Mt Zion...again. 10/13/07

I have been waiting for this day all summer, and finally in October, it came.

The weekend weather of our summer was not very good. I did make several trips to the top of Mt Zion over the summer, but it was always rainy or cloudy. I heard that the views are great on a nice day.

So, I picked up the girls and we went to Mt Zion. I told them all summer we would do this trip.

They complained for most of the way up, Kelsey mostly, Jessica gave up once she realized it wasn't gonna help. I was on a mission. On the way down, the girls were singing and cheering themselves "we made it to the top". All that complaining was forgotten, that was all I needed to hear!

Lake Angeles - August 25, 07

I finally made it back into the Mountains. We left early Saturday morning for Hurricane Ridge. The trail head is at Heart O' Hills campground, just before the paystation to get to Hurricane Ridge.

The weather was a bit iffy, but was good all the way up. It was a gradual climb of 2,400 feet over 3.5 miles. Not steep, but continuously uphill. We made pretty good time though, only stopping a couple of times for water.

We arrived at the lake at noon. It was spectacular. There was a little island out there in the middle. It looked really beautiful with the mountain backdrop and wisps of fog blowing through.

Within 10 minutes, the entire lake was hidden as a huge cloud system moved in. It started to sprinkle a little bit. We hunkered down under some trees and relaxed.

The hike down was eerie, it was very dark. I thought I might have to use my flashlight at 1:30 in the afternoon. We ambled down at a decent pace, going slow over several areas of the trail that were very rocky.

It was the longest hike I have done in recent years, but it was great. My legs are still sore, but I can't wait to do it again. On the way to Port Angeles, we stopped at the Visitor Center and I finally bought a good map of the Quilcene area I normally hike in.

Enjoy the picts!

Little Quilcene River trail 6/10/07

I woke up early on Sunday, after getting a real nights sleep for the first time in a while.. I should have left early, I kept waiting for the rain to come. It was sunny and beautiful out. finally, I made my move for the mountains.

As I drove west, I saw the ominous clouds closing in. I called Larry, rain at his house.. Ok, well, I will just drive up there and see how it goes. Up and up I went, until I was in the clouds. I arrived at the turn off for Little Q river. Its about a mile from Mt Zion. I turned and headed up the rough dirt road. Much worse road than the Mt Zion road.

Immediately, a large Doe runs out in front of me, I nearly hit it. Up and up, on a narrow road with a rock wall on one side and a sheer cliff down on the other side.. Visibility was very low, I drove with caution.

I finally arrived at the trail head. There was one car at the trail head. I got out and looked around a bit and started to get dressed. Suddenly it got real dark and the rain started to drop. I climbed back in the car to wait it out. It was raining so hard I though my car was gonna wash away.

The rain finally stopped. I put on my rain pants. I don't have a good rain jacket, so I broke out the emergency poncho.. It has short sleeves??? what the heck? Well, I drove all the way here, I have to at least walk up a little.

The trailhead sign said it was 1 mile to the summit. That sounded good to me. The sign didn't mention that it was straight up! It was much steeper than Mt Zion, with no breaks, just up and up and up.. When I finally reached the summit, still dry amazingly, I saw the rocky peak. I walked out there and thought "one of these days, I am gonna be up here and I will actually get to see the great view". Not today, but, at least it didn't rain on me, much...

Mt Zion.. again 5/29/07

yeah, one more time, this time solo. I made the 1.8 mile uphill hike in 50 minutes.. smashing the time it took for B and I to do it. It was extremely crowded this day. I saw probably 40 people on the trail. Its a narrow trail, which I didnt realize so much last time...

i saw 5 deer! on the road up to the trailhead... I did get a pict of a cool bird on the summit.

next I am gonna try to do 5 miles

had a nice pict of the bird but my damn lame work computer wont open photoshop today...

Gibbs Lake - 5/20/07

I got up early and watched the weather reports. It was raining where I was, and they were calling for thunderstorms in the mountains. So, I thought the only chance I would have on a hike would have to be in the foothills, the rainshadow. I called Larry and he said it was sunny at his place. I was off to Gibbs lake, a Jefferson county park. Its not very long, but its a nice walk. I went around the lake this time as I had never been that way before.
No rain the entire hike, but it did start as soon as I made it back to the car.
Not the most exciting hike in the world, not high up enough to see any interesting plantlife, it was pretty much like walking in the woods behind my house. I didnt see any wild life, and I only saw one other person. I did like the solitude...

Mt. Zion - April 25, 2007

I took a day off from work on Wednesday and went hiking. Bronwen came along this time.
The trail is Mt Zion summit trail. Its 1.8 miles up hill to the summit. The trail is very well maintained and is lined with huge wild rhodies, mossy rocks and Western Hemlock. It was a tough go up hill but we made it in an hour and a half or so. The weather was bad, it was snow/icy rain mix at the top. The first picture is me holding the new annual parking pass Bronwen bought for us.

Falls View Canyon Trail

I headed out on my 40th birthday to get a hike in. I really didnt know where I was going to go. I didnt get out of bed early enough for a real hike, and I am not really ready for a real hike. So, off I went towards the Olympic Nat Forest.

I considered Mt Walker at first. You can drive all the way up and there is a hike that is 1.5 miles to the top of the summit. Sounded good for a starter hike. Unfortunately, the road is closed for the winter and its 4 miles just to get to the trail! There were several cars there with people stretching. This was not what I was looking for.

I remembered that there is a trail in the Falls View campground, just a short distance from Mt Walker. The campground was also closed for winter. Perfect. I parked out side the gate and walked in. The trail starts out with 7 switchbacks, to take you down 20o feet to the edge of the Quilcene river. Then the trail meanders along the river before making a loop and heading back the same way. This means of course, the hike ends with a 200 foot incline. That was tough, but manageable.
I didn't see any wildlife, or people. It was very serene. I did learn that I need to get some sort of rain pants or gators or something. My pants got soaked from the wet ferns lining the trail. It did not rain on the hike, but after I was safely back in my car, the skies opened and it rained really hard for 30 minutes. I realized how lucky i was to have made it back to the car before that started...