White Chuck Bench 03-15-20

Keeping health and social distancing for corona virus reasons in mind, I headed out with the adventure dogs to a trail that we very rarely see anyone on.  Living up to expectations - we were the only ones on it the whole time.  Yay!

This trail does not have a singular 'wow feature' but is just a really beautiful hike through the forest up on on a flat forested bench, sometimes above a river.  You get peek a boo views now and then of the river, and of the peaks surrounding, but it's all about the forest - moss, trees, interesting rocks, and streams.

We had done about 6 miles at Paradise Valley Conservation Area the day before for Cedar's 11th birthday - meeting up with people friend, Katie, and pooch friend, Pixel - so I wanted to keep this day around 5 miles.  You can hike much farther on this trail.  I have never hiked all the way to the end.  Apple Watch stats: 4.82 miles and 423 ft of elevation gain.

There were a lot of blow downs on the trail, and one little landslide/slump.  All were fairly easily negotiated by going over, under or around. With small dogs, we often do a combination as they go under and charge ahead while I try to pass the leashes under to myself while scaling the obstacle they passed underneath.

Today I must have been a bit tired of stepping over logs, as one of the last ones I caught my toe on and took a header - scraped both knees and one shin.  Ouch!  Luckily if you're hiking 'walking it off' isn't a problem - it's what you have to do.

All in all - a gorgeous day that we all enjoyed.  Luna decided she had enough hiking about 1/3 mile from the car though, so I carried her the rest of the way while my 11 yr old adventure buddy trotted right along at the end of his leash like he could walk 50 miles.  Gotta love these two!

This last photo is taken in Darrington of White Horse Mt - it is just so gorgeous!  I fall in love every time I drive through there.

Mt Dickerman 10-27-2019

My last trip up Mt Dickerman was misty and cloudy, though lovely.  Today I knew that it was supposed to be a beautiful sunny day and all the peaks would be frosted with snow.  After this it will get too snowy for my comfort level in solo hiking to summit, so today was the day!

Apple Watch stats: 9.8 miles RT, 3904 ft elevation gain

The start of this hike is a really pretty, winding up the slope through the forest.  I saw Douglas squirrels, a chipmunk, woodpeckers and this really cute brown creeper.  I have never been able to get a good picture of one of these little guys until now.  They really don't care about gravity at all - hopping around under branches and up and down tree trunks.

There were still a few late coral mushrooms along the slopes.

There is a particularly pretty waterfall along the trail, and it was lined with the most beautiful nodules of ice, clumps of icicles, and frozen water droplets. The beauty of it doesn't show up well in these photos.

Farther up I heard a bird call and a cute gray jay came down into a nearby tree.  It hopped closer, and looked at me hopefully.  So let's just say I was examining my trail mix with my camera on, when astoundingly it landed on my hand and selected a cashew.

I was already tired from yesterday's hike up to Lake 22, so my thighs were really burning about half way up.  It sure was worth the effort though!  Once I reached the summit it was a 360 panorama of stunning snow covered peaks as far as the eye could see. 

Get out there and enjoy our world!

Gothic Basin 8-17-2019

Gothic Basin is a challenging hike, but fun as hell.  When you're done climbing up switchbacks through the forest you get an on-and-off scramble the last couple miles. 
Apple Watch stats:  10.53 miles roundtrip (we found on our last hike, this is a lie - probably closer to 9.75), and 2938 ft of elevation gain.

I hiked Gothic Basin last about 9 years ago and it was in the clouds and mist - so fitting that today, the mountains were once again misty and ethereal.

The forest was still and cloudy - water dripped from the trees as it condensed in the upper limbs.  We have had a lot of damp this year, so mushrooms were springing up here and there.

Once you get above the treeline, you cross several creeks/avalanche chutes.  There was no snow remaining in any of them today, but the little waterfalls were beautiful. 

There were also still some wildflowers blooming along the creeks and in little meadows.

Despite there being quite a few people at Gothic Basin, the rock and cloud seemed to eat up their voices, so it was really peaceful and just as gorgeous as I remembered it.

I ate my lunch on the rocks above Foggy Lake and watched the lake clear and then cloud over again.

 Happy Adventuring! 

Heather Lake 6-9-19

AppleWatch Stats:  5.2 miles RT (this includes walking all the way around the lake as well), 1209 ft of elevation gain.

I wanted to take the dogs with me today, so I chose a shorter hike with a bit of elevation for a decent workout.  Heather Lake is beautiful and I was hoping there would be wildflowers around it as well.  I got there early and there were no more than 10 cars in the lot.  As the recent WTA trip reports indicated, the potholes on the way to the trailhead were pretty gnarly.

Not far into the trail and I was glad the pups were on leash.  I heard some squeaking and started looking around and there were several newly fledged baby wrens of some type hopping around clumsily in the undergrowth.  They were tiny and cute and looked a little grumpy.

The trail up was pretty peaceful and I enjoyed familiar landmarks, like the large old growth stumps along the start of the trail, and the garden tree that is growing huckleberries and a small tree on its burls.

It was also quite muddy in places and Cedar and Luna were pretty grungy by the end of the hike.

The lake was also peaceful and sunny.  No snow remains around the lake, so you can walk all the way around.

Cedar, Luna and I enjoyed some trail snacks on top of a boulder overlooking the lake.  It was really relaxing and the temperature was perfect. Even Luna didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave.

The cliffs above the lake are still cascading with waterfalls from the snow melting higher up though.  It's so beautiful!

The wildflowers were just starting, and I heard frogs singing and pikas squeaking.  I glimpsed one, but couldn't get a photo of it.

Happy trails!