Hike-A-Thon Totals

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles: 135
Dollars: 1000


Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Totals:

Miles: 135.7
Dollars: 1070 (thanks to gift matching by a group of WTA members on the last day of the Hike-A-Thon)

Thank you to everyone who made a donation to help support Washington Trails Association!

This year's top contributor and champion rock skipper, Angela!

August 31 - Kendall Katwalk

The Katwalk

Today was the last day of Hike-A-Thon 2012!  For my final hike, I headed to Snoqualmie Pass to hike a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs 2,650 miles from the Mexican border in California to the Canadian border in Washington. Today I hiked 5.5 of those miles (11 miles roundtrip).

The portion I hiked went to a feature known as the Kendall Katwalk.  The Katwalk was blasted into the face of a sheer rock cliff by dynamite crews that were suspended from ropes.  The photo below shows the cliff.  The light brown line running through the middle is the trail.

The Cliff

It was my first time hiking this trail, and I really enjoyed it.  The trail was incredibly well-maintained, the elevation gain was steady but not too steep, and there were great views once out of the forest.  The only drawback to this trail is the noise from the cars whizzing by on Interstate 90 below. 

With its close proximity to the freeway and the high volumes of people who hike this trail, I was surprised to see so much wildlife. I encountered numerous squirrels and chipmunks in the forest, lots of pika and a young marmot on the talus slopes, and tons of chirping birds.  

Pika (smack dab in the middle)

Hike-a-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 0 
Dollars to go: 195

It's not too late to make a donation!  Donations will be accepted until September 10th!

August 29 - Park Butte Lookout

After eight trips on this trail as a Mountain Steward and never making it all the way to the lookout, I finally made it there today!  Of course, it was cloudy and foggy so the views from the lookout weren't good.  On a clear day, there would be magnificent views of Mount Baker and other surrounding mountains.  Today, I was lucky to make out a few glimpses of the glaciers through the shifting clouds.

The lookout tower

Even without the views, the trip was worth it.  The lookout tower was built in 1932.  After being decommissioned as a fire lookout, the Skagit Alpine Club took over the responsibility of maintaining the lookout. 

Inside the Lookout

The lookout has a bed, chairs, tables, a camp stove, and even books and Scrabble to pass the time.  You can stay overnight in the lookout on a first-come, first-serve basis.  A group who stayed overnight was just packing up to leave as I arrived, and before I left another group had already arrived to stake their claim for the night.  I would like to stay in the lookout, but it would take a lot of luck to get there when no one else was using it.

Grouse

On the hike up to the lookout, I scared a couple of grouse hanging out in the heather.  I've heard grouse before, but have never actually seen one until today. 

Hike-a-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 10.3
Dollars to go: 435

Make a donation here!




Special Note:  Any donations of $40 or more made on Friday by non-WTA members will be matched.  A $40 donation earns you a WTA membership, which include a 1-year subscription to Washington Trails magazine.  It's a great opportunity to join WTA and have your donation go even further!

Lupine

August 28 - Lowell Riverfront Trail

I originally attempted to go hiking on Spencer Island, only to get within a mile of the trailhead and discover the road was closed for construction.  Had I checked the Snohomish County website for the park before leaving, I would have known the road was closed.  Lesson learned.

I quickly adjusted my plans and headed to the Lowell Riverfront Trail along the Snohomish River instead. 

Snohomish River

There are some good views of the river along the way, and some views east towards the Cascade Mountains.  The clouds in the sky also made for some nice photos.

Why are the leaves changing colors already?

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 17.8
Dollars to go: 435

Help me reach my goal by clicking here!

August 27 - Lord Hill Regional Park

Snohomish River

After a morning spent "back-to-school" shopping, I headed to Lord Hill Regional Park outside of Snohomish to get in a few miles on the trail.  There are quite a few intersecting trails in this park, so there are a lot of hiking options.  Today I took the trail down to the bank of the Snohomish River and then back by Temple Pond and Beaver Lake for a total of six miles.

Temple Pond

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 21.3

Dollars to go: 435

Please consider making a donation here.  Only 4 days left!

August 25 - Monte Cristo/Glacier Basin

Today's hike started out with a 4 mile jaunt up the trail/old road to the Monte Cristo townsite.  It's one of my favorite places to go because of the historical artifacts from the town's mining heyday.  However, I didn't linger long in the townsite as I still had over two miles to hike before reaching my final destination for the day, Glacier Basin.

