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