Week 18 Dec. 30 - Roxborough State Park

Total Distance: About 5 miles
Elevation Gain: About 600 ft.
Time: 8:15 am - 11:00 am
Weather: Cold, crisp, sunny Colorado December morning giving way to a decent snow storm by noon.

Not sure how to count this hike.  My last hike was three days earlier in Oklahoma, and I am stopping over in Denver to visit some really great friends for a few days.  The mountains here in Colorado are ridiculous.  I landed early Wednesday morning, and my friend had me in his car as the sun was rising.  The morning was clear, and I literally heard the mountains calling my name.

Now a little about my friend, he and I have been really great friends since first grade.  He has a beautiful wife and son, and I am so happy he gets to be a part of my 52 hikes.

My friend and I were going to hike Friday, and I had no problem considering that the 18th hike.  Unfortunately, the forecast in Denver was calling for snow Thursday afternoon and very cold temperatures all day Friday.  My friend and I decided to get to the park right when it opened at 8am and try to beat the bad weather.

We got to the trailhead with no problem and began our hike on the South Rim Trail.  The weather was incredible.  It was chilly but sunny.  As I geared up at the trailhead, I used my phone to record our hike.  I had downloaded a sweet app for my Android phone a few days ago that uses the phone's GPS and Google maps to record your movements.  My phone was about to die shortly after we started because, as readers to this blog already know, I am terrible about making sure my electronic devices are charged and/or with me on the hike.  It did record the first 35 minutes, and you can see the track here.  

The hike was beautiful and a lot of fun.  My friend and I were really stoked to be out, and we were loving the fact that we were out early and walking.  We had spectacular views and could see all the way to Denver around 8:45am.  By 9 am, we could no longer see Denver as the snow storm was circling back and dumping on Denver.  We could see the clouds moving our way, but the sun was still shinning brightly in the southern sky.  We ended up turning off the South Rim trail and began hiking up to Carpenter's Peak around 9:20 am. 

We said at 10:15 we would turn around and head back down.  We made it a good way up the trail, and at 10 we stopped and had a snack. At this time, the sky was completely covered with clouds.  It was really getting cold, and we bundled back up for our hike back.  We came back down and were at the car by 11 am.  As I started to take off my gaiters and boots, it began to snow.

Orchid: Hiking with my good friend, sharing a walk in the backcountry.

Onion: Short hike due to the weather.

Picture:

 
Google Map

Week 17 Dec. 27 - Chickasaw National Recreation Area and Lake of the Arbuckles

Total Distance: At least 10 miles
Elevation Gain: A few hundred feet
Time: 11:45 am - 5:15 pm
Weather: Cool, chilly Oklahoma December day.  Warm in the sun, cold with the wind.

This was another great hike in my beautiful home state of Oklahoma.  I know technically, this was not a weekend hike, but Christmas was Saturday, and the family time was not going to allow me to get out until today.  I am ok with my integrity, if you are.

I was happy this hike was on Monday because that allowed my friend who lives in Ardmore to be able to join me.  She is a gorgeous, fun woman, and we have not been able to hang out a lot over the last few years.  I did get to see her over Thanksgiving, and she is an avid reader of the blog.  We planned on hiking over the Christmas break and this was that hike.

First, it was a short hour and half drive to the trailhead from my parents, made 30 minutes longer by me not bringing a map.  We found an entrance to the park, but it was not to any trailhead.  My friend busted out her iPhone, and we were still close enough to the towns of Sulphur and Davis to get to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area website.  We got back on track and were shortly at the correct park entrance.  As we drove in, we saw the road to Veterans Lake was closed.  This was, unfortunately, the road we needed to get to the trails.  We parked at the campsite and were off to figure out how to get to the trails.

I did not want to get a fine from some aggressive park ranger, so we tried to find a way around the road closure.  That was a bust, so we said, "screw it. Let's walk on to the trails."  We went around the road closed and hazardous area signs and walked along the road.  We did not see any reason for the closure and eventually made it to the trails.

The hike was great.  We walked and walked and walked.  We passed so many armadillos that we renamed the trail from trail 1 to Armadillo Trail.  The sun was shining so brilliantly; it was great to feel its rays hit my face.  I could swear I felt my body producing vitamin D.  We also saw so many different animal tracks in the mud. Some were recognizable, others were completely foriegn to me.  I have to learn more about tracking.

It was 2:15 pm before we even saw a glimmer of the lake.  We continued on and finally came to a great view of a spectacularly quiet lake tucked in behind the Arbuckle Mountains.  We had a delicious snack or two and got up to walk back.  We took a different trail back, but continued to see armadillos, tracks, and some beautiful scenery.