The trail to Glacier Basin follows the old miner's route which means it basically goes straight up.  It's steep, narrow, rocky, and getting overgrown.  At one point, there's even a rope tied to a tree to help pull yourself up a stretch of steep rock.

Rope

After that grueling stretch, the trail levels out a bit as it enters the basin.  Huge boulders dot the valley, steep mountain faces are all around, a tranquil stream babbles by, and colorful wildflowers and grasses sway in the breeze.  It was very tranquil.  That is until I remembered I had to climb back down all those rocks and hike over six miles just to get back to the car.  

Glacier Basin

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 27.3

Dollars to go: 435

Time is running out!  Donate today!

August 24 - Heather Lake

Heather Lake

I have hiked to Heather Lake multiple times, but always much earlier in the summer when the snow is still melting causing the trail to be very muddy.  It was a nice change of pace to go later in the summer when the trail was mostly dry. 

The day started out cloudy, but the clouds started breaking up by the time I reached the lake.  On the walk around the lake, I saw some ripe blueberries, thimbleberries, and salmonberries (I think; my berry identification skills are a bit lacking.)  I saw many wildflowers blooming, most of whose names are unknown to me.  I even saw a pika gathering grass to make his winter nest under a big boulder. 

Tiger Lilies

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 39.8

Dollars to go: 435

You can make a donation here!

August 22 - Iron Goat Trail

Railroad Tunnel

The Iron Goat Trail is an old railway that has been converted to trail.  The Iron Goat Trail website has a lot of great information on the history of the railroad and how the trail came to be.  

I've hiked this trail a number of times (see previous blog entry), but today was definitely the coldest.  When I started out, it was 50 degrees with a light mist and a breeze to make things seem even cooler.  The trail was overgrown in some parts, so the plant leaves that were holding dew and rainwater completely soaked my pants as I walked through them.  Luckily, later in the afternoon the sun came out a few times, and by the time I made it back to the car, it was actually quite warm. 

Mountain Views (The light green area on the far hillside is where a wildfire once burned.)

I saw a few pikas on the rocks, but they are quick and scurried away before I could get a picture.  A few squirrels and chipmunks crossed my path.  There were some deer tracks on the trail, but my tracking skills proved unsuccessful and I never caught a glimpse of the deer. 

Hike-a-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 45.8

Dollars to go: 630

Only 9 days left to make a donation!  Click here!

August 20 - Big Four Ice Caves

I decided on an easy, short hike today in an attempt to give my bruised toenail a chance to start healing before going on steeper, more rugged hikes again.  

Ice Caves and Fireweed

Several ice caves have formed in the snowfield at the base of Big Four Mountain.  These ice caves form each year in the late summer from water and warm air coming down the face of the mountain and melting out the snow.  Although the caves look small in the pictures, they are actually about 8-10 feet high.

Ice Caves

For a trail that is only about 2 miles round trip, it is quite a diverse trail, starting at the grassy site of the old Big Four Hotel (1921-1949), passing through marshy wetlands, crossing the Stillaguamish River, traversing through a forest with parts destroyed by a winter avalanche, and finally ending at the base of Big Four Mountain. 

Site of Hotel

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 59.8

Dollars to go: 630

You can help me reach my goals by clicking here!

August 18 - Park Butte

Today was my final day of volunteering as a Mountain Steward for the summer.  I was scheduled with three other volunteers, and as we left Sedro-Woolley the clouds were thick and the mist was falling.  As we drove east towards the trailhead we broke out of the clouds and had nothing but sunshine all day.  

Mount Baker above Morovitz Meadow

I was last on this trail three weeks ago, and as you can see from the pictures, ALOT of snow has melted.

Mount Baker above Morovitz Meadow (3 weeks ago)

It was a rather uneventful day on the trail with relatively few people to interact with.  We counted a total of 76, which seems like a lot, however, I've been on this trail on similar sunny days and counted two to three times that many people.  With the clouds in town, I think most people assumed it would be cloudy in the mountains, so they stayed away.  And thunderstorms were in the forecast for that night, so I think most of the climbers and campers stayed away because high in the mountains is not a safe place to be during a lightning storm. 

It was still a nice hike even though we didn't make it all the way to the lookout due to time constraints.  I have now hiked this trail eight times as a Mountain Steward and not once have I made it to the lookout, so I've decided that I will have to come back on my own to make it to the lookout.

The lookout tower: So close yet so far away

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 62

Dollars to go: 630

You can make a donation to support trails here!

