Author: DJHikers

Some days, Rainier looks like it is floating in the sky.

What a perfect day – a Father’s Day – for an exploratory/conditioning hike.  I am calling it that since I was looking for the summit of Greenway Mountain and missed.

I have to settle for 14.4 miles, 3,800 feet elevation gain hike to a peak designated on the map as ‘4302’ and then to Mount Washington.

I was going by an older trip report that said Greenway was ‘about a mile’ past the Y in the Great Wall trail where going right leads to Mount Washington and going left heads into the road that abuts the boundary of the Cedar River Watershed (and its numerous ‘no trespassing’ signs).

At about a mile I found myself near the summit of something kind of big, so I followed the trail around to the north and hit a spot that has to be the perfect place for the 2am planned Perseid-viewing hike… that’s a great find but looking at the track when I got home I see I was short of Greenway.  Oh, well, I will get there next time.

After checking out Point 4302 (a perfect 360-view, very nice and wide and flat summit area, like I say, perfect for Perseid viewing in August) I back-tracked and decided to summit Mt. WA since I was in the neighborhood.  And that’s when I snapped that gorgeous view of Rainier above.

What a day!

This is a typical view south from the road that leads to Greenway.

My route today was as follows:

1. Up Hall Creek Trail to IHT.
2. West to Change Creek trail.
3. Change Creek trail (see views above and below from this trail) to the Pond trail/Mt. WA junction.
4. To Great Wall.
5. South to the most southern trail that is not in the watershed.
6. East on that road to Point 4302.
7. Back along that road to Mt. WA summit.
8. Down Mt. WA trail to IHT.
9. East to Hall Creek trail and back to the car.

A fun hike!

Back on the IHT trail I went though one of the busiest rock-climbing spots in the area.  Just go to YouTube and search for ‘Exit 38’ or ‘Deception Crags’ to see what these intrepid climbers are up to.

Last but not least, the flower situation was acceptable.

If I stopped to snap a photo of every different kind of flower I saw along the way  I would be there all day.  White, yellow, red, blue, purple – really a beautiful day for a hike.

And it was Father’s Day.  I had a smile and a ‘Happy Father’s Day!’ greeting for all the dads I saw hiking with their little ones.  Actually, I saw no one at all until Mt. WA, and then on the trail down it was like downtown Seattle.

Happy F-Day to all.

Link to visualization/stats:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/change-creek-to-near-greenway-mt-wa-summit/#.V2cNEZXls5s

That’s (from l-r) Mark Garrett, Christopher Gronbeck and Jamil Haque on the summit of Mount Kent.

What a hike!  This was an off-trail, bushwhacking rocky scramble.  We were not sure we were near the summit until we were actually on the summit.

We started on the McClellan Butte trail.  McClellan is immediately west of Mount Kent.  You can see Kent from a few points on the McClellan trail but there is no trail to Kent.

Based on Christopher and Jamil’s experience (they summited Kent before, but via a different route) and on maps we have seen in trip reports we found what appeared to be the beginning of a faint trail on the Butte trail just as it turns west, at 4,700 feet.

That “trail” disappeared almost immediately, but we headed down a scree field to an old road.  We took the road for a little ways, then headed up a scree field and bushwhacked through a very thick patch of trees and bushes.  It was slow going.

Along the way we skirted the two Alice Lakes:

With time more or less running out, there we were.  Suddenly, the summit.  After signing the summit register I took a few snaps.  This is a great summit, it is right in the heart of mountain country and has 360-views:

A thousand thanks to Mark, Christopher and Jamil for letting an old man tag along.  No way I would have gotten anywhere near that peak by myself.

I would like to try it again, and I would like to get its two neighbors, the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

Here is a link to a visualization of the hike:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/mount-kent-6-12-2016/#.V16_FpXltD9

Just under 10 hours, 4,674 feet of elevation gain, 13.1 miles.  And that doesn’t count the 3.86 mile pre-hike hike I did along IHT while waiting for the rest of the group to show up.

A fun Sunday.

Solo hike to take revenge on Little Bandera, where my legs pooped out last November (I was hiking again on only one day’s rest for my legs).  I made it this time.

