08-AUG-2016
I took a walk in the woods
on a wet morning.
It reminded me of being in Oregon, except that I'm usually there either earlier or later in the year. Today I took care of both the red and blue food groups. There were lots and lots of huckleberries - predominantly red, but there were plenty of blue as well. I also found some of the small, tasty blackberries in one spot. I had planned on going to a different location later to harvest some of those, but I was more than satisfied with the amount I found here. Lastly, I found some thimbleberries and black raspberries.
I was the only soul on the trail until I returned. It was only at the point where I was only a few minutes from a well-known trail that I encountered my first humans of the day.
07-AUG-2016
Van Trump Creek
Because of the road work, access to the Comet Falls trail head is available only during weekends. As usual, the trails are peaceful in the early morning hours. After that lots of people start showing up. I talked with someone who had hiked Skyline earlier in the week. He compared the crowds to an amusement park line. I was thinking about it and wondering if I really want to hike Skyline. The reason I asked him is because I was wondering if the flowers were peaking in Paradise yet. When we were there the bloom was way less than we had experienced during a couple of previous trips. Apparently they're still nowhere near peak, although I do know that they are pretty nice from the Fourth Crossing to Edith Creek.
I was debating whether to hike to Van Trump Park. I haven't read any reports about the flower conditions, and I was living on borrowed time in terms of the rain in the forecast. I didn't have my larger jacket that covers most of my camera gear. Plus the trail is steep, which I knew was going to hurt my knees on the way back down. I stood by Comet Falls for a long time pondering my decision. I finally started heading back. At one point my huckleberry eating was interrupted by a few sprinkles. Camera gear still dry, I continued hiking downhill. The rain didn't start until I was a few feet from the start of the trail.
06-AUG-2016
The Palisades
This picture was taken at the incredible lupine meadow between Dick Lake and Upper Palisades Lake. There is another wonderful meadow less than a minute away from the edge of this one. The second meadow is sort of terraced. I wanted would have loved to have been able to access the lower terraces, but there is no trail headed down, and it would be a crime to trample those wonderful wildflowers.
05-AUG-2016
Pinnacle Saddle
This is the tarn below Plummer Peak. I decided that I wanted an easy day so this hike won out over Tatoosh Ridge/Lookout. I took my time and explored the social paths up there. The view from Plummer Peak was amazing. While I was scrambling up to the peak (a relatively easy task), I heard an exclamation from above. "No way!" The guy who was coming down is the same gent that I met and filtered water for when we were hiking to Panhandle Gap. He's flying back to Chicago on Monday. Who knows if I'll run into him again today.
I didn't expect that the trail would be crowded. My assumption was that most people just spend one or maybe a few days in the park and only hike the marquee trails. I thought that this was a hike that most people wouldn't have even heard of, with the disclaimer that the trail head is right across the road from one of the highlight stops. Since I started early I had the trail to myself all the way to the saddle. Later in the day there were so many people up there.
I was thinking about hiking to Snow Lake in the afternoon, but my knees were hurting too much when I hiked back down to the trail head. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway. Apparently Friday is already the weekend. I was surprised at how many people were at Reflection Lakes (which is the trail head for the hike.) I drove past the Snow Lake parking lot, which was full. I've been reading about how much more crowded National Parks have been this year, perhaps because of the centennial. Mount Rainier rangers just posted a notice of two hour waits at the Longmire and White River entrances. I've been arriving early and have had either one or no cars in front of me. Maybe it'll be different on a Saturday.
04-AUG-2016
Grand Park
This shot was taken a short distance down the Northern Loop Trail.
03-AUG-2016
Approaching Panhandle Gap
31-JUL-2016
Glacier Basin
Wide angle and not having control over shift really throws off the perspective. The path is much steeper than it looks, and those walls are so much higher than they look in this picture. The scene is so much more impressive in person.
I hiked the Moraine Trail on the way back. That was interesting because it has views of the green lake and of the snout of the Emmons Glacier. I'm glad to have added that hike, but I wouldn't do it again in the future.
There were lots of wildflowers, and the hike was much better than I had anticipated.
