somewhere around 5000 ft, named Mt. Henry in honor of Henry’s first summit.

Mt. Rainer

Look at that form!

He’s getting tired from whooping my ass

First Hike of the Season

Last Friday was the first entirely free day I have had in a long time.  So Henry and I headed out to the Cascades to do a little hiking.  I ventured into the Teanaway River Valley by Cle Elum, WA.  I drove down a forest road to reach a trail head but quickly realized I was not going to be driving very far.  The Cascades are still completely covered in snow.  So I parked the car and Henry and I set out.  We walked through the woods (on the snow covered road) for an hour and half until I finally came to a trail-head.  As you can see the trail-head marker was almost completely buried. 

We continued up the trailhead for a little bit and found a good lunch spot.  I ate while Henry pretended to be a wild animal. 

As I drove out of the forest I received a nice treat: A small herd of Elk.

It felt great to be out in the woods again.  Hopefully this summer I will have the chance to do it more often.

Last Minute Camping Trip

When the mountains are only a little over an hour away, it is easy to take a quick trip. This is Kate and I camping at Lake Dorothy. It is an alpine lake in the Cascades Mountains. It was quite beautiful, but a little buggy.

*Scott, I went for a swim again. It was a little warmer this time, it actually felt pretty good. You probably would have wimped out though.

I think I like it here…

In a couple of months Kate and I will have lived in Seattle for a year now. As far as we know we will not be moving next year. A pattern that we are happy to break. As the cloudy Spring dragged on here, and the vast majority of time was spent confined to the concrete of the city, I was beginning to feel claustrophobic and somewhat resentful of city life in the midst of a cloudy and dreary March, April and some of May.

But all of my unhappy feelings are quickly being burnt away by the beautiful blue skies that have arrived. The wonderful secret of Seattle is June, July and August, where the sun comes to stay and it rarely gets above 90. So to get to the point of my post, I have taken advantage of the beautiful weather and have ventured into the great outdoors.

I work early mornings so I am off usually by noon. This has allowed me to spend my afternoons lying on the beach,reading for school and attempting quick immersions into the ice cold Puget Sound.

Furthermore, I have made my way out into the nearby Cascade Mountains for some beautiful hikes. Here are some pics from my most recent excursion. My friend Mark and I hiked up to Lake Serene. The Lake sits below Mt. Index (6000 ft) at 2500 ft. It was 3.5 miles up to the lake, with 2 miles of considerable elevation gain. It was a beautiful day. And yes, I think I like it here.

I don’t think I will be able to do any homework this Summer.

Where did you eat lunch today?

My dad was in town this weekend for a visit. Kate and I showed him around the city yesterday. And today he and I headed out into the wilderness (We left Kate behind so we wouldn’t be attacked by bees). We hiked in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. This is where we stopped for lunch. A little over 4000 feet up, we are looking out over Lake Olallie. The mountains are still covered in snow, so most of our hike was walking on top of 4-7 feet of it. It was a beautiful day and I will never forget this lunch break.

Sneak Attack thwarts Summit Attempt

This past weekend my mom, Linda was in town from Chicago. She of course was fleeing the torrential downpours of the soggy Midwest (I just don’t know how people put up with the weather out there). It was a wonderful weekend of good meals and catching up. Sunday though we attempted to venture out into the wild, touch nature, commune with mother earth, see the world from the vantage point of the sleeping giants we call mountains (analogy stolen from Kate Rickard).Our destination: Granite Mountain, 5629 ft above sea level. It was to be an eight mile round trip trek through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Old Mr. Granite was to afford us views of Rainier, Baker, Glacier, and Stuart. Our challenge was 3800 ft of incline.

May not be accurate representation of Granite Mountain.

We awoke early to beat the crowds, knowing Old Big Rock is shy in a crowd. The initial ascent reminded our legs of their days of slumber and relaxation. They soon relented though, and the blood of life began to flow ever so passionately through our veins. We soon came upon a fellow journeyer. She was on her descent. Inquisitive that I am, I questioned if she had seen El Granito’s top so soon today. There was fear in her eyes as she quickly relayed the horrors that accompanied her isolated expedition on this day. Her words were fast and mumbled, almost incoherent. “Bees!!!” she finally screamed. Immediately she bolted from our presence, leaving us only with wonder and confusion at what might possibly lay ahead for us on our journey today.

I decided to take to the lead. The stench brewing that often accompanies my body would surelyrepel would be attackers looking for a sweet taste of goodness, possibly in the flavor of Peppermint Pear (or whatever concoction my feminine companions had applied to their bodies this morning).

Time passed on as our steps became many. We soon left the company of the pines and enter the higher land of brush and other brush like plants (possibly shrubs, I don’t quite remember I might have been lost in the euphoric wonder of the terrain that was so quickly and seductively enveloping me). Had I so quickly forgotten? Or had I simply ignored the words of warning that had been sent to us?

It was then that I heard the most horrific, gut wrenching, cry of agony that I have ever beheld. It was as if the world at that moment stop moving. I turned round, and watched helplessly as the woman I love was brutally marred by nothing other than a Bee itself. “My eye!” Is all I could hear coming from her sweet tender lips, now tainted by the tortourus words of anguish.

Still unknown if Bee actually carries a sword

I looked for the perpetrator. I tore at the ground, revenge dripping from my pours. As quickly as he performed his haneous crime of injustice he was gone. Suddenly the clouds seemed darker, and the path seemed overrun with those damn shrubs! So we ran. We ran with all of our might down old Stony never to return.

We drove away, Granite peering over our shoulders, his eyes visible in the rearview. My wife, no longer coherent just mumbled “Bees, bees, bees, bees, bees…………………………….”

You thought I was joking when I said my tent would be used when we didn’t have a home!

Niether Kate nor I had to work this weekend so we decided to go camping. We spent the first night close to the beach at Bay View State Park about an hour north of Seattle. It was ok, it was pretty loud and this one kid screamed for an hour straight.

But last night we found a beautiful campsite in North Cascades National Park on the Skagit River. A few things about NCNP: It is the snowiest place in the lower 48, it has the most glaciers in the US besides Alaska (around 300), and it was the least visited National Park in 2004. It is definately one of the most rugged wilderness areas in the lower 48. I can’t wait till we can head out there with our backpacks.

Camping on the Skagit River in North Cascades National Park.

They have big trees in Washington, or maybe Kate is shrinking because of all the hippie organic food. How do they expect us to grow without injected hormones in our food?

Future hikes?