Thursday, August 29, 2019

28 August 2019 Hurricane Ridge

Today we drove into Olympic National Park to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. After collecting our46th Passport Stamp,shopped in the gift store, watched the park film and then we talked with the rangers to figure out the hiking options. 95% of the park is designated as wilderness area so there are limited roads into the park and limited day hikes into the interior. Several of the trails at Hurricane Ridge were closed due to Mountain Goat round up. Mountain Goats were introduced to the area before it was a park and is considered an invasive species. So the park service is rounding them up and moving them to the Cascade Range where they are an endemic species. So we hike up to Sunrise point and then the outer Cirque Loop (1.4 miles, 210 feet of elevation, 430 calories burned). The views of the Olympic Mountains on one side, and Strait of Juan De Fuca on the other were incredible. Mount Olympic is still covered in snow and glaciers and sparkling in the distance. On the road back, we spotted a lot of deer along the road, including some young ones that still had the shadow of spots. 
Olympic National Park Entrance sign

Mt. Olympic

Looking across the Strait of Juan De Fuca into Canada

27 August 2019 Vet Visit

Leslie noticed some changes in one of Etta’s fat tumors and wanted it checked out. So she found a vet in Port Angeles and made an appointment for today. David worked most of the morning while Leslie took Etta in for her vet visit. The vet believes the fat tumor is normal. But he believes one tooth is cracked and needs to be pulled. But first they needed to do some tests to determine if she has Cushing’s disease since it could affect her ability to heal. It will take a couple days for the test results to come in. 


The replacement window that New Horizon shipped to us arrived and seems to be fine. Its only 4 months late! David consulted with New Horizons to identify what is wrong with the toilet and got a copy of the owners manual and parts lists. The water valve is failed and we had to special order the replacement part to be delivered. So we have to repair projects to work on. 

26 August 2019 Concrete to Port Angeles, WA

The drive from Concrete to Port Angles is only about 280 miles but it took almost eight hours due to the traffic in Seattle and Tacoma. We stopped in New Haven at All Star Truck Wash and got the Wanderer and Behemoth washed ($110). With our shiny clean vehicles we headed down I-5 to US101, then US101 around the west side of Puget Sound. US101 was narrow, windy and hilly for the first 60 miles. Which made towing the Wanderer through it a bit nerve racking with traffic, narrow bridges and low hanging trees. We noticed many of the trees are already starting to change colors on the peninsula as well. 


But we made it to the Elwhar Dam RV Park ($50 per night) just west of Port Angeles. It took some wiggling to get the Wanderer settles in our site due to the young lady he guided us to our spot going the wrong way. But we eventually got it parked without breaking anything. After getting set up, David went to use the bathroom and noticed that the toilet bowl was constantly filling with water when it shouldn’t have! So he flushed it again and it still kept filling up. We turned the water to the toilet off until we could call the factory and find out what is going on. By the way, the plastic wrap saved the puzzle perfectly!!

25 August 2019 Sentinels

The morning started off slow. Leslie’s knee was hurting along with both of our muscles and hip joints. The reminders of a tough hike. Once we got up and moving we decided to drive into Sedro Woolley for some Mexican food. We went to the Tequila Aztec restaurant. It was good, fresh Mexican but lacked in heat. So David asked if they had any hotter salsa. The waiter went back to the kitchen and came back with a salsa that tasted like he had just dumped a bunch of hot sauce in the bland salsa. From there, we went back to the Wanderer, picked up Etta, and headed into the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. There was a short trail called the Shadow of the Sentinels that goes through some old growth Douglas Fir trees. Etta was happy to get out on the trail again and enjoyed the walk (0.5 miles, 20 feet of elevation, 166 calories burned). Following our walk, we drove the road around Baker Lake until the end of the road before heading back to the Wanderer. The rest of the evening was spent prepping for the next days drive and trying to finish our North Cascades puzzle (and failing). We had to figure a way to transport it without taking it apart completely.  It was too hard to have gotten as far as we did.  David came up with a brilliant idea to wrap the coffee table in plastic wrap. Why not try it!?!
Trailhead Sign

