Zion National Park – 01/24-27/20

Our time in Zion feels like a lifetime ago. My writing has been at a standstill. Not for lack of time, mind you, but because the amount of bandwidth I have to blog about past adventures is next to zero. My friend from the much more adventurous site, Will Run for Whisky, said it exactly perfect:

You may have noticed things have been a bit quiet on the blog. The big reason is that in the face of a global pandemic and an (overdue) societal focus on systemic racism, it felt colossally insensitive to publish posts about adventures and whisky like everything was normal. (Whatever normal even means anymore.)  However, I also realized that in the face of daily news doomscrolling, some non-pandemic content might be a welcome, temporary respite. And that during this time of isolation, it might be a way to feel connected to others through something that is not a dystopian nightmare.

In an attempt to not lose a complete year before posting again, here’s what I remember from my birthday trip to Las Vegas…back in January!

I had to visit a client who had been moved to Las Vegas and the timing worked out that I could sneak in the trip on my birthday, tacking on a few extra days and bringing Jesse along with me. He had never been to Vegas and neither of us had been to Zion National Park, just 2.5 hours from the city, so we made a long weekend out of it.

We were on different flights into Vegas, so I arrived first, picked up our rental car, then Jesse, and we immediately drove out to see the Hoover Dam, since we had some extra time. We did a quick tour of inside the dam, and just enjoyed being in the desert warmth.

We made our way back to the city and I dropped Jesse off at a coffee shop while I went to visit my client. Afterward, we made our way to Springdale, the cute little town at the entrance to Zion. We found a dive-y sports bar that was basically the only restaurant open and grabbed a quick dinner. In the morning, we slept in and popped into a tiny cafe for breakfast before making our way into the park. The plan was to run up Angel’s Landing and then just wander around to enjoy the sights.

Angel’s Landing is lauded as a “must-do”, bucket-list, adrenaline-inducing type of hike. It has steep switchbacks and eventually, to finish the hike to the top, there are chains for handholds and it is narrow, steep, and harrowing. It’s just an out and back, around 5.5 miles, and took us just over 2 hours to run / hike it. Although it’s not exactly easy, I would not rank this even in the top 10 most difficult or dangerous hikes I’ve done. But it was certainly beautiful. My favorite was, of course, running down Walter’s Wiggles – the iconic tight switchbacks.

After our Angel’s Landing adventure, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant in the park (remember going to restaurants!?) and then drove to another part of the park and hiked the Riverside Walk – a flat path through the canyon. It was truly grandiose; the red rock towering above, the streaks through the walls. There was so much to look at. At the end of the path, there were people emerging from the river wearing what looked like half-wet suits and funny shoes. After a few groups emerged, we had to ask: what’s this? “The Narrows” we were told. “The best hike you’ll ever do.” So we gathered some information, did some hemming and hawing, drove up to a high point in the park to watch the sunset (and see some sheep), then made it to town to reserve our gear for The Narrows the next day.

In the morning, Jesse didn’t feel very well and was having stomach issues. I asked if it was maybe the yogurt we had for breakfast or perhaps the bar food from the night before, but it was hard to tell. He was still keen to do the hike and we started early to get a good parking spot (and to ensure we could be back to Vegas at a decent hour to take in some of the city highlights before our flight the next day). We suited up, re-walked Riverside and at the end, entered the water.

We were doing the “Bottom Up” version, just an out and back for the day. With no particular view point or landmark as our destination, we were just out there to see what we could see. There were moments when we were hiking on rocks and sand, but for the most part we were in the water, up to knees, thighs, waist, and at a few points, chest deep. The water was about 43° F / 6° C. We were bundled up under the wetsuits; neither of us getting too hot or too cold. The air temperature was around 65° F / 18° C, which is ideal.

We made our way through “Wall Street”, the most narrow part of the canyon, and just pressed on until we finally reached a rock that was too tricky to navigate. We would have needed to get completely wet to get around, but since we had made it a pretty good distance, we made this our turnaround point.