We got back to the road around 5:00 pm.  It was a great day hike with a great friend.  I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Orchid: The whole hike really, since I was hiking with my best friend.  But if there was one moment I could relive, it would be the snack break at the Lake of the Arbuckles.

Onion: Getting back to the road after hiking all day.  I knew the day was over.

Picture:

Google Map

Week 16 Dec. 19 - Black Mesa

Total Distance: Approximately 8 miles
Elevation Gain: Approximately 500 ft.
Time: 7:45 am - 12:15 pm
Weather: Very cold and crisp morning giving way to a beautiful Oklahoma December day.

Back home for Winter Break meant this weekend was another hike in Oklahoma.  This one I had been dreaming about since I thought up this crazy 52 hikes in 52 week plan in the first place.  I was born and raised in Oklahoma, but I did not get into hiking until I moved out to Tacoma.  When I knew I was going to have a few hikes back in Oklahoma, I knew I wanted to hike to the highest point, Black Mesa.

I flew into Oklahoma City Saturday night @ 7:45 pm, local time.  By 9:00 pm, my sister, her boyfriend, and I (with the help of my mom and dad) had loaded the car and began the 7 and 1/2 hour drive from my parents house to the trailhead (according to google maps).  We drove until literally we could not see anymore.  As we were heading into the panhandle, the temperature was dropping and the fog was settling over the plains.  Around 3 am, we could hardly see 20 feet in front of the car.  We stopped at the first gas station we came to.  It was in Boise City and around 3:40 am we tried to rest, and we ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep.

Woke up around 6 am and found a cafe right down the road.  We had a delicious breakfast at the Rockin' A Cafe.  Finally back on the road, we were in Kenton by 7:30am, only 10 minutes from the trailhead.  Unfortunately, Kenton was a ghost town at 7:30am.  We had planned to buy snacks and water, but since everything was closed we just went on to the trailhead with the snacks and water we had in the car.

Finally, the hike!  

The trailhead and surrounding area had been hit with 5 inches snow 2 days before, and the weather had not been warm enough to melt it all away.  We were the only car there.  As I was gearing up, it was chilly.  It was one of those hikes where I knew once we started moving everything would be fine, but while I was trying to get my boots on, it was all I could do to keep from shivering.  

We got going, and we were instantly struck by the beauty of an area of Oklahoma none of us were very familiar with.  Not to mention how a fresh blanket of snow has a way of making everything look magical.

The hike was great.  The first two miles were flat and slowly meandered along the back of the Mesa.  At mile two, the trail turns straight towards the mesa, and it begins a slow and steady climb to the top.  The uphill was not too brutal, gaining approximately 500 feet in about a 1.3 miles.  

Once we got to the top of the mesa, we were mesmerized yet again, by the surrounding beauty of the desert landscape.  There were so many tracks in the snow.  I know for a fact I saw deer, rabbit, and coyote tracks, but there were tracks everywhere,  We walked along and finally saw the obelisk in the distance marking the summit.  We spent about 20 minutes hanging out around the summit.  We decided, since we were only 1300 ft away according to the obelisk, to walk due west into New Mexico.  

Around 10:30 am, we turned to head back.  Made great time back down the mesa, even though we were slipping and sliding along the way.  With less than 2 miles left to go, we bumped into a hiker from central Iowa going to the summit.  Then we ran into three young people from France in the middle of a cross country trip, who stopped to play in the snow.  Once back at the trailhead, we saw a group of four more hikers show up. I was so happy more people were there to enjoy this beautiful scenery. 

Orchid: Gaiters make walking in snow AWESOME!

Onion: Not packing my camera or trekking poles.

Picture:

Google Map

Week 15 Dec. 12 - Mount Tahoma Ski Trails, South District

Total Distance: Approximately 3 miles
Elevation Gain: Approximately 500 ft.
Time: 1:00 am - 3:00 pm
Weather: Rainy, rainy, and even a little more rainy...

This was my first real winter hike of the year.  I had gone on a hike a few weeks ago when it began to snow while we were out, but this was a trip specifically designed for the snow.  I had gotten my snowshoes about two and a half weeks ago and couldn't wait to get out and use them. Although, this hike almost didn't happen.