The Sentinels

Baker Lake



24 August 2019 Maple Pass

We woke this morning to another foggy, dripping morning. But the forcast looked like it would burn off so we headed for the Maple Loop Pass trailhead on the eastern side of the park. It was about a two hour drive to the trailhead on state highway 20. We arrived a little after 9am and were able to still find a parking spot. The trail starts off in National Forest land and then runs along the edge of the National Park. This is obviously a very popular hike. Having researched the hike on Alltrails, we decided to take the loop counterclockwise. It offered a more gradual climb over a longer distance. It was 4.6 miles and over 2200 foot elevation change to the top of the pass. It took us almost four hours to reach the top
Lake Ann

Entering the NP

Start of the trail down

Cascade Range

South Cascade Range

Western Cascade Range

Panoramic at top of pass
and definitely tested our muscles and lungs. The last half mile was very steep. The views from the trail over the Cascade Range and Lake Ann on the way up were awesome! Leslie spotted some mountain goats up on a distant cliff face. We also saw some Picas along the trail. The trail down from the top was the same 2200 feet but in only 3.2 miles and was very steep and rocky. At one point, Leslie was trying to descend a particularly steep and rocky section when this guy going up hill with a dog, just blasted by forcing her to take a bad step down and popped her bad knee out. They didn’t even stop to say they were sorry! People!!!!

The trip down from there was slow as we tried to make sure Leslie’s knee did not pop out again. But there were beautiful views down into Rainey Lake. Once we finally made it down, there were two groups of folks offering free meals in the parking lot. A group of hikers (from West Virginia) and a Mormon Church organization. So we stopped, had a couple hot dogs, some cookies, and talked with folks. It was a great way to end a beautiful but tough hike (7.8 miles, 2218 feet of elevation, 2503 calories burned). The drive back seemed to take forever, but we made it back to the Wanderer before Etta had an accident. Being too tired to cook, we went back to the Birdview Brewery for a couple pints and burgers. 

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

19 August 2019 Cascade Pass

With advice from Rangers and Authors, we decided to hike the Cascades Pass trail up to the top of the pass. Reviews had said the views were incredible on a clear day. The map said it was a 3.3 mile one way hike with 1700 feet of elevation climb. We drove down highway 20 to the Cascades River Road and followed that to the trail head parking area. The road is paved for the first 17 miles and a narrow maintained (with a fair number of pot holes) dirt and gravel road the next 14 miles. When we left there were low 
Cascade River Road Entrance Sign

Panoramic From the top of the pass toward Cascade Peak

View toward Boston Peak

The bear at the top of Cascade Pass

View of Boston Peak over the Alpine Meadows

View through the top of Cascade Pass

clouds and fog, not a promising start for the desired views. When we arrived at the parking area for the trailhead, it was mostly full but we were able to find a spot for the Behemoth. The clouds were starting to breakup and we could see the glaciers and snowfields on Cascade Peak peaking between the clouds. As we started up the trail the switchbacks were moderately steep, definitely not as bad as other hikes. What we did not plan on was the large number of switchbacks (David counted on the way back and there are 36 switchbacks!), which made this trail seem never ending. The first part of the trail is in old growth forest with several hundred year old Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir. And it was humid!! Even though the temperatures were not that warm, we were soaking wet from sweat by the time we reached the top. It does not look like this area had ever been cut for lumber. At about 3.5 miles (Yes the map is wrong) we finally broke out of the trees and into the high alpine meadows. By then the clouds had cleared out and we had stunning views of the high Cascade Mountains with their glistening glaciers. As we made out way the final half mile to the top of the pass, the views were incredible. Pushing through the pass, the vista beyond opened up with mountain peaks and glistening glaciers as far as the eye could see. The climb was definitely more than we had done before and it took its toll. The mileage up was 4.2 miles, not the 3.3 claimed by the map and the elevation gain was over 1800 feet, not the 1700 feet claimed by the map. Other than being tired and a bit dehydrated, we felt pretty good. 

This pass has been used by humans for thousands of years to move between the Stehekin River Valley and Cascade River Valley. Archeologists excavated a location at the top of the pass where they found the remains of campfires in between layers ash from volcanic eruptions and layers of soil from thousands of years of plant decay. They found the remains of camp fires and stone tools dating back to 8,000 years ago, 7500 years ago, 4000 years ago, and 2500 years ago. Just the fact that humans had picked the same spot to build a campfire separated by hundreds or thousands of years apart is amazing.