On the way back, we took a small detour down a side canyon after hearing there was a waterfall. We didn’t venture far enough to find it, but it added some additional scenery.

We ended up at about 13 miles in just shy of 5 hours and it was spectacular.

We returned our gear and made our 2.5 hour journey back to Vegas. On the drive, Jesse was feeling ill again. It had sort of subsided during the hike, but back in the car, he was feeling pretty bad. We just went straight to the room to shower and change for some sightseeing (much to my chagrin, we could see Trump Tower from our room). To celebrate my birthday, I wanted to go for a fancy dinner and wander along the Strip, taking in the Bellagio fountains and just the larger-than-life Vegas vibe.

We walked the couple of blocks from the MGM Grand to Bellagio (note: “a couple of blocks” can easily take 20-30 minutes) and arrived to watch the fountain show. I could tell Jesse wasn’t feeling well and I said we could go back. He tried really hard not to let his stomach spoil the night so we popped into the Bellagio to see the Chihuly glass and the famous chocolate fountain before he couldn’t stand it anymore. We walked back to MGM and my “fancy birthday dinner” ended up being overpriced Mod Pizza in the room. Jesse promptly fell asleep and I stayed up late watching reruns of Friends.

In the morning, the alarms went off and we got up to pack for our early flight. Almost immediately, Jesse began sweating profusely and ended up bent over in extreme agony. He couldn’t breathe properly and his hands and arms were shaking. I was researching the nearest Urgent Care, where the closest emergency room was, and finally how to get an ambulance to our hotel. The nearest ER was just a 5 minute drive, so I concluded that I would take him myself. I always remember those internet threads saying Lyft is cheaper than an ambulance! I aborted packing, grabbed phonekeyswallet and led him by the elbow through what I was beginning to believe was the world’s largest hotel and casino, and out to the car. Just a quick exit, a left turn, and two rights and we’d be with a doctor. He was in complete agony and I was trying my best to be a grown up. And then…

…like a fool, I couldn’t get us out of the parking garage. I didn’t have the parking ticket, I tried to ring for service, I tried to troubleshoot how to get around the security arm, and finally was yelled at by another driver coming the other way. Still trying my best not to panic and also to comfort my “patient” that I had everything under control, I remember him mumbling “I’ll just walk there myself” and tried to open the door while I was driving! I re-parked the car and guided Jesse to the Lyft platform (after confusingly re-entering the hotel and being re-directed by another guest…doin’ my best here!).

Finally we were in our ride and on our way! The music was loud and Jesse was delirious. I remember saying to the driver “He isn’t feeling very well, would you mind turning down the volume?” and he realized he was driving us to the ER, apologizing profusely. I got Jesse checked in, signed more paperwork than we did to buy a house, and soon he was in a bed in a dark room with IVs and shots and people in PPE attending to him. His diagnosis: a kidney stone. It was unclear how long it was going to take to pass and really the more important question was: could he fly home? We were told it could take up to 2 weeks to pass and we surely weren’t going to stay in Vegas for even one more night.

I could come and go as I pleased but was invited to “rest” in their upstairs waiting room, which had food, drinks, and WiFi. The drama over, I now had to sort out the rest of the pending issues. But my first phone call was to my Mom (“did I adult the right way!?”). I texted with Alaska Airlines to say we wouldn’t be on the plane and called the rental car company to extend our reservation. I checked in on Jesse and then walked back to the hotel (again, a 5 min drive = 25 minute walk) to get all of the stuff we abandoned before checking out.

I was able to sort out the parking garage exit strategy and then got a text from Jesse that he had been discharged and had walked about a mile from the ER to Walgreens to get his prescription! Oh, good grief. I drove to get him and he was told he was cleared to fly, it just might be quite uncomfortable, so we decided to return the car and hang out at the airport to see if we could grab a flight home. It was not a pleasant journey; we had to pull over for what I can only describe as an “episode”, where the stone was on the move and Jesse was in intense pain. Similar to labor contractions, they’d painfully come and go. The flight was short and I hoped he’d be able to avoid having one mid-air.

