Serene Lake Revisited 7-31-11

It was misting heavily as I drove out Hwy 2 to the mantra of “I’m sure it will clear up.”  It didn’t, but it was still a great day for hiking.  I had hoped for a sunny day or at least not so much precipitation this time, because last time I did this hike in May it was also very wet.  That time it was snowy at the top though and a lot colder.  Today the cool air felt nice. 

I skipped the Bridal Veil Falls overlook and just enjoyed the falls from below this time, still getting in a 7 mi round trip hike with plenty of elevation gain.  The falls were not nearly as full as last time, so noticeably smaller that I was surprised.  At one spot where I had to carry Cedar last time so the current wouldn’t sweep him away, it was a perfectly dry crossing.  They were still worth seeing though!  These are one of my favorite falls. 

I have taken a lot of pictures of wildflowers, but today the big color was more in the many berries.  Pictured next are mountain ash, huckleberry (soooo good in pancakes!), salmon berry, devil’s club, and Oregon grapes that aren’t ripe yet.  I was going to pick the huckleberries on the way out but it just got muddier as I hiked, so I was wet and filthy by the time I got to that area again and my goal was reaching my car.  : )

The lake was beautiful now that I could see it!!  Only a bit of it peaked out from under its blanket of snow last time I was here.  It looked like a fairly deep and clear lake.  If it had been a warmer day I would have liked to swim in it.  It was just pouring by the time we got there, so we didn’t continue on to Lunch Rock (again… I’ll have to come back), and just ate on a log overlooking the water. 

Here are snow and no-snow pictures of this sign near the lake so you can see how much of a difference there was between my visits!

 

And here is Adventure Dog!  Cedar is a magnet for mud and today he was as bedraggled as I have ever seen him.  He had a great time though, and had enough energy to play chase a few times later today.   He tried to rub off the rain and mud by rolling around in the sticks and bark, but it just got more sticks in his hair.  LOL He definitely looked and smelled better after a shower! 

Lake Annette 7-30-11

I'm finally caught up with my blogs.  It’s a normal weekend with Cedar and I- out for hiking adventures!  Today we did the Annette Lake trail, which I had not done before.  It was really popular, so we met a lot of people on the trail.  The day was lovely and sunny, and the trail was a moderate one at 7.5 mi round trip and only 1400 ft of elevation gain.  I say “only” but I was definitely puffing and sweating up the hill.  I just kept going without taking breaks though, since this is my last full weekend of training for Mt Rainier.  I had filled my platypus with water, another quart, shoved a bunch of stuff I usually take in my pack and then threw a 5 lb weight in there on top of it all.  Not on top of the lunch though.  I could definitely feel it.

This pleasant trail is almost entirely under the canopy of big shady fir and cedar, which made it particularly nice on a warm day.  It does cross a few avalanche chutes, which is why I avoided this trail while they were snow-covered.  I could see that they would be hazards when snowy.  The trail was muddy, but not unmanageably so, and in places where it might have been boggier there are some really nice boardwalks/bridges.  Quite a few small streams cross the trail as well, so Adventure Dog was able to get some sips in between when I stopped to offer him water.

The lake itself was a beautiful teal color, with just a couple patches of snow clinging to her shadier sides.  I had a yummy smoked salmon and brie sandwich with my feet in the water, and just soaked up the beauty.  It feels good to be back in the Northwest.

Cedar and I waded around and saw a lot of small trout playing in the water.  It was a great day!

Lime Kiln Trail 7-24-11

My Mom stayed a couple more days after Justus and I got back from our road trip, and we managed to fit in a hike.  Lime Kiln has always been one of my favorites, but it was a bit of a surprise to see it in the height of summer.  The path is almost overgrown in places, and mostly with nettles.  We each got stung a time or so, but luckily Cedar didn’t seem to notice them.  In addition, it seemed like someone had been messing with the artifacts.  The bowl (once whole) may have just naturally rusted apart, but there was a saw blade that I’m pretty sure used to be stuck in a tree and now it is laying on the ground in pieces.  I was disappointed.

It was pretty cool to get to hike with my Mom.  She hadn’t been on any of the trails over here with me.  There she goes up the path!

We saw these odd berries that neither of us could remember having seen before.  According to my book, Northwestern Wild Berries, it is a Simple-Stemmed Twisted Stalk.  It’s in the lily family.

Road Trip WA ID MT WY CO & Back Again- Part 2

We spent a full day and half in and around Yellowstone. It was amazing!  We saw Old Faithful do her thing, and countless geysers, steam vents, hot springs, mudpots, and fountains.  These things come in every color, from the black or brown of mudpots, to green and azure-blue springs, to orange and red terraced fountains. Wildflowers were blooming profusely here too, and the weather was lovely and sunny.  So sunny that Justus and I both got burned.  Oops.  We also saw the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.”  It was very impressive- deep and with a beautiful waterfall.  I think the river carving that canyon is the Yellowstone River.

We also really enjoyed seeing so many animals.  We had a moose in our campsite (outside of the East entrance to Yellowstone on the Shoshone River) on the 1^st night, and 2 more moose on the way back to our campsite the 2^nd night.  Inside the park, we enjoyed the big wooly bison with their little rust-colored babies, the stately elk, deer, pelicans, many birds of prey, and on the last day we finally saw a bear, a cute little black bear wandering through the wildflowers. 

Now I’m just going to let the pictures do the talking!

We were away from home for a full week and other than gas, we didn’t spend much to do it. I cooked most of our food, and we even had stuffed filet of sole with pasta primavera one night while we were camping, so we did pretty well!  If you can get out there and explore, do it!