Category: Backpacking
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20220315-16 Birthday Soak
It’s a new year! And that requires a healing soak. I had originally planned to visit Willow Creek Hot Springs down in SE Oregon, but due to the length of drive and cost of gas, as well as a crappy weather forecast, I opted for a warmer locale to the north, weirdly enough… Port Angeles…
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20210703 Boundary Trail #1 to Snagtooth Peak Trail
Boundary Trail #1 – a historic, rugged trail traversing the wilderness between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams along the watershed boundary between the Cispus and Lewis Rivers. A largely dry trail with some expansive views, it was my destination for a 5-day backpack over the Independence Day holiday weekend. I start out by leaving…
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20210621 Clear Fork Cowlitz to Tieton Pass
Summer is finally here, the snow is melting, and the insects are not yet awake. I’ve got some new gear, and it’s time to get hiking! This weekend, I took a 3-day backpack trip up the Clear Fork Cowlitz trail to Tieton Pass on the PCT. Arriving at the trail head a bit later than…
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20210518 Trout Creek Mountains
Having visited Willow Creek Hot Springs a few times, I am always left with the desire to explore those mountains the creek drains down from. For this trip, I chose to backpack from a point upstream of the hot spring to which I had hiked previously, then follow a loop up to the summit along…
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20201019-21 PCT – White Pass to Clear Fork Cowlitz
Winter is coming! Understandably, I am anxious to make one last trip up into the Goat Rocks – I had not quite gotten to all the places this summer I had wanted. The weather forecast offers the possibility of some mild weather after a weather system moves thru over the weekend. Not expecting the best,…
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20200927-30 PCT – Walupt to Old Snowy, GPNF GRW
DAY 1 I took a long weekend to go hike the Goat Rocks Wilderness. I got turned around a bit sooner than I had hoped – the trail over The Knife looked sketchy after the season’s first snow, and I was not feeling like taking a risk. Regardless, it was a gorgeous hike. I parked…
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20200920 PCT – Tipsoo Lake to Bumping River, WOD, GPNF OWNF
Autumn is here! I spent two days hiking the PCT from Tipsoo Lake, MRNP to the Bumping River at Fish Lake, GRW, and then back again via Swamp and American Lakes. Lots of elk bugling, a few hunters and a few hikers out.
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20200719 Carlton-Summit Loop via Historical Crossing, GPNF, WOD
Historical trails have been something of an interest for me for some time now. I’ve been researching and traveling the Cowlitz and Klickitat Trails in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, among some of the oldest in the region, dating to some thousands of years old. I’ve traced much of the Cowlitz Trail from Randle up to…
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20200702 Packwood Lake, Chimney Rock, Lost Lake, GPNF
Desire to get very high and far away finds me setting off from the Packwood Lake TH around 11:00 AM – I had gotten there nearly 45 minutes earlier, but need to finish charging my phone and packing my food. While there, the parking lot fills. A steady stream of people are going up and…
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20200530 Cispus Valley Trail #270, Takhlakh Lake, GPNF
With a crash and a boom, I crossed the Tom Music Bridge over the Cispus River. No, it wasn’t my truck, it was the sky. Often, when I make plans ahead of time to take a long weekend, the weather gets the last laugh. Today, for example, with a very active day of thunderstorms forecast.…