Goodbye Evergreen State

Next week I will be leaving the wonders of Washington State behind for another kind of land. This new land is not altogether unfamiliar, but I will become much better acquainted with it over the next few years. I may be far away from internet and phones, and many of America’s conveniences, but I will still have regular mail delivery. I look forward to hearing from anyone that may read this. In time, I will post a list of things that I might want or need, in case anyone would want to send them to me. I will also post occasional updates of how I am doing, and perhaps some thoughts as well. Unfortunately, I will not be able to post many details about where I am or what I am doing.

Lena Lake

Saturday March 3, 2007

Daniel showed up at my front door to visit. We invited him in and put more food on the table, and he proposed to leave that night to stage for a hiking trip in the morning. We got out the maps and after some discussion we decided on the east side of the Olympic National Park and Forest, in the Hood Canal area. So we both packed up our stuff and headed out to the area at 8:30pm. By 9:30 we made it to the area we wanted to camp, but found out the hard way that the road was closed and we couldn’t get there. So we stopped and got out the maps, and decided on plan B. (Every time I go on a trip with Daniel a road somewhere is closed) Half an hour later we here at another campsite, and set up our tent and went promptly to sleep at 11, with sounds of the swiftly flowing stream just outside our tent.

Sunday March 4, 2007

Daniel had set his alarm for 7:30am, but I don’t remember it ever going off. In any case, we probably needed the sleep. We slept well and woke up around 9:30am. Immediately after getting up I lit up the stove and started breakfast. We had lots of tea, along with Oatmeal and Ramen. There’s nothing like a hot breakfast in the forest. As I sipped my tea in the morning light I took a look around our campsite and decided I rather liked and would gladly come back again. After breakfast we packed up and headed to the Lena lake trailhead about a mile away.

Even in the off season one cannot completely avoid seeing other people on this trail. We didn’t have much trouble finding some solitude but I imagine it would not be so easy in the summer time. I had not expected the lake to freeze over because of the low elevation, but it was quite beautiful. I have hiked Lena lake in both winter and summer and think that it is a better hike in the snow. It was not a particularly difficult, and the snow did not begin until shortly before the lake. I think the best part of the hike was after the lake where Lena creek met the north end of the lake. It wasn’t frozen here, but there was snow everywhere else and quite pretty.

We wanted to go on to upper Lena lake, but couldn’t because we didn’t have enough time. The trail was also hard to follow, and we were not equipped for serious snow travel.

Once we got back to the car, we finished off our tea, ramen and oatmeal and then went home. I have been very impressed with my Jetboil stove and this was my first time using it on a camping trip. Overall, it was a leisurely hike, and very relaxing and enjoyable.

Mt St Helens

Today is one step closer to one of my recent goals. I’ve wanted to climb Mt. St. Helens for the past several months, since I realized it was the least difficult of the Cascade volcanoes in the winter time.

Nick and met in Lakewood at 0530 and drove in my car down to the town of Cougar, WA. We made very good time, but it was early in the morning of a Federal holiday. The last 10 miles of the road to the sno-park were pretty well iced over, but my car didn’t slip once. At the Marble Mountain sno-park there were only a few other people, but it was very cold. We ducked inside the large warming hut to gear up for the hike.

The south side of Mt. St. Helens has a very extensive snowmobile and cross country ski trail system. The trail that we took was well packed down and was easy travel on the snow. We wore snowshoes for about an hour, but never really needed them. The weather was perfectly clear and calm. The most wind we saw all day was a 5mph breeze.

When we were almost at the tree line we stumbled upon a snow cave that someone else had built and occupied for a few days. After leaving the tree line there was a well marked boot path that ran up a ridge and along a line of rocks that made route finding easy.

At about noon we stopped to eat lunch at some rocks overlooking the south side of the mountain. We dug in the snow to get out of the breeze and enjoyed a warm meal in a serene location. I had a MRE and hot cocoa. I shared my MRE with Nick and he was surprised at how good it tasted.

After lunch we pressed on further up the mountain. It got steep in a few places and there was more ice the higher we went. At about 3pm we decided that we had gone far enough and took some pictures before turning around. There was an inspiring view of Mt Adams and Mt. Hood from that spot. Near the rocks there was a seismic monitoring station that had been knocked over. Not realizing this, I started pounding a picket into the snow only a few feet away from the station. Hopefully it wasn’t strong enough to be recorded. Snow pickets are used as anchors in climbing. I recently bought one and wanted to see how well it would hold in snow. I was pleasantly surprised. After pounding it into the snow, no amount of leaning or pulling would break it loose.

The return down the mountain was strait forward and uneventful. We made very good time on the decent alternating between glissading on the packed snow and plunge stepping into the softer snow. We made it back to the car and the warming hut at 5pm just as it was getting dark.

