any other hikers here?

[seacatfan]

I thought of starting a thread about this before. Recently ran into 2 GU grads up high at a lookout in the North Cascades. Don't know how recently they graduated, but one just took the bar exam. They rowed crew while they were at GU.

Anyway I'm about as passionate about hiking as I am college bball. Do it as much as I can, at least 6 months out of the year with less frequent forays during the middle of winter.

[bullzag23]

Love hiking and did loads of it when I lived in the PNW. I've done much less since I moved down here, for a few reasons. Any hike within reasonable driving distance is very crowded, the views are not nearly what they are up north(unless you like smog), and the absence of natural running water. I miss me some northwest hiking. The Sierras are very nice though, but it's. 6+ hour drive.

[TheZagPhish]

I love hiking, particularly in Washington State. I don't have the time that I wish, but as often as I can fill the water bottles and lace up, I'm out in the sticks.

Five stars!

[seacatfan]

I love my Washington Cascades, but the Sierras are great too. My brother was at Edwards AFB for several years, so while he was down there I flew down to visit a couple times and we drove north up 395 and backpacked several places. That got me hooked, so since he moved on I've road tripped down there 3 different times. Only scratched the surface though, there's a lot of ground to cover in the Sierras. A 6 hour drive would be fairly prohibitive for regular forays. Have you checked out the Trinity Alps at all? I've backpacked up two trails there, that's nice too. Kinda like a mini-Sierras. Actually reminds me a lot of some of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington.

[SWZag]

Love hiking. Went up around Rainier on Saturday. Several weeks ago was hiking around Bavaria in the Alps, talk about amazing. The old culture and the spirit of hiking is a bit different than here in the northwest. Both have their advantages. There's nothing like hiking through some high mountain pasture with the sound of cowbells in the distance, or right beside you. Pretty awesome.

[bartruff1]

It is yellow jacket season on the trails..

[bullzag23]

We visited Multnomah Falls last week while in the PNW for thanksgiving. Love that spot.



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[gu03alum]

We visited Multnomah Falls last week while in the PNW for thanksgiving. Love that spot.



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Very nice

[seacatfan]

I can't remember for sure, but Multnomah Falls might be the very first hike I ever did. Went up and down that trail many times with my family when I was a kid.

[gu03alum]

Today, I went on a very easy (but very cold) hike at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. It was very cool seeing all of the birds. I saw quite a few great blue herons. I have seen one occasionally at my house too, but it was neat seeing so many at one time.



A week from last Friday I hiked up Hugo Peak which was also a very easy hike. It's been nice to get outside and hiking again.



I was able to get a permit for Mt St Helens in April. I'm really looking forward to that trip. I also applied for lottery for the Enchantments. I hiked that when I was a teenager, but I would love to do it again.

[gu03alum]

I hiked Big Creek trail near Lake Cushman on Monday. It was very wet, but it was a fun hike. It was a 4.3 mile loop. I came across a sign that pointed to another trail that headed to the top of Mt Ellinor. I did Mt Ellinor last year and that was a very tough hike for how short it was. The sign also said there was a view point in one mile. I was feeling pretty good so I decided to check out the view point. The snow started getting much deeper as I went along. I think by the time I hit the view point I was just under 3,000 feet. There was no path through the snow and I was sinking down over my knee. I don't think I could have gone much further if I wanted to after the viewpoint since I didn't bring snow shoes. It was a fun hike and really pretty walking through the forest.

The fog was cool, but I was glad it didn't show up until the second half of the hike. I had a pretty clear view of Lake Cushman from the view point.



This is the view of Lake Cushman. I enjoyed a beer and some walnuts up here.



I think I'm still a 14 year old boy because this rock made me laugh.

[NontradZag]

Anyone do the Blue Glacier, Hoh River hike in the Olympic? We were up there over Laborday and did the Hall of Mosses...wondering if it was worth the effort to pack in and stay a couple of nights to work out way up the river to the Glacier meadow?


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[seacatfan]

Anyone do the Blue Glacier, Hoh River hike in the Olympic? We were up there over Laborday and did the Hall of Mosses...wondering if it was worth the effort to pack in and stay a couple of nights to work out way up the river to the Glacier meadow?


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Not yet. It's been way on the back burner for years. Long way to go, but looks really cool up there at the highest camp area and the foot of the glacier. I did a quick day hike about 5.5 miles up the Hoh, that's the only time I've been on that trail. I haven't poked around in the Olympics nearly as much as the Cascades.

[RenoZag]

Upper Sardine Lake. This was a fun hike. Very few people out and about today.


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[gu03alum]

Upper Sardine Lake. This was a fun hike. Very few people out and about today.

Great picture! very pretty!