We returned the car, took the shuttle, and I schmoozed the Alaska Airlines woman with our Wisconsin-residing commonality, apologetic charm, and paperwork from the hospital showing that had, indeed, been at the ER that morning. She changed our flight for free and we were able to get home that same day. I was grateful for her.

That night, finally home, after more “episodes” and a middle-of-the-night call to the emergency nurse hotline I was basically told “this is what turns a boy into a man” and to give him more ibuprofen. A few days later, it passed and it was like it never happened.

All I can say is thank f**k none of this happened 6 miles into a slot canyon.

Hawaii – 5/1-6/19

This spring, Southwest Airlines started flying to Hawaii and we were, somehow, able to take advantage of their promo fares and scored incredibly cheap flights from Portland to Honolulu. It was terrible timing, me coming off a visit to the Bay Area, Jesse’s work schedule was quite demanding at the time, and oh, I was horribly, horribly sick.

My nose was simultaneously running and blocked, so I could hardly breathe and was sneezing like a fool. My body was sore and tired and my throat hurt in the way that you can’t ever remember what it was like to swallow without it feeling like thorns. Your run of the mill cold and flu symptoms. One fun feature of Southwest Airlines is that there are no assigned seats so Jesse was one row behind me and I had the aisle seat next to two young ladies, who I can only assume thought I was on drugs for getting up to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes and coming back rubbing my nose. You get the idea: I was miserably sick.

We landed in Honolulu and after a miscommunication with our AirBnB host, realized we had a few hours to kill lugging our bags (and tired selves) around the city before we could check into our accommodation. We grabbed some lunch and went to Waikiki to lie in the grass near the ocean, looking like tourists, already sweating and questioning our life choices, but enjoying the view.

To kill some more time, we stopped off at the grocery store to stock up for the next few days. I’ve been to Hawaii before and knew it was expensive, but this was a bit overkill, don’t you think!?

The plan for Hawaii was not to have one. I wanted to relax on the beach, do some yoga, get a massage, sleep in everyday, and do some running and hiking. Jesse wanted to go snorkeling and swim in the ocean. It was the kind of vacation where nothing was going to be “epic”. We had never been anywhere tropical together and I wanted to relaaaaaax.

And so for a few days, we did nothing.

We drove over to Kailua one day and got shave ice and floated in the warm water. Another day I took two naps, did some writing outside on the deck, and we didn’t leave the AirBnB until about 4 PM. We went to Costco one day because who doesn’t need a 5 lb bag of chocolate covered macadamia nuts for cheap? We walked on the beach and saw a seal, so we just watched her for a while. Everything was casual. Everything was embracing beach life.

But, because it’s us, we fit in two hikes. Whoops.

The first one was supposed to be a sunset hike up to the Tantalus Lookout. We took off from our accommodation, walking on the road, eventually hitting the Kanealole Trail (pro-tip: make a left at the rock with the 700 cats on it). I was moving at a molasses-in-winter pace once we reached the trail and the sun set while we were in the trees, with no view, and we missed it.

Without headlamps, we tried as long as we could to see the trail in the dusky light, but eventually had to resort to the underprepared method of cellphone flashlights to get off the trail. At one point I heard something large rustling in the bush next to me. Jesse, in a concerned tone, said “Is that a person?” and as he did, a loud squeal came from the woods and it was conceded that it was a wild boar. “They can be quite aggressive,” Jesse said, walking on. “Um, then I need you to hike closer to me!” I was tired and sickly, and now terrified. Where was the damn road!?

We made it home unharmed, of course. But word to the wise: sunset hikes require a headlamp. They just do.

On a different night, we drove to Tantalus Overlook for the sunset. The experience was a bit better.

