For my 2007 trip, I took a monster 7 week driving trip that
included lots and lots of things. As always, the emphasis was on day
hiking in beautiful places. I did a number of repeat hikes and a
number of new hikes. The trip started with day visits to Grand
Canyon south and Grand Canyon north. A couple of days at
Lake Tahoe. And then over to the Pacific Coast (starting just north of
San Francisco) and up the coast all the way to the Olympic Peninsula for a
few weeks. Then a couple of days in Everett, WA visiting family. And then
on to Canada for 2 days near Whistler, over to Mt Revelstoke for 1 day,
and 1 day near Lake Louise. Then on to Glacier NP for a few days, 1 day in
the Tetons, and a couple of days in Rocky Mountain NP before finally
heading home. I had my laptop with me and gave trip updates
every few of days for family and anyone interested.
Since the trip is over, I've reordered the trip reports to be in
chronological order.
patricia
Monday, July 16 The fun trip started off with a _long_ 17 hour drive from Dallas to the Grand Canyon (South Rim). It's a very uneventful drive, but I did add a little spice to it when I made a short stop for a bit of Americana from the old Route 66 (which parallels the interstate for a good ways). As I was driving along shortly past Amarillo (Texas), I noticed some cars were pulled off the road ahead and to the left. I then saw what they were stopped for - there were a string of 10 old cars half buried in a field (the middle of nowhere). I had heard about it and couldn't resist taking the next exit and making a u-turn and taking a short 10 minute visit to the cars. From memory, back in the 50s or 60s an artist decided to half-bury the cars in the middle of his field for no particular reason and painted them. They've been a number of different colors over the years and were graffitied (if that's a word) at this time. The rest of the drive was simply long. I got to my campsite and was asleep a short time later. Tuesday, July 17 So up for this day was a hike into the Grand Canyon. I had been considering doing the dumb down-and-up full hike in one day and logic kept saying that it was a bad idea - I went back and forth on whether or not I'd do the full hike a number of times. I woke up nice and early to an overcast sky. I was happy to see that the park's general shuttle service was already running (5:30 am) and saved me a walk to the visitor's center, where I needed to pick up the shuttle that would take me to the South Kaibab trailhead. Sunrise was at 5:30 am, but I didn't really miss much as the cloud cover was too heavy. I still hadn't decided whether or not I was going to do the full hike, but was definitely going to go to the Cedar Ridge point 1.5 miles into the trail (and 1,140 feet down). I got drizzled on a little bit and the sun made some apparences and the views were dazzling as always (this was my 3rd visit to the Canyon in the past 10 years, and yet I still took 40 pictures in one day). I went out to the far point of the Cedar Ridge area and sat and enjoyed the views for a while and read my book a little bit. The debate over whether or not to go all the way down (which also meant going all the way back up) was almost over as head logic was losing to heart logic - it is strongly, strongly recommended not to hike the Canyon in a day. But heart logic was arguing that the clouds would keep the tempature down, it was only 7 am and what would I do with the rest of my day, and I had hiked Mt Whitney in a day last summer which was longer and more elevation gained (and head response of that being an up-and-down hike and I was in better hiking shape at that point was being ignored). So, yup, stupid me continued down, down, down. At least I knew what I was getting into and was drinking plenty of water and taking long rests along the way. Near the bottom, I knew I had made a mistake as I was already tired and the tempature had risen as the cloud cover thinned - but there was nothing else for me to do but continue down as I would need to replenish my water supply at the bottom and there were 3 water stops on the way up the Bright Angel Trail (while the South Kaibab Trail had no available water). While I was resting in the shade not too far from the bottom, I saw 2 guys heading up. One had his head down and zoomed passed while the other stopped to take advantage of the shade. We talked for a little bit and I grew concerned about their situation - they were doing a down-and-up on the South Kaibab Trail, hadn't been hiking recently, and only had less than 2 bottles of water between them to get all the way back up. I gave him some suggestions and insisted on refilling one of his water bottles. I talked with a ranger later on in the day and he hadn't heard of any problems, so hopefully they made it out okay. So I reached the Colorado River and took a long break soaking my feet, wetting my hat and then dumping it on my head, and even soaked my shirt and got my body cooled down. I then headed over to near the Bright Angel bridge (yes, Dad, I still hate that bridge) and stopped at the restroom (and wondered why they had a handicap stall) and then found a nice spot in the shade and rested and ate a little bit (but not enough). I stayed there for about an hour. I had planned on staying longer to get out of the hottest time of the day, but the clouds had returned and it was randomly sprinkling and bits of sun, and that cooled down the tempature a little bit. So I hiked the 2 miles along the Colorado River to the foot of the Bright Angel Canyon and took another hour rest at the shelter there. I struggled mightily for the 3 miles to Indian Gardens and was in bad shape when I got there. I had nasua and laid down on a bench to rest and cool down - I wasn't about to continue until I felt better. I talked to a ranger and he said to go over to the creek and lay in it to get the body tempature down and that would help with the nasua and then I needed to eat a lot as my sodium level was probably low (that little thing I mentioned about not having eaten enough earlier in the hike - I knew that was a concern, but didn't force myself to eat more; don't think I'll let that happen again). So I took an hour and a half break there and the nasua was gone. I took it very slow going the rest of the way (4.5 miles up) as I would stop about every 10 minutes and take short breaks and then took longer breaks at the other 2 water stops. I talked with another ranger and his brother at the 3 mile rest stop and he laughed with me saying we've all done things while knowing what we were doing was stupid. BUT a little bit later I got my prize that probably no one below the rim got to see: there was a beautiful rainbow right next to white rock. After my break at the 1.5 mile rest stop, the headlamp came out and the rest of the way was in the dark. I finally reached the rim at 9:15 pm. So I can now say from experience that it is extremely stupid to try to hike the Canyon in one day. Wednesday, July 18 Even though I hadn't set my alarm clock, I woke up around 5 am and went ahead and got up and headed to the rim to watch the sunrise. There were no clouds this morning and the view was awesome. Afterwards I returned to the car and drove, with a couple of canyon stops along the way - the plan for the morning was the long 5 hour drive to the North Rim. The campground for the North Rim was still full (I hadn't been able to get reservations), so it was still in question where I'd be staying the night. But I went ahead and visited the North Rim - no hiking (thank goodness, said my sore calves), just viewpoints. I took the long drive out to Cape Royal and saw Angels Window - an eroded hole in the canyon wall - as well as walked to the viewpoint above the window. Lots of pretty canyon views. It turned out that I only needed a few hours at the North Rim, so I headed on towards Zion National Park. As I approached Utah, I saw billowing clouds from forest fires that seemed to be in the Zion area - and the clouds seemed to be heading towards the Bryce area. As I was heading on the road towards Zion (Route 9), I could see that there were 2 seperate fires - a large one and a massive one. Add to that the road construction going on on Route 9 and my planned visit to Bryce got knocked off the trip. In Zion, I moved my campground reservation from Thursday to this night and then stopped at the visitors center to check on the fires and flash flood dangers for The Narrows (my planned hike for the next day). The ranger said that the fires should not be a concern if I stayed in the main canyon area (and all back country permits were cancelled) and that, yes, the smoke would likely be covering Bryce. I had some time to kill (in hoping the temperature would cool down once the sunset) and took the shuttle ride through Zion and stopped at a couple of spots and then stopped at the lodge and found a nice spot in the air conditioned building and read for a while. Thursday, July 19 I woke up early in the morning needing a bathroom break and was concerned that I was now smelling smoke. The wind had shifted during the night and now the entire canyon was filled with smoke. Once it got lighter, I could see how heavy the smoke was - the peaks that should have been visible above me were not visible. My debate on whether to go ahead and do The Narrows hike or simply leave the park was rather short - I had used up my stupidity alotment for this trip already and so it ended up being simply a driving day. Before I left, I drove by the head of the main Zion canyon and the smoke was even heavier there than where the campground was. [I had visited Zion and Bryce before, so it wasn't devistating that I skipped my planned one day visits to each park.] So it was a nice long 12 1/2 hour drive to Reno and next up tomorrow is Lake Tahoe (though it now means I'll be in Lake Tahoe on the weekend, and I had been trying to avoid that). I wonder how long it's going to take for my car to stop smelling like smoke. patricia pictures (6 pictures)
Friday, July 20 It was a beautiful sunny morning and it would stay nice all day. I took the pretty drive from Reno to Lake Tahoe, going over a mountain pass through the forest (and pulling over a couple of times to let cars pass that weren't interested in the scenery). The first views of Lake Tahoe driving down were impressive. I stopped at a short trail on the north side of the lake and walked the State Line Trail - a little 1/2 mile paved loop on a ridge above the lake. The views were impressive. I also learned from one of the nature signs that Mark Twain once started a forest fire in the park. Next up was the fun of finding a camping spot. The campgrounds were pretty full, but I was able to find a spot at the 2nd location I looked. I then headed over to the Eagles Falls area of the park, on the south west side of the lake, and lucked out again as someone was pulling out of a parking spot at the 2nd place I tried to find a spot. So about 1 pm, I kicked off a nice hike into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Eagle Lake and Velma Lakes. Eagle Lake was absolutely beautiful. The only problem was that it was only a mile from the parking area and even with the elevation gained it was a popular spot. There were even some kids who had swam all the way out to the small island near the far end of the lake. I did stay for a little while and enjoyed the views, despite the human noise (the problem was that one group was very loud). I then headed up, up, and up and there were some great views down on Eagle Lake. I continued onward and upward and eventually realized that I wouldn't have the time or energy to reach the Velma Lakes, but I did want to see them, so I continued on until I (finally) got a view of them. They weren't that impressive looking from a distance and I wasn't disappointed to turnaround. I took the branch back for Granite Lake (and the trail then went up again). After a long ways, I was rewarded with a great view of Eagle Lake from above. And a short bit later was a great view of Lake Tahoe. And then for the next mile I had views of Lake Tahoe and the smaller Granite Lake and another lake as the trail switchbacked down. The sun was going behind the mountains (still plenty of light), so I didn't stay very long at Granite Lake. Then an uneventful and fast mile back to the road - though there was one pretty viewpoint of Emerald Bay (a portion of Lake Tahoe). After a 1/2 mile walk along the road, I finally reached my car (in a nearly empty parking lot) at 7:45. Saturday, July 21 It was another beautiful sunny day at Lake Tahoe. Up first