First, I woke up on the couch about an hour before I wanted to get up, and I thought I could go lay in bed for an hour and then get up and go.  I woke up three hours later at 10:00 am.  I rushed through the house to get dressed and geared up.  Thankfully I had preped a lot last night.  I was in the car and moving by 10:15, stopped to fill up on gas, then was on the road at 10:25, when I realized I did not grab my camera.  Oh well, I will have to use my cell phone camera, not nearly as good of photos, but better than nothing.

By 11:45 am, I was in the small town of Ashford, WA.  The trail system I was heading to is only a few miles outside Ashford.  I remember as I made the turn onto the forrest roads, I was hoping the Mount Tahoma Trails Association (MTTA) website was correct when describing the roads as clear all the way to the trailhead.  I saw a sign that said, Upper Sno-Park to the right, but on my map It only had the "Lower Sno-Park" as my destination.  I went left and climbed higher.  This was the first bad choice I made driving today.  I kept climbing up and up, and winding around the mountain.  After about 5 miles, I started seeing a lot of snow.  Quickly the road became one lane of tracks, and my car was locked into following them.  I said to myself, I have got to turn around when I can and go back to that turn.  I found a place, and worked my car slowly around.  Killed the car twice and was definitely smelling something funky from under the hood.  I got turned around and was heading back the right way.  

I quickly came across two cars that were much more equipped for snow than myself and got one to roll down their window.  I asked if he knew where the Mount Tahoma Trails were, he said about half a mile up the road the way I was coming down.  They went around, and I decided to turn an follow, a second bad decision.  I made it back to the place where I had turned around, and this time kept following the guys in front.  There was a fork where they went right, and I followed.  A thousand feet later we were all stopped.  The lead car was all sorts of stuck, and he was a mad man with his car.  I watched his car move perpendicular to the direction of the car was facing for about 50 feet, before he was able to correct it.  I immediately began the process of turning around.  It was much tougher on my car in this area, and I was definitely regretting my decision to snowshoe today.  Got turned, car smelled really bad, and the car felt awkward in its handling for the next few minutes.  I was leaving at this point to go home and go to a little place called Point Defiance in Tacoma.  It is not really "backcounrty," but it has trails and I said I could use it once on my quest for 52.

As I was driving out, I came to a place were there was only one path in the snow and another car was coming.  I was able to move over, allowing him to pass.  He rolled down his window, and I asked if he knew where the MTTA trailhead was.  He confirmed I missed my turn.  I drove back and finally took the turn I should have taken long ago. After about two-tenths of a mile, there were so many signs confirming I was on the right path my spirits were lifting.  I did take another wrong turn, but I was only on that road for half a mile before I realized I had made the wrong turn.  This time it was really scary, since I had to reverse down the hill.  When I got back to the turn, I straightened out.  I was finally able to drive all the way up to about 3000 ft. to the Middle Sno-Park Trailhead.  There was snow for about the last mile, but not on the roads.  The roads were plowed, just like the website said.  Above the trailhead, the road was covered in snow which had been groomed.

I parked, geared up for the non-stop rain that I was going to have today, and I walked through the parking lot to the groomed road above.  I was so excited, that as soon as I hit snow I put on my snowshoes.  I looked at the map at the trailhead, did not quite figure out were I was and I began walking.  It was fun, even though the road was groomed.  I did not need my snowshoes for my weight, but for their spiked grip in the snow.  I also had new snow baskets on my poles.  I was having fun, and I was drifting from side to side, walking in the banks on the sides of the road.
Right about the time that I had accepted I would be hiking a road the entire hike, I came to a trail off to the left.  It was the Lower Yurt Trail.  Looking where it led, I was so pumped.  No tracks were leading the way, the trees were more narrow, and the climb looked steep.  I went for a good 25 minutes breaking fresh tracks in the snow.  This was the best part of the whole day.  I was so happy that I did not go home and find a hike.  This was the most fun I had out on a hike in a while.  The picture below was taken before I climber up the trail.  You can see the untouched snow I was about break up with my tracks.

Orchid: Fresh tracks on the Lower Yurt Trail.
 
Onion: The number of wrong turns, and thus bad driving conditions I got my self into.
 
Picture:

Google Map

Week 14 Dec. 05 - Green Mountain

Total Distance: Approximately 5 miles
Elevation Gain: Approximately 1000 ft.
Time: 10:10 am - 2:00 pm
Weather: Cold, sunny, mostly cloudy skies.

Set out this morning with 3 kids, a colleague, and her 2-year old puppy.  The original plan on Monday was to try and find a place to go snowshoeing, but with final exams looming the club decided on a low elevation hike close to home.  Took about an hour to get to the trailhead, where we met up with another student who lived close enough to just meet us there.

