Sunday hike: Indian Island

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After an afternoon prowl through Port Gamble, we tramped around the Olympic Peninsula’s Indian Island, picking ripe blackberries and picking our way along the shoreline. There are apple trees, but you have to either be a giant or bring quite a ladder to reach what’s left by now.

Don’t the little unripe drupelets look like green eggs in a nest?

My favorite tree, Pacific Madrone, or arbutus menziesii.

Sunday hike: Olympic Hot Springs

Olympic Hot Springs , a chain of seven natural pools in the Olympic National Forest, sounded perfect for a day-after-Christmas hike.

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Rivulets and waterfalls everywhere. A snowflake or two, swirling down. Hot springs in the snow? Even lovelier!

As we continued up the trail, a barrage of snowflakes and diminishing light had us second-thinking, though.

Aaand, that was the final crossing which we did not cross. No yaktrax, no flashlights, and an icy, narrow bridge meant that we’ll have to return another day, better prepared. Who knew that skinny-dipping as the snow falls takes such forethought? We met quite a few other hikers who were on their way up to the springs in the snow-thickened dusk. What could be nicer than the exercise of the trail, and afterwards sitting in the warmth as frosty night falls around you?

Camping trip to Crater Lake

I rarely find such sweet concoctions enticing, but I have to show you this:

Gluten-free, dairy-free, absolutely delicious s’mores. The graham crackers are Kinnikinnik’s, regular (but perfectly toasted!) marshmallow, and the chocolate is Green and Black’s Maya Gold (orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla-infused dark chocolate).

We spent the first afternoon and night at Diamond Lake, just a bit north of Crater Lake. Thick with mosquitos but otherwise lovely.

Crater Lake, just as astoundingly blue and beautiful as I remember it. My family went on an Oregon camping trip when I was around 10, visiting Crater Lake among other sites. I’m fairly certain we didn’t go down to the lake, although Cleetwood Cove trail was established in 1960.

I took this shot from the shore of Wizard Island, after being dropped off for a few hours of hiking, lunching, and swimming. (Summer surface temp: 55 degrees, which is exactly the average summer surface temp of Puget Sound waters.) The kiddos all swam in the cold, clear, blue water. S. herself started to take on qualities of the lake by the time she was done swimming (cold, blue, etc.) I was content with dangling my legs and doing a pilates session on the sunny dock–happiness!

Wizard Island is populated with a tame crew of golden-mantled ground squirrels, who are cheeky and very fast. One young one darted in and tried to make off with a banana peel during lunch, while others edged closer and closer, pawing at lunchsacks and chirping for backup when they realized there were crumb-dropping kids in the group.

The boat tour let us see some of the crater formations and lake from different perspectives.

In August, this little waterfall is still snowmelt from the rim of the crater. There are no tributaries into the lake.

Such a beautiful color.

Even though Monday was sunny and warm, Tuesday evening brought lightning, pelting rain, and then ice cube-sized hail. We broke camp during the switch from rain to hail and drove down Mount Mazama in unreal fog, snow, and rain, thunder clapping every few moments. Awe-provoking place.

Kittitas hike

Yesterday we spent some time on the trails that wind above the Cle Elum River, watching eagles and hawks, listening to a bittern’s call, and breathing in more spring pollen than any of us really wanted to.

Here are some close-up glimpses of the mountain in bloom: we’ve got blue anemone or Oregon windflower, scarlet paintbrush, lupines, and other dainty-but-hardy heralds of summer.

Sunday hike: Mount Walker

Mount Walker is the easternmost peak in the Olympics, with an elevation of close to 3,000 ft and a well-maintained trail. On a clear day, the north viewpoint allows a view of Puget Sound and Seattle. We were hoping the sun would finally burn off the heavy cloud cover, but the higher we hiked the thicker the mist, and the bigger the raindrops. Since we were an expanded party we took a vote after lunching (aka No Cessation Without Representation)–and decided to call it a day about halfway to the top.

The mist was quite beautiful, pearlizing every spiderweb and moss basket.

Sunday hike: Green Mountain

Winding up the second-highest peak on the Kitsap peninsula, the trail at Green Mountain State Forest is an easy and beautiful hike. This afternoon we encountered brilliant sun and rushing Gold Creek, and pockets of intricate hoarfrost and ice along the trail.

Some sun for the psyche.

Sunday hike: Grand Forest

After a few days of rain, the mushrooms are ponderous and prolific in the Grand Forest.

Mushroom, Anthropologie style: nice mix of ruffles and gorgeous delicate hue.

I saw a number of these inside-out fellows. They remind me of umbrellas in too stiff a wind, ribs to the sky.

This one is the most intriguing shade of metallic purple. You know, I’m coming around on purple lately.

And this meaty guy thinks he’s a ruffled oyster stranded far from the sea.

Old roses and warm blackberries

Yesterday we hiked the trail around Indian Island. The water is very clear and clean, the blackberries very ripe and ready. There are even some old woodpeckered apple trees with windfall skirts and lots more little apples. We picked some (astringent, tart) and sauced them later (with sugar and cinnamon, mmm).

Sigh, Mount Si

I’ll climb you again another day. We started out about 2pm this afternoon, with beautiful hiking weather (high 60s and overcast skies) and full water bottles.

One member of the posse just wasn’t up to the full climb, so we made it almost to the 2-mile mark before turning around and heading down again. The trail is only 4 miles long, up all the way, and really well-used by the friendliest hikers I’ve ever encountered.

One gentleman coming down as we were just starting out asked me if we were headed to the top with all three kids. “Yep. We’ll see if we make it,” I told him. He laughed gently, the kind of laugh that a gentleman with two hiking poles, Austrian hiking shorts and an Alpenclimber hat gives. “I’ve been on the trail since morning. Good luck!”

We’ll save some of that luck and use it again soon.

I didn’t take any great photos during the hike, but I think the way eyeglasses refract images is cool.

3 hikes in Utah

A moderate one, an easy one, and a fairly strenuous one.

First, Farmington Canyon. We hiked this as part of my family reunion; age span was 6 months to 56 years. I was surprised to find the landscape so green–Utah has gotten some out-of-season rain lately, and the canyons are really gorgeous right now.

Some interesting geology shows up in the boulders along the trail:

Since the trail is creekside, with a pretty little waterfall at one point, we had dragonfly companions.

As you hike back down, you can see the salt flats stretching out in the distance. The view reminded us of a Uzilevsky.

The second hike was a short flight of steps up the side of Big Cottonwood Canyon, undertaken with the goal of having dinner at the picnic table, and one of my favorite spots in the world: Moss Ledge.

On Wednesday, B., a brother-in-law, and I hiked Mt. Timpanogos beginning at the Aspen Grove trailhead. We started at 7 am and returned 7 1/2 hours later–going from sea level to 11,000 feet in a week took my breath away, quite literally. We didn’t quite make the summit because the snow field stretches across the trail near the peak, but we were quite close–and it was spectacular.

Mount Timpanogos as seen from the Aspen Grove trailhead.

Looking back from fairly low on the trail, you can see the Heber Valley and the Uintas. As you climb higher, Deer Creek Reservoir comes into view as well.

Waterfalls you can walk behind!

We got lucky–some of the mountain goats ventured fairly close to us.

Above the tree line, you get rocks and snowfields. But coming back down again, I took time to really notice the wildflowers absolutely bursting with color all over the mountain.