Old Sauk River Trail 3-24-2019

AppleWatch Stats:  4.62 miles RT, 82 ft of elevation gain.

My pups will be hanging out with my Mom next weekend, so I wanted to do something with them today.  So I took them up to the Old Sauk River trail.  This used to be a favorite hike for Cedar and I when it was less improved/well-marked and there were less people.  We were in luck today and had the entire trail to ourselves clear up until we got back to the trail head.  It was absolutely wonderful.

The trail was for the most part clear of snow, but there were stretches of packed/slushy snow.  Nothing my yaktrax would have helped with, and a nice extra calorie burner.

I always think of the beautiful Sauk River when I think of this hike, but the forest is absolutely lovely.  Great towering Douglas firs and other conifers, broken here and there by stretches of mossy maples.  Today the woods were ringing with various bird songs, and we even startled a grouse.  She was too quick to get a photo.  

Of course the Sauk River is definitely the jewel of this trail, it's music always in earshot.  There was a male common merganser floating in a calm area and a kingfisher flew by while Cedar, Luna and I had a snack on the riverbank.

Oyster Dome 3-19-2019

AppleWatch Stats:  8.31 miles RT, 2067 ft of elevation gain (includes side trip to Lily Lake).

Finally, my 3rd attempt at Oyster Dome this spring was successful.  The first time I tried it our big February snowfall was just starting as I drove out to the trailhead and the roads became unsafe before I could even there.  The 2nd attempt it was still just too icy and snowy for me and my pups, so I just did about 3/4 of the hike.  This time, my best friend since middle school had come by to visit so I took the day off and we hit the trail!

It was a gorgeous day and even though it was a Tuesday there were quite a few people on the trail.  Lisa showed me how to identify turkey tail mushrooms and we gathered enough to make one cup of tea to share later.  My first turkey tail tea, and it was good!

There was still a bit of snow on the trail, but you could go around most, or just walk through without it being too slick.  We got up to the top of Oyster Dome and it was warm sunny rock with no snow.  We sat for awhile soaking in the sunshine and the amazing views.

On the way back down from the dome, we did a quick side trip up to Lily Lake.  Just .2 miles each way, but I've never added that on before.  It was much snowier following that little ravine, but the cold breeze felt great on such a warm day.

Such a nice hike on such a nice day made for a perfect opportunity to pop into LaConner to walk around and grab a cheeseburger and cider at the LaConner Brewery.  I have to say I LOVE that place.  They serve a homemade clam chowder that is my absolute favorite, and after a hike that juicy cheeseburger and icy vanilla cider was exquisite.

 Happy trails!

Double Bluff and Lake 22 3-16/17-2019

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday I was baking on the beach with Dave and the pups, enjoying sunny blue skies and distant mountains, and today I was hiking through the snow up in the mountains - again sunny blue skies, but definitely still winter there.

Doublebluff is such a nice beach.  Cedar and Luna can roam around without being on leash and they love it.  Cedar likes so sniff driftwood and pee on things, Luna likes to run in big circles, splash in the shallows and climb up things.

A lot of shells were there for the beachcombers - sand dollars, chiton, partial Lewis moonsnail shells and many varieties of bivalves.

There were a lot of seabirds, but we saw no eagles.  Probably because I guaranteed Dave we would see some haha.

When we came back to this big log, Dave climbed up to show Cedar and Luna it was doable, but took them a bit to figure it out.

"I don't think he really went up this way."

"How the heck did you get up there?"

"He did go up this way! We can get to him!"

"Mission accomplished."

"Now let's get down from this crazy log!"

Today I left early while the snow was still hardpacked and made an attempt at Lake 22.  I had read a trip report on WTA that mentioned something about an avalanche, but I didn't really understand what they were getting at, and missed the trip report that was posted after that which had a lot more details.