The other proper adventure we mustered was up to Mt. Olympus. Just an easy 6 mile out and back, yes. But somehow it took us 4 hours. It wasn’t a particularly difficult hike, I was just feeling the flu and the heat and the humidity and we took lots of breaks. I tried to disguise them as photo ops, so that’s the official party line, if anyone was wondering.

The red mud of this hike was a fun feature, and as we neared the summit, it was a bit of a scramble (we had to try quite hard to avoid grabbing the ropes; I didn’t trust them). From the top, we could see so much of the island: beaches on each of the coasts. Diamond Head just south, Kailua to the west, Waikiki to the east. The ridges where they filmed Jurassic Park surrounded us. The lush green landscape and gorgeously turquoise water were so picturesque; the effort is always worth it.

Going down was easier on the lungs, but not the legs. I ended up covered in red mud and admit that it’s quite difficult to wash off! We ended the day with more shave ice, of course, and dinner with some friends (they live in Honolulu, but were on vacation in Japan for most of our stay) before our departure the next day.

Hawaii didn’t turn out how I planned, but it was a fun getaway and perhaps having the flu forced me to relax more than we would have otherwise. We didn’t snorkel, we didn’t do yoga, and I didn’t read books on the beach. But we made it work and it was great.

Gillette Lake Hike – 4/07/19

Sometimes taking a friend for a drizzly hike and a dip in some hot springs is the only thing that’ll cure what ails you. When what ails you is said friend’s impending move to a new house 6+ hours away, the only thing to do kidnap her and force her to spend time with you in her remaining days. To the Gorge we drove.

The Gillette Lake hike is on the Washington side, so we paid our $2 to cross the Bridge of the Gods, found the trailhead, and took off at a jog. The trail quickly began to ascend and we both gave up (naturally, we were overdressed and overheating instantly) and hiked up the ups, and ran the flats / downs. It was drizzly, but not soaking, muddy, but not sloppy. There were scarcely wildflowers and even more scarcely, other hikers.

The majority of this hike is on the PCT, and we wound through the woods for a bit, eventually spilling out into some clear cut, and hitting the lake. We descended, stuck our hands in, and climbed back up the road again for home. Feeling energized, we ran most of the way back. It was a perfect, 5.5 mile out and back.

We journeyed up to Carson Hot Springs for a relaxing dip, then [hilariously] followed Google Maps through town to a restaurant on the water for a late lunch. With seats by the window and 90’s music blaring, it was the perfect ending to a great girls day.

Miscellaneous Winter Fun

To round out the winter season’s activities, we went with a friend to Mt. Hood Skibowl for a bit of downhill (and to test out Jesse’s new boots). I’d only been to Skibowl once, and it was easily a decade ago, so it was fun to explore this “new” terrain.

Morning

Afternoon

For my job, I often have to travel to other cities to see clients, which isn’t always easily accomplished during the workweek. (Or at least in my mind, making a weekend adventure out of a work trip is worth the tiny interruption of actual work to take advantage of the getaway). One specific trip involved traveling to the coast, so I had a friend tag along (and I abandoned her on the beach while I visited a client briefly); we had a lovely brunch by the sea, and then we snuck down to Ecola State Park for a little hike.

We did the Clatsop Loop, a quick 3.5 miler that starts and ends at a nice, spacious parking lot with beach access. We popped down to the sand and chased the tide.

Another such work trip I did squeeze into the week and was able to spend some time with one of my favorite girlfriends in Seattle. After finishing my client visit, I spent the evening catching up with her and her family and the next day we popped out to Tiger Mountain for a bit of running.

A few weeks later, Jesse and I headed to my parents’ house in Idaho; my Grandma had decided to move back to her hometown a few states East and we made the trip over to say good-bye before she moved. It was a weekend filled with visiting and helping with tasks around the house, but we squeezed in a morning of skiing on the local hill. I have only vague memories from my youth, but do know I spent quite a bit of time on that hill in years past and wondered if, 15 years later, I’d still have a punch pass on file! I inquired, and while the system was still the same (a recipe box filled with 3×5 index cards), mine had not survived the years.