Despite not summiting, it was an immensely enjoyable day. For me, it’s more important to have fun and be safe than bag a summit. I enjoyed spending time with a new friend and being in the outdoors and training for bigger climbs. Above all, I enjoyed the pervasive stillness and peace that seemed to characterize the day. The only sound was our feet on the snow, and whenever we stopped everything was still and it seemed as if there was no on else in the world and everything was silent. Being from the city, it is not often that one experiences true silence. I would have liked to spend a night there just to sit and stare at the beauty around me and ponder life. I think it is ironic to have experienced so much peace and silence on Mt St Helens, the most active and climbed Volcano in the US. I plan to return to try again at the summit at the earliest possible opportunity. This time I will try to camp in the vicinity of the mountain. Ideally, I would get an alpine start and summit shortly after sunrise and watch the sunrise from high up on the mountain.

Aerial photo by USFS.

A lesson in Canadian dining...

Some background…

A few weeks ago I got a Christmas card from my friend John in California. It was a funny card and it was good to hear from him. On the 29^th of December, I was sitting at the computer and my wife handed the card and Said “he left his email address, you should write to him”

While I was out snowshoeing with Charles on the 30^th, I got a call from John to say that we was in Seattle with some buddies and wanted to meet up while he was here. I called him after the hike was done and he said that they were in town until the 2^nd and wanted to me to go to Victoria with them. We made plans to meet near my house at 6am so that we could drive to Port Angles to catch the 8:20am ferry.

The Trip…

I got up at 5am to fuel the car and make sure I got there on time. John, Luke and Aaron didn’t get there until 6:30am. I knew we wouldn’t make the morning ferry, but tried anyways. We pulled in to Port Angeles at 8:30am, only ten minutes late, but too late. We parked near the terminal and passed out in the car for two hours. We were all hungry when we woke up at around 10, so we had a good breakfast at the dockside café.

After breakfast we headed up to Hurricane ridge to check out the view and kill some time. I had never been there in the winter time, so I really enjoyed the breathtaking scenery. The visitor’s center was crowded, and there were lots of people there with all kinds of snow toys. I wished I had my snowshoes and more time. We didn’t have much time. After snapping some pictures and using the bathroom it was time to head back down to catch our ferry. We made it back to Port Angeles just in time.

After disembarking from the ferry in Victoria, we checked into the Fairmont Empress, and then decided to find some food. I tried to lead us to the Elephant and Castle Pub, but I couldn’t remember where it was. After 15 minutes of wandering around downtown Victoria, I finally conceded I didn’t know where it was. It wasn’t even on the map of the area. A few minutes later we walked by where it should have been and found out it had closed. I wasn’t crazy.

New Year’s Eve…

.

After half an hour of searching, we finally found a pub that was open and ate at Darcy’s. I had a bbq lamb burger. It was very good, but I thought It was overpriced. Then I remembered one of the two best things to get in Canada is Gelato. It only took us a few minutes to find a store selling 61 flavors of Gelato, and it took me ten minutes to decide which flavors to get. I finally decided on Grand Marnier and Mocha Kahlua. We ate it on the way back to the Hotel.

The Fairmont Empress is one of the finest hotels in Victoria and without a doubt the most historic and full of character. It was built 100 years ago, in the style of Victorian England, but it has since added some Canadian and Pacific Northwest flavor. The Empress and the Parliament building are the focal point of the inner harbor, and probably the most photographed buildings in British Columbia. Our room was comfortable, and they have a very nice health club, pool and spa at the first floor. My only complaint about the health club is that Canadians keep their spa at a few degrees below boiling in order to keep people out so they don’t have to clean them.

After a very warm and somewhat relaxing time in the spa, we left the hotel again in search of a pub to wait for midnight. As with dinner we had to try three pubs before we found one that had room to let us in. We spent the next several hours in the Sticky Wicket and spent midnight at Sauce. After midnight we got pizza and then went to bed.

We woke up at 8am on New Year’s Day to try catch the 10:30am ferry, but first we had to find breakfast. Since the Gelato store was closed, we were forced to look elsewhere. After walking around downtown for 20 minutes we decided to go back to the hotel for breakfast. It turned out there were have a buffet, which sounded good to us. It was the best breakfast buffet I have ever had, and was all English style. I had English breakfast tea, smoked salmon, sausage, crab cakes Benedict, and some very good pastries. At the end of our meal we found out why we enjoyed it so much. It was 30 dollars per person. None of us had any idea they would charge that much, and would not have gone if we had known.

We got to the ferry terminal at the end of the boarding line, only to be denied by U.S. Customs. Luke, one of the members of our party was an English citizen and didn’t have one of the forms needed for his student visa. So while he got that faxed we got more Gelato. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we made it back on the afternoon ferry.

Gold Creek Basin

I met up Charles about 11am on Saturday, Dec 30^th. He had a bible study he had to be at and I had spent half an hour looking for my iTrip, so we got a late start as usual. I had printed out a list of snowshoe route off of I-90 from the N.F. service website, and so picked Gold Creek Basin because of the late start.

The hike started out along a wide trail, and was very crowded, with skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobiles. The route was easy, and parts were very pretty, but the trail ran through private property and it was hard to stay on the real trail at times. It was a fun trip, but not a destination I would want to repeat on a weekend.

A bad day

Sunday 04 December 2006

My wife had gone shopping at the Wal-mart with her mother. I was at home reading about Mt. Hood on the internet and contemplating a summit attempt this winter. Our basset hound was asleep behind me and the twins were taking their afternoon nap in their room.