Along the way, just in time for the new ‘Angry Birds’ movie I encountered an enraged grouse.  This bird was literally hopping mad.  It kept fluffing up its wings and loudly emitting its distinctive ‘whoop whoop’.  I wasn’t sure if it would let me by so I approached with caution.

It backed up a few yards then hopped off the trail.  As I passed I could swear I caught some ‘ugly old man’ comments.

Anyway, this is not a long hike.  It was 7.4 miles up and down.  And the first 1.6 miles are fairly mild.  From there, though, and particularly in the last .7 mile, it is up, up, up.

The Little Bandera summit (I didn’t go farther on the trail to Bandera Mountain proper) is not large and you have to maneuver to get the views.  But they are fabulous.

And just below the summit, a great view of Mason Lake:

And that’s one of the last little patches of snow still left up there.  The melt-out is fierce these days.

Sunday I am scheduled to hike with three other guys to Mount Kent, which is across the freeway and a little west of where I was today.

Here is a visualization of the hike:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/bandera-mountain-6-8-2016/#.V1hi45XltD9

4.5 hrs, 7.4 miles, 3K elevation.

I finally made it to Truck Summit.  The normal route is straight up Zig Zag to the old road that leads to the truck, but I really wanted to try to complete the hike Derek and I tried a few months ago on snowshoes.  We did not get very far, thanks to the blow downs but the trail genies have done their magic and everything was just fine.

Hot day and I got on the trail at 5am and beat the worst of the heat.  Plenty of interesting sights along the way:

Just in case anyone is ever looking for Zig Zag from the road at which the trail tops out (about 2700 feet) here is what it looks like from NF9021:

The start of the section that leads to the truck is just across the road from this spot.  Once you get up to about 3,200 feet the trail turns south and you get a long stretch with a very nice western view of the neighborhood:

There is still just a bit of snow on some of the northern faces:

Here is the route on Google Earth, about 11.4 miles, 2,900 feet elevation gain, 5h 45min.  Nice hike and next time I will do it the normal way and go down along NF9021, past where all the shotgun target shooters leave their garbage.

Derek’s knee is still iffy but it hasn’t been hurting him and he thought a nice, easy little hike would be fun so we explored the still not-yet-opened Olallie (bike) trail.  And it worked.  It was fun and Derek’s knee was still just fine at the end.

Even though, on the way back, we clambered up a little ridge that sits just north of the Iron Horse Trail and runs a hundred yards or so parallel to the trail.  It is fun just to get up to the top and scramble around a little.

This is taken from the top of the ridge looking east, the IHT just below on the right.

Also, we found an interesting fallen tree just off the Olallie trail.  Neither of us were either brave enough or stupid enough (take your pick) to try it, but we did wonder just how far you could walk out on the tree before you either tipped it over or fell off.

We agree that we wouldn’t want to try it but would be happy to watch someone else give it a shot.  So if it looks enticing, let us know, we will lead you to it and watch (from a safe distance).

A gentle hike, 8.4 miles, 1200 ft elevation gain, but just what the doctor ordered today.

Solo hike today up Mt. Washington.  I have done this more than a dozen times but not since early last fall, when I ran across construction equipment.

Derek and I were on Mt. Washington a couple of months ago when we descended via the Mt. Washington trail after doing Change Peak.  But we did not hike up Mt. WA trail, nor did we visit the summit.

I got fairly soaked today, very rainy.  No views.  Best view was early (I was on the trail at 5:15):

By the time I was on the summit, the electronic gizmo at the top was the greatest view:

But as many times as I had been up there, I had never stepped to a little-noticed section just a few feet NW of the summit rock.  I entered the little tree-covered area to get out of the rain and I noticed an ‘official’ geocache box:

I opened it up and signed the notebook inside.  The first signature was from 2005, the most recent from about 2 weeks ago, so it has persisted for a long time.  Glad no one has vandalized it.  It isn’t easy to find, which is why it is a geocache.