It’s a hill of few runs and we hit them all, at least twice, in the 2 hours we skied. But the snow was powdery, the sky was blue, and the half day pass was peanuts; it was a good day!

McNeil Point – 10/20/18

A good hike can serve several purposes: a physical challenge and a good training tool, mental relief from our otherwise occupied lives, a way to connect with the outdoors, unplugged time to be alone (or share with family and friends)…

We threw the McNeil Point hike on the calendar ad hoc because the weather was beautiful and I was itching to go somewhere I hadn’t been before. I don’t really recall why we chose this one, but it seemed as good as any so our normal crew of 3 headed to the mountain!

Most of the hike is in the woods and it was wonderfully runnable along the Timberline Trail, especially on the way down. We enjoyed the iced over mud in the early morning and basically had the trail to ourselves.

While I always enjoy a hike in the trees, the vistas on this trail are plentiful and spectacular. There are some meadows and marshes, and then the trail gets a bit steeper, headed for the treeline. Eventually the trail spills out onto the McNeil Point table and forks, both leading to the McNeil Point shelter. Taking the lower trail (to the right, along the edge of the ridge) seems the “easier” option, and to the left climbs a bit more, approaching the shelter from above. We picked the ridge on the way up and came back along the other…naturally. In the distance, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams stand tall, and dotting the sightline is also Lost Lake and Bull Run Lake.

The obvious destination on this hike is to the shelter, which makes it about 10 miles roundtrip. Poking around the shelter, the primitive structure is one simple room with a fireplace in the corner. Inside, a few packages of food were left behind; I can only assume as an offering for hungry thru-hikers. We felt so close the summit and pushed on for a bit more of a challenge (for the record, we were nowhere near the summit!) and ended up perched on top of some rocks for lunch and a quiet view.

With our little add-on, we ended up with just under 12 miles. A solid day and just the adventure I was hoping for.

Mt. Rainier Fastpacking – 8/22-4/18

In mid-August I paced a friend for the last 18-ish miles at the Waldo 100K, which was a lot of fun and super inspirational. I drove down in the morning, ran her in to the finish line, took the world’s darkest and coldest shower outside the ski lodge, slept in the car, hung out with some PCT hikers and made breakfast in the parking lot, and then drove home. The next week, with that same friend and two other ladies, we were at the trailhead to the Wonderland Trail on Mt. Rainier for a few days of fastpacking.

We cached our food on the trail, had a few hiccups in obtaining a permit (but got one secured early that morning), studied the air quality websites ad nauseam, camped Wednesday night and started our journey Thursday morning. The Wonderland Trail is ~93 miles around Rainier with about 22,000 feet of elevation gain. It’s definitely a good challenge, but achievable. We planned to do ~30 miles per day, beginning at Longmire and running clockwise. Carrying ultralight tents and sleeping bags, minimal clothes, day snacks, cooking tools, survival gear, and water only, we ran the flats and downs and power hiked the ups.

We were stopped for a permit check once, mid-morning. The ranger seemed skeptical about our plan, but didn’t question us. We carried on, passing day hikers, other backpackers, water crossings, switchbacks, campsites, and suspension bridges. The miles ticked on as the day got warmer, all the while with Rainier looming off to the right.

Eventually, it became clear that the adventure was poorly planned and mistakes were made. I no longer felt safe on the mountain with this team of ladies and I made the decision to turn back. One of the others felt the same and joined me.

The two of us hiked back a few miles to a campsite and stayed there illegally, hoping for a little mercy from either the camper who reserved the site or a ranger who might question us. Luckily, neither showed up. Because we didn’t make it to our food supply, we had to ration our snacks and divvy it up between us – dinner, breakfast, then fuel for the hike out the next day. In the moment it was a bit of a joke; in hindsight it was foolish. We hung our packs on the bear pole and I spent the night in a very small tent on the side of a mountain with a woman I’d known for less than 20 hours.

