Washington Trip Reports
2016, San Juan Island, the North Cascades, and Shi Shi Beach
| I returned to Washington with Christy in July, 2016 during a 4-week trip that started in Oregon. On that trip, we went to two Phish concerts at The Gorge Amphitheater and visited Palouse Falls. Photos. After spending a few more days in Oregon, we returned to Washington and traveled all the way to San Juan Island to go sea kayaking and look for orcas. Photos. Next we traveled to North Cascades National Park for car camping and dayhiking, starting with a solo dayhike to Hidden Lake. Photos. Then I hiked solo to the summit of Sourdough Mountain, and we hiked together to the summit of Sauk Mountain. Photos. From there we headed farther north to do some hikes along the Mount Baker Highway. I hiked the High Divide and Table Mountain solo, and Christy joined me for a hike to the Coleman Glacier on Mount Baker. High Divide Photos and Coleman Glacier Photos. We finished our trip with 3 days of backpacking at Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches in Olympic National Park. Photos. |
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Eastern Washington
| In May, 2011 a work assignment in Spokane gave me a chance to explore the eastern part of the state. I flew into Seattle and drove across the state to Spokane. I didn't have much time, so my hiking was limited to a brief but exciting visit to Palouse Falls. Photos I returned to that area with Christy in July, 2016 during a 4-week trip in Oregon and Washington. On that trip, we went to two Phish concerts at The Gorge Amphitheater and visited Palouse Falls. Photos. After spending a few more days in Oregon, we returned to Washington and traveled all the way to San Juan Island to go sea kayaking and look for orcas. Photos. Next we traveled to North Cascades National Park for car camping and dayhiking, starting with a solo dayhike to Hidden Lake. Photos. |
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Mount Rainier
| In September, 2009, a business trip gave me the opportunity to backpack in Mount Rainier National Park for the first time. I finished my job in Tacoma on Thursday morning, and drove straight to the Carbon River Ranger Station. From there, I headed up to Mowich Lake, where I started an overnight trip combining the Carbon River and Spray Park. Photos We made our first visit to Mount Ranier National Park in July, 2002. We weren't there long, but we were busy. We visited Sunrise and Paradise and did several hikes. Highlights included the Naches Peak Loop Trail and a climb of Plummer Peak. |
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The North Cascades
| In August of 2007, I finally got the chance to explore the North Cascades. I spent the first few days car camping at the Silver Fir campground, on the North Fork of the Nooksack River. Initially I endured several days of rain, but I did manage a few short hikes in the valley, and in the Heather Meadows area. The sun finally made an appearance on Wednesday, and I took advantage of the opportunity. I dayhiked to Lake Ann, at the base of Mount Shuksan. The following day, I began a 4-day backpacking trip. My trip was the classic loop combining the alpine meadows of Copper Ridge and the old-growth forest along the Chilliwack River. |
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| After backpacking, I relocated to the Colonial Creek campground, where I spent three nights. On my first day there, I dayhiked the Heather Pass & Maple Pass loop. The next day, I hiked to Cascade Pass and the Sahale Glacier. The following day, I did one final dayhike, to Easy Pass. I concluded my trip with a three day backpacking trip with Brian to the Enchantment Lakes. We hiked in to basecamp at Colchuck Lake, and spent a day hiking to Aasgard Pass, and beyond. |
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Olympic National Park & Forest
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Olympic is probably my favorite National Park. I enjoyed my first visit (see below) so much, I've been back several times since. Luckily, several business trips over the past few years have given me opportunties to hike on the Olympic Peninsula. Most of those hikes have been with Brian, who lives nearby on Bainbridge Island. The hikes we've done include:
My May, 2011 visit to eastern Washington, followed by a dayhike with Brian to Green Mountain on the Kitsap Peninsula. Photos
My September, 2009 dayhike with Brian from Obstruction Point to Maiden Peak. Photos |
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Rainier, St. Helen's, & Olympic
July 2002
PART ONE: VOLCANOES
| We began our trip to Washington State with a visit to Mount Ranier National Park. We weren't there long, but we were busy. We visited Sunrise and Paradise and did several hikes. Highlights included the Naches Peak Loop Trail and a climb of Plummer Peak. |
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| Dave joined us as we continued our tour of Washington's volcanoes with a climb of Mount St. Helens. Mount St. Helens blew in 1980, but it's still steaming. Aside from climbing the volcano, we toured the entire area. We dayhiked to Spirit Lake and explored an ancient lava tube. |
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PART TWO: THE COAST
| After touring the land of volcanoes, we chose to visit the beach for a change of pace. We did a simple overnight backpacking trip to Second Beach on the coast of Olympic National Park. We enjoyed exploring the cliffs, sea stacks, and arches. The residents of the tide pools were equally fascinating. |
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PART THREE: XANADU
| We spent the final week of our trip backpacking in Olympic National Park. Myron and Dorcas joined us for this portion of the trip. We agonized over our route for months. Finally we chose a hike that took in many of the highlights of Olympic. We'd start in the rain forest along the Sol Duc River and climb to the High Divide. We'd cross the divide and descend to the Hoh River Rain Forest. Before we hiked out though, we'd take a lengthy side trip to explore the glaciers at the base of Mount Olympus. |
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!