There is a section on this hike that, with no snow, is fairly trivial to navigate.  The section consists of boulders you have to navigate but, as I say, it really is not a problem:

But with lots of snow this place gives me the willies.  I was glad to see Mt. Washington has transitioned to snow-free.  Now, all I have to do is find a day without rain.

Visualization:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/mt-washington-5-25-16/#.V0X4SZXltD8

 

I participated in another Cedar River Watershed Education Center (CRWEC) program today, the wetlands program.  Just like the one I did last September, Adventures in Forest Ecology, this program was awesome.

We checked in at the center at 8:45 am, got a quick orientation from our leader, Clay Antieau (Google him for a bio, he is a major expert on grasses and wetlands and native plants and…) and then we set out into the otherwise inaccessible watershed.

This is definitely a program I would recommend to anyone with any interest in the outdoors – well, I would recommend the stops along the way.  However, I must admit that we did a reasonable amount of bushwhacking up and down somewhat steep hills, over an old tree that acted as a bridge over a bog moat, and through the woods.

This was no problem for any of us.  It was obvious from the group we had that everyone was a hiker and that some bushwhacking would be plain old fun.  But those who are not used to this kind of thing might have an issue.  Forewarned.

We took two vans into the watershed backwoods, over the surprisingly well-maintained roads back there, with four stops.

First, we visited a fen.  Clay explained the difference between fens and bogs and perhaps next year, when I take this program again, it will sink in.  I believe the difference had to do with water exchange but no matter.  Fens and bogs are both wonderful places to visit.

And later, we visited a bog:

Photos do not reveal how springy the ground is – you can really jump up and down on this turf that has not been disturbed since it was created via glaciation seventeen thousand years ago.  Photos also cannot convey the wonderful smells of bogs and fens.  Were there any template in my experience I could say they smell kind of like…. but there is no such template.  They are unique.  Truly, if you could bottle that smell and release it via (say) incense you would make a killing.

We also visited one of the six kettle lakes in the watershed – they are called, collectively, Fourteen Lakes because they are in section 14.  Go figure.  These are also created via glaciation.

When glaciers recede they leave enormous chunks of ice in place.  Eventually those chunks of ice melt, but in the meantime, the receding glacier releases  energetic rivers of water and rocky debris, which swirl around the huge ice chunks.

The result:

We also visited a beaver habitat, and stood on top of a beaver dam.  But don’t worry, we didn’t bother any beavers, this dam is no longer maintained.  There are still plenty of beavers around, they just gave up on this particular dam.

And finally, we made a quick stop at a sort of picnic location, clearly designed for workers, since the area is totally closed to the public.  Do you want a bunch of idiots like me tooling around the area that sends you your drinking water?

Anyway, the largest lake in that area, by far, is Chester Morse Lake.  Derek and I have wondered who the heck Chester Morse was, and here is the answer:

My next CRWEC program is in June, this one focused on Railroad History.  The area has a massive railroad history, particularly since those logs had to be hauled out and the railroads did it.

I also have an Old Growth tour in August and the Forest Ecology in September.  This place is great but you have to reserve spots in these tours early.  They only have a few spots and each one happens once a year.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will be on the trail somewhere.

What a great hike today.  I can’t wait for Derek’s knee to be in hiking condition because he will love this hike.  It has all the elements we like.

It was long enough, 11.4 miles round-trip, steep enough,  over 3,400 feet of elevation gain, with most of it in the last three and a half miles, and most of all a new summit along a very unmaintained “trail”.

I brought along some pink flagging tape and tied it to trees to show the route.  I knew that Mark Garrett was following along, looking for the same peak and possibly the next one, Crater Lake Mountain.

We met up as I was descending on the main Teneriffe Trail, we compared notes, and I told him about the pink tape and the fact that I put two strips on a tree to mark my farthest point.

I left the car to head up the trail at 5:07 am.  I had to be back home for a meeting, so I went up and down as quickly as I could and drove right home.  I just barely made it.

Anyway, there are 3 or 4 peaks in the vicinity of Mt. Si/Mt. Teneriffe and these summits are very rarely hiked.  Mark was the one who really noticed them and then we both found maps and trip reports with route details so we thought – what the heck.