I know life begins outside of your comfort zone, and I trusted my new hiking buddy, but I longed for this adventure to have been a success or at the very least, a better experience. It’s easy to dissect what the errors were, to point fingers (at myself, even), and to be angry and frustrated, but no one was hurt and I learned a lot about how to respect group dynamics and also about pushing my own boundaries. I definitely look forward to returning to Rainier to conquer Wonderland; it’s a National Park that’s not to be missed and a truly spectacular trail, but even with experience on your side, it’s still Mother Nature who has the last word.

In the morning, we packed up and shipped out, both of us eager to end the failed circumnavigation attempt. The hours passed and the scenery became familiar, as did my hiking buddy. I learned a lot about her and we had a genuinely good time hiking out, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever hear from her again (4 month update: I haven’t).

Back at the cars, we changed clothes, had a full meal for the first time in over 24 hours, and eventually parted ways. I drove home alone, returning 2 days early. At the time, I simultaneously knew I made the right decision but was also disappointed I didn’t finish the challenge. The other two women did finish and I was admittedly jealous of that accomplishment. But I know Wonderland will be there to complete; the goal is for me to be, too. And with the decisions being made in those days in the backcountry, I had to prioritize the safety of the group above my own ambitions. If you can’t find a leader, be one, right?

Idaho – 8/10-12/18

Between the trip to McCall in July for the 20-miler, my niece’s horse 4-H show on August 4th, and then this trip, we were in Idaho a lot this summer. This particular weekend we spent with our good friends at their home in Coeur d’Alene. You might remember them from our Enchantments backpacking trip in 2017 (and John writes his own blog, which you can check out here). We don’t get to see them as much as we want, but it’s always so great to catch up when we do. And we always manage to get in an adventure, which is the cherry on top.

Jesse and I arrived super late on Friday night, driving over from Portland after work. Luckily everyone (except Kid-O) was still up waiting, so we weren’t too imposing! After a good sleep, we walked to brunch for some excellent local food, and then headed out for a hike. We were hoping to get in a small backpacking trip for old times’ sake, but there were some fires in the area and even though they weren’t the danger, the air quality was poor for strenuous activities and/or sensitive humans…like 18 month olds. So we drove out to the Montana border for the Blossom Lakes hike. It was about 7 very warm miles round trip and we enjoyed snacks and lake wading and basically had the place to ourselves.

As happens with toddlers, hunger set in on the drive home and dinner plans needed to be arranged immediately, if not sooner. The girls headed home for a quick bath and dinner prep while the boys made a grocery store run for a few more ingredients. There was a hilarious bath mishap that slowed the process somewhat, but we all managed to get to the dinner table and have some great tacos without too much stress!

In the morning we hit up a local crag for a few hours of rock climbing before Jesse & I hit the road for home. Jesse and I are still learning the ropes, literally, and constantly wish we lived closer to Lindsey & John, not only to improve our skills, but to have such great climbing buddies. For now, we hope they don’t mind doing all the work of route finding and anchor setting!

Kid-O joined us at the crag and her ability to self-entertain, her bravery and curiosity, and her parents’ dedication to teaching her to love the outdoors (and how to be safe in them) continues to impress us. We look forward to watching how she grows and fits in with our adventuring!

We made a small detour for ice cream on the drive home (hilariously Kid-O still thinks ice cream is yogurt and rejects it, so we don’t have to share with her!), Jesse and I packed up quickly, and made the journey home.

We look forward to hosting them in Portland in January!

Dog Mountain – 7/4/18

I’ve lived in Portland for over 10 years now and it took that long to hike the ever-popular Dog Mountain. I had heard all the stories of how it’s difficult, beautiful, used for hill training (The Double Dog Dare, anyone?), and most deterring: busy. In the springtime, it’s by permit only to see the wildflowers. The parking lot has been expanded and is still always full. I know there are countless other amazing hikes in the PNW so this was never high on the list, but the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday in 2018 so we took advantage of the random weekday off and went for it.