At the top of the pass, we sat down to drink some water and munch on our trail mix. Surprisingly, the chipmunks did not harass us this time. A little farther up the hillside we could see a large brown bear (could not tell if it was a grizzly or not) forging for food. David tried to get a picture but could not hold the camera steady enough with the 300mm lens to get a good picture.

Recharged from the water and trail snack, we headed back to the Behemoth. The hike back was almost all down hill, which hurts the knees, hips and feet, but is not as stressful on the muscles. The trail was very rocky at the top (including a long stretch crossing a talisman field) and lots of tree roots (Root Snakes as David like to call them), so we had to watch our footing. Good thing we had our walking sticks, as they saved several falls for both of us from tripping Root Snakes. We were very happy to reach the trail head (After 8.2 miles, 1850 elevation gain and 2,385 calories burned) and our awaiting lunch (but more like a dinner given the late time). We were exhausted but thrilled to have completed such a beautiful hike. 

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

18 August 2019 North Cascades National Park

After watching the Sunday church service, live on YouTube, we decided to make our initial foray into Cascades National Park. We went to the North Cascades NP Visitor Center near the historic town of Newhalem. After checking out the limited exhibits, collecting our45th Passport Stamp,shopped in the gift store, we talked with the rangers to figure out the hiking options. While in Carlsbad Caverns we had talked to the ranger leading our cave tour, and she had given us three day hikes that she liked. We had also checked with the authors of Dear Bob and Sue, Matt and Karen Smith, who recommended two of the same hikes. So we talked those over with the ranger. They would be challenging hikes due to the amount of elevation gain you have with hikes in this national park. There is only one road running through the park, state highway 20, which runs past three lakes formed by dams used to provide power to Seattle. The lakes (Gorge, Diablo and Ross Lakes) and the highway are on national forest service land, which cuts the national park in two. There are a couple of through park trails on the north side, otherwise the trails generally are on the border of the park with many starting on National Forest Service land before going into the national park. Ninety Three percent of the park is wild life refuge, which limits human access. There are over 300 Glaciers in North Cascades NP, more then all the other national parks combined. The northern Cascades are called the “Alps of America” due to their steep vertical sides and deep glacier cut valleys. We forgot to stay for the park movies, so we will have to go back on a rainy day. 

After the visitor center, we went to the Historic Town of NewHalem. The town was founded to support the building of the three dams and the power system to send the generated power to Seattle (Almost 1GW combined). After crossing a suspension bridge over the Skagit River, we hiked the short Trail of the Cedars and once again walked amongst the old Western Cedar, Douglas Fir and Black Cottonwood trees. There is something very soothing about walking through old growth forests.

Following Newhalem, we drove down WA20 to the Gorge Lake, Diablo Lake, and Ross Lake overlooks before back tracking to the Wanderer. We also noticed a sign in the town of Marblemount and realized that we would be leaving before the big Sasquatch Festival!   
Entrance Sign

Diablo Lake
Sasquatch Festival Sign

Trail of the Cedars




17 August 2019 Seattle to Concrete WA

We pulled out of Seattle this morning and headed for Concrete WA. We are staying in the KOA ($46 per night with EKV discount) in Concrete. Once again we have no TV (No SAT TV, OTA or Cable).  Leslie will be CRAZY in less than 24 hours and we’re staying 9 days. Looks like we’ll need another puzzle. This one of the nicest KOAs we have been to. On our site (#87) are three Western Red Cedar trees that are probably over 200 years old and at least 100 feet tall (we had to trim some branches off one so we could fit the Wanderer in), one just 4 inches from the side of a slide out. Water pressure is good even though it’s a well water system. We have one of the few 50 Amp sites. WiFi is pay as you go with Jaabaa. But it is fast enough to run Netflix and uTube videos. David had fun backing the Wanderer in between the trees and the utility post, but the Wanderer fits like a glove in this site. We can even open the garage to get the grill out. 
KOA Site

11-16 August 2019 Seattle Days

Leslie’s friend, Mona, arrived Sunday afternoon, a little late due to delays, but she finally landed.  We immediately headed to the Pike Place Market.  Everything fresh…the seafood and flowers especially…seemed to be on steroids.  David’s cousin couldn’t come down and meet us for dinner, but suggested Lowell’s in the market as a good bet.  He was right. It was spot on.  A quirky place but we found a table on the 3rdfloor overlooking the harbor.  As we ate, a fire boat passed along the shore and boasted its powerful spray nozzles.  What a spectacle that was!
Fire Boat showing off its water cannon

