Boulder River 2-2-13

Once again, the land was covered in fog when we left the Snohomish area and headed out to do just part of the Boulder River Trail.  Despite it being cold at our destination, the fog was nowhere to be seen and the sun was shining!  This is the important thing about the Northwest.  Never stay home due to weather because you never know what you'll really find, and I've found it nicer than expected more often than not.
We would have hiked further in, but due to snow built up in the road, we had to park the car about a mile or so from the trailhead. So we just went about another mile further to the double falls.
The first thing really cool thing on trail is this log that you have to walk under that is part of a small waterfall.  Droplets and miniature streams of water are pouring off from all over it. 

The trail was a pleasant mixture of darker wintery areas, and dry trail with sunbeams coming through.  We and the dogs, Cedar and Junior, all enjoyed the variations in the beauty around us.

Although the waterfalls are one of the most dramatic points along the trail, the river itself is lovely also.  It is, not surprisingly, full of boulders, and deep in its shadowy gorge it had a cold frosty blue tint to it. 

Our turn around point was to be the waterfalls.  First you pass the single...

 

And then the double, cascading down the rocky cliffs into the Boulder River below.

We enjoyed the lunch that Dave had packed for us, and our hairy friends stared at us desperately, willing bits of cheese to drop out of our sandwiches.  We're suckers so they both got a bite.

While we were in this area with the roar of the falls and river, we decided to off-trail it a little and went down to the river.  Dave and Junior went across, but it was a bit too deep for Cedar to cross safely and a bit too slippery for me to want to carry him.  Dave explored a rocky river island, noting the differences in elevation of parts of the river there and climbed up a big snow-covered boulder.  Junior waited in a patch of snow below.

Cedar and I climbed back up the embankment first and I took a picture of Dave and Junior below by the river.  I took this with my cellphone and a few others, but the vast majority of these photos are Dave's handiwork.  I found after clicking a "picture" or two that they didn't exist due to my leaving my memory chip at home.

Both on the way in and out, Cedar had to check out this gnarly stump.  It was pretty cool with its grip on the boulder and then the serpentine roots of the still-living tree embracing the stump and boulder also. 

 

On the way out, Dave and Junior posed nicely on a boulder in the snow.  Overwhelmed by joy at being on a hike, knowing he was nearing the car, and the presence of snow, Cedar raced around in the foreground in hyperactive terrier mode.

Finally back in the car and headed out of the woods, the sun hitting the strata of this ridge caught our eye and we stopped for some final pictures.

Get out there and enjoy the Pacific Northwest!!

Robe Canyon 1-15-12

On the 15th, I ventured out into the snowy countryside with Dave, Cedar and Dan and Clark Kent.  It was a stunningly beautiful winter world.  We drove out onto the Mountain Loop Hwy and hiked the Robe Canyon trail in about a foot of snow.  It was fluffy, hushed, loud, bright, exciting and soothing.  The dogs ran around like little kids, and it was easy to catch on to their enthusiasm.  As snow loaded up on the branches it would reach maximum capacity and shower down all around. 

One rather surprising thing happened on this hike.  Nearing the end of the snow-covered trail, we had just past a point by just moments and maybe gone another 100 ft when we heard a sound like a gunshot and a tree came flying down the hillside and crashed dramatically onto the trail.  If you look above at the little waterfall section of the river, note that the tree fell where I was standing to take that picture. 

Just before returning to the car, we found a little side trail that led to an old wrecked car.  There were no skeletons or bags of lost money, but it was still interesting.

 Lastly, here is a picture of Dave and I, courtesy of Dan.  Don't let the winter stop you!  Get out there and enjoy!