We attempted to make it a sunrise hike, but dang, that’s hard. We caught the last bits of the morning colors as we started but we were the first in the parking lot and had the entire climb to ourselves. It was a beautiful summer morning and it was nice to escape the heat. The hike is challenging but is a bit more mild than I was led to believe. Even taking the ‘More Difficult’ route!

It’s a decent 5K hike to the top and the views are great – our beloved mountains in the distance, the river below. We made our way to the “true summit” – i.e. a tiny patch of dirt in the middle of some bushes; no views. Do not recommend. Scrambling back out to the view point, we enjoyed breakfast: peanut butter sandwiches and mandarins.

Taking the long way back to make it a counter clockwise loop, we descended at a run with dreamy singletrack for the downhill. We ran into a few more people here, the morning crowd beginning their day.

Back at the Subaru, the parking lot was full. I was pleased to have checked Dog Mountain off the list in a most memorable way. When planned correctly, it can be experienced without hassle and it really is worth that effort.

Enchantments Backpacking – 8/23-26/17

I flew back to Portland from Colorado on Monday night, then spent Tuesday shopping for backpacking food / gear and Tuesday evening we drove to Ellensburg, WA to stay in a cheap motel before taking off for a 4 day/3 night backpacking trip on Wednesday morning. I love piggy-backing adventures, but it was a whirlwind week, for sure!

We started Wednesday morning at IHOP, fueling up before the next few days of consuming dehydrated meals and trail mix. We had to make a quick pit stop in Leavenworth because *someone* forgot their down jacket and had to purchase a new one! I won’t name names…

We arrived at the Snow Lakes Trailhead of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and after a final pack weigh-in (mine was ~33 lbs), last minute candy bar snack, and hearty sunscreen application, we were ready to get going. It was already a gazillion degrees and our destination was up.

Let me take a step back and introduce our backpacking party: Jesse & me, our good friends from Idaho, Lindsey & John, their lovely neighbor, Anna, and Lindsey & John’s 9-month old daughter, who I’ll call kid-O.

Photo by John

Taking another step back, let me explain the trip a bit more. We were backpacking The Enchantments, which the Washington Trails Association describes as: “an alpine paradise of granite worn smooth by glaciers, larches manicured by wind and cold, and crystal blue lakes strung together by a creek that tumbles and thunders between them. Seemingly everywhere, herds of mountain goats calmly wander by.” That is quite accurate, I’d say. Camping in The Enchantments is by permit only, and a lottery to boot. Camping in the “core zone” is an even harder lottery to win, but after years of trying, Lindsey & John’s names were finally drawn and they invited us to join the adventure (with the caveat that they would have kid-O along). No doubt, we’d be joining.

Back to the hiking. In all honesty, kid-O had more backpacking experience than I had (she’d been once that summer already and I had been exactly 0 times before in my life), but I was keen to keep up with the party. The trail was as beautiful as the pictures led me to believe. Unfortunately, wildfires in the Pacific Northwest were particularly bad this summer. Evening/night number one smelled of smoke and we could see it in the distance. Luckily it cleared up over the next few days, but hikers and campers with permits in the week after us weren’t so lucky. They had to be evacuated and lost the chance to use their permits due to the fires. We were fortunate.

The core zone was just out of reach for day 1, as hunger for everyone set in and we wanted to avoid setting up camp / having dinner in the dark. We called it a day at Nada Lake (~7.5 miles; 3,500 feet of gain). After dinner, Jesse & John strung up the food sacks, we stuck our feet in the cool alpine water, and then headed to bed.

Photo by Lindsey

The next day we had breakfast and took off again. After a few miles, we relaxed on the shores of Snow Lakes, saw our first mountain goat, had lunch and refilled water bladders in a gorgeous shady spot by Snow Creek, and eventually made it to the core zone. We had dinner / spent our second night in a rock shelter next to Lake Viviane and Prusik Peak.

