Tatoosh Range

The orignal plan this weekend was to climb Mt. Hood. I wish had, because the weather was perfect, but I got out of shape over the holidays, and I know I could not have made it easily.

Daniel and I decided to go to the Tatoosh range just south of Mt. Rainier, and climb to the top of the ridge. The weather was fabulous for winter, and just could not have been better. I wish I'd been in better shape and we actually got some high elevation. There was a temperature inversion and it was 40 degrees at home, but 60 at 5,000'. I went snowshoeing in pants and short sleeves.

I really enjoyed the trip because I got to see a part of Mt. Rainier NP that I'd never seen before. It was great to just get outside and enjoy God's creation for the first time in several months. I feel more alive and at home in the mountains than I do in the city. I really like the Tatoosh range and plan to come back sometime in the summer with a rope to do some climbing and rappelling.

We took our time getting to the top of the ridge, and had to travel as fast as we could be make it back to the car in time. When we were still a mile away from the parking lot, we dropped off the trail and onto the main road, and were able to hitch a ride with a nice couple that was on thier way up. By then my legs were starting to get sore, and they still are.

Update on the Strange Bread.

Ariele brought the bread to a church thing, and the women and children liked, but the one man that tried it did not. I did not either, but am glad that Ariele did.

I can play too...

Cinnamon Raisin Multi Grain bread 2.0

The Cinnamon Raisin Bread has a been a womanly favorite since I first made it a few months ago. I was bored tonight and wanted to do something for Ariele so I got to work on making a loaf. While making it, I decided to see just how bad too much of a good thing is. So, to start with I took out a tbsp of flour and added a tbsp of cold milled flax. Then I decided to substitute flax for butter, and used 2 egg whites instead of one whole egg. I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour and organic raisins. When I was almost done, I noticed that the recipe calls for 3/4 cup of nuts, which I had always omitted. Instead I added 1/2 cup of Adams all natural peanut butter and 1 tbsp of honey to counter the unsweetened peanut butter. I added an extra 1/4 cup of hot water to counter the dryness of the flax. I should have added a bit more.

Ariele still isn't home to try any yet, but I don't hate it. It's still missing something, but that usually means Ariele might like it.

Lasagna 2.0

Despite all the negative hype, it wasn't so bad. A little Cayenne and some cheese made it a decent entree.