End-of-year hikes, et cetera

Even after the jaunt up to Cascade Falls (near Blacksburg, VA), I was still on the hunt for through the end of 2020. Most of these I found closer to home, a sort of scouting mission to map out what is fun and accessible in the immediate area. One of the surprises I found was a state park near Camas, where water drops from Lacamas lake over a series of falls into the Washougal watershed. The popular trail was moderately busy, although I think that forecasted cloud-bursts kept many people at home. I finally invested in the last piece of waterproof gear I needed (socks!) and was packing heavy, but the sun came out between light showers, and I stayed dry!

Skyline Divide

While we were wandering about the Alps, Jon (J2) told me about a Pacific NorthWest hike that we definitely needed to do when we got home. In his words, it was "the best views for the amount of effort that you put in." Mumsy is training for Kilimanjaro, and I needed a recovery trip after hiking the Enchantments a few weeks before... so on a weekend while I was still in Washington, we headed up the mountain!

 

Enchanted

I've had this hike on my bucket list for a while. To overnight camp there, you need to win a lottery... or, take it on as an 18+ mile thru-hike. Having a weekend free and a cousin willing to commit to 12 hours of suffering (also, to leave at the other trailhead), it was on! 

the top of Asgard Pass

Silver Falls

Feeling a little bit of Euro-travel hangover, I got out of the house my first weekend back to check out some new trails in Oregon. Silver Falls State Park is just over an hour from home, filled with incredible basaltic rock structures threaded with 10 waterfalls and one heavily beaten trail.

PDX Layover

I’ve traveled frequently in the last several months, but for some reason they didn’t feel like things I wanted to write about. Portland explorations have been occupying most of my time, mixed in with my work trips. My new home base is in Northeast, an ideal start point for wanderings through Portland’s many neighborhoods. Hollywood, Alberta, Belmont, Ladd’s, and Kerns, to name a few, have lured me on adventures. Work has sent me to Ohio, Texas, up to Washington, out to Quebec… but as I sit here in the Delta lounge at PDX (Portland International Airport), I’m waiting for my first “vacation” in almost a year to take off. A trip entirely unattached to work or a holiday.

It's true, we love it in Oregon!

Park Butte hike (Tea at the Top)

I'm standing at my desk, looking out at newly re-greened grass and wet asphalt. I love this change in weather and the cozy, tea-sipping, book-reading mood it creates. But before the clouds blew in, we got out onto the mountain for one last clear, dry, early fall day. The mountains were out, and Dock Butte was in fine form! 

Mt Hood, with Timberline Lodge

I'm a big fan of the old lodges in national parks (if multiple stops in Glacier and other places haven't clued you into that already). A couple of weekends ago Sister and J suggested we go hiking at Mt Hood, which of course I agreed to! Unfortunately, weather and a sea-level acclimated fur nephew conspired to cut our hike short. That didn't keep us from taking a pleasant stroll above the treeline and checking out the beautiful lodge.

Canadian, Oregonian, American, Washintonian, Swiss, German... and Swedish? 

Mountain Berry Buffet

Late summer/fall hiking is my favorite. The trails are dry and no longer covered by snow. The weather is reliably better, requiring sunscreen instead of rain jackets. And even if there are more people on the trails, it doesn't matter - there are enough mountain blueberries for everyone! 

Mt Baker Sunshine

It doesn't always rain on Baker! We went back for another round, just hiking this time, on the shoulders of the local volcano. We were surprised to encounter several snowfields, but the mountain was out and there was hardly anyone on the Scott Paul section of the trail, so we couldn't complain!

the view from Park Butte

Baker Summit Rainout

We were invited a few months ago to join an attempt to summit Mt Baker. After weeks of sunshine, we gathered on a damp, overcast Friday morning to pile into suburbans and head up to the mountain... and the forecast wasn't looking good. But we had raincoats and rain pants, so away we went!

Spring Wanders at Washington Park

I was browsing my photos from the past few months, and was reminded that we've been on an adventure or two since the rain stopped and the clouds cleared... From different days, here are a few snapshots of our spring wanders about Washington Park. 

The sunset tree finally died... now just a gnarled silhouette.

Bend to Boise

We skipped breakfast in Bend and hit the road early, pointed towards Boise. It turns out that there isn't much along SR 26... and Brothers, OR is nothing like Sisters, OR. We made our Camp Oats at a pull out which asked us to not camp on their lawn. I couldn't find the lawn, so I don't think they have much trouble with people camping on it.

Brothers, OR

Black Butte Hike

From the Willamette valley, we drove up and over the Cascades towards Bend. Detroit, Oregon looks a little difference than Detroit, Michigan! There was still a little snow on the pass, but we dropped down towards Sisters in the sun. After a stop for roadside grilled cheese sandwiches on a nearly-empty logging road, we wound up the side of Black Butte and parked at the trailhead.

Highway 101: Oregon Coast

We drove over the towering ribbon of a bridge that links Washington and Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia river. After a brief stop to refuel at one of the old cannaries on the Astoria waterfront, we continued along 101 down the coast. 

Highway 101: WA coast

A few weeks ago, we went on a springtime road trip. You would think that I would know better than planning a road trip through several rain forests in April, but that's exactly what I did. Sunday morning, we loaded up the Toyota Adventuremobile and headed south to the Pt Townsend ferry.

First stop: LaPush. And really big driftwood logs!

Amtrak Cascades

I think it has been 15+ years since I was last on a train in the USA. A few weeks ago I took the train from Portland to Mt Vernon as an alternative to driving home. It is a little slower thanks to frequent stops, but flies at 80 mph through the segments that are slow on I-5. The route is also different, winding along the water in the South Sound and through the farms in the Green River valley. The sun set by the time the Amtrak Cascades actually neared the Cascades, but the view through the South Sound was beautiful.

Loki the Trickster Dog

We adopted a pet. He's brunet with a squiggly white blaze that falls off the left side of his nose and a coat that makes him look like an old bearskin rug when he is most relaxed, at which point he kicks his back legs out behind him and lays flat out with his tummy on the ground.

Loki

Deming Logging Show "for Busted Up Loggers"

This last Saturday we had an afternoon with no plans and sunshine in the forcast. M suggested that we go check out the Deming Logging Show, an annual event put on "for the benefit of busted up loggers." It was somewhere between a county fair and redneck truck show. Campers and trailers lined the soggy field around the fairgrounds. Driving up, we could see lines of spit-polished, impossibly chromed Kenworth, International, and Mack dump trucks. Boom spars lifted sky high pointed us to the parking area as we pulled in. We followed the echoing speaker and found seats in the grandstands...

The first day of summer (in Tacoma)

The local high school team was at the state meet in Tacoma this weekend. Sister #3 is a star runner, so we headed down to watch her run! After she PR'd by 2 seconds in the 800m, we had a few hours until the next event, so we took Sisters #4 and #5 and headed downtown for an adventure in the sunshine. 

leaning slightly left at the Glass Museum

In the meantime

After two months of running around like a crazy person, I've had a wonderfull, continuous 3 weeks at home. Next week it's off to the south end of the state, but here's what we've been up to in the meantime... 

Sunset view from Rock Ridge