We hit the trail right at 10:10 and began a slow climb along Gold Creek.  The area was described on wta.org as a working forest.  The trail did have some open areas, but there were some pretty woody areas, and I really liked the hike.  As we climbed to the top, there were intermittent views of the Olympics to the west.  I was dressed in so many layers, that I spent much of the time on the way up cursing my choice for long underwear bottoms.  We got to a parking lot only 0.4 miles from the Green Mountain vista.  I guess the road is closed in the winter.  As we stopped to snack here, we got cold.  The wind was blowing, and we only sat for a few minutes.

As we reached the top, the vista was awesome.  The views of the Olympics and the Cascades at the top of Green Mountain were too spectacular to be caught by my camera, but I still tried.  Looking back east, you could see the City of Seattle so clearly, with the foothills of the Cascades reaching towards the Sound.  The low cloud cover prevented views of Rainier.  As we hiked down along the Plummer trail, the views of the Olympics were great.  I wish the clouds would have lifted completely, but the snow covered Olympics still came through.  It felt as if the mountains were taunting me to come visit.  I love the time I have spent in the Olympics, but it has not been nearly enough to fully appreciate their beauty and majesty.

On the way out, two of the boys wanted to take a polar bear dip into the Gold Creek.  I passed, although it looked like fun.  Great kids, great hike, and good fun.  I was really excited for this hike.  Last week marked a quarter of a year spent hiking on the weekends.  I was well aware I was moving into the second half of the first half.  There are only 12 more weeks until I will have made it half a year hiking every weekend.  Let's hope my body holds up.

Orchid: Views of the Olympics.

Onion: No onion, maybe the hike being too short :)

Picture:

Google Map

Week 13 Nov. 26 - McGee Creek Natural Scenic Recreation Area

Total Distance: Approximately 5 miles
Elevation Gain: Not a lot, but maybe a few hundred feet.
Time: 8:45 am - 12:30 pm
Weather: Cold and sunny.

This was a significant hike for many reasons: it was the day after Thanksgiving (so it was like a holiday hike), it was back in Oklahoma (where I am originally from and was spending the holiday), it was the first hike of the 52 with members of my family (my brother, sister-in-law, and sister came along), and it was the 13th hike of the 52 hikes (meaning I have hiked for a 1/4 of the weekends in a year). 

I was down in Durant to see my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins for Thanksgiving.  A google maps search showed that McGee Creek State Park and Natural Scenic Recreation Area were a short distance away.  My family and I woke up around 6:30 am, and when we got to the trailhead it was still below freezing, and the sun was just starting to rise above the trees.

We started, and it was cold.  We were starting to warm up a little as we walked, but the hike dropped down a few hundred feet in elevation and was mostly in the shade.  We were all slipping on all the frosted leaves which covered the trail.  We also kept losing the trail because of all the leaves that had fallen and covered the forest floor.  It was a lot of fun as we would realize we were lost, go back to find the last trail marker, then hunt for the next for the next one sweeping out concentric circles.  We were never lost for long.  As the forest slowly changed as we walked, we found ourselves surrounded by pine trees, and the pine needles were not as good at disguising the trail.

We passed campsites and shallow creeks, eventually making our way to Bugaboo Canyon.  Now this was not a southwestern United States canyon, but a canyon nonetheless.  We sat and ate our snacks.  We were all amazed at how good snacks taste at 11:00 am after a good hike.

Orchid: Hiking with family.

Onion: Ankles hurt...

Picture:

Google Map

Week 12 Nov. 21 - Wilderness Peak

Total Distance: 6.6 miles
Elevation Gain: Approximately 1200 ft.
Time: 10:15 am - 2:45 pm
Weather: Cold and snowy.

This was the second hike of the Outdoor Club at my school.  I had two colleagues volunteer to come with me, one of which who brought her sweet yellow lab, Carter, along.  For the last week, all I had heard from students and colleagues was how the weather was going to be "snowy and potentially too icy to drive."  As a result, we chose a low elevation hike close to major roads.  We also had a contingency plan to hike in a local park, if it was too risky to even try to drive.

Before I left my house to head to our meeting place, I had received one text about two kids not making it, and I started to think many would chicken out.  It was not snowing at 8:30 am, but it was chilly.  As I waited I was pleasantly surprised when more and more kids started showing up.  We had a total of 6, that is double the previous outing, and two were repeat offenders.

Anyway, to the hike....

