nerd’s eye view

Uphill at Latham Creek

I was up at 6. Erin called at 715 and by 745 we were heading east into a driving rain. I’d checked the forecast and the pass conditions so I knew it was snowing. I was psyched to be heading up to the mountains for the first snowshoe of the season.

The trail to Latham Lake starts at the Nordic Center at Stevens Pass. We picked this trail for a few reasons: We wouldn’t have to drive all the way back from Leavenworth to get home, we didn’t need a SnoPark or NW Trail pass, and we were there. Plus, the snow was looking mighty attractive and rather than drive another hour to Leavenworth, we wanted to get to it!

The Nordic Center wasn’t yet open for the season so there were no crowds. A few sledders played in the parking lot, a couple walked their dog along the Forest Service Road. The facilities guys were outside the ski rental chalet but the place was not open for business. It was striking to see all this quiet when just a few miles west, the alpine ski slopes at Stevens Pass were packed, the parking lot full of ski busses.

Bundled up and strapped in to snowshoes, we headed up the hill, parallel to the creek. The snow was falling, but it was a nice dry snow and we were protected by the huge hemlock and spruce trees. There were pretty views of the creek below, big white pillows of snow piled up on the stones and logs that lay across the water. Pale green moss sparkled with snow and ice crystals, decorating the trees in strings of tiny bottle glass beads. We walked up.

I stuffed my poles back in to my pack, finding them not much use on the narrow trail. We crossed under the noisy power lines, shuffled about for a few minutes finding the trail’s continuation and then, more up. Up. Up. It wasn’t your brutal steep climb, just a continuous grade. After about an hour the trail flattened out somewhat. In places, it seemed like we were walking in the river bed, but the snow was deep and compact enough that the boots stayed dry. This was my favorite part of the trail - it was so quiet here. The trees had opened up a little - they were bigger but let more sky and snow in, and with the altitude gain the snowflakes had gone from dust to big flakes that sat on your hand for a minute before disappearing.

We passed a marker saying we were entering the National Forest. A few yards further up the hill, we stopped for a snack. Erin had hot cocoa in her thermos (yum!). My granola bar had frozen in my pack - I hadn’t realized it was that cold. We were sure we’d gone the distance, but still, no lake. We decided to go up a little bit more to see if there was an obvious saddle. The trail turned brutally steep here and after a difficult climb, we opted to turn back.

While certainly I’d have liked to see the lake, Erin had chores to do, I had dinner plans, and there were two hours between us and Seattle. We both were feeling very satisfied and accomplished, lake or no lake. After all, we’d done exactly what we’d set out to do: go snowshoeing! The big trees of the Pacific Northwest decorated in frost and snow, the sparkling noise of the river, the moss jewelry hanging on the branches, a flawless snow, and no wind. What a perfect day.

After driving back across the pass, I stopped the car at a gas station/convenience market. Ravenous, I plowed through a tupperware container of Thanksgiving leftovers. Erin made short work of a burrito. I was home with time for shower and a short nap before heading out to dinner. This morning I’m sore in places I’d forgotten I had, but I’m also really happy. Winter is coming and soon I’ll be in a snowy playground. I can’t wait for days like yesterday to be a dime a dozen.

Gear note: A few weeks back I got a pair of MSR Denali snowshoes on loan. The frame isn’t the tube frame you often see on most snowshoes, it’s more like a cookie cutter with teeth in it. I can’t say if these things offer good floatation; our snow just wasn’t that deep. I can say, however, that I got in and out of the bindings in a snap and that the traction is excellent. I felt like a cat climbing a tree on the steep part of our hike.

Posted in Playing Outside | 2 Comments »

Is it snowing yet?

My ode to waiting for snow is live at Snowshoe Magazine.

And if you’re in to snowshoeing, you really should subscribe to the upcoming print mag. I wrote the feature spread for the inaugural issue.

Also, while I’m flashing my publication credentials, my letter to the editor of the Seattle Weekly is up, too.

Posted in Playing Outside | No Comments »

How to See the Olympic Peninsula

Don’t tell me I can’t learn from my mistakes. I absolutely can. And now, so can you. If you’re off to the Olympic peninsula and only have three days, take, please, my advice and do the following.

Go ahead and do exactly what we did and book yourself a place at Ocean Shores Resort. I can’t say a whole lot for the rooms, but there’s easy beach access and the drive doesn’t take forever. But the restaurant, while pricy, is Worth Every Nickel. Okay, we were the spoiled guests of our companions for the meal, but seriously, this place dishes up some mighty yummy chow and in large portions.

I, for one, have had it with places that make you sign over your mortgage for a paper thin slice of ahi tuna with a matchstick of green onion as garnish. This place offers no such indignities, and, as I mentioned, it’s delicious. On the table? Smoked duck breast, a wild green salad (okay, it was a little overdressed) two orders of King salmon, halibut in broth, and a whopping platter of linguine with shrimp. Every single bite of the mains, perfectly cooked and generously portioned. Dessert, I can’t even write about without blushing. All this with an ocean view. Plus, hey, it’s the Washington Coast, so never mind that you’re having your fancy dinner in the same clothes you spent all day hiking in.

