Saturday, May 19, 2018
Lake 22 5-19-2018
It was a lovely cloudy Saturday morning, and I loaded up Cedar and Luna and headed for the mountains. The forest was so beautifully green and wet! I love the trail to Lake 22, other than a couple switchbacks that are hot and rocky, the rest is a jewel - huge gnarled trees, rushing water, and such a pretty lake waiting at the end!
There are quite a few places you can see waterfalls. Most of the most visible ones are shorter and the taller cascades you get more of a peekaboo view through the trees.
There were wildflowers along the trail, mostly little yellow violets, yellow skunk cabbage, and white flowers called elkslip marshmarigolds. I also saw a tiny blue butterfly, a pair of brown creepers, and a raven.
The part of the trail I like least is a few really rocky switchbacks going through a kind of slide area. I tend to stumble over the rocks, and they also hold the heat, so while you're twisting ankles and stubbing toes on the way up, up, up, you're also getting heated. The view though - the view is gorgeous!
There was still snow at Lake 22, starting maybe a quarter mile from the lake and remaining on and around the lake itself. I heard the loud crack and grind of an avalanche when I reached the lake, but it was not visible. Not the safest time to walk around the lake, although I saw people doing it. My pups and I had a nice lunch sitting on a section of dry boardwalk and just soaked in that beauty.
Happy adventuring!
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Boulder River 05-12-2018
I got an early start with Cedar and Luna and arrived at the Boulder River Trailhead before 8am. The road was brutally pot-holed on the way in. I was worried Luna was going to have a heart attack as she doesn't care for car rides anyway. This hike is a bit over 8 1/2 miles round trip.
This hike is a treasure - towering trees, beautiful flowers and the beautiful music of Boulder River serenading you for nearly 100% of the hike. I was happy to see bleeding heart, trillium, violets, and other flowers I couldn't identify.
Ferns were slowly unfurling from their fiddle heads like little spiraled plant sculptures.
Most people on this trail only come as far as these beautiful falls. They were stunning with the morning sun shining against that frothing cascade.
The river was milky with glacial till washing out from the peaks above. It was also very full and you could hear the boulders tapping each other under the current now and then.
These shelf fungi looked so cool with the sun hitting the dew drops on them. My camera told me to use flash so I did and it was amazing! All the dew glowed like it was under a black light. Here is a photo without flash and one with.
At one point Luna was slipping around on the end of a sloped log - she looked like she was moon walking. When I got up to the log I saw that it sloped off to a drop off into the river! Crazy dog. I only had them off leash for a little while. I heard a couple animals in the brush that I never saw and Cedar growled twice in the direction I though that something was.
At the end of the trail finally, one tired lady and one tired 9 yr old Adventure Dog. Luna was not tired at all, but for once didn't seem to mind taking a break for ham and cheese. While we were sitting there I saw a harlequin duck coming down through the rapids. What a great day!
This hike is a treasure - towering trees, beautiful flowers and the beautiful music of Boulder River serenading you for nearly 100% of the hike. I was happy to see bleeding heart, trillium, violets, and other flowers I couldn't identify.
Ferns were slowly unfurling from their fiddle heads like little spiraled plant sculptures.
Most people on this trail only come as far as these beautiful falls. They were stunning with the morning sun shining against that frothing cascade.
The river was milky with glacial till washing out from the peaks above. It was also very full and you could hear the boulders tapping each other under the current now and then.
These shelf fungi looked so cool with the sun hitting the dew drops on them. My camera told me to use flash so I did and it was amazing! All the dew glowed like it was under a black light. Here is a photo without flash and one with.
At one point Luna was slipping around on the end of a sloped log - she looked like she was moon walking. When I got up to the log I saw that it sloped off to a drop off into the river! Crazy dog. I only had them off leash for a little while. I heard a couple animals in the brush that I never saw and Cedar growled twice in the direction I though that something was.
At the end of the trail finally, one tired lady and one tired 9 yr old Adventure Dog. Luna was not tired at all, but for once didn't seem to mind taking a break for ham and cheese. While we were sitting there I saw a harlequin duck coming down through the rapids. What a great day!
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| Pose pretty! |
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| And now a funny face shot! |
Heather Lake 05-06-2018
Trying to get back into training - this time for a long hike instead of a mountain climb, I decided to hike Heather Lake early on a Sunday. There used to be a time when if I got to a trail head by 7am there would be maybe one other car, but now it is at least half a dozen if I'm lucky.
The trail was wet, rocky, steep and just as glorious as I remembered. Wildflowers were blooming - yellow violets, trillium, and salmon berries.
I could hike this trail a million times, but each time - once I get out there under those towering mossy gnarled trees - is a spiritual experience.
About a quarter mile from the lake we hit snow - the hard melted, refrozen kind, but it was still so beautiful.
The lake was mostly covered as well still - not with ice, but just with those layers of snow. I had read trip reports that people were hearing and seeing avalanches, but I had no such luck. Still, it would be a bad idea to walk all the way around the lake until the avalanche danger has subsided.
What a beautiful hike, and what a great kick off to the hiking season and trail training again!
The trail was wet, rocky, steep and just as glorious as I remembered. Wildflowers were blooming - yellow violets, trillium, and salmon berries.
I could hike this trail a million times, but each time - once I get out there under those towering mossy gnarled trees - is a spiritual experience.
About a quarter mile from the lake we hit snow - the hard melted, refrozen kind, but it was still so beautiful.
The lake was mostly covered as well still - not with ice, but just with those layers of snow. I had read trip reports that people were hearing and seeing avalanches, but I had no such luck. Still, it would be a bad idea to walk all the way around the lake until the avalanche danger has subsided.
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