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