was a trip out to DL Bliss State Park. I found a nice bench with a view over Lake Tahoe and spent a while there typing in Friday's report and waiting for 8:30 am to arrive - I was hoping to get a campsite in the park if there were any cancelations overnight. I needed to get a campsite settled for the night (remember, this was a Saturday at the popular Lake Tahoe) before I could start my day. My early arrival paid off as I got the only campsite available for this day. I then went back to the spot near where the bench was and started the Rubicon Trail hike. First up was a side trip to the old lighthouse - it was a waste of time and energy (it was up hill all the way to the lighthouse) as it was little more than a shack. But the Rubicon Trail was wonderful, though not easy. The trail goes next to and (sometimes high) above Lake Tahoe with great views of the lake. I hiked 4.6 miles of the trail all the way over to the bottom of Emerald Bay, with it's beach shore (Vikingsholm). Vikingsholm is actually an old residence that was built in the 20s or 30s and is still there and now run by the State Park. I didn't do the tour (not my thing), but did take a picture, as well as many pictures of Emerald Bay. I didn't go swimming, but did feet soak and rested for a while at the beach. On the way back, I also stopped at a small cove with a tiny beach and feet soaked and rested there as well. Since I didn't get done with the hike until 4:30 pm, I didn't do much the rest of the evening. I took a quick visit to Balancing Rock in the park - it's what the name implies: a rock that's base has been erode so that it looks like a rock sitting on top of a rock. I then went over to the day-use area for Sugar Pine Point State Park and took a short walk around the buildings of an estate from the 20s (now also run by the State Park). Tomorrow I plan on starting the day with a re-visit to Eagle Lake. Then do a hike in north Lake Tahoe. And then on to Donner Park where I'll stay the night. And then a hike in the Sierras the next day before heading onto the Pacific Coast (since I won't be online tomorrow). patricia pictures (6 pictures)
Sunday, July 22 So I made the mistake of starting the morning with a hike back up to Eagle Lake. I was the first to arrive and the lake was just stunning as it was as still as could be with a great reflection on the surface. I found a spot lakeside and soaked my feet, just sitting there and not doing anything else but enjoying the sounds of birds chirping, chipmucks chittering, and the waterfall in the distance and marveling at the fantastic view. Okay, so why was that a mistake? It made everything else I did that day pale mightily by comparison. Next up was a hike north of Lake Tahoe in the Sierras (no Tahoe view) on a trail to the Five Lakes. It was a huff-and-puff 2 miles of hiking up with little shade in a developed valley (ski area), so the views weren't great. Then over a half a mile to not that exciting of a lake - though it looks great in the pictures (again, wondering how much Eagle Lake influenced my opinion). I was trying to find the other 4 lakes in the area (thus the name Five Lakes), but accidently ended up on the Pacific Crest Trail before turning around. I did find 3 other lakes, but they also were unimpressive. I then headed over to the Donner Pass area (in the Sierras off of I80), where I got a campground spot for the night. There was one more hike on tap for the afternoon as I headed for Summit Lake near the pass itself. The hike was pretty, even though there was road noise from I80, but the lake wasn't exciting (even less so than the Five Lakes). Part of the trail was on the Pacific Crest Trail, so that made twice in one day that I hiked part of the PCT, which runs from southern California to northern Washington. Monday, July 23 The plan for the entire morning was a hike to the Loch Leven Lakes in the Sierra Nevadas, with the hike again kicking off near I80. It was a lot of up (and up) for the first hour. I couldn't resist putting some pennies on the railroad tracks as the trail crossed them - something I had done when I was young in day camp. I continued up and then over (and lost the road noise) and reached the first of the 3 lakes and was very impressed. The lakes are bowls of granite mounds (the mounds are tall, but not mountain-sized). I continued on to the middle lake and was more impressed - it is the largest of the 3 and has a number of small islands in the middle. A mile further was the highest lake, and I fell in love. It was a precious little lake with a small island in the middle and a family of ducks swimming in it. I relaxed and enjoyed each lake (taking long stops on the way back) and feet soak. All 3 lakes are populuar swimming holes and there were people swimming in the lakes at each one on the way back (at the highest lake, they arrived about 20 minutes after I did). On the way back down, I stopped at the railroad tracks and found most of my smashed pennies. The rest of the day was spent driving towards San Francisco and then heading north on Highway 1 and finally finding a spot to stay the night near Point Reyes National Seashore. Tuesday, July 24 I had planned on spending the entire day at Point Reyes, but the fog was so heavy that I made a sidetrip later in the morning, hoping the fog would lift some. First I started my day with a walk along the shore barefoot in the surf - one of my favorite things, but I didn't last long was it was pretty cold (both the water and a strong wind). I then headed over to Samuel P Taylor State Park, a redwood park about 5 miles inland and did a little 2 mile hike there. It was a nice little diversion, but not that exciting of a redwood park as most of the trees are smaller 2nd growth trees, not old growth (original). I then went back to Point Reyes and hiked to a couple of beach. The first one went down a short canyon lined with a variety of wild flowers to a beach with some sea rocks (rock mounds in the water) and I walked the surf for a while (barefoot, of course). The second one went next to a marsh area where there were lots of chirping birds, including a number of yellow ones and flocks of black ones with red bands, and did some more shore walking in the surf. The sky remained overcast, but the fog had lifted some, so there were some nice distance views, but nothing stunning. I then headed over to the Point Reyes Lighthouse and took a very windy and cool walk to an overlook of the lighthouse (the steps down to the lighthouse were closed due to the wind). And then drove over to another viewpoint with 3 hiking/walking options. I walked over to the elephant seal viewpoint, but there were no seals to be seen. I then walked down to the old lifeboat rescue station that was very active in the 20s and 30s. And back at the starting spot, I hiked up to the Chiminey Rocks headland and around it with great views of the rocky shore below with a number of sea rocks. It was a little nerve wracking at times as the trail went near the cliffs and it was still very windy. And now I'm doing my first load of laundry for the trip - with many more to come. patricia pictures (5 pictures)
First a little thought I that I was wondering about from the drive on I80 in the Sierra Nevadas. Along the way there were a couple of runaway truck ramps (long gravel pits designed to stop semi-trucks whose breaks have failed). In the middle of them were signs saying "No Stopping". I thought that was the whole point. Wednesday, July 25 I went ahead and drove up the coast to Salt Point State Park and got a campsite for 2 nights. I then drove back down to Bodega Bay and spent the day working my way back to Salt Point. The fog cover remained for most of the day, sometimes lighter and some times heavy. I did a little hike at the headlands for Bodega Head and had some nice views of the sea rocks when the fog wasn't too thick. I also took a side trip to a small beach that wasn't that exciting. I continued up the Sonoma Coast and made a couple of short stops to small coves and overlooks along the way. A little south of the town of Jenner, I stopped at Shell Beach and took a 4.5 mile walk along the headlands in the fog (some nice views of the many sea rocks, but also lots of no views due to fog or the trail being too far from the shore). I then went down to Shell Beach itself and walked the shore for a little bit and read some (I broke out a book during the hike, the first time I'd read a book since Reno). At the top of the Sonoma Coast (which extends from Bodega Bay to just north of Jenner), the skies had cleared some and I stopped at a vista view point and took a short walk to a great view down the coast (at least to where the cloud cover started) - so a 4 pm I finally saw the sun. I stopped at Fort Ross, just south of Salt Point and walked around the area and looked at the buildings. It had been built by the Russian American Company as a supply station for their endeavors in Alaska in the mid-1800s. I was going to do a hike at Salt Point, but it was far too windy so I simply headed to my campsite. Thursday, July 26 So I started this day by driving north to Fort Bragg (with a side trip to Hendy Woods) with the intent on working my way back down to Salt Point. I made the side trip to Hendy Woods State Park, an inland redwoods park, as I wanted to visit it and hoped the sun would finally appear on the coast later in the morning. It was a very pretty park with a large old growth grove that I walked through for about 2 miles. I also went to the smaller grove, but was less impressed with that hike (the first was entirely within the redwoods and the 2nd was a hike through thin woods to get to the small loop through the redwoods). On the drive back on Hwy 128, I had a little wait in Navarro Redwood State Park (though a 2nd growth park, a pretty drive). As the traffic was let through, I saw that they were filming a movie or TV show at a section of the road (no idea what movie or show). Back on Hwy 1, just north of Mendocino, I stopped at Russian Gulch State Park and took a brief visit to the beach and then headed to the headlands of the park and did a pretty walk there, including around an inland blowhole. The sun was out and I had thought it would remain the rest of the day (wrong). I went up Fort Bragg thinking I'd have lunch at the good pizza place there, but it was open only for dinner. So heading back down (and the sun was gone), I stopped at Jug Handle State Reserve (just south of Fort Bragg) and did a very pretty hike of the headlands there and then took a side trip down to a precious little beach that was just perfect for surf walking and I had it to myself. I drove the scenic Mendocino Head and then continued driving down Hwy 1. North of the town of Elk, I saw a pretty coastal view of a ton of large sea rocks. I stopped at the turn off for Greenwood State Beach in Elk and was quite thrilled when I saw not one, not two, but three sea arches off the coast (though I didn't walk down to the beach). Continuing on, I went over the Schooner Gulch bridge and it sparked a memory - didn't I have something noted about there? Sure enough, 2 short trails to 2 beaches. So I turned around and took the short walk down to Schooner Gulch Beach - a great little spot to surf walk and enjoy the coastal scenery. I also went out to Bowling Ball Beach, but was less impress and didn't last long - it was a very long beach and the wind was blowing sand every where. I returned to Salt Point (and the sun was back) and finally did the 2.4 mile Salt Point Trail that goes along the coast with a number of rock mounds along the way that must be conquered. I also walked down to a couple of tidal pools and watched the sea life. There was a shy crab trying to catch some hermit crabs for dinner, but whenever I slightly moved, the crab would skitter back under a rock. Friday, July 27 I finished driving up Hwy 1 in the morning (in the heavy fog) and joined up with Hwy 101. I got a campsite in Humboldt Redwood State Park and then went back down to Richardson Grove State Park and did a short walk there (both Humboldt and Richardson are old growth areas). I then headed out to Shelter Cove where I wanted to do a 3 mile up (and back) hike up Chemise Mountain with a view of the isolated Lost Coast (a large section of the California coast that is not developed). So I huffed and puffed my way up and took a left at the overlook junction and got to the top and saw ... a great view of the inland valley to the east. Okay, not what I was looking for. So I continued on the trail a little bit (and heading down slightly) and then saw a spot where it looked