The parking lot requires AWD or 4WD even though it's just off the road, and the trail is packed snow/ice starting right at the trailhead.  There were only a couple other cars there, so I had the trail pretty much to myself.  It was soooo beautiful!  Then I got up to the 3 switchbacks that cross the open slope/slide area and heard the unmistakable CRACK of snow breaking free in an avalanche.  I decided it was pretty far up the slope and I didn't see it, so I thought I'd just pay attention and give it a try.  I could see this beautiful waterfall of giant icicles up at the top left and was hoping to get a photo of it when I got closer.  When I got to the 2nd switchback I heard the frozen waterfall go - it was the most amazing and terrifying sound!  Like an entire china shop had just been dumped out and everything all shattering and echoing.  I hesitated awhile and then decided that I could probably still do this.  I had just started in on the 3rd switchback and was making my way over some recent avalanche debris (flow of heavy snow filled with chunks of solid ice) when I heard another avalanche coming down the middle.  NO thank you!  It was going to just get more unstable as the day warmed up!  Leave the slope to hike away and I'll live to hike another day!  My heart was pounding like an amorous woodpecker as I made my way as quick as I safely could back down those switchbacks.

Once back in the safety of the trees I just relaxed and enjoyed the beauty around me again.  Huge gnarly cedars stretching up into the sky, stumps covered with thick white caps of snow.

I warned a few people about the snow field as I met them on their way up.  Hopefully no one gets hurt today.  I saw a few people with regular running shoes and I don't even think they will make it up that far.  I also saw a hiking cat! It was riding on its owner's shoulders and looking around at all that snow.  I don't know if it will do any hiking, but it sure seemed interested and not scared/worried in the least.

Happy and safe adventuring!

Big Four Ice Caves 03-10-2019

AppleWatch Stats:  6.73 miles RT (includes the closed road mileage), 310 ft of elevation gain.

I decided to try out snowshoes for the first time today.  The road to the Ice Caves is closed just over 2 miles out, and everything is under snow.  I wasn't sure what the conditions would be like for the dogs, so I left the fuzzy adventurers at home.

I was amazed at how much snow was out there!  It was a gorgeous but icy drive, and luckily I got there before all the less considerate people parked all the way around the turnaround.... the one that says 'no parking after this sign.'  I mentioned it to a couple people that were still there, but not sure it did much good.

The road after that barricade is under a deceptively large quantity of snow.  The snowmobilers have packed it down nicely, so I did about a half mile on my snowshoes on the fluffy side of the road and then gave it up and just carried them the rest of the hike.

While learning about snowshoeing I heard about snow bombs - not something I had considered before, but looking up in the branches I could see that they could be a considerable danger if they fell on someone.  From small pumpkin sized chunks of snow, to larger armchair sized ones, they perched there, slowly melting and it's a good idea to keep an eye out when you're walking under branches to avoid going under them if possible.

Just over 2 miles and I reached the picnic area trail head.  This was such a gorgeous day!  The sky was super blue, the sun turned everything into jewels, and the trail was also hard packed by hikers and easy to follow.  Bless the forest service for leaving those bathrooms unlocked too!  If I had to leave the trail I would have been up to my armpits in snow.

As you walk along the trail you could see where people had stepped alongside the packed part and some of those postholes were over three feet deep.  I found that if I had to step off to let someone by, it was best to kind of stomp around in a wider area to pack the snow a little before I put my weight onto it.

When I got up to the ice caves (not that you could see any caves buried under that much white stuff!) it was so beautiful!  There was a very loud group of people unfortunately though that really detracted from the stunning view.  I did see one avalanche while I was up there.  Just a small one thank goodness.  You can't really get as close as you can normally, and that is a good thing.  That whole basin is a dangerous area to be in.  The cliffs covered with snow and silhouetted against the blue sky was heart-breakingly beautiful, and there were places that massive icicles had formed up high and shone with an aqua color that my camera sadly couldn't pick up.

There were a lot of birds singing, but I didn't get a great view of many of them.  At the old fireplace I noticed some orange birds fluttering around on the stones.  I had to wait until I got home and to my books to ID them - red crossbills!  Beautiful colors, but sure blended in with those stones!  Also I got to see a gorgeous raven doing some sort of call I had not noticed before in a tree along the road.  He was making kind of a loud, deep droplet sound.  I was glad I got a few pictures of his handsome self.

I only was passed by a few snowmobilers on the road, and they were polite, slowing and going to the side.  I hadn't been around snowmobiles before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It looked like there was potential to throw snow all over people next to them if they wanted.

Another positive thing about this hike... even with all that shining white deep snow, there were the starts of a few skunk cabbage buds!  Spring is on the way!  Definitely don't wait for spring to get out there though - get adventuring!