August 17 - Skyline Divide

Mount Baker

After climbing steeply through thick forest for two miles, this trail breaks out onto an open, meadow-filled ridge with clear views of Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, and many other peaks lining the horizon.  When the editor of Washington Trails magazine asked for hike suggestions for the "Big Views" issue, this was the first trail that came to mind.  (You can read the trail description I wrote for the magazine here.)

Lupine-lined trail

Many wildflowers were blooming in the meadows, especially lupine which was growing so thickly in areas that I could smell its scent just walking by.  Other flowers included aster, phlox, and false hellebore.  There were several other varieties as well, but I'm still trying to learn wildflower names.  

Where are the bears?

As I was hiking along the ridge, looking down in the meadows, I kept hoping to see a bear grazing on the hillside.  Or some mountain goats climbing the steep-sided slope of a nearby peak.  Despite being on the lookout for these creatures, my only wildlife sighting was a squirrel.

On my way back down the trail, I had an interesting encounter with a U.S. Border Patrol Agent who asked me if I had come across anyone who was injured.  Since he was panting, sweating, and without any sort of emergency gear at all, I'm not sure he was the best person to be responding to an injury, but I have been hearing a lot about agents out on the trails in this area since it's so close to the Canadian Border.  I suppose it's a possibility that he was the closest person able to respond if an emergency call came in.

Mount Baker

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 68

Dollars to go: 630

Please consider making a donation here!

August 15 - Boulder River

Boulder Falls

This trail mostly follows along the Boulder River, passing a few waterfalls and ending at a couple of camp sites along the river.  I haven't hiked the trail in a few years because it's usually very, very muddy.  With the warm, dry weather we've been having it seemed like a good time to go again and hopefully avoid the mud.

There were only a couple of bad mudholes to slop through, and I made it to the end of the trail in good time.  I sat on a big boulder in the river to enjoy my lunch, wishing I had brought some water shoes because it was a warm day and there were lots of calm, shallow areas in the river that would have been perfect for wading.

Boulder River

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 77

Dollars to go: 695

Make a donation here and help support Washington Trails Association!

August 11 - Mount Saint Helens Crater

This weekend was the big trip to Mount Saint Helens I've been waiting to go on for over a year.  (I was supposed to go last summer, but had to cancel.)  It was a guided trip into the crater of the volcano with a geologist from the U.S. Geological Survey and some members of the Mount Saint Helens Institute.

The trip started with a camp-out on Friday night at a field camp set up for scientists who are researching the recovery zone.  Saturday morning we were up at 5:00 am to start our 13 mile trek through the blast zone.  

Sunrise at the field camp

Our hike started from the Windy Ridge Viewpoint.  The entire hike was through the pumice plain, which is a wide-open expanse of loose, dusty pumice with larger rocks and a few small plants strewn about.  There was definitely no shade, and it was well into the 80s on Saturday.

The view of Mount Saint Helens from our starting point

Spirit Lake

For the first couple of miles, we stayed on established trails with views of Spirit Lake, the Johnston Ridge Observatory, and a surprising number of Indian Paintbrush and Lupine flowers blooming. 

Soon enough we left the trail, which had been relatively flat until this point, and entered the restricted area.  This is where the climbing began, first up a steep gully filled with boulders over which we had to scramble and then up a ramp-like hill toward a ridge.  In the picture below you can see the "ramp" we climbed up, but the gully is just out of the shot.  Looking at the picture, it doesn't seem so bad, but that ridgeline didn't seem to get any closer for quite some time.

The ramp

After crossing the ridge, we were in the crater.  After a bit more climbing we reached the snout of Crater Glacier, one of the few glaciers in the world that is actually growing larger.  The glacier is covered with so much debris from rockslides coming down off the sides of the crater, that it is difficult to tell that you're looking at a huge, moving piece of ice.

The glacier

Because of snowmelt, there are lots of little streams coming off of the glacier, and because the soil is so loose it is very easily eroded by those streams.  On our way out of the glacier and back to the cars, there were lots of canyons to climb down and then right back up and out.  We finally made it back onto an established trail making the rest of the trek seem like a breeze.  

A canyon to cross

It was a long day, and we had to go at a slow pace due to a couple of people who were suffering from some heatstroke symptoms.  We were hiking for 12 hours and didn't make it back to camp until after 8:00.  

Throughout the day, the geologist had many interesting facts to share and I learned a lot about the volcano.  The Mount Saint Helens Institute gets special permission to lead these trips, so, aside from scientists, only 36 people per year are allowed to go into the crater.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

  

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 85.6

Dollars to go:  780

You can help me raise funds to support trails by clicking here!