like I could see west. So I took the five steps off trail and looked out at ... a blanket of clouds. So much for my great coastal view. So after getting back down to the car, I drove into Shelter Cove itself and stopped at the Mendocino Lighthouse (it was relocated in the 1990s and is not in service) and then walked down to the rocky shore and thought I'd look at the tidal pools. But I didn't see much action, so I went ahead and went to the nearby Black Sands Beach (really should be called Black Pebble Beach as there isn't much sand) and conquered the rock mound on the beach and then walked the beach for a little bit (with my shoes on). So I headed back to Hwy 101 and then took the Avenue of the Giants drive through the redwoods in Humboldt back to the campground (halfway through the drive), taking one stop along the way to do a little 1/2 mile hike in a grove. The campground had an evening program that was very entertaining as the ranger got the crowd involved and talked about bats. Saturday, July 28 I started the morning continuing the Avenue of the Giants drive. I made a stop early on and was going to do a short hike, but found that the trail was close. That was the bad news. The good news was that the spot had a good trail map of the park and I was able to figure out a good longer hike through the redwoods. First up, though, was a walk through the great Founders Grove loop and adjacent Mahan Plaque loop. It's sad to know that only about 4% of the old growth redwoods (trees at least 500 years old, some older than 1,000 years) survived the massive logging that occurred in the early 1900s; the logging was somewhat sparked by the need to rebuild San Francisco. I did another 1/2 mile loop in the area (making my total for the morning 2.5 miles) and then headed over to the Tall Tree area. There I did a long 8 mile hike, with another 1/2 mile loop through a grove at the halfway point. The first half of the hike was really pretty and was mostly in the redwoods while the last half of the hike was only partially in the redwoods (if I knew that I would have gone back the way I came). And that was supposed to be a mild day. I finished up the Avenue of the Giants drive (with no further stops) and continued on to Eureka. I stopped and got a needed oil change for my car. I decided not to bother with campsites for a busy Saturday night (with California State Parks almost purely booked on Saturdays due to their annoying advanced reservation system) and splurged at got a hotel room in Acata. Tomorrow should start out with a yummy crab omlette and then on to Fern Canyon, my favorite place on earth. patricia pictures (7 pictures)
Sunday, July 29 Unfortunately crab was not available, so I had to settle for a shrimp omelete. Afterwards, I went over to the pretty Trinidad beach and walked the surf there for a bit. Then it was over to Patrick Point State Park where I got a campsite for 2 nights. That bit of business taken care of, I went to Fern Canyon, my favorite place on earth. It's a narrow canyon with a little stream going down the middle and the 30 foot walls of the canyon are covered with ferns. Just beautiful. There was more debris in the canyon than usual due to the rough winter they had. I should have taken that as a warning, but didn't. I planned on combining 2 trails in the redwoods and beach walk to make a 8 mile loop - a wonderful hike that I've done before. So I headed up Friendship Ridge and found a number of downed trees along the way that I had to go over, around, or under (limbo with the redwoods). It didn't seem that annoying until after about the 5th blockage. And it kept occurring. I reached the junction with West Ridge and headed along it and encountered more down trees, including one that was really tough to get around. Needless to say, it wasn't the pleasant hike that it was the last time. I finally reached the junction with the coastal trail and saw a note on the sign for the West Ridge Trail saying both that trail and the Friendship Ridge Trail were not recommended for hiking as there were lots of down trees and the trails would not be cleared until the fall or winter - thanks for the warning. But the last 2 1/2 miles was a nice walk along the surf (barefoot, of course). Thanks to all of the downed trees, the hike took a lot longer than I expected. I revisited Fern Canyon before heading to my campsite. Monday, July 30 I was up early (5:15) for a 2 hour drive inland to the Trinity Alps and a planned full day hike to the Canyon Creek Lakes. I was a little concerned about the weather as the nearby town of Weaverville was expected to have a high of 95 degrees. But the morning was nice and cool (I even considered bringing my jacket but knew I wouldn't need it after an hour and it would just be dead weight for the rest of the long day). The hike is a 16 mile (8 miles up and back), 2600 feet gained trek that goes passed 4 waterfalls and reaches 2 pretty mountain lakes. The first 4 miles are pretty uneventful and seem to take forever, but from that point on there are great sights every mile or less (though often a tough up between them). It was a beautiful clear sky and I was definitely glad I made the sidetrip to revisit this hike. I only encountered a handful of people on the way up (and they were on the way down). The lower lake was as pretty as I remembered it and I spent a little time there before heading to the upper lake. The upper lake is a little larger and has a shear granite face for a boundary for half of the far side. With the tall Wedding Cake and Thompsons Peak (the largest in the Trinity Alps) mountains looming above, both lakes are in beautiful settings. I feet soaked and read for a bit at the upper lake, which I had all to myself, before returning to the lower lake (which I actually like a little better as I'm partial to smaller lakes). I talked a little bit with the 2 young ladies who were camping there and they then headed to the upper lake and I feet soaked for a little bit in solitude before making the long trek back down. I stopped for a longer rest at the middle falls, my favorite of the 4. For the rest of the way out, the heat had set in and it was a very hot hike down - the car said it was 89 degrees when I reached it at 6 pm. Again I had only encountered a handful of people while heading down (they were heading up) until the lower falls and below where I encountered a lot of people (over 25) that finally showed a bit of why the books say that this is a crowded hike. It's also one of those long hikes that have you saying, "Cars! I see cars!" at the end and wanting to run up to your car and give it a big hug. Including all the rests and long breaks at the falls and lakes, the hike took 10 hours. Tuesday, July 31 Well, they still didn't have crab (sigh), so I had another shrimp omelete and then headed over to the Trinidad beach to walk the surf. It was low tide, so I was able to walk the entire length of the beach (there are rocks at the far end that make a section of it inaccessible at higher tides). I then returned to Patrick Point and visited a view point there. As usual, it was overcast in the morning and so the views weren't as good as they would be later in the day. I then headed up the coast a little bit and stopped at Lady Bird Johnson's Grove and took the little mile walk through the redwoods. I set up camp at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park (also part of Redwood National Park, which consists of 3 state parks) and then headed back to Fern Canyon. It was a planned mild day, so I simply sat at my favorite spot in the canyon and read for a while and then headed over to the beach and walked the surf for a tiny bit and then sat and read some more and then back to Fern Canyon (the beach and the canyon are close to each other) for a last visit and read a little more. I then took the scenic drive through Prairie Creek (similar to Avenue of the Giants drive, but shorter) and stopped at Big Tree (a big redwood). After doing the short loop there, which started and ended at the tree, I realized that the big wood section in front of the tree wasn't there the last time I visited and realized that was where the large wooden sign announcing the tree and its dimensions used to be. I walked around the slab and, sure enough, I saw bits of posts and wood from the pulverized sign. I then drove on a little ways u[ Hwy 101 and took the mile hike out to another one of my favorite places - Hidden Beach. It's a pretty little hike above the coast that ends at a small beach with a tall rock mound just off shore with a couple of trees at the top. Such a peaceful and precious setting. I stayed there for a while. My day was capped by a stunning sunset at Klamath Overlook, above the ocean (the sky had been clear most of the day, including in the late afternoon (a rarity) - it was only my 2nd sunset of the trip so far). patricia pictures (8 pictures)
Wednesday, August 1 I was going to do a 3.5 mile loop in the redwoods to start my day, but less than 1/4 a mile into the hike was a downed tree and I quickly turned around (I couldn't have gotten passed it even if I wanted to). I then did a short uneventful interpretive trail that was once a logging roading. I returned to Hidden Beach and once again enjoyed its splendor and peacefulness before saying goodbye until another year. Then it was on north to Crescent City and I got a campsite in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. After promising my car no more gravel roads (which the long road to Fern Canyon is), it turned out I lied as I took the unpaved Howland Hill Road in Jedediah to 2 trailheads. The first was a short 1/2 mile loop through Stout Grove. Then I hiked the about 7 mile (there and back) trail through the redwoods to the Boy Scout Tree, one of the largest in the park. Although a redwood trail, it wasn't an easy hike as there were lots of small ups and downs along the way, but it was a pretty hike amongst the old growths. Afterwards, I headed in to town and did a little bit of grocery shopping, called Mom, and had dinner at McDonalds before heading back to my campsite. Thursday, August 2 I started the morning walking 3 short redwood loops in Jedediah before heading north and saying so long to California as I crossed the border into Oregon. I had planned on spending several hours in Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, a 10 mile section of coast along Hwy 101 with a number of beaches, coves, scenic overlooks, and trails along the way. It was still a heavy overcast as I hit the first spot at Lone Ranch Beach. I walked the entire beach (barefoot, of course) and added to my rock collection (somebody stop me - I can't help but pick up pretty rocks). I found a nice spot at the end of the beach and sat and read some, hoping the fog would lift. The sun briefly made an appearance, but it stayed overcast. I walked the beach back (and only picked up 2 more rocks) and continued on to 2 more viewpoints. At the House Rock Viewpoint I could see that the area to the south was still overcast, but that the sun was out to the north. So I headed over to the Whaleshead Beach Viewpoint and took the narrow, steep trail down to the beach. Once I reached one end of the beach, I saw that I didn't need to have taken that trail down as there was a beach access parking lot 1/2 mile ahead on the road - oh well. I also walked the entire length of the beach (a much longer beach, but still not tourist area size). Midway through, I realized that I was spending a lot of time in the park (and really enjoying myself) and that I had best get a campsite at the nearby Harris Beach instead of a lot further north, like I had planned (see, that's why I don't have reservations on this trip). So after finishing with Whaleshead Beach and taking the hard hike out, I went and got a campsite and then continued back to the Boardman area. I stopped at the Indian Sands Viewpoint and it turned out that I had to do some hiking to get to the scenic area. It was a sharp down that had my calves complaining on the way up, but there were some magnificent isolated coastal views as well as distant coastal views. Even though the area was above sea cliffs, there were sand dunes that I had to traverse over and I felt like a camel at times. Then on to 3 more overlooks, including one really pretty one of a cove with large sea rocks in front of it that contained 2 sea arches. I then found the small parking area for the trailhead down to Secret Beach. It was again a sharp down that ended at a rock mound that I made my way carefully down and I was then at a small beach with a number of large round mounds in the ocean and a small waterfall at the near end. I spent some time there. Since the clouds were only in the distance (preparing to roll in during the night, I figure), I headed north a short ways to 2 more places I had on my to do list - they weren't very exciting and I didn't even get out of the car. I made a couple of quick stops in Boardman at some places that were cloudy earlier in the day and then headed to my campsite. I made it a little bit of an early evening as the campground has laundry facilities and I decided to do a load (didn't need to, but you never know when you'll have an opportunity to do a load and you might be busy then). Plus it gave me an opportunity to recharge my computer battery - something I've been having trouble figuring out where to do (you don't think much about electrical outlets until you are on the road and they are hard to come by). patricia pictures (5 pictures)