We started to climb right from the get go.  It wasn't insanely steep, but it was definitely taking my breath away.  Quickly, most of us were sweating in the 37 degree weather, and we started taking off layers.  The hike was good.  Not too long, or too short.  We took lots of little breaks.

Around 1:00 pm the snow started.  Lightly at first, then a little more heavy, but never super wet.  It was magical as the ferns and trees began to take on a light dusting of snow.  Unfortunately, my camera battery died, and I could not get it to stay on long enough to catch more than one quick snap shot at a time.  As we were just about done with the loop, the snow was really starting to stay in a steady flow.  If we had started two hours later, it would have been really cool.  But a great hike, nonetheless.

Orchid: The beautiful, light dusting of snow on all the ferns and trees.

Onion: My right ankle hurts at times while I am hiking.  A sharp, significant pain...

Picture:

 

Google Map

Week 11 Nov. 14 - Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Serene

Total Distance: 7.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 2200 ft.
Time: 10:30 am - 3:10 pm
Weather: Cool, overcast, foggy, and rainy.

Had a good hike today.  It had been a terrible week, at least Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were terrible.  I always love hiking at the end of a week.  I made it all the way to Lake Serene, but I screwed up when I was uploading my pics from the hike and lost about 50 photos.  Add it to the list of things I lost in 2010. 

Orchid: Good pace and good snack breaks.

Onion: Lost photos.

Picture:

 

Google Map

Week 10 Nov. 07 - Wallace Falls

Total Distance: Approximately 8 miles
Elevation Gain: Around 1500 ft.
Time: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Weather: Cool, overcast, and rainy but with long, sustained sun-breaks.

This was a great hike. It was one of those classic Pacific Northwest fall days.  The weather people claimed it is going to be raining all morning and raining off and on in the afternoon.  So when I woke up, I started to psyche myself up for rain.  I got up early, and due to the time change, it was still dark.  As I showered, dressed, and packed, I noticed the sunlight coming in through the windows.  It was a glorious morning.  The clouds had parted and I thought we were going to have a perfect day for a hike.

I say "we" because this was the first hike of an outdoor club I helped start at work.  Most of you readers know me personally, for those that do not I am a high school teacher.  My school has a great outdoor education program which gets kids out in the backcountry and is responsible for giving me this outlet for expressing my love of nature. There were five of us for this hike, two teachers (including me) and three students.  We set out from the trailhead right at 11:00 am.

The trail set out along the Wallace river and climbs up to three distinct waterfalls.  All three have spectacular features, but the middle falls are jaw dropping in their towering majesty.  Took great photos and had great conversations as we climbed up and up.  The hike to the upper falls took about an hour and a half.  We continued on outside the state park to Wallace Lake.  The hike was along an old road, so we were all able to walk together.  It had stopped raining, and the sun came out.  We walked along the road and when it came to an injunction we stopped and had lunch in the sun.

We continued on to Wallace Lake.  Had a good shot of the lake through the trees, and then we continued on back to the trailhead.  Soon after the lake we came back to a trail.  The trails on this hike were great.  Lots of fun, and some good elevation gain and loss.  We took a ton of pictures, which are already helping me relive the hike.  So lovely.

Orchid: Maintaining a good pace throughout the hike.

Onion: No low point, a grumpy old man claimed we ruined the light for his photo.  But that was more funny for me.

Picture:

Google Map

Week 09 Oct. 30 - Iron Creek Falls

Total Distance: Less than a mile
Elevation Gain: Less than 200 ft.
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Weather: Overcast, cold, rainny/snowy

Well, this weekend was a major bust.  I normally don't pick a hike mid-week, but this week I did.  I wanted to go to a place called Norway Pass.  It is just north of Mount St. Helen's above Spirit Lake.  I can only imagine how awesome it would be, because this morning, I could not make it to the trailhead.

I found the hike using the wta.org hike finder.  I looked for a hike in an area I had not been yet, and that's why I went further south than usual.  It was going to take about 2 and half hours to get to the trailhead.  Calling the phone number listed in the trail's description got me to a recording saying, "National Forest Road 99 is open."  I guess open can also mean, covered with snow.  I got to less than 10 miles away from the trail head, but had to turn around due to the snow on the roads.  I guess it is too late in the year to be going into the high country.  At least too late without chains and a more jacked subaru.

After I turned around and got back below the snowline, i saw a sign pointing to Iron Creek Falls and just decided that this was going to be my hike.  I geared up and started walking.  I only was walking for about 3 minutes before I reached the falls.  The falls were pretty, but I was majorily bummed to not have a very long hike.  I stuck around the falls for about an hour.  I had lunch, climbed above the falls a bit, and tromped through the river in my waterproof boots+gaiter combo.