[bartruff1]

My Doctor(s) tell me that the best thing you can do for your body, your soul and your mind is to hike on uneven ground in a natural place ? Requires you to use all your muscles , your concentration/memory...problem solving and navigation skills.....it is all good..

They speculate that it will not only slow but even " repair" some age related memory loss in as little as a month... a Forest Bath is chicken soup for the soul.....assuming you don't fall down on your sorry ass and break something or get bitten by a snake, a tick or a animal...

[RenoZag]

Bart, I think your doctor has it right. I'm not an experienced backpacker/hiker, but I do enjoy getting out and about and the hikes do seem to help my peace of mind.

One of my "to do's" now that I'm retired is to learn more about the trails closer to my own backyard, e.g., Mount Rose, Tahoe, Donner Lake, Truckee River. All are within 45 minutes of my place.

[seacatfan]

That looks amazing Reno. The Sierras, good stuff! I haven't explored around Tahoe area much, passed thru several times heading further south. Desolation Wilderness is supposed to be nice.

[RenoZag]

Sawmill Creek, Grover Hot Springs SP


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[RenoZag]

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[RenoZag]

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[gu03alum]

I drove down to Shasta on Friday and arrived at Bunny Flats around 7:30. It took a lot longer to get down there than we had hoped. We set out for Horse Camp which was about 1.6 miles from the trailhead. We go there around 8:30 and set up camp. We were able to find a spot not covered with snow to set up our tents. It was cold. The next morning we woke up at 2 AM and got ready to go. We set out around 3. We got to Helen Lake around 5:45. It was very windy and cold. My feet were numb. We took a break and then headed up to Red Banks. I had felt pretty good up to this point, but I think the break with the cold made me stiff. We went up another 1,000 feet or so and were pretty exhausted. I think we all could have made it further, but we made the decision to turn around. In the moment, I was happy with the decision, but as I descended I thought maybe we pulled the plug too early. Oh well, now I have a reason to come to Shasta again to try it again and more motivation to get into better shape. When I do this again I will give myself more time so that I can hike up to Helen Lake the day before the climb so I don't have to do so much in one day.

Picture of the mountain from the Bunny Flats parking lot.


When the sun rose we could see the shadow of the mountain.

[gu03alum]

Yesterday, I climbed Silver Peak and Abiel Peak. Was going to try to climb Tinkham also, but we ran out of time. We started out in our rain gear and it was raining hard. By the time we got to the top of Silver Peak the rain had quit. It was cold with or without the rain. Climbing Abiel was fun. It was a difficult climb that went straight up through a wooded area. There was slippery mud in places. There was not much to see on either peak because of the clouds, but I still enjoyed the views.

[seacatfan]

Took advantage of Canyon Creek Rd. (off Mt. Baker Hwy) being open, at least temporarily. I'd never been up there before. Kind of a fun drive. For a road that is reported as "damaged" it's in better shape than some roads that aren't considered damaged (at least not nearly as many potholes). Damfino Lakes to Excelsior Pass is a quick and easy route to high meadow country. After lounging on top of Excelsior Peak for a bit I continued a little east along High Divide, then doubled back. I couldn't resist taking a boot path for a short jaunt heading in the direction of Church Mtn. I didn't go very far, the path continued, I wouldn't be surprised that it continues all the way over to connect w/ the trail up to Church. Surprising number of people out on a beautiful Monday.

Tuesday, not so beautiful, and not so many people out. Church Mtn. has been on my list forever, finally got around to it. That's a butt kicker. Starts to be worth it as you traverse thru a series of beautiful meadows. Marmots everywhere. The top (well it's not the true summit, but a high vantage where there used to be a lookout) is pretty cool, despite the lack of views. Don't trip, not much room to fall up there without going off a cliff. Flowers are really blooming nicely.



edited--adding a link to a trip report w/ some pics

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8029931

[kitzbuel]

My foot has finally eased up enough to start doing a little hiking. I still am not running on it yet and that sucks because June temperatures here were wonderful for early morning runs and I have been stuck in gyms on exercise bikes.

Anyway, took my oldest and her boyfriend for a hike in the Shenandoah National Park. We went down a rocky gorge called the Big Devil Stairs. The Shenandoah is really different from out west in that many of the hikes start at the high point. The Skyline Drive runs down the spine of the Shenandoah National Park and the trail heads go down from there.

It was really pleasant with the trail running down under the forest shade. We went fairly early, started by 8:00 and made it down to the huge granite outcropping (Devil's Stairs) that overlooks the Shenandoah valley.

We finished up before noon and linked up with the rest of my family at a little pizzaria in Madison, VA. My youngest is at a summer camp there and they let family pick them up for the afternoon on weekends. So my wife picked her up and met us for lunch.

It was a nice day.

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