Friday, August 3 I started the morning by walking the pretty Harris Beach. It was overcast in the area, but a high cloud base and not foggy so I was able to see things. I headed on north to Humbug Mountain and got a pretty (and cheap - only $14 and included showers) campsite in the state park. Then I headed up, up, up in hiking to the top of the mountain - 3 miles to the top and about 1740 feet gained. It's the tallest peak on the Oregon coast, but the hike didn't have the many wonderful coastal views that I was hoping for. There were a couple of good views of the north coast, but most of the hike was in the trees (pretty, but not what I was expecting). I went to Port Orford Heads State Park and looked at the buildings of the old life rescue station there and then took a walk out to the tip of the head. Here were the wonderful coastal views that I was hoping for earlier. In addition, I had my pleasant surprise of the day. I saw a couple looking out to sea and pointing at something. I then saw a brief streak of black in the sea and it disappeared. I saw it again and then again and realized it was a grey whale. I was surprised as it is not migration season, but later found out that there are a few whales that hang out off the Oregon coast during the summer. I walked a little more around the pretty area. I saw the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, but wasn't impressed with that area and returned to Humbug Mountain and headed out to the nearby beach where I spent about an hour and a half finishing up a good book and then watching the sunset over the ocean - always a good way to end the day. Saturday, August 4 I reached the Face Rock coastal area near the tourist town of Brandon and stopped at the overlook to look at the huge coast rock mounds and then headed down to the beach to walk around and get close up looks at the rock mounds (it was low tide) for a bit. Back up above, I drove a short ways ahead and stopped at an overlook that had a paved path with bird notes on plaques as it was a good bird watching area for those birds that nested and rested on the large of shore rock mounds. They mentioned puffins (my mom's favorite sea bird), but I didn't see any. I continued on north and hit the Cape Arago area, driving out to the end of the road and then heading back with a few stops along the way. I looked around the tip of the Cape Arago area and then went to a spot where there were a number of people looking out to sea. So I looked out to sea too and eventually I saw a water spout in the distance. After about a minute, I saw it again and, for the 2nd day in a row, I had another whale sighting. He was mostly staying under the water and spouting water every minute or so (and then a longer about 5 minute break indicating a large dive), but I did see a couple of black streaks. It takes a lot of patience to whale watch as they do spend most of their time submerged. A little further north on the road is a seal and sea lion watching spot. I stopped there and watched with binoculars the many animals resting and playing on the small island off the shore. I took a picture of the Cape Arago Lighthouse from across the way and then headed down to the small beach at Sunset Bay State Park. I had some good luck on my drive through Coos Bay heading back towards Hwy 101 as I came across both a Dominoes Pizza place and a Walmart Supercenter and was able to get some needed supplies. I briefly stopped at the Umpqua Lighthouse to snap a picture and could hear the many ATVs roaring through the nearby Oregon Sand Dunes - apparently there was some sort of festival going on that day. Being that I'm not a fan of sand dunes, I left them to the dune buggies and ATVs and continued my drive north. I set up camp in the Carl G. Washburn Memorial campground (getting the last available spot (and the campground doesn't take reservations)) and then went to the nearby Heceta Head Lighthouse area. I walked up to the lighthouse and then up the trail to an overlook spot above and then on down the trail to an overlook spot below. And then on down to the beach for a short surf walk. I went to the Neptune Wayside area and walked on the coastal rocks for a short bit and headed a mile further north and spent a bit of time at the Cape Perpetua area. It was near high tide and the sea was a little rough so I got to see lots of water spouting from the blow hole (a hole in the rocks) and the churning of the water through the Devils Churn (a narrow fissure in the rocks that goes a long way) as I walked on the coastal rocks of the shore. I did one more thing on my "to do" list - Yachats Ocean Drive - but it was pretty blah, so I headed back to my campsite. I went out to the nearby beach at about 8 pm to wait and watch the sunset (the water was way too cold for more than just a brief foot dipping and the wind was blowing the sand around, so I stayed near the top of the beach). There was a bank of clouds low on the horizon, so the sun actually set behind the clouds and it wasn't as spectacular. Sunday, August 5 On the way heading north, I made a brief stop at the Strawberry Hill Wayside and saw some seals resting on the rocks. I stopped at Seal Rock (no seals, but plenty of birds) and did a short beach walk while looking at the birds and rock formations. I made the picture-taking stop at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, which was only in service for 4 years as the Yaquina Head Lighthouse was built just 8 miles up the coast. So guess where my next stop was. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is a pretty one, all alone on the head with a tall tower on which the lens sits. Also in that park, I walked down to a cove where I was expecting to look at some tide pools, but the beach area was closed. Which was a good thing as the reason it was closed was that there were 3 seals resting on a rock in the cove and a young, white seal pup - I spent a little bit of time just watching them sleep (though the pup looked like he wanted to do something, but the adults would have nothing of it). I made short visits to the Devils Punchbowl (old sea cave with a collapse roof), Cape Foulweather (ocean views), and Fogerty Creek (blah pebble beach) and continued heading north. I headed directly to Cape Lookout and got a campsite and then continued on to Tillamook. I was ready for a break from scenic views (it has been 3 weeks) and made a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and Creamery and had a mint chocolate chip and french silk sundae (wasn't as good as the Giradilli (sp?) sundae that I missed out on by not making a side trip into San Francisco, but it was still a sundae). Refreshed, I went back to the coast and visited the Cape Meares Lighthouse and made the short walk to the Octopus Tree (a Sitka Spure that has 6 full sized tree branches near the trunk). I stopped at Oceanside Beach and walked the surf along that pretty beach. Off shore from all 3 areas is the Three Arch Rocks National Reserve, a nesting area for tuffed puffins, but, alas, I still didn't see any puffins (it's not nesting season). I returned to Cape Lookout and make a quick hike of the 2.5 mile trail out to the tip of the head - the views were nice (even with the heavy cloud cover), but not outstanding as it simply isn't that stunning of a coastal area. I made a brief visit to the beach near my campsite and then called it a day. patricia pictures (11 pictures)
Monday, August 6 I started the cloudy morning off with a walk on the beach at Cape Lookout. I then headed down the coast and stopped for a short bit at Cape Kiwanda. I rejoined Hwy 101 and headed north again. I had hoped on doing a mountain hike this day, but the low cloud cover was hindering that. I found a wifi spot in Tillamook and got online for a bit hoping the clouds would lift (they never did). I did stop and get some bing cherries, so the day did have a bright spot. I headed over to the Nehalem Bay campground looking for a spot in the only campground in the area and was told I needed to come back at 2 pm. So I went to the beach in the park and killed an hour and a half walking the beach and reading. I got my spot and then went to Oswald State Park and did a 3 mile hike out to the overlook at the cape and then went down to the pretty beach and surf walked there and read some while others surf boarded. After hiking out from that beach, I stopped and surf walked at the pretty Hug Point and Arcadia beaches. If you think I'm crazy with this 7 week trip, I talked with someone who is doing something even wilder. He started in Alaska on June 21 and made a side trip to the Canadian Rockies before returning to British Columbia and is heading south to just over the California border - all this on his bike (as in bicycle, not motorcycle). I was impressed. Tuesday, August 7 I started the morning off with re-visits to Hug Point and Arcadia beaches and walked them in the overcast and cool morning. I then headed over to Ecola State Park, where I would spend most of my day. I went out to the viewpoint for Seal Rocks, where there were lots of birds, and I actually saw a puffin swimming in the ocean - no picture as I needed the telescope to see it. I then hiked the 1.5 mile trail from the picnic area down to Indian Beach, with some nice ocean views along the way including of the Tillamook Lighthouse, which is on an isolated island. I continued on the Clatsop Trail loop for 3 more miles [Dad, this is the trail you and I did while Mom waited at the beach area]. There were a number of interpretive plaques along the way as it was a route that the Lewis and Clark group took to reach Cannon Beach to get food and blubber from a beached whale. The viewpoint at the top of the loop was just of clouds instead of a pretty view of the lighthouse. I went back to Indian Beach and walked the length of the beach in the mist and then hiked back to my car. I then headed up to the tip of the Oregon coast and got a campsite at Fort Stevens State Park (a military base from the civil war to the end of World War II). I went over to Fort Clatsop and visited the reconstructed small fort that Lewis and Clark built for the 3 months they spent near the coast in the winter of 1806. Back at Fort Stevens, I went to the beach where the remains of the wreck of Peter Iredale (in the water as it was high tide) where and then went out to the viewpoint at the the south jetty for the Columbia River, the furthest northwest you can go in Oregon. The last visit of the day was to the Battery Russell, old gun holds for the fort. It was interesting to read that Fort Stevens was actually fired upon by a Japanese sub in 1942, but the fort did not return fire and the sub left the area. patricia pictures (4 pictures)