As I walked out, I was really unhappy with the length of my hike.  I was definately in the backcountry, but if there were no falls, I would have been able to still hear the traffic from the road.  As I was driving out, I saw another Iron Creek sign and found a huge picnic area.  The area looked like an old car camping campground, but all the signs said no overnight camping.  I walked around, found a trailhead bulletin board.  The board had a map of the pinic area, and there was an old-growth forest trail around the perimeter.  I finally got a more serious walk in; it took about 35 minutes to complete the loop, and I felt a little bit better about the day.

Orchid: Hiking through the river, keeping feet dry.

Onion: Snow, forcing me to turn around.

Picture:

Google Map

Week 08 Oct. 24 - Green River Gorge

Total Distance: Approximately 3 miles
Elevation Gain: About 400 ft.
Time: 12:20 pm ~ 1:40 pm
Weather: Overcast, cool, and rainy.

This was going to be a tough weekend to go on a hike because of all the work I have due this week.  I was planning on cashing in a hike only 20 minutes from my door in a local park, Point Defiance.  I said to myself at the beginning of this commitment that I could use Point Defiance once in the 52 weeks.  It is not wilderness, but it is.  The area is protected and has trails, but it is definitely more like an amazing city park than backcountry.  Woke up a little late and knowing I was going to put off my paperwork no matter where I was going to hike, I decided to find something else using the Washington Trails Association(WTA) hike finder map.  I found Flaming Geyser State Park as a close option and decided to go for it.

Short drive indeed, left the super market with breakfast and lunch around 11:30 am and was pulling into the parking lot around 12:20 pm.  Got my stuff together and went straight for the trail that followed the Green River.  I continued only for about 300 ft before I came to the "Flaming Geyser."  The geyser was so sad.  I knew from the WTA site description that the flaming geyser was not going to match my imagination.  When it was first discovered by miners in the early 1900s I think the flame was 25 feet high, but now it is merely a flame of a few inches in height.  Well it is not even a flame anymore.  It was a pit surrounded by a nice sidewalk with a rock garden inside around a center spout with no flame.  I walked around the pit and it smelled funky, maybe I was smelling the methane gas that supplies the fuel for the flaming geyser.  I did think to use the lighter in my pocket to create a spark near the source, or at least get down and smell for the gas at the source, but I thought it safer to not mess with it.

The trails behind the geyser were closed and I was worried nothing was open.  I walked back to the end of the road and found a map showing some other trails off the the left of the "Flaming Geyser."  I went back, found the trail, and somewhat relieved, began walking.  The trail was nice and wide to start.  It did not climb very high, but I did get a few hundred feet above the Green River and got to look down on it.   I crossed a huge group of young boy scouts and their parents.  Many of the the kids liked my trekking poles.  As one shouted in wonder, "what are those?"  They were all soaked, and the kids were loving it.  I walked on through dense and sparse woods.  It was really a lot of diversity in landscape for such a short hike.  I finally came out were the Green River makes a pretty sharp turn back to the right and the trail ends.

The trail ends, according to the trailhead map, at the Green River Gorge.  It was an open area, with beautiful cliffs across the river.  I sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  It was supposed to be a rainy day, and I had gotten a little rain, but most of my hike was pretty light.  I didn't even wear rain gear.  During my break, there was no rain, even a little sun.

I walked around a bit and found a ton of trash, mostly beer cans and wrappers, but what was most disturbing was a nicely cinched up garbage bag.  I really hope it was not the young boy scouts, but it doesn't matter who did it, it is just ridiculous.  I packed it out.  The hike back was quick and muddy.  I stood ankle deep in water to wash my gaiters off and my socks and shoes stayed dry.  Great day.

Orchid: Little to no rain during my hike.

Onion: Flaming Geyser.

Picture:

Google Map

Week 07 Oct. 17 - Rattlesnake Mountain

Total Distance: 8.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2700 ft.
Time: 9:00 am ~ 1:30 pm
Weather: Sunny, clear skies, cold & chilly.

The gaiters maiden voyage!  On Tuesday of this week, an early birthday present to myself arrived, a pair of OR M's Crocodiles. I couldn't wait to wear them in the backcountry.  In addition to my new gear, this week I was also joined by my best friend from work.  He is an avid hiker.  As a matter of fact, I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for taking me on my first backpacking trip ever.  This was his third week to join me in my quest for 52 hikes.  It was cold this morning; there was frost on my car and in my backyard as I left to pick up my friend at 7:25am.  It was also super foggy.

