My ideal Fourth of July would consist of hiking and a picnic with friends, and indeed, that is exactly what I got today! A couple friends and I went up into the Cascades near Mount Pilchuck to hike to some ice caves, which weren't actually out at this time of year. Nevertheless, it was a magnificent view at the end of a nice, easy hike. Magnificent ( Read more... )

This will be the first of some overdue picture posts. I'll be merciful, and post them once every day or two.

This last Monday, I went on an overnight backpacking trip with my dad and two of his old college hiking buddies. They're a fun bunch. The full report can be found here. This post is just for the pictures ( Read more... )

I made it out of the wilderness in one piece. That was a crazy trail. I went with my dad and two of his old hiking buddies. (There's a bunch of them, collectively known as The Feet.) My dad initially objected when his friends suggested Badger Valley. Dad pointed out that we'd have to do the hard part (going uphill) last. As it turns out, it was ( Read more... )

The last hike I went on was a bit of a challenge for me, but I think that I just went to fast, trying to keep up with my dad's friends. My dad, while hiking, is a machine, moving slowly but steadily upward, never stopping. Today, I kept pace with him. As a result, I was almost never tired, and we hiked about 24 kilometers. (too tired to convert ( Read more... )

Pretty awesome day today. Last night, as we were walking home from the writing group, and the sunset was turning Mt Baker pink, Sän pointed to Mt Baker and said, "I'm going there tomorrow!" and I asked, "Can I go, too?" And lo, I did ( Read more... )

At the start of the summer, Keffy noted that he had weekends off, and that we should do a bunch of hiking. As it turns out, we never got around to doing this, and Keffy's schedule went all wonky anyways. Sunday I pointed out our earlier goal, and we decided to go on Wednesday, rather than a weekend that Sän and Keffy wouldn't have off anyway ( Read more... )