Wednesday, August 8 I said goodbye to Oregon as I headed on the bridge over the Columbia River and hello to Washington. I went to Cape Disappointment (the furthest southwest in Washington) and visited the North Head Lighthouse and took the 1.5 mile walk to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Then it was a bit of driving north, with a sidetrip to the area of the town of Ocean Shores (it was simply a long sandy beach area, nothing scenic, so I didn't stop at the beach, but I did use a free wifi (online) spot in town). I got a campsite in the Kalaloch area of Olympic National Park and went ahead and headed up to the Hoh Rain Forest. I took a couple of short hikes through the hairy trees - okay, it's really moss, but it looks like they are covered in hair. It's a temperate rain forest where moss is everywhere. I went back to the Kalaloch area and walked Ruby Beach. I found a really neat looking piece of driftwood that I kept (and I'm not a driftwood collector) and only picked up a couple of rocks. I went back to the campsite area and surf walked for a short bit on the nearby beach and timed it perfect as there was a beautiful sunset between a pair of cloud banks (10 minutes later and I would have missed it). Thursday, August 9 I spent a good hour and a half simply walking the pretty 4th Beach area of Kalaloch (and restarted my mantra of "No more rocks!", which was ignored). I had a little startle at one end of the beach when I looked left and saw an eye staring back at me - there was a dead small shark washed up on the rocks. I moved my original plan of visiting the Mora area of the Olympics to later as decided to do the long hike at starting at Ozette Lake (a bit of a drive out of the way). It was a triangle hike with 2 mostly boardwalk trails heading out to the shore with a 3 mile hike along the shore in between for a total of 9.3 miles. Notice I used the word "shore". I thought it would be a nice, shoes-off, sandy beach to walk, but it ended up being a rocky shore that took a lot of effort to cross and my hiking shoes stayed on. I did see a pair of young deer grazing at a rock mound near the shore and there were a number of sea lions snoozing on the rocks off the shore - some of them looked really funny as they would be on a very small rock with their tails sticking up in the air to keep them out of the water. I again added to my rock collection and spent about 5 hours on that hike. Despite the time, I decided to head out to Cape Flattery, the furtherest northwest you can go in the continental US, to do a short hike there to the viewpoint. I had done that once before, but it was very foggy when I was there last. This time, it was partly cloudy with some sun (along the coast - inland was purely overcast and you couldn't see the Olympic Mountains) and I had some pretty views off the coast, including a great one of Tatoosh Island and the old lighthouse on it. I took a look at some birds in the area and got excited when I saw one with a black body, white head, and orange beak. I pulled out my binoculars and, sure enough, it was a tuffed puffin! And then I saw another one. And another one. So I saw 3 different puffins there [jealous, Mom?]. I headed back to the town of Forks area and got a campsite (late, at 8 pm) at Bogachiel State Park, opting for that place instead of going directly to Mora as Bogachiel has showers and Mora does not. patricia pictures (7 pictures)
Friday, August 10 After getting online for a little bit, I headed over to the La Push/Mora coastal area (with a large river between the two). I took the 1.4 mile hike through the trees to the pretty Third Beach and spent quite a bit of time surf walking the entire length of the beach and reading some and enjoying the area. I got back to my car and continued towards La Push and was surprised to see a sign for Second Beach and lots of cars parked there - my map said the trail was closed, but obviously it was not. So I took the .8 mile hike out to the larger beach - about 1.5 miles long - and again had a great time at the beach. There were a number of large sea rocks just of the coast that made the setting even more scenic. I did surf walk the entire length of the beach and read some more. With those 2 beaches, I was quite happy that I had rearranged my plans and saved them for last as this was to be my last day at the Pacific Ocean. I made a quick stop at La Push and First Beach (not impressive) and then headed inland and then back out to the coast on the Mora side of the river to Rialto Beach. There were (small) rocks along the beach, but I was still able to surf walk (and add to my rock collection) and walked the length of the beach 1.5 miles to Hole-in-the-Wall - a sea arch that I was able to walk through as the tide was lower. It was another pleasant stop, but I needed to start heading back and heading inland. I told myself that if I found a pretty large rock, I could take it home - and, of course, I did find a neat one and carried it over a mile back to the car (the good news was that meant I was unable to pick up more rocks on the way back - well, I did find one pretty different one that I had to pick up). So I stood in the surf looking out at the ocean as the water lapped at my feet for a little bit before I was able to pull myself away and say goodbye to the Pacific for now. I headed inland through Olympic National Park and set up camp at Fairholme campground (didn't have a problem getting a site) and then headed up to the semi-nearby Sol Duc area and took a short hike up to a waterfall there before calling it a night. Saturday, August 11 I made the long drive around the peninsula and through Tacoma to Seattle, where I stopped and spent a few hours taking care of car issues (dead headlight, the service department saw a cracked engine belt so that was replaced (ouch), free rotate tires). Then the rest of the day was spent with my aunt in Everett and visiting my grandma. So, absolutely no hiking was done this day, the first time since July 19 I didn't do any hiking. Sunday, August 12 It was another day of pure visiting and again no hiking was done (that will change with a couple of short hikes on Monday in the Cascades). I also worked on getting my computer to read my new digit picture card (still working on it right now, grumble). patricia pictures (3 pictures)
Monday, August 13 My Aunt Geri and I headed up and east into the Northern Cascades for a long drive and a couple of short hikes. After about 3 hours, we reached the trailhead for Blue Lake. It was just 2.2 miles to the lake, but the trail gained 1100 feet, but surprisingly it wasn't a hard climb as the grade wasn't really steep. At the end was a beautiful mountain lake in a wonderful setting - green trees along one side with some distance granite peaks slightly visible from above and scree slopes topped by mountain peaks with some snow on another side. I feet soaked and we had lunch there. We didn't stay too long as we had another spot that I wanted to visit. We went back west a few miles and hit the Rainy Lake Trail. I had done this short (just a mile to the lake) hike with my parents and Grandma a number of years ago. It was still a nice lake (larger than Blue Lake), but not as impressive after just having come from Blue Lake. Due to time constraints (wanted to visit my grandma in the early evening), I didn't do the 2 mile hike to Lake Ann (which starts from the Rainy Lake trailhead) but moved that to today (Wednesday) and will do that and a longer loop that goes by that lake and above Rainy Lake today before heading to Canada. Tuesday, August 14 Well, I suckered (cough) talked my aunt into joining me on my planned hike from Obstruction Point in the Olympic Mountains. After another long drive, including the last 8 miles on a narrow dirt road high in the Olympics (by the way, Dad, it is extremely pretty there and you'll have to go back next time you visit and have enough gas to do it :) ), we headed out along the ridge for the (total) 9.4 miles, 2000 feet gained hike. The views all around were spectacular. Geri enjoyed looking at the many wild flowers and our progress was slow due to the many stops we made to take pictures of the mountains and (her) flowers. It was a beautiful sunny, but cool, day and I was glad I had moved this hike from Saturday (where it would have also been more crowded). We had a nice little lunch at a spot where we could look west and see Mt Olympus in all its glory and then look east and see more mountains and Mt Baker (tallest peak in the Northern Cascades) in the far distances in all its glory. We then started the steep down (and hated it on the way back). We skipped the side trip to Grand Lake as we could see it from above and headed on to Moose Lake. We took a longer rest at the very pretty Moose Lake and both of us feet soaked and Geri enjoyed watching a little frog hunt for his food. We then headed up to Gladys Lake - Geri didn't quite make it to the lake (tired and knowing we had the long trek back), but did get to see the far end of the valley with the open area beneath Grants Pass. I made a quick, picture taking visit to the lake and then we returned to our spot at Moose Lake and did some more feet soaking and resting. The hike out was long and miserable - it's a really steep up for about 1.5 miles and you can't really stop for more than a pause as the bitting flies will attack (even with bug spray on). We again enjoyed the views along the ridge (once we got there), but of course were not looking around as much as we were ready to be done. The drive back to Everett was even longer as we had to wait a bit for the ferry and then got stuck in extremely slow traffic just a mile from the exit we needed and didn't get home until about 10:30 pm. It was a long day, but the visit to and hike from Obstruction Point was a wonderful and memorable visit. By the way, these will be the last pictures from this trip until I return home as I filled my old digital picture card yesterday and still am unable to read the new card directly with my computer (even after spending several hours trying to get it to work, grumble). I will add some pictures from the rest of the trip to the web site after I return. [All pictures since added.] patricia pictures (5 pictures)
Wednesday, August 15 I returned to the Northern Cascades and Rainy Pass. What a difference 2 days makes - there was a haze in the valley due to a nearby forest fire (not threatening the area I was at). I went on the Maple Pass Loop hike, including a side trip to Lake Ann. It was a pretty lake and I was glad I had not tried to rush up for a quick visit on Monday. But I did not get to visit the lake for very long as the bugs were out and attacking. Back at the loop trail, I continued heading up and reached the Heather Pass area. I took a sidetrip to the viewing area of the other side of the pass and was rewarded with splendid views of Black Peak with the glacial Lake Lewis beneath it. A short side trail took me to an even better view and I could also see the waterfall beneath the lake. I resisted the temptation to go to the lake as it would have been a long and hard hike through a rock field (at least a mile) and that's not what I consider fun hiking. So I returned back to the fun (sarcasm) of heading up the trail. At what I thought would have been the pass turned out to be just more up behind the ridge. Again rests were few and short due to the bugs. I finally reached the pass and looked briefly around before heading down. Don't get me wrong, the views along the trail were wonderful. It's just that the bugs didn't let me enjoy them for very long. The down was steep and almost pure switchbacks the entire way. I did enjoy the views of the glacier in that valley and small lake beneath it. There were only a few views of Rainy Lake from above. I finally reached my car - it was a long 6.5 mile hike - and drove west and then north. I got a campsite at Birch Bay State Park, at the northwest tip of Washington just south of Canada. Thursday, August 16 I got through customs pretty quickly without any bother (took longer the last time I went through) and made the long drive through Vancouver. Hwy 99 makes its way through the city with lots of turns and it's plenty of fun trying to keep an eye out for road signs saying turn here - it reminded me of Hwy 101 through San Francisco. But I managed to catch all the signs and didn't make any detours. Then came the fun with all the road construction between Vancouver and Whistler - the road is 80% under construction. But I finally reached the area I wanted to be at and got a campsite in Alice Lake Provincial Park. There were clouds in the area, but the rain wasn't supposed to start until during the night, so I went to Garibaldi Provincial Park to do the tough hike to Garibaldi Lake, getting a noon start. It was 5.5 miles to the lake, but the trail gained over 2600 feet. After switchbacking forever, I finally reached the small Barrier Lake. I slowed down even further as I couldn't help but just stare at the stunning color of the lake (think Lake Grinnell, for those who have been there). The lake was surrounded by trees without any mountain views above and I continued on without stopping (though going slow). After 3 long hours, I reached Garibaldi Lake. It is a very large glacier fed lake, the same color as Barrier Lake. Above it are massive mountains and large glacier fields. Needless to say, the view was awesome. I walked around the west edge of the lake to the small dock and sat there for a bit and feet soaked for a minute - the