Monday, Leslie took David to the airport where he left for a week’s business in Fort Worth, TX. The rest of the week was left to the girls in Seattle.  That afternoon they enjoyed a 3hr tour of Seattle.  Several wonderful divisions of Seattle included downtown, Pioneer Plaza, the statue dedicated to Chief Seattle for whom the city is named, the iconic Space Needle, China Town, Queen Anne districts and the Ballard Locks.  At one point on the way to the Ballard Locks, the driver stopped under a bridge overpass explaining it was once a heavily trafficked place where drugs were sold.  City Council sought a solution and decided to turn it into a tourist attraction.  A giant concrete troll was constructed to take up most of the space and in it’s hand it’s crushing a BW Bug.  The eye of the troll is actually the hubcap from that bug. Sure!! Draws a crowd!!  No more drug dealers.  Problem solved.
The Troll
After the tour’s conclusion, hunger became a driving issue.  A long standing curiosity has been Etta’s, a well known restaurant in Seattle.  Their website was always stronger and seemed to overpower that of the little Bed and Breakfast run by the 2 women.  Eventually finding it, they convinced a server to take a few fun pictures. Did they eat there, NO. Etta’s had no fresh oysters on the menu and that was the call of the evening.  So about a block down, a restaurant serving fresh oysters was found and many consumed!!
Etta's Restaurant in Seattle
Mona and Leslie with the Space Needle behind them
 
Public Market
Tuesday the girls went on a daylong tour to Mt Rainier.  The driver imparted a great deal of information regarding the history of the development of the park and the lodge.  The Longmire family was the first of many to see the potential of tourist traffic. The lodge at Mt Rainier is absolutely beautiful but not quite the scale of Yellowstone’s or the lodge at McDonald Lake in Glacier.  The driver stopped at Paradise Lodge for the afternoon break.  A 2hr free time break.  Mona enjoyed an afternoon of clean crisp air and gorgeous views.  The sun was out and clouds were minimal. Grateful for a beautiful ending to a long day, the Wanderer was looking mighty good.  Etta (aka,"The Pup"), our dog, was still living upon arrival.  

A tour of the Seattle underground was scheduled for Wednesday.  Knowing traffic was horrible, they embarked a good hour before the tour was scheduled.  Traffic was even more horrible due to a Rolling Stones concert at the Convention Center.  By the time downtown was even reached, the tour had already commenced 20 minutes earlier.  Not ready to give up the city just yet, Lowell’s sounded like a good way to wind down.  No fire boat this time!  So the beast of a truck was again parked with a valet service of a well known hotel and the Pike’s Place Market was again sought out for another wonderful meal.  Thursday was spent recuperating.  Mona slept on and off most the day.  Certainly she needed it and it was happily granted.  Friday good-byes were said and smiles exchanged along with I love you’s.  Such blessings to behold and wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. 

While David was in Fort Worth, he had dinner with our friends from the old apartment building, Sharon and Jim Greenstone. They had a good time catching up on happenings in downtown and our travels since we last saw them. We miss them and our other friends from Sanger Lofts.
 
Our friends the Greenstones
Friday night we met David’s long time friend from High School and his wife, Dave and Sherry Teasdale, for dinner and to catch up. We brought them back to the Wanderer to show them what an RV could be in case they catch the bug. It was a wonderful even and a fitting way to wrap up our visit to Seattle. 

Saturday, August 10, 2019

10 August 2019 Naches to Kent WA

Today we moved from Rim Rock Lake to the Seattle area (Kent). We were happy to leave Rim Rock Lake Resort behind us. It rained last night and our neighbors, who had pulled in during the afternoon, hung out under their trailer awning, 10 feet from our bedroom windows, talking loudly until 3am. We were not happy campers. Combine that with being disconnected, and we had enough of that RV resort. The drive to the Seattle/Tacoma KOA ($59 per night with VKA Discount) in Kent WA was uneventful despite the stressful Seattle area traffic. The KOA is located in an industrial area backed up against a city park. The roads and turns are a bit tight for our big rig, but we were able to get into our assigned site without too much struggle. We were able to get satellite TV again and have a good WiFi signal not to mention cell phone coverage, so we are once again plugