Monte Cristo Ghost Town 11-17-2018

It had been almost a month before I was able to get out on the trail... I have been in the midst of a move and my exercise has been wrestling with furniture and carrying boxes.

Today was a beautiful clear sunny day, although pretty chilly.  Fog was laying in the valleys in big eerie patches and swirling up through the forested hillsides.  When we reached the lot, there was plenty of parking, which is nice.  There were about a dozen cars there, so I expected a moderately busy trail.  I think most of them must have been doing Gothic Basin because on the way out I was passed by a group of 3 people and that is it!  I never saw them when I was up there either so the pups and I had Monte Cristo to ourselves.  Amazing!

The first water crossing is on a log and it was wet and slick for the first have and covered with ice for the 2nd channel.  It was too sketchy for me, so I rock-hopped the 2nd channel.

One of the cool things I saw was damp branches had hairs of ice sprawling out of them.  It looked like white muppet fluff, and if you touched it it just instantly melted away.  I have seen ice do a lot of things, but this may be a new one for me.

The cold made everything glittery and beautiful in a new way.  There was a little area of grasses that were completely covered with frozen dew drops.

We saw a cute little squirrel eating a pine cone.  He looked shocked that we'd be so rude as to stop and watch him munch.  I also spotted a mountain goat browsing up a draw right before Monte Cristo, but all my photos were blurry butt photos of it.

Monte Cristo itself was freezing cold and the old iron artifacts were rimed with frost.

The views up to the town and back were stunning, with the icy white peaks gleaming against the blue blue sky.

What a wonderful day out!

Blue Lake 7-21-13

Sunday's hike had a completely different feel right away.  It was on the west side of the pass and was greener and lusher.  Instead of a gravelly rocky trail, there was more packed earth trail.

 

Although I enjoyed the green shade of the trees, I was delighted to come out into the first clearing full of wildflowers.  A couple I met later at the lake told me this was created by an avalanche just 5 years ago.

 

There were more clearings of wildflowers further up as well.

 

This little guy screamed at us in annoyance after we passed or I never would have turned and seen him.

 

After the 11 miles roundtrip the day before, this 4.5 mile trail seems short and we were at the lake in no time, checking out the ramshackle cabin that my guidebook had intrigued me with.

 

 

 The lake was teal and crystal clear.  Again, Adventure Dog and I had the trail to ourselves until we'd arrived at the lake.  I LOVE morning hikes!

 

These waters are also stocked with trout.  They all looked eating size to me and were everywhere.  Not eating enough mosquitos fast enough to save me from losing most of my blood, but it was fun to watch them.

 

 

The nice couple that came up the trail after me were from Twisp and took a picture of me by Blue Lake to prove that Cedar isn't just having these adventures by himself. 

Big Creek and Otter Falls 5-26-12

Saturday was a great day for a nice long hike!  Dave and I took Adventure Dog up to Snoqualmie and did the Big Creek & Otter Falls hike.  With two amazing waterfalls, plus the typical beautiful Northwest scenery, and very little elevation gain, it’s one everyone should get out and try!

A lot of the trail winds along the Snoqualmie River, a lovely sight and sound to accompany a hike.   The trail is crossed over and over with streams of varying sizes as well, each of which have their own little falls.

We saw this little squirrel hanging out along the trail.  It looked like something had happened to his tail.  Near the end it was missing fur and then the very end had a tuft on it.  Cute little guy.

At around the 5 mile mark, you step out of the woods and the trail, which used to be a logging road, crosses a large road-grade bridge.  It seems so out of place now, but behind it, cascading down a huge rock face is Big Creek Falls.  I caught Cedar on the bridge looking up at the falls.  I love that he enjoys the beautiful views on the hikes we do.

After viewing Big Creek Falls and getting chilled by the breeze coming down the waterfall, we went back along the trail to look for a place for a picnic lunch.  We followed a side trail down to the river and enjoyed some sunshine while we had sandwiches and snacks.  Cedar munched on some grass for dessert.

I got a picture of these water skeeters and we headed back to the main trail.

Heading back toward the trailhead we saw an arrow made of rocks pointing up a slope into the trees.  I don’t like to argue with rocks- they are much older than I am.  So up we went…. And found the biggest falls!  I had not seen them before since they are off the main trail a bit.  Otter Falls also cascades down a rock wall, and apparently what we saw was just the bottom third of a 1600 ft waterfall!  I want to go back and see the top part!

Happy hiking!

Hoh River Trail 2-19-2012

Sunday morning found us gearing up for hiking in the Hoh Rainforest.  Surprisingly we didn’t get rained on there!  We stopped at the Big Sitka Spruce on the way.  It was huge and impressive.  We wanted to see the Big Cedar as well, but that was further south and after our hike we ran out of light and energy.

Outside the ranger station stood this old phone booth.  No longer holding a phone, it has found a job as a moss-holder.

The Hoh River Trail was beautiful, winding through mossy trees… huge ancient conifers, and lichen laden maples. 

Most parts of the trail were just damp, but there were a few muddy spots. 

The Hoh River was a pretty river, with a wide meandering valley of stones.  It was calmer than I thought it would be, but huge trees piled along it and laying across it attested to its strength when full.

Along the way were some pretty waterfalls.

This mossy tree was hugging another.  Dave decided it was a tree hugger.  : )

At about 4 miles in we came to the Cedar Grove.  It has had a couple recent casualties, and the one we found blocking our path was about 6 ft in diameter. 

We hiked in the full 5 miles which was our original plan, to Five Mile Island and enjoyed our lunch with a lovely view of the mist rising off the forest, the snowy trees of the surrounding hills, and this beautiful icy mountain.  I don’t know which mountain it is, so if you do please leave a comment with the answer!

Wildlife was abundant. Mostly we heard birds and squirrels, but at the end of our 10 mi journey, we found a deer along the trail, and as we drove out of Olympic National Park, we found a couple fields of elk.

What an awesome day!