water was really cold. I spent about an hour at the lake before heading out. It took 2 hours to get down (and that was going at a quick pace). It was a tough hike, but the reward was worth it. Friday, August 17 I wasted some time in the morning trying to find a wifi spot (failed) and trying to find a gas station (eventually succeeded) in the tourist town of Whistler. It was an overcast day with the mountain peaks in the clouds. I was hoping that the clouds would rise as the day went on, but it didn't appear they would be doing so. That was strike one. Strike two was a planned really hard hike (4.4 miles, 4000 feet up to a mountain lake) that had my body hoping it would get rained out. Strike three was that the access road to the trailhead was a gravel road and I decided that I didn't want to take my car up that and decided to toss the hike (most of my patience went away with the frustrations in Whistler). My body celebrated. So I started the long drive to the Canadian Rockies, heading up Hwy 99 in the mountains. About 60 miles north of Whistler, I looked to the left after passing a park sign and saw granite peaks covered with glaciers. I did a quick u-turn and pulled into the parking lot for Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. The info sign showed a trail going a short distance to the lower lake and then continuing on for about 3.3 miles to the middle and upper lakes. My body groaned and I put my hiking shoes on. The lower lake was a pretty, glacial blue, tree surrounded lake with glacier covered mountain high above. The mild hike to that lake was the only thing gentle about the trail. From there on, the trail went up, up, up and consisted of lots of rocks and roots. There was a long rock field that had me going at a snails pace and then the next good bit was lots of steep ups on the rocks and roots - needless to say, it was also slow going on the way back. But the middle lake was wonderful with closer views of the looming peaks and glaciers above as well as the sound of the inlet stream. The upper lake was less than a mile ahead (and more rocky, rooty up). It was the largest of the three lakes and the large Matter Glacier was right above it with the glacial melt forming a large waterfall that fed the lake. From the lake, I could see 5 separate mountain peaks and 3 glaciers. I didn't do any feet soaking at the lake as there weren't any good lakeside resting spots (might have been at the lake campground at the top of the lake, but I didn't go there as the views wouldn't include the peaks above) and I knew the water would be really cold. It did drizzle on me a couple of times during the hike, but it never really rained and stayed mostly dry and the clouds were not heavy on the peaks. I eventually made it back to my car and continued heading north. I stopped at a campground along Hwy 99, but elected not to stay there as I didn't really feel like staying at a place that didn't have flush toilets. So with the next campground that did have flush toilets being too far away (an estimate 8:30 arrival and no guarantee of having any available spots), I opted to splurge and am in a hotel in Kamloops (and also gives me a chance to get online). So next up is the Canadian Rockies and hopefully some good hikes there. patricia pictures (9 pictures)
Saturday, August 18 I continued heading east and reached Glacier National Park (Canada) and got a campsite there. I went back to the nearby Mt. Revelstoke park and took the drive up the mountain to the top. From there I headed out on a hike to two mountain lakes. Miller Lake was a pretty lake with a nice backdrop. I then visited Eva Lake and was not impressed. I was going to hike at least to Jade Pass, overlooking Jade Lakes (would have been a bit of down to get to the lakes and I had a late start to the hiking), but when I had turned around from Eva Lake, I noticed the dark clouds in the area and decided it would be best to just head back to the car. A few people zoomed passed me trying to get back before the rain started, but I continued at my usual pace. When the rain did start, I simply pulled out my rain poncho and continued on - it rained most of the rest of the hike back. On the drive back to my campsite, there was a stunning rainbow that had me pulling off the road every few miles to look at it and take a picture - so the rainy afternoon wasn't all bad. Sunday, August 19 I stopped at Rogers Pass in Glacier and waited a bit, hoping the clouds would let up some so I could see the peaks - they didn't and I eventually continued my drive to Lake Louise (a few hours away). It rained the entire drive and was raining in the Louise area. I got a campsite there and then went to Canmore and did some grocery shopping and got some pizza (dinner for the next few nights). It was still raining. I went to the pretty Moraine Lake and did a little bit of walking around, including doing the short Rockpile hike, despite the drizzle. The peaks above the lake were mostly in the clouds, so the view wasn't as stunning as usual. With the rain, it was an early night of reading in the car. The rain wasn't a surprise - I had looked at the forecast on Wednesday (when I was at the hotel in Kamloops) and knew it was likely to rain in the Lake Louise area over the next week. Add the weather to the fact that there were bear restrictions on the two trails I had wanted to do in the area (minimum number of people needed to be allowed to hike a trail due to bears in the area), I knew I wouldn't be hiking much in that area. Monday, August 20 It was still cloudy in the morning, but the clouds were a little higher and I could actually see some of the peaks, so I made short visits to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. I again did the Rockpile hike (where you get the best view of the lake), but got cold and made a quick return to my car - the temperature was a mere 38 degrees, brrrr. With the weather and trail issues in the area, I had decided to head on east and south to Waterton Lakes National Park - I originally didn't plan on spending any time in that park, but changed my plans and decided to spend two days and do a couple of hikes. I arrived at the park around 1 pm and got a campsite. It was still overcast and was also windy with bits of drizzle. I waited a little bit and then put my hiking gear on and did the hike up to Bertha Lake. Hiking up a valley, I heard some rustling noise across the way and then saw a black bear stick her head up. It was across the creek and a safe distance, so I was able to enjoy the sight (instead of being concerned). She moved up the creek some and I then saw her cub (yes, I got good pictures). After watching them for a bit, I continued heading up. It was a good bit of up (1000 feet gained in about 1.5 miles) from that spot to the lake. Along the way, it changed from drizzle to rain and I found a dry spot under a tree to wait it out. Sure enough, the rain soon stopped - and the sun even appeared, but only for a short bit (I managed to do the hike without my rain poncho and had a plastic bag over my camera). The lake was pretty, but I wasn't able to enjoy it for very long as it was too cold at the lake with the wind blowing. The hike back was uneventful as the bears had moved on. I went to a park program that evening and listened to a member of the Blackfeet tribe tell some tales that they use to instruct their children. Tuesday, August 21 It was another overcast day in the mountains. On the drive to the area I was going to do a hike, I looked to the left and saw a rainbow - my 4th straight day of seeing a rainbow (though none as impressive as the 1st day). It was cool in the Cameron Lake area, so I wasted some time hoping it would warm up some. Eventually I decided to go on my hike, putting on my sweatpants and bringing along my warmer jacket (in addition to having on a t-shirt and light long sleeve shirt). I headed up the trail and was going to hit two separate lakes from the main trail - one a hard hike and one an easy hike. The hard hike was a steep up with no switchbacks that had me huffing and puffing for a while. The trail calmed down after 1/2 mile and about a mile later I reached Forum Lake. The lake wasn't that impressive, but had a sheer cliff face backdrop that was impressive. But it was cold and windy and I didn't stay long. Back at the main trail, I continued on a short bit and then took a left for the easy hike up to Wall Lake, a lake I visited last year. The lake was as pretty as I remembered, similar to Forum Lake with the sheer backdrop but with more trees surrounding it. I made my way around the lake and it started drizzling. It was drizzling off and on and I reached a spot I like at the top of the lake and made a pseudo-tent with a boulder and my hiking stick and my rain poncho as I wanted to visit the lake for a bit instead of rushing back down. So I stayed a bit and enjoyed the views and even saw a mountain goat high above. Back on the main trail, it had stopped drizzling and I was even able to take off my jacket and sweatpants for the hike back. The day had warmed up to a brisk 54 degrees. So I headed out of the park to a nearby private campsite where they have internet access. I needed to get online as I'm heading to Glacier National Park (Montana) for about a week and I know I won't have online access while in that beautiful park. The weather is supposed to be beautiful over the next several days in Glacier, so it will be a nice getting out of the rain. patricia pictures (11 pictures)
Wednesday, August 22 I headed down south and got a campsite in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park and then it was hiking gear on and up to my second favorite spot in Glacier. It was a partly cloudy day, but more partly sunny for the valley I was in and I didn't get rained on (yeah). The hike was as pretty as always with views up the valley and up another valley and views down on the stunning Grinnell Lake. And then the destination is just wonderful - a large glacial lake with many icebergs with a glacier to the left and a glacier above (and 3 waterfalls from that glacier) and granite peaks above. Needless to say, I took a lot of pictures, even though it was my fourth time there. That was my day, and I was happy. Thursday, August 23 I was hoping that I would again be lucky and have some sun in my valley as I headed up to Iceberg Lake and also planned on doing the Ptarmigan Tunnel hike (for a Y shaped hike as the two trails shared the same start). I was teased with bits of blue sky early on in the hike, but that didn't last long. As I was heading towards Iceberg Lake I had my highlight of the day as there was a moose near the trail (of course I have pictures) - I think it is only the second time I've seen a moose on a hike. My day went down hill from there as while I was watching him it started raining (not drizzling). I put my rain gear on, but was still pretty cold. I reached the lake and was a little disappointed that there were no icebergs in the lake (there usually are even this late in the summer) and shivered sitting lakeside bunched up under my rain poncho. I stayed as long as I could stand the cold and then headed back, debating whether or not to do the other hike or just go back and warm up in my car. Of course, about 10 minutes after I left the lake it stopped raining. As I got close to the Ptarmigan junction, I had decided to go ahead and do that hike - I could feel my fingers again (okay, that's an exaggeration as I didn't get quite that cold) and figured I would warm up more with the climb that occurs at the start of that junction. While I was heading up, a trio coming down told me that there was a goat carcass on the trail going up to the tunnel. I was surprised as usually when there is a carcass the rangers close the trail completely. I passed a large group of 8 people and they said they were going up to the tunnel. I decided to play it by ear - if there were any bears in the trail area, I would not go up. If it was clear, I would latch on to that group to head up (safety in numbers) (the view from the other side of the tunnel is the highlight of the hike, the lake is nothing exciting). I arrived at the lake area well before they did and went lakeside and feet soaked for a bit. Two guys who were fishing at the lake told me that they had seen a bear and two cubs and a male grizzly bear that had walked over to the area above the trail where we were - but not up the tunnel trail. Since there were no visible bears in the area and the tunnel trail was clear (it's an open scree slope), and joined the group and we headed up. The