Photo by Lindsey

Photo: Lindsey

Here is where the real adventure began. It was windy and much colder than our first night. I had on a merino bra, merino t-shirt, two merino long-sleeved tops, my down jacket, and my rain jacket. I had on a hat and gloves, merino leggings, and my hiking pants. I was freezing and desperate to crawl into my sleeping bag. The bigger problem, however, was that we had set up our camp in what was seemingly a mountain goat’s lair. We had 3 goats, and 1 particularly menacing one, circling us for about an hour. Jesse, John, & Anna bravely threw rocks, yelled, “sword”-fought with trekking poles, and other various methods of getting the goats to retreat, while Lindsey, kid-O, and I tried to keep warm and calm. Eventually it was too dark to continue fending off the goats and we all resigned ourselves to bed. We were pretty sure the goats just wanted to sniff around and find some of our salty snacks, but they were quite intimidating nonetheless.

The next morning, we all had a leisurely breakfast, were annoyed by another mountain goat (though this one was much more patient as we packed up camp), had a good little photoshoot, and took off back down the trail toward “home”.

“Look that way, kid-O!” Photo: Lindsey

After a day of downhill hiking, we ended up back at Nada Lake for our final night. We were there early enough that we could set up camp and hang out a bit, rather than just eating and calling it a night. Jesse & John decided to take a swim in the lake – by swim I mean a 3-4 second dunk accompanied with shrieks of shock and pain. That water was cold! I could only go in to my shins for about 30 seconds before I couldn’t take it anymore, so they were especially brave! But it was nice to freshen up and “wash” some clothes.

We spent the evening tying climbing knots, eating, doing dishes, and just lazing around. Kid-O played with her balloon, a cup, some rocks…and was having a genuinely happy time. With each night, Lindsey & John would apologize for kid-O being loud but I honestly hadn’t heard a peep out of her once. Granted, I’m an incredibly heavy sleeper but I was truly impressed with how easy-going she had been all trip. Oblivious to the work her parents put in to make the adventure a success for everyone, she played with her pinecones, tent stakes, and sticks without a care in the world. I, and every other hiker we passed those 4 days, was impressed.

Photo by Lindsey

Photo by Lindsey

Morning came, we all donned clean clothes, no longer rationed our food supplies, and we made our way back to the trailhead. Six friends, 4 days, 3 nights, ~20 miles, and nearly 7,000 feet of elevation gain, we were back at the car. My final pack weight came in around 25 pounds (the lightest of all of us..!).

Photo by Lindsey

Photo by Lindsey

Photo by Google Earth / Lindsey

We headed to Leavenworth for some real food, beers all around, ice cream, and bittersweet good-byes. It was funny how after just a few days of being disconnected in the wilderness, I was annoyed by the amount of vehicle and foot traffic once we were back in town. I didn’t want to turn my phone on, fearing what world news I had missed. While I looked forward to running water and my own bed, I gave into the cliché of feeling like I could survive on less.

How was California? – 7/15-17/17

One of my closest friends lives in the Bay Area and I had yet to visit since she moved there, so I booked a flight and went. I guess adults are allowed to do that and it’s quite lovely.

I arrived early morning and we picked up some fresh bread, stone fruit, and veggies. We made an emergency vet visit, and then grilled an array of appetizers for the perfect summer dinner. It was hot, much to my chagrin, and that evening we walked along the water through the most impressive dog park I’ve ever seen.

On Sunday, we went for a hike/run up Mt. Tamalpais and got a little turned around. Giving up, we ended up down in Miur Woods to beat the heat. The redwoods were beautiful and I enjoyed our mini California adventure. That evening we had some pretty incredible pizza from Berkeley and watched Wall-E, because why not?

The next morning I was back in Portland. It was such a lovely girls weekend; I need to make these more regular, for sure.