The Blow Down summit is elusive.  I think you can bushwhack straight up a ridge to the peakiest peak, but otherwise it is more of an ‘area’ than a specific spot, unlike its near neighbor Teneriffe.

I am going to try a different route, though, next time I am up there.  I think it is possible to get there with more time on Teneriffe trail (maintained) and less time on Blow Down trail (more or less bushwhacking).

And, as always, it is so wonderful to be in the beautiful forest.

Fin and Cam are visiting this weekend (my favorite thing to do) so no hikes until the following weekend.  I have another one of those Cedar River Watershed Education Center events on Saturday the 21st, so I am thinking ahead to the 22nd, with a possible Tiger Mountain conditioning hike next week.

Until then….

Here is the visualization:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/blow-down-mountain/#.VzTh3ZXls5t

Update 5/14 – link to Mark Garrett’s trip report:

http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2016-05-13.7041835783

He went further and, among other photos, took a picture of Blowdown from Crater Lake Mountain.

The new is mostly good.  The Teneriffe trail is as good as it will get.  No serious blow downs, just a few tiny little patches of snow:

As usual I had time constraints (today is Mother’s Day, after all) so I got to the trail head at 5:15 am.  Only needed the headlamp for 30 minutes or so, the sun is rising earlier and earlier.  I love it.

I took the long way up because the shorter route is so steep it borders on dangerous, for me at least.  I prefer to hike Kamikaze Trail with someone else.  But the long trail is also very nice.  There is a really cool section where you are walking along a narrow ridge at about 4400 or 4500 feet.

After about 7 miles of tough hiking up the mountain there you are, just below the summit.  If you want to stand on the top and check out the summit marker, there is one last challenge:

It is actually not as tough as it looks in the photo, but I am really careful going up and down.  And the summit itself requires a bit of focus because it would be very easy to take a wrong step and tumble down the cliff on the east side.

Anyway, 6.5 hours, 13.8 miles, 4,326 feet of elevation gain, not a bad day’s play.

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/mount-teneriffe-5-8-2016/#.Vy-sBORe8tF

Not sure what is up next but the news for Derek’s knee is not good.  I saw him Friday when I was over there watching the Little Angels and he said he cannot get into the doctor until the end of the month and if he walks only a few miles the knee is really sore.  Bummer.

As of last week I had zero chance of getting a day off next week but I may be able to flex a day off on Thursday.  I won’t know until Thursday morning but if it happens, I will see what I am in the mood to do.

Today was the third time I have been to Tiger Mountain to scout a good loop or loops to do during the week when I am unable to flex my schedule to get a day off.  I think I figured out a good one.

I need to keep it to about 2.5 hours.  Today’s hike was a bit more than 3 hours, but I took a wrong turn at one point and wasted time, and I went farther along the Talus Rock Trail than I should have done and added time that way.

Basic loop I will try next: I park at E. Sunset Trail Head just off Exit 18 and take the Puget Power trail to Adventure Trail to High School Trail to Section Line and then, instead of heading east on the Talus Rocks trail, turn left at the Nook Trail to the Bus Trail (and I actually saw the ancient, rusted, much-tagged bus along the way) which then shortly connects to the Round the Lake Trail, back to Puget Power Trail.

If that sounds complicated it is, a little, which is why it took me a while to figure out that that route would be about ideal.

So, next time I do it I will update this post rather than add a new one, and I may discover other loops to do, for some variety.

It’s all about getting in better condition, as I would like to do some more serious day hikes his summer (on Mountain Loop Highway or in the Olympics).  I have to be in better condition to handle that kind of stuff.

Update 8/4/2016:

http://adventures.garmin.com/en-US/by/djhiker/cable-line-8-4-2016/#.V6PHX5Xlupo

Did Cable Line to West Tiger #2 summit with Derek, 2h 15 min.  That time can be improved!

I have not added a few outings here – like last Saturday, 1/21/2017, yesterday, 1/28/2017 and today, 1/29.  Today I was scared by what appeared/sounded like a defensive cougar.  Some kind of while shrieking that moved bushes above me, closer and closer.  I backed out.  Will be back in this general vicinity on Wednesday, we shall see how it goes.