27-JUL-2016
High Lakes - Mazama Ridge
25-JUL-2016
Paradise
We spent the day at Paradise, which is always lovely if you can deal with crowds. Today was a bit different than previous visits. There were decidedly less wildflowers compared to previous trips. Some people seem to think it’s too early this year, although it didn’t appear to us as though that is the case. But I’m going to hope that they’re right.
24-JUL-2016
East Side Trail
Mount Rainier is crowded enough in most years. I’ve been reading that it’s been a madhouse this year, perhaps due to the 100 year National Parks anniversary. I didn’t want to deal with the crowds at Paradise, Sunrise, or really anywhere along the main road. I figured that accessing the East Side Trail from the Owyhigh Lakes (east) trail head would be our best bet. It turned out to be a wonderful day of solitude. We only saw eleven other hikers all day.
I started having trouble with my main lens late last week. By Friday it was not working at all. If I had been at home, I could have sent it in for repair. But, being on vacation, I really need it right now. I tried calling camera shops that wouldn’t be too far out of our way when we drove to Mount Rainier. I wasn’t able to find what I wanted within a reasonable distance. My next choice would have been B&H, but they were already closed. Amazon had a lens that I could have the next day, but when I went to check out I discovered that they’re liars. So it won’t be arriving until Monday.
The good side of that is that today I had an empty lens pouch on my belt. We were eating huckleberries while hiking along the Ohahapecosh River on the East Side Trail and lamenting the fact that we didn’t have any means of saving some for pancakes tomorrow.
Cheryl: “We could save some if we had a bag.”
Me: “Too bad we don’t have a bag.”
“Oh wait, I do have a bag.”
“Too bad we don’t have something to hold the bag. It’s not going to be convenient to hike with this in my hand.”
“Oh wait, I can put the bag in this empty lens pouch.”
We ended up filling that bag (along with our bellies). I can’t wait for tomorrow’s breakfast.
20-JUL-2016
A Little Curvy
We had planned for a quick side trip to see the Elwha River at the site of the former Lake Mills. This wouldn’t have been a scenic stop. We just wanted to see the changes that are occurring after the Glines Canyon Dam was removed. I had read that the road was currently closed, but I did not know how far the obstruction was. Unfortunately signs indicated that the closure was only two miles up, so that didn’t work out.
On to Sol Duc. This is always a very pleasant hike through the forest. I had forgotten how nice the drive is as well. In addition, we found plenty of berries at a stop along the road as well as during our hike. I think that thimbleberries are the tastiest. We’ve seen plenty of them, but most have been along roadsides with no place to stop. We have been treated to some, but not as many as we would like. There were plenty of huckleberries today, both blue and red. What was unusual is that I found some raspberries, so that was a rare treat.
Today’s picture was not taken from the spot I would have preferred. There is only room for one person in that particular spot, and you know how inconsiderate photographers can be. There were only two people in front of me, but I eventually gave up waiting for my turn. That spot would have provided a view with all three segments of the waterfall as well as a better perspective. But I like this shot too. Of course using a wide angle lens does distort things. Well I suppose that people well versed in editing software could easily correct the distortion. In any case, water runs slightly uphill, and boy is that area on the left side tilted.
Our final stop of the day was at Rialto Beach where Cheryl was able to see a couple of bald eagles.
19-JUL-2016
What a View!
There sure were a lot of parking spaces at the Hurricane Ridge visitor center this morning. Maybe that’s because the area was engulfed by clouds. Our hike on the Klahhane Ridge trail would have included magnificent views on many days. Not today. But that’s alright. We do enjoy walking in the clouds
18-JUL-2016
Best Laid Plans
I plan extensively before trips. My itineraries do have specific things I would like to do and see each day. But I have many items to choose from because life does not usually go exactly as planned. Today I wanted to visit Hurricane Ridge, but with showers in the forecast we instead opted to spend some time on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula on our way to Port Angeles. Sure, Hurricane Ridge would have been fine with showers. In fact it would have been wonderful. But we do love to hike along rivers on overcast days, so we opted to go to Staircase. We also revisited Rocky Brook Falls, which is a tad more popular than the last time we were there. Not that it was crowded. No, crowds will come later in this trip.