But just book ONE night there, okay, not two. Pack the car and in the morning, head north. Off you go to Lake Quinalt for a hike or two, and lunch at the lake. You can get fish and chips at the Mercantile and then eat your ice cream bar at the lake, or splash out at the lodge for a fancy lunch, or, hey, take a picnic, there are many fine spots. Odds are you will still be plenty full from the night before. Anyway, hike the one trail near the south entrance and then, do the short walk through the Maple Glade because you’re not going to see too much else that looks like this in your life.

Here’s the thing you ought to do before you leave the hotel. Pay attention, because you will forget. Check the tide charts. This has nothing to do with the lake. See, after you are done in Quinalt, you will go up to Ruby Beach. If you have planned it correctly, which we did not, you can be there for low tide and the tidepooling there is primo. We missed it this time, though that is not to say we did not enjoy the beach. After all, it’s really crazy gorgeous.

After you’ve filled your eyeballs with mossy trees and spectacular ocean, you can spend the night in Kalaloch or some other nearby beachy inn. Forks isn’t far, and while it’s not really that nice, it’s just a hotel, right? Then, on the following morning, you can head around the top of the peninsula with a stop at Sol Duc for a swim and/or another short hike near there.

If it was just the two of us, I’d go midweek without reservations. I would, really. There are plenty of little hotels and motels where you can just show up. On the weekend, I’d think I’d make reservations. I’d certainly check to see if there are any events on, because while there’s plenty out there, I don’t know how easy it is to get a room on short notice if you happen to arrive the same weekend that the 2000 bikers arrive. Also, I’d stock up on groceries before leaving town. There are a few markets out there, but they’re not that great and they’re expensive.

If you have more time, there are lots of other possibilities, but this plan works just fine for the three day tour. We went back the way we came and spent two nights at Ocean Shores. I wish we’d done the loop route. It’s not like we didn’t have a great time, though. It’s amazing out there and we had incredible weather. I’m just saying, if you find yourself wanting to get out to the Olympic Peninsula, take my advice.

Naturally, there are pictures.

Posted in Passport Travels, Playing Outside | 1 Comment »

Tourists at Home

Fishing shack on the edge of Lake Quinalt

We’re just back from the spectacular Olympic Peninsula. Rain forest, huge trees, glorious beaches with seastacks and tide pools. More photos and commentary to follow, pending the departure of our house guests/travel companions.

Posted in Passport Travels, Playing Outside | No Comments »

Canada Road Trip Photos

On June 21st, the first day of summer, we loaded the car with camping gear, a ukulele, and Lumpy the Sock Monkey. We pointed the car north and went to look at parts of Canada.

The weather was bad, the campground neighbors were loud, and the Rockies were awash in busloads of tourists. Did we have a great time? You betcha.

Here are some pictures.

Posted in Passport Travels, Playing Outside | 1 Comment »

Bones, Bears, Bathing

K. told us to go to Drumheller and because it would Not Stop Raining, we did. It turns out that Drumheller, just the week before, had suffered from terrible flooding, the kind where all the news is about the flooding. We know this not because anyone told us, but because we were sick and tired of the rain, which is why we went to Drumheller where we got a hotel room and found ourselves watching the local news. It turns out we’d been traveling in perfect synchronization with a massive weather front that was blanketing the Rockies and parts of Alberta with rainfall the likes of which had not been recorded. Ever.

But no matter, it was worth the trip to Drumheller anyway because, like K. said, the museum is freakin’ amazing. Drumheller is dinosaur central - it’s a boneyard out there. At the museum you get to see some of those bones, including the named for Alberta “Albertasaurus” and a whopping great T-Rex. At the musuem they don’t just put the bones on display. They’ve provided context for everything so in addition to this traveling back in time thing that you do as you walk through, they’ve recreated the environment in which the dinosaurs live. The coolest of these is where they’ve made this 3-d underwater fish tank kind of thing where you see the tiny creatures of the Burgess Shale (a fossil boneyard in Yoho) recreated a jillion times bigger than they were in reality. Cable news, a private shower, an amazing museum, and a good night’s sleep in a real bed. What a deluxe diversion.

After another stopover in Banff and a quick flyby for lunch at Lake Louise, we drove through Yoho where we saw the second bear of the trip. This one, a handsome youngster, was grazing right along the road out from the lodge on that little island in the lake - you know the one, right? His coat was so full and attractive, his demeanor so passive and appealling, it’s easy to see why people get lulled in to tangling with them. I thought I’d be terrified, but I’m pretty sure we could outrun him as we were in the car with the motor running. I was excited but not too worked up. J. snapped a few photos of him before we continued on our way, leaving his shagginess to his berry picking.

Today we’ve left the Rockies behind but it wasn’t easy to do. In spite of the bad weather, loud chewing, and dangerous animals, it’s gorgeous up there. Our last day in the mountains was spent dawdling in the giant pool at Radium Hot Springs. It was Canada Day yesterday and the pool was packed, but it’s a testament to the size of the place that we didn’t feel crowded out. To celebrate the holiday, we ate pizza on a balcony overlooking the town of Radium and the Purcell Range.

Right now, we’re in the Kimberly - a silly little faux Bavarian town - for a coffee and email fix, we’re heading south in search of sunshine and the next hot spring spot.

Posted in Passport Travels, Playing Outside | No Comments »