A glance at the clock revealed that my fears might soon be realized. Nap time was almost over. Over the baby monitor I hear a loud, blood curdling whine. Something wasn’t right. I tiptoed over a cracked the door to their room open an inch and peeked inside. What I saw horrified me. As they napped, they had metamorphosed into scaly gremlins with huge fangs and razor sharp claws. Each of them had two tails with pointy spikes on them. For now, they hadn’t seen me and were content purring in their cribs and contemplating what to do with their new powers.

I didn’t know what to do. I quietly went back to my room so I could listen to them on the baby monitor. I hoped it was just a dream and maybe I would wake up soon. In despair, I called my wife and told her what had happened, but she didn’t believe me. She laughed and said there was nothing to be afraid of. If only she knew. Even as I was talking to her I heard a loud CRUNCH over the baby monitor as one of the bit into the crib with their bone breaking jaws. One of them was saying they had to go potty, but I knew it was just a ploy to lure me into their trap. After my wife still refused to believe me, I hung up and decided to try to prove it.

My plan was to open the door, snap a few pictures and run. I got the good camera, turned it on, and walked slowly to the door. I thought I had been as quiet as possible. I held the camera tightly in my right hand and the door in my left. I turned the knob, swung the door open, and pressed the shutter button.

When I regained consiousness, I was lying flat on my back in the hallway. The camera was intact but a few feet away. I had a headache and my ribs were sore. I stumbled to my feet and looked around. I was relieved that Boo was unharmed. I heard laughter in the kitchen and found them sitting at the table painting, looking just like normal children. I went back to the camera to see what it held. Maybe now she’ll believe me…,

A record setting month...

November has been unlike any month I've ver seen. In the first 10 days we record setting flooding that cost 30 million dollars of damge to Mt. Rainier National park, and closed it for months. Immediatly after I came back from Thanksgiving in California we had 4 days of snow, and a record low of 16 degrees. I don't like not being able to go to Mt. Rainier, and I don't like driving on black ice, but the rest was fun. Now I have snowshoes and crampons, so I hope we get feet of snow.

Snow lake

After many weeks of being to busy to hike, or having no one to go with, I was finally able to get out and go hiking this Veteran's day. It was long overdue, because my last opportunity to go hiking was over labor day weekend. Even though I had the time, I still was not sure that we would actually be able to go because of the heavy rain and flooding of the few days prior. Charles was not availible until 1pm and he would be in Issaquah, so I decided to do my first hike in the I-90 corridor. Up until now I had avoided I-90 because of the crowds but now I didn't have a choices. The weather forecast called for heavy snow above 2500ft and high in the 30's. A perfect day to go hiking.

It rained pretty hard as we were driving up to exit 52, and I was wonderng what the trail would be like and how far we would make it. The rain seemed to turn to snow just as we got off the freeway at our exit, and much my our surprise we were driving through an freshly fallen winter wonderland. I had expected to see snow, but I was not at all expecting a few feet to have already fallen. It took us some time to find the trailhead and get dressed up for the weather and we started at about 2pm.

This was my first actual hike in the snow (the others being glacier climbs) and I enjoyed the new experience immensely. I loved the way that everything is quiet and peaceful in the snow. All the snow was freshly fallen powder almost waist deep, but the trail was hard packed and easy to walk on. We traveled slowly to take it all in, and take lots of pictures. I saw two small waterfalls to the north of the trail and at one point we met a wolf along the trail. After a mile and half we came to a fork in the trail and went uphil to Snow lake.

Despite going uphill, it was not very difficult, and the switchbacks made it easier because with each new level the view of the valley below got better. Once we got to the top of the ridge, we could see the lake, but had to descend about 20-30 feet to get the best view. The lake was beautiful, and one the edges we could see multi layered sheets of ice. There was a flat spot near us where I wish I could have spent the night. After a few minutes at the lake we turned around because we were sure that we would not make it back to the car before dark. We never planned it, but we both ended up jogging the two miles back to the car. We made just minutes before dark.

A good day

I got off work early at 3:30pm, and then decided to go for an 8 mile run. It was pouring rain, and I got soaked, but I had a great time. When I got home, my wife was making salad and lasagna, and she makes both dishes as good as they come. After a delicious dinner, I helped clean up, then had some ice cream and went to sleep thinking of the mountains.

The picture has nothing to do with what I did today.

Tumwater Falls

It's been far too long since I've been able to get outdoors and go hiking. Over two months to be exact. One big problem is a lack of time, and an even bigger problem is that there is no one to go out with. Everyone I've gone hiking with in the past has moved away in the past few months.
Last weekend my family was visiting to help with the kids while my wife was away at a conference. On the lsat day of their visit, my sister and wanted to go see something naturey but we didn't have a lot of time. The best choice I could come up with that she hadn't already been to was Tumwater Falls. It's not the most impressive waterfall, but it is a small island of natural beauty in the middle of a large urban area. Unfortunately we came too late to see the salmon run. We saw only one fish where a week before there had been hundreds. Overall, it was fun to spend time with my sister, and it wsa a gorgeous day to see the outdoors and the fall colors.