August 9 - Snow Lake

Unlike the first time I visited this lake, this time there was actually snow at Snow Lake.

Snow Lake

There was a cool breeze today, which was perfect because most of the trail climbs up the south side of a mountain in full sun, with only a few patches of shade along the way.  However, the lake itself sits down in a basin on the north side of the mountain so it is much shadier, and soon that cool breeze felt a bit chilly.

Snow Lake

Because this trail is accessed right off of I-90 at one of the Snoqualmie Pass Ski areas, it is a very heavily used trail.  By the time I returned to my car, there were probably 40 cars in the parking area.  On a Thursday.  I can't imagine what a Saturday would be like.  Luckily, there is lots of space to spread out around the lakeshore to accommodate all the visitors.

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 98.6

Dollars to go: 850

Please help support trails by clicking here!

 

August 7 - Bowman Bay

Rosario Head

It has become tradition to go to Deception Pass State Park with my sister, Angela, after my bi-annual trip to the dentist.  Today was the big day.  We first did a "grueling hike" up the 1.5 mile Bowman Bay Trail which passes the Rosario Beach tidepools before looping around a high bluff overlooking the surrounding islands.  It is the only trail my sister will hike.

We saw lots of boats, several kayakers, and possibly a couple of seals bobbing around in the water.  There were some odd sounds coming from one of the nearby islands, but we never could determine the source.

Photographing the Tidepools

It has also become tradition that after our "grueling hike" we relax by lounging on the beach, so we hopped back in the car and drove a few miles down the road, across Deception Pass Bridge, to North Beach.  As you can see in the pictures, the weather wasn't conducive to much beach lounging, but we sat on a log for a little bit watching the waves.  Angela was casually flipping through the new IKEA catalog, but suddenly something came over her and she couldn't be stopped from going in the water.  This is very uncharacteristic of her.  I'm still not sure what to make of the experience.

She couldn't be stopped!

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals

Miles to go: 106.6

Dollars to go: 890

Please make a donation here!

Deception Pass Bridge

August 5 - Old Robe Canyon

Stillaguamish River

I realize in the last post I said I was going to stick to mid-week hikes from now on, but it was a very hot day and I know this trail along the river doesn't ever see much use. 

This is a shorter trail that is full of history.  The trail follows the route of an old railroad that was built right alongside the river.  The railroad was built so that gold and silver, and later timber, could be transported to Everett.  However, building a railroad track so close to a flood-prone river proved to be not such a wise idea.  Constant washouts caused the railway to become defunct. 

Everett & Monte Cristo Railroad Remnants

A hiking trail built on top of the defunct railroad tracks next to the flood-prone river has also proved to be problematic.  The trail, which should be several miles long and pass through multiple railroad tunnels, is now just 1.2 miles one-way due to a large rockslide blocking the trail.  Erosion from the river has taken it's toll on the trail even before reaching the rockslide, though. 

Even though this trail is short, it has good access to the river so I was able to find a nice spot to sit down and soak my feet in the cool water.

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 108.1

Dollars to go: 890

Make a donation here and help support hiking trails throughout the state!

August 4 - Goat Lake

Goat Lake and Cadet Peak

This is one of my favorite hikes.  I enjoy the drive to the trailhead along the Mountain Loop Highway.  I enjoy the rushing creek the trail meanders alongside.  I enjoy the thundering waterfall just before the lake.  I enjoy the lake with its teal blue color and surrounding snowy peaks.  

Macintosh Falls

I've hiked this trail several times before (you can read about past experiences here and here), but never on a weekend.  Especially not on an 85 degree, clear blue sky weekend.  I couldn't believe how many people there were!  Luckily, I got an early enough start that when I reached the lake, the only other people there were people who had camped the night before.  I was also early enough that as I was heading out, most people were just heading in.  At just over 10 miles roundtrip, this hike is long enough that everyone is pretty well spread out so it never felt crowded.

The parking area was a different story.  Upon returning to my car, I was greeted by a line five deep at the outhouse and cars lining both sides of the already narrow dirt road for a quarter of a mile.  I had to do a six-point turn just to get out of there.  I think I'll be sticking to mid-week hikes as much as possible from now on.

Hike-A-Thon Fundraising Goals:

Miles to go: 110.6

Dollars to go: 890

Please support my efforts to maintain hiking trails by donating here!


P.S.  I've seen a shrew exactly two times on a trail and both times have been on this trail.  I've theorized that this area must support a thriving shrew population.

Shrew (circled in red)