carcass was nasty looking, but didn't look like a recent death and maybe that explained why there weren't any bears around. So I got to see the wonderful views from the other side of the tunnel while more rain clouds moved in. I actually waited in the tunnel while a down pour occurred and then got down the scree slope without getting rained on - though it did rain off and on the rest of the hike out. About 1/2 mile from the Iceberg Lake junction, I encountered a ranger heading up and asked him if he was going to check out the carcass. He replied that, no, he was closing the trail. There was a rope barrier at the junction that I had to slip under and, thus, I was one of the last people to hike that trail for a while. After taking a hot shower, I gave myself a treat with a real meal at the Italian Restaurant in the area (and, no, I did not order pizza). Friday, August 24 There was a heavy fog in the morning, but it was supposed to be a pretty day. I headed over from Many Glacier and got a campsite at Rising Sun, on the east side of the Going-to-the-Sun road. I was pleased as punch to start using the new free shuttle the park service now provides for the road and headed up to Logans Pass. It was sunny and beautiful, though a bit cool (but I had a t-shirt, a light long sleeve shirt, and my warmer jacket with me). Up for this day was a long hike along the Highline Trail (aka the Garden Wall). There was a small herd of bighorn sheep early on the trail. The scenic views all along the hike were wonderful. I had hiked the Highline trail before, but didn't do the sidetrip up to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook. This time I was going to do that. I reached the junction and was happy to see it was only .6 miles to the overlook. "Only" turned out to be a huff- and-puff torture up through the open slope that had me stopping (not just pausing) every few minutes. But then I got to the top. The view was absolutely stunning. On the way up I felt that nothing could be worth all that effort, but the reward was even better than the effort. I was looking down on the two glaciers (there are now an upper glacier and a lower glacier), the large glacial lake that I've visited on the hike from Many Glacier, and several small glacier lakes on the upper shelf, including one that was a sapphire blue. Easily the highlight of my visit to Glacier. I took The Loop trail for the back portion of the hike and was disappointed as there were not any good views and most of it was through burned out forest from the fires of 2003. I then took the shuttle back. Saturday, August 25 For this day, I was actually doing a hike I haven't done before. I was doing the Siyeh Pass loop hike, starting at Siyeh Bend and ending at Sunrift Gorge. The views were great and I was blown away - but that was because the wind was ridiculous. Oh my gosh, the wind was trying to blow me off the mountain side as I slowly made my way up the pass. And if that wasn't bad enough, the trail fooled me and the pass wasn't where I thought it was - I had a lot further up to go. But the views were pretty and I made it up without getting blown over. On the other side of the pass, it was still windy, but not quite as bad (though at lower points of the hike there were some strong gusts). Both sides of the pass had granite peaks with glaciers in the upper areas, but the waterfalls on the east side of the Going-to-the-Sun Mountain were a sight to see. Along the way down (still high up), I was startled by a bighorn sheep on the trail. He quickly trotted down and joined his family of about 8, and I got some good pictures. After a long, windy (as in blowing, not twisting) way, I finally reached the creek. It was down a ways from the waterfalls, but held its own charm as the water would cascade down the red rock. I found a nice spot there and rested for a bit. Good thing I did as it was still a ways to go. The trail went away from the creek a short ways later as was uneventful the rest of the way. So if doing that 10.6 mile hike with 1900 feet gained wasn't enough, I took the shuttle to Logans Pass and did the 1.5 mile hike up to the Hidden Lake overlook. The mountain goats were out, as usual, and I even got some pictures of one of the goats licking the top of the rails at the overlook - they are quite used to people being around. So I went to my spot with a pretty view down on the lake and read for a little while before heading back down and calling it a day. Sunday, August 26 So I saved the best for last. The weather was iffy, but I hoped it would stay pleasant or at least not rain as I headed up to Gunsight Lake. My heart was wanting to do the whole Gunsight Pass-Sperry Chalet-Lake McDonald monster hike (over 20 miles), but my mind and body were arguing against it. The weather would actually be the key for my mind and body winning. It didn't rain, but was overcast the entire way to the lake, and the weather was supposed to be worse on the west side of the park. I spent a little time at the lake (it was windy) and then headed up the pass (part of my original plan). I decided to turn around halfway up (with a good view all around) as I knew if I got to the pass I would end up going down (and up and down as there is another pass to cross) to Lake McDonald - this way the temptation wasn't there. So I enjoyed my views from above and returned the lake for a longer visit. I took my time on the hike back and only got drizzled on for two short bits. With the shuttle system, I opted to take a different hike out instead of the last mile up to the road and I headed on the trail for 3 miles to Sun Point - I should have just gone up as that trail wasn't anything exciting and there weren't really any good views. With that extra bit, it ended up being a 17 miles hike (but, as my head tells my heart, it was only about 1000 feet gained and lost where as the other hike would have been around 3000 feet gained and 5000 feet lost). patricia pictures (18 pictures)
Monday, August 27 I had one last place to visit before leaving Glacier National Park. Heading south, I made the side trip to the Two Medicine area and did the short walk to Running Eagle Falls and had breakfast next to the pretty falls. The falls actually come out of a hole in the mountain and is very unique (and one of my 5 favorite places in Glacier). So then it was the long drive to Yellowstone - made even longer since the route I choose had a 30 minute construction delay. But the information center in West Yellowstone had free wifi and I was able to log on and catchup everyone with my adventures in Glacier as well as go through 5 days worth of mostly junk email and a handful of real emails and catchup with the goings on in the NBA. That only took about 2 hours. So I finally headed into Yellowstone about 7:30 pm and a short ways into the park there were a number of cars pulled off on the side of the road and a group of people looking to the left. I decided to stop and join them and see what all the excitement was. So I grabbed my camera, crossed the road, and looked. My eyes grew wide and I got all excited and rushed back to my car to grab my binoculars. There across the river sitting high in a dead tree was a bald eagle - the first time I've seen a mature bald eagle in the wild. And I've got about 20 pictures of him to prove it. I had a grin on my face for the next hour - the highlight of my trip. After spending a good amount of time watching him basically do nothing, I continued heading east into the park and decided it would be best to stop at the first campground (Madison) as it would be dark by the time I would reach any other campgrounds. Tuesday, August 28 I was up early, as usual, and was heading towards Canyon Village. There was some pretty pink hues in the steam (yes, steam) from the sunrise and I pulled over to get a picture. As I was pulling over, I noticed a buffalo near the side of the road and got a picture of him too. A little bit later on the road, I had to slow down to a stop as there was another buffalo walking down the middle of the road. He casually walked towards the left side of the road so I could pass - only in Yellowstone can you pass a buffalo like you were passing a car. I elected to stop at Artists Paintpots and do a less than a mile walk to, around, and back from the thermal area. It wasn't that exciting of an area, but wetted my appetite to return to the pretty Firehole Lake Drive. So I eventually reached the Canyon area, the so called Grand Canyon of Yellowstone that contains two large waterfalls. I stopped at all the overlooks and took the three hikes to the falls (long down to the bottom of the Lower Falls, long down to the top of the Lower Falls, and short down to the top of the Upper Falls - the Lower Falls is the more impressive of the two falls). I then headed out to the other side of the canyon to the Uncle Toms area (with Artist Point being closed as they are re-doing that area) and had another surprise as there was a herd of buffalo in the parking area - as in around 30 buffalo. I watched them for a bit, making sure to keep a safe distance, and even got to see a couple of the males butting heads. I couldn't get to the viewpoint of the Upper Falls as there were buffalo in the way, but I headed out and down to the viewpoint for the Lower Falls - Uncle Toms trail. Tom Richardson (if I recall correctly) used to do tours there with rock steps and rope ladders. Now it is a metal staircase with 350 steps - lots of fun going up. As impressive as the falls were, I was captivated by the beautiful rainbow formed in the mist. By the time I got to the Upper Falls view area, the buffalo were gone but a different herd had taken their place and I didn't stay long (a large tour group had arrived). During my visit to the falls, I had a change in plans. I had decided to spend a good chunk of the day in Yellowstone instead of rushing down to the Tetons and doing a hike there (moved the hike to a different day). So I satisfied my itch and headed over to the Firehole Lake Drive and stopped at the pretty thermal areas along that road. When I stopped at the Great Fountain Geyser, someone told me that it should erupt in less than an hour. So, with no rush, I got my book and sat and waited. And waited. And waited. About 1:15 later, it finally did erupt (after a few false starts of bubblings that stopped) and it was impressive as it spouted water (and steam) high into the air in spurts for over 30 minutes - I think I watched for 20 minutes before leaving. As I was pulling into the next stop of a large white mound that contained another geyser, that geyser (White Dome Geyser) erupted - it wasn't a very long eruption, but was pretty. So then I headed to the nearby Fountain Paintpot area, another pretty thermal area, and walked the boardwalks around there looking at the thermal springs with their stunning blue color, the bubbling mud pools, and some more geyers - Spasm Geyser was erupting while I was there and was true to it's name (spouts of water, pause, spouts of water, pause, ...). I was ready to head on out and decided to skip the usual stop at Old Faithful (I have been a couple of times) as I was sick of the sulfer smell, probably would have to wait a bit for that eruption, and had enough of large groups of tourists. So I headed to the Grand Tetons. I got a campsite for the next 3 nights at Colter Bay (Jenny Lake was already full for the night and Colter Bay is the only campground with showers - even though they are a ridiculous $3.50). It was still kind of early, so I headed over to String Lake and did the mile level walk to Leigh Lake and feet soaked for a while and had dinner there before calling it a day. Wednesday, August 29 I had decided during my drive to Yellowstone to add a day to my visit to the Tetons to do a repeat of the long loop hike of Holly Lake - the Divide - Lake Solitude. A little 20.4 mile jaunt with 3,825 feet gained to reach the divide. I started at 7:45 am with the pretty walk along String Lake, which was still in the morning for great reflection pictures of the peaks. Then came the long hike up the pretty Paintbrush Canyon (no paintbrush flowers at this time of year, but also no bugs). At one point I heard rustling off to the side and saw large antlers of a moose in the bush. I kept my distance and made some noise, letting him know I was there. He gave a snort and then moved closer to the creek and further from the trail (and all I could see of him was the antlers), so I was able to pass safely. I made it to the pretty Holly Lake without further incident and spent some time feet soaking, enjoying the views, and