When we got to the trail head around 8:45 am, I could tell it was going to be another one of those hikes where we weren't the only ones wanting to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather.  The trailhead had quite a few cars pretty early, and much of the trail was busy with people and dogs.  I am starting to look forward to the rain and cold weather, if only to thin out the crowds.  I love that so many people are taking advantage of the beautiful places in Washington state, but I enjoy my time being alone (or small groups) in the woods.

In another classic move on my part, I left my fully charged camera on my kitchen counter.  For yet another week, the images from this hike were only saved as the electrical impulses that were sent from my optic nerve.  There were definitely places to take many pictures.

The first 1.9 miles were full of switchbacks.  It was a steady climb, not too bad.  We made the turn towards the East Peak.  The next 2.4 miles seemed to go pretty quickly.  It was almost immediately after the turn that the trail faded into a dark forest.  The forest was crazy dark for such a sunny day.  I had day dreams of hiking through middle earth on my way to Gondor.  The trail crossed over some old logging roads.  As we continued the climb, we eventually came to the clearing of the East Peak.  The trail and surround vegetation was still crystallized from the colder weather, and the crunch, as we walked, was a pleasurable sound.

We made it to the East Peak in a little over 2 hours and took a break.  Our thirty minute snack break was glorious, baking in the sun for maybe the last time in 2010.  We wanted to continue on the trail a little further, but both of us have a lot of work to prepare for tomorrow.  We hiked out, and made it back to the trailhead 10 minutes faster than it took us to get up to the top.  On the way down, we hit the two great ledges to look out into the valley below.  We had amazing views of Rattlesnake Lake directly below us and Chester Morse Lake in the distance. 

Orchid: My 2.0 mile per hour hiking pace up to the East Peak with only two short breaks to take off layers.

Onion: The busyness of the trail.

Google Map

Week 06 Oct. 10 - Upper Crystal Lake

Total Distance: 6.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 2300 ft.
Time: 11:20 am ~ 2:25 pm
Weather: Rainy, cloudy, overcast, cold.

For the second week in a row, I was going out in the backcountry alone.  But the difference this week was that I was really alone.  Last week, when I got to the trail head I could barely find a place to park.  I spent most of my time hiking within earshot of other hikers on the way to Granite Mountain.  I remember thinking, if something bad happens to me, there are plenty of people around to help.  This week the trail head was empty.  I was totally alone in the woods.  No person was in this section of Mt. Rainier National Park except me.  It was nice.

The 3.0 mile hike up to Upper Crystal Lake was good.  It was rainy, but it's October in the Pacific Northwest, so I better get used to it.  I maintained a pace that got me there just a few minutes after the hour and a half mark.  I had hiked the entire time, taking no breaks.  The whole time I was climbing up, I kept thinking about swimming in the lake when I got there.  And if I was still completely alone, I was going to go skinny dipping.  Within the first 30 minutes I was hiking in the clouds and fog.  It limited visibility, but I got to focus on the beauty around me.  I didn't see any "big, scary" wildlife, but there were tons of birds.  All sorts, I wish I knew more about birds, so I could share the different types.  I can only say that as I climbed, I was serenaded by lots of different calls and saw many jumping from tree to tree.

When I got to the lake, it was socked in with fog.  I could barely see more than the immediate shore. I did see 6 geese starting a swim off the shore.  They quickly disappeared into the fog.   I walked along the east shore, trying to find a good place to jump or wade in.  But as I slowly walked around the lake, the chilly weather got to me, and I chose not to swim.  The fog lifted a little, and I was going to snap a picture.  When I went to turn on the camera, I discovered the battery was dead.  I was bummed to not get a photo for the blog.  As I went to put the camera back up, I noticed I was right next to some animal scat.  I thought it was bear, but I just looked up bear scat on Google and did not find a similar image.

I walked over to the campsites on the west side of the lake and ate my snacks.  I brought a stove to cook lunch, but my Snickers, almonds, and sour patch kids proved to be enough.  After about 30 minutes, I was cold and ready to leave, but I told myself to stay a little longer and enjoy being out in the woods.  Within 5 minutes the fog lifted, and I got to see Upper Crystal Lake in its glory.  Wow, I am coming back sometime when the weather is warmer.  It was beautiful, wish I had charged my camera.

The hike out took less than a hour.  I was proud of my pace.

Orchid: When the fog temporarily lifted and I got to see the entire lake.

