Kendall Katwalk 8-10-13

Today was supposed to be a Camp Muir climb, but I want to have a near-guarantee of a view when I do Muir, and very few of the people who expressed interest in joining in were able to make it.  So instead, with a forecast of partly cloudy with chances of thunderstorms, Dave and I decided to hike to Kendall Katwalk, with Cedar as our faithful escort of course.
The wildflower season was wrapping up, but there were these pretty blue flowers here and there, as well as the last of the Indian paintbrush and lupine further up.  This may be monkshood?  I can't find my wildflower ID book. 

 

I think this is Lonely Mountain.  If we have more time, maybe we'll stop in and see if the dwarves are home when we are in the area again.  ; )

 

 Here is an eye test for you.  Examine the rocks below.  Do you spot the pika? 

 

 Don't feel bad... I'll zoom in for you.  There he is!

This 11 mile roundtrip trail gains over 2500 feet of elevation, so it's best to start in the morning.  A lot of it is under trees, but there are large stretches that go over rockslide areas, and those can really bake you when the sun is on them. 

Here is a view of Red Mountain.  If you're color-blind you probably can't tell why it's called that.

I didn't remember so many streams cutting the path, and most are in the 1st half of the hike, but there are quite a few cheerful little rivulets and waterfalls.

A wildflower that was blooming in profusion was the fireweed.  Cedar was happy to take this little break amongst the flowers.

I think the partly cloudy day made this hike even better.  The surrounding mountains and hills appeared even more dramatic rising above the misty clouds.

Here is another eye test for you.  Can you find the marmot in the photo below?  This shy fuzzy guy looked on the small side, so we guessed he was this year's marmotlet.  Next year no doubt he'll be fat and sassy.

 

 Here is another view of Red Mountain.  It is quite striking anyway, but even more so because the mountain that it connects with to the west is ash gray.

Here Dave and Cedar toil up the trail with Red Mountain in the background.

In the middle of one of the rockslide areas, some animals-possibly marmots (although I thought only the Olympic marmot whistled) or pikas (although I've never heard them say anything but "meeeep") started whistling shrilly and sounded distressed.  I looked up and saw movement, "Is that a marmot?" I asked Dave dubiously.  He looked up the steep rocky slope also, "It's a bird of prey!"  Then I saw that the thing was flying up into the air and then hurtling back down over and over.  "Yes, I agreed," and watched to see if it would catch a marmot or something.  About then we both realized the flying, diving, animate object was really an INanimate object and both of us shouted "ROCK!!!! ROCK!!!!"  It was fairly obvious it would miss us, but was heading right for the man and his Australian shepherd behind us.  He called his dog back and the boulder (a bit bigger than a basketball) came crashing down onto the trail between us and him, and careened off the other side, a violent victim of gravity.  We had kept most of our attention upslope to make sure no other rocks were coming down, and still the shrill whistling sounded.  I thought about it later... even the wild animals are at risk from falling rocks and landslides.  Whatever animal sounded the alarm, it was warning its friends and neighbors and just luckily the people on the trail were paying attention also.  It's a good thing to stay tuned with normal versus abnormal sounds, and the feel you get from the environment around you.  I think the more you are out in nature, the more you are able to hear when you listen.  Anyway.. it was a bit scary and definitely got my adrenaline going!!

Here Cedar models some small lakes below the trail. He is also modeling lines in his hair that show how his mom feels about paying for a professional groomer, heh heh. 

 

 Adventure Dog always loves the views.  He looks around frequently and takes more of an interest when there is a panorama or river or something breathtaking to see.  I would say he shows just as much, if not more, interest in the views along the trail as he does the wildlife.

 

 And at long last we reached Kendall Katwalk.  It was quite a popular hike this day, so it was difficult to get shots without a lot of other people in them.

 

 We crossed to the other side and ate our lunch with a view so lovely it would have brought tears to our eyes if we weren't so hungry by then.  After eating (picture Cookie Monster, having been made to march for miles, suddenly coming across a plate of double-chocolate chip cookies), we just soaked in the sunshine and the incredible vista before us.