reading. I found out later from a trio that were hiking at the same time I was that shortly after I left, a bear came rumbling down the slope right to the area where I had been (and the trio quickly left the area), so my timing was very good. I huffed and puffed my way up to the divide, enjoying the views with my many pauses, and couldn't help but let out a whoop of joy and accomplishment when I finally reached the divide. A short ways from the divide was a large snow patch with a small pond at one end and I found a nice resting spot near the pond and stayed for a while (no feet soaking as I'm sure the water was ice cold). And then I headed down, down, down the other side and reached Lake Solitude. The last time I was there, I didn't really care for the lake, but this time I liked it. Unlike the last time, I wasn't as dead tired and there were only a few people at the lake. So I stayed there for a while and again feet soaked and read. Being in the afternoon, I had some good views of the mountain peaks while heading down Cascade Canyon. The last 3 miles were uneventful and I had the attitude of 'just get it over'. I reached my car around 7:15 pm. I then headed back to the campground and took my expensive, but needed, shower. Thursday, August 30 There were clouds in the morning that had me concerned about the weather. Up for this day was a hike to Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes, a little 4.8 mile, almost 3000 feet gained, outing. So I headed up, up, and up. Right before the long switchback section, a fellow hiker mentioned the number of switchbacks - something I didn't want to know, but once I did I couldn't help but keep track of the number. His number of 9 long switchbacks (as in distance between the switchbacks) was correct, but his mention of 24 total switchbacks was thankfully off as there were only 8 short (but still up) switchbacks after the 9. I reached the pretty Surprise Lake, but didn't stay as long as I had hoped to as it was overcast and breezy and it was a little too cold for simply sitting lakeside (and I had left my jacket in the car, figuring it would again warm up into the 70s). So I headed up to Amphitheater Lake, a larger lake with the Cathedrals (as the Tetons' biggest peaks are called) looming above. It wasn't breezy there and I sat lakeside for a while. I didn't feet soak as some darker clouds were in the area and I was concerned about rain - only one very brief drizzle was the only moisture that occurred. Some of the clouds left and there was actually some blue sky over the Cathedrals. I headed back down to Surprise Lake (which I prefer with my fondness for smaller lakes) and the breeze was gone and I feet soaked for a bit and stayed for well over an hour and finished the book I was reading. On the way back down, I decided to take the sidetrip up Granite Canyon (adding 2 miles and some more elevation to my day). It was pretty, but I wished I hadn't bothered going to the end of the trail as the best view was actually the first view up the canyon from the trail. On the drive back, I had to stop my car as a black bear poked his head out of the brush and then, seeing I had stopped, made a quick dash across the road. I again paid the exorbitant fee for a shower. patricia pictures (14 pictures)
Friday, August 31 It was a good day for driving as there was a heavy cloud layer over the mountains. And it was a long day of driving of about 10 hours to reach Rocky Mountain National Park. My fear of being in the park for Labor Day Weekend was founded as the campgrounds were fairly full, but I did manage to get a campsite for Friday night (but they were expected to be full on Saturday). I then headed over to the Longs Peak area hoping to be able to make arrangements for Saturday night as I planned on starting the Longs Peak climb at the recommended 2 am on Sunday morning. Thanks to a kindly ranger, my Saturday night concerns were taken care of. After grocery shopping (needed a big bottle of Gatorade for Sunday's hike), I spent some time trying to find a place to get online and then being online for a while. I did see a fox cross the road and lots of elk in Estes Park. That was my day - no hiking done this day. Saturday, September 1 I headed over to the Bear Lake area of the park, where I would spend most of the day. I first took the short (only 1.1 miles) hike up to Dream Lake, my favorite in the park, and the additional .7 miles ahead to Emerald Lake. It was an overcast morning and I was concerned it was going to rain most of the day - it actually never did even drizzle and was only partly cloudy in the afternoon. After visiting Emerald Lake, I returned to Dream Lake and stayed there a little while enjoying the pretty lake. I returned back to Bear Lake and then started my big hike of the day - a 9 mile half loop. I took my time and didn't rush the hike - I had done this hike many years before. I spent some time at the precious Lake Helene, with the granite peaks above. The rest of the hike was down hill. I stopped at Odessa Lake (not as pretty as Lake Helene) and feet soaked and read a book for a while. Then it was on to the unimpressive Fern Lake (and I felt sorry for those who had hiked the 5 miles up from the trailhead just to visit that uneventful lake). The 5 miles hike out was also uneventful (though I stopped and talked hiking for a length of time with two different couples along the way out). From the Fern Lake trailhead, I took the shuttle back to the Bear Lake area, arriving around 5 pm. I decided to head back up to Dream Lake for another visit. There were a number of people fishing at the lake, but I found a nice spot and feet soaked and read for around 45 minutes. I took part of the scenic drive along the Trail Ridge Road before heading to the Longs Peak area and my short night. Sunday, September 2 After a restless about 5 hours of sleep, I woke up at 2:11 am (with the alarm set for 2:15 am). I started the trip with a hard hike (okay, stupid hike - the Grand Canyon down-and-up in a day) so it was only appropriate to end the trip with a hard hike. Up for this day was a hike up Longs Peak, the tallest (14,259) in Rocky Mountain National Park. My goal was actually not the peak, but a geological feature about a mile from the top called the Keyhole. I had read a couple of hike reports and didn't know if my acrophobia could handle the last two sections of the hike, so I'd play it by ear and see how I felt about continuing once I reached the Keyhole. So the up, up, up started with a headlamp hike (or necklamp as I wear it like a neckless instead of strapped to my forehead) with the first 2 miles going up through the trees. There were some clouds in the sky, but I did get to see some stars and the half-moon along the way (even saw the constellation Orion later in the hike, my favorite group of stars). Once I was above the tree line, it was amazing watching the string of lights heading up the trail - there were lots and lots of people on the trail this morning, being a Sunday on a holiday weekend. I was towards the front of the pack with my early start and steady pace, so the crowds weren't too heavy where I was at (though the same people kept passing me and I kept passing them as we'd take breaks). It was still dark when I rounded the bend behind Mt Lady Washington, so I was a little disappointed in not having alpenglow on the frontside of the peaks (I had actually slowed down at one point to try to get sunrise before I rounded the bend, but changed my mind once I saw all the lights heading up and decided it would be better to stay in ahead of most of the crowds). So I continued heading up the backside along the rocky trail and it finally started getting lighter and about 30 minutes later I was able to turn off my headlamp. As I reached the campground right before the Boulder Field, I was enthusiastically surprised to see the sunlight hitting Longs Peak and the Keyhole with the alpenglow (lots of pictures taken) - alpenglow sometimes occurs when the first sunlight hits mountain features and generally paints them a shade of orange and it only lasts about 15 minutes. The view with alpenglow was stunning. It did distract for a little while from the "I got to go up there???" aspect of the hike through the rock field with a steep up to the Keyhole (they actually call it a boulder field, but most of the rocks weren't what I'd consider boulders, more of large rocks). And it was a long, tough up over the rocks for 1/2 mile to the Keyhole, with a very tough up the last short bit where using the hands was needed to get up. The Keyhole actually looks like a keyhole in that it is a jagged dip in the ridge that looks like a Z and backwards Z put together. The trail goes through the Keyhole and continues on up the other side. I reached the Keyhole and enjoyed the spectacular views down on the otherside of the Glacier Gorge valley with a number of mountain lakes well below me. I took one look to the left (where the "trail" went) and said, "No fricken way!". So I was accurate and the Keyhole was my destination. The way continued along a rock ledge with Bullseye paint marking the way and then the last 1/2 mile (called the Homestretch) was a steep up a loose rock slope that I knew there was no way I'd make it back down - most people sit on the rear and use their arms and legs to slowly make their way down. But the Keyhole was a worthy destination and the views were worth the 6.5 mile, 3,750 feet gained hike (the Keyhole is at 13,160 feet). After enjoying the views for a while, next up was the fun part of trying to figure out how to get down (and wondering how the heck I got up there). It was very slow going for the first short bit - one person heading up said, "And they say this is not technical." And another responded, "They say this is as non-technical as you can get before they call it technical." (Technical is where it is no longer simply a trail and is considered mountain climbing.) But I eventually made it back to the campground and continued heading down, in no rush and stopping at times to take longer breaks. Along the way, someone said, "Good morning." And my response was, "Is it still morning?", but it was only 9:30 am (but I had been hiking for 7 hours). So I enjoyed the views that I could not see on the way up. Since I didn't make it to the peak (which, by the way, is more an accomplishment than a stunning view as the peak is a large area about the size of a football field), I decided to take the sidetrip to Chasm Lake (which I had hiked to before). I actually like the valley right before the lake more than the lake and stopped there before and after visiting the lake. I, of course, feet soaked at the lake. There is another rock field climb right before the lake and I had my only tumble of the day near the bottom of that area on the way down (nothing injured). The clouds had rolled in and it did drizzle a little bit on the hike out. There was thunder in the distance as I finished the hike and the prediction of afternoon thunderstorms was correct (the reason for the early starts to the hike is that they'd like everyone to be off the peak by noon due to the threat of lightning). So I finished my hike at 1:45 pm. I dropped some cookies off at the ranger station as thanks for the ranger's kindness in bending the rules slightly that allowed me to do this hike and then started the long drive home and stopped in Colby, Kansas when it got dark. Monday, September 3 So on day 49 it was simply the long drive home, over 11 hours before I reached Dallas (and, guess what, it was raining again). So that's my little 7 week trip. I put over 9,500 miles on my car, went through 13 different states and 2 Canadian providences, and took over 1,500 pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras). Out of the 49 days, only 6 days had absolutely no hiking (1st driving day, drive to Reno, 2 family visit days in Seattle (and car repair), drive to Rockies, drive home) and 3 had only short hikes (2 rainy days in Lake Louise, Running Eagle Falls 1/2 mile hike and drive to Yellowstone). My car was my home for all but 8 nights (hotels in Reno, Arcata, Kamloops, and Colby and 4 nights at my Aunt Geri's in Everett). Hope you enjoyed the trip reports. Special thanks to my Aunt Geri for hosting me during my visit to Everett and being a good sport on the too hard hike in the Olympics. And special thanks to the Ocean Shores Library (Washington), Forks Visitor Center (Washington), and West Yellowstone Visitor Center for offering free wifi that allowed me to get online without a hassle or cost. patricia pictures (7 pictures)