Onion: Finding my camera uncharged.

Google Map

Week 05 Oct. 03 - Granite Mountain

Total Distance: 8.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 4000 ft.
Time: 10:15 am ~ 4:15 pm
Weather: Cloudy, overcast, chilly.

This was the first week I had no one hiking with me.  I wanted to find a good hike for fall colors.  My original plan was a 3~4 hour drive away, a place called Maple Pass up on the North Casacades Highway.  On Saturday I spent a lot of time working on some important paper work and felt too exhausted to get up before 5:30 am to see some fall foliage.  I hopped back on www.wta.org where I found my original hike, and looked for something closer.  I saw listed in the "Great Fall Colors Hikes" this one that I went on today.  I remembered this name from my very first backpacking trip.

In the fall of 2006, I strapped a backpack to my back and began my first multi-night, you carry all you need, no car next to your camp, camping trip.  It started at the same trailhead I drove to this morning.  I was excited to be back, and to be back alone.  I was only on the same trail for the first two miles before I took the spur up to Granite Mountain, but I still enjoyed thinking about how far I have come since that first trip.

After those nostalgic first two miles, I made the turn to climb to the top of Granite Mountain.  It was a long, slow climb.  Thankfully, I found a pace that kept me moving for a solid two hours without stopping, but it was only slightly faster than 4 elderly women behind me who had never hiked in their lives.  As I kept up this slow, arduous climb into the clouds, the trail was getting harder and harder to see.  At one point, I swear I couldn't see more than 30 feet in front of me.  I climbed for what seemed like forever.  Finally reaching what seemed like the end, only to smacked in the face with a 600 foot vertical climb over the last half mile up to the fire look-out.

When I made it up to the look-out, and what every website and trail book describes as a "majestic view" or "worth the burning in your thighs," I still see clouds, only clouds, clouds all around.  It's OK, I am glad I made it to the top.  I had lunch.  I walked around and found what looked like an old foundation for a building no longer there.  I took a 30 minute power nap on the foundation.  It was the best rest I have had in weeks.  When I woke up, I got my things and began my descent.

Orchid: The power nap at the top of Granite Mountain. And the fall colors I saw all along the climb up to the top.

Onion: All the dog owners who didn't leach their pets and didn't clean up their dog's poop.

Picture:

Google Map

Week 04 Sept. 25 - Blanka Lake

Total Distance: 7.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 3500 ft.
Time: 10:15 am ~ 5:30 pm
Weather: Sunny, Spactacular!

Orchid: Swimming in the beautiful, refreshing Blanka Lake.

Onion: The last two and half hours of downhill on my knees.

Picture:

 

 Google Map

Hello, and the first 3 weeks.

Four weeks ago one of my best friends from high school came to visit me in Tacoma, Wa.  We did what we always do.  The day he was flying back home he said, "let's go for a short hike."  We had less than 8 hours, so we did a quick google search and found Cougar Mountain in Bellevue and spent a few hours walking in the woods.

Exactly one week later, of one my best friends at work and I went on a day hike to Big Heart Lake.  I was gearing up for a 5 day 4 night backpacking trip that was to begin in a week, so I felt a big day would be good training.  It was somewhere on this 13.6 round trip hike that I first thought of trying to get out into the backcountry part of every weekend for a year.  I had been out last week, and although it was in Bellevue, we were hiking on trails in a wilderness area.  A week from this hike I would be beginning a backpacking trip in the Olympic National Forest, arriving at Deer Lake Sunday night.  My mind kept spinning on this idea of spending part of every weekend for a year hiking.

It's at this point those of you who don't know me need to know a little bit about myself.  I am a high school math teacher in Tacoma, Wa.  I moved here 5 years ago for my current job.  I have a tendency to make huge long term commitments, like this hiking one, and never follow through.  Mostly, it is for things I feel passionate about, but I always back off after a month or two.  As I was sharing my idea to do this hike, I could see a lot of my friends with that "oh, sure you will" look.  I am going to do this.  This is the biggest commitment of my life.  This commitment is going to either change me or show me how I have no integrity left. 

I will commit to being in the woods "hiking" part of every weekend for an entire year.  By hiking, I mean being in an area with trails and not sidewalks, an area with vegetation fighting for its life and not cared for by a gardner, an area where your survival is in your backpack and not your iPod, in other words, the backcountry.  I am going write blog post for each hike I will take for the next 49 weeks.  They will be fairly basic, but might develop more as I write more and if people read it at all.  I have a google map where I am adding all the locations with a photo of my trip when available.