 

It was an epic hike, and one that I thoroughly recommend.  Bring plenty of water, as you will exert yourself quite a bit, and plenty for any 4-legged companions as well. 

 

And now for some trail humor.  I have sure been seeing it a lot lately.  This amusing commentary was found in the privy (not that I condone graffiti)

 

And finally....Smoky?  What have they done to you?!?  : (

Mt Zion 8-3-13

It was a cloudy day so I wasn't expecting a view on my Mt Zion hike.  Cedar and I drove up into the hills, and the trees and rhododendrons were shrouded in mist.  The trail is called the Sleepy Hollow Trail, so this set the perfect mood.

This trail was 4.6 round trip and not too bad in elevation gain.  I met a few friendly hikers (who like me hoped the clouds would clear or we'd get above them and look down on the cloud bank) and it was a fun and pleasant hike except for people target practicing in the area.  Gunshots would ring out now and then and Cedar was extremely jumpy.  It definitely detracted from the hike.
We saw a few mushrooms and some interesting flowers of the non-chlorophyll sort.

This would be a gorgeous hike when the rhodies are blooming.. they were found along a lot of the trail and at the top as well.  There was fireweed blooming and although the tiger lily you can't quite make out in the background is past its prime, I enjoyed the humor someone leafed behind. haha

I believe this was the actual summit, although mostly blocked with trees.  I'm not sure how much you would see in between the trees since I saw mist and clouds in between. 

I did take the 1/2 mile hike along the ridge to the southeast to a rocky outcropping that hinted of stunning views if it wasn't sitting inside of a cloud. 

 

There used to be a fire lookout up here, and they got their water from a spring that is actually right up on top of this ridge.  There is nothing much but bolts in the rock from the fire lookout, but the spring is still springing along.

What a nice hike!  I'd like to do this again on a clear day.

Marmot Pass 7-27-13

This morning Adventure Dog and I headed out from my mom's to a hike in the Olympics for a change.  It has been a really nice sunny summer, so we got an early start to avoid a lot of people on the trail and try to get most of the uphill part done before it got too hot.  When we got there around 8:15 the parking lot was already full, and it was already hot and sunny by the time we got out of the treeline.  This hike, however, was enchanting. 
The first couple miles went along the Quilcene River through the forest.  There were some lovely big Douglas firs, and a lot of twin flowers, bunchberry dogwood and other small flowers growing along the trail.  Also, lower down, there were ripe huckleberries.

 

 

There were also quite a few of the flowers that don't use chlorophyll growing in the forest.  I'm not sure what they all are, maybe the large one is coral root?

There were a lot of pretty little streams cutting across the trail, which were nice on Cedar's feet.  As it got warmer I poured water over him until he was soaked and much cooler.  It was nice having the sound of the river or the smaller tributaries as we hiked.

Despite the trail being fairly populated it ended up adding to the day rather than detracting.  Cedar and I had the trail to ourselves sometimes and at other times we stopped to chat with different people.  Everyone was happy to be out there enjoying the gorgeous day and battling to reach the top under the blazing sun.  The trail climbed steadily, but once out of the treeline, it became steeper and hotter.  This was a trivial thing next to the grandeur of the views and the stunning color of all the wildflowers.  We took a lot of breaks to let Cedar have a drink and rest.  We both do better hiking on cloudy days, but when it's sunny and clear it's perfect for these hikes with views!

And then we were finally at the glorious top!  Elevation around 6000 feet, and a view of the surrounding ranges and the Puget Sound. 

I really wanted to see marmots on Marmot Pass, and I was not let down!  There were furry marmots far across the meadow and a big fat one sunning himself on a rock on the way back down the trail.  They are so cute.

On the way back down I saw a bald eagle circling around one of the big rocky outcroppings on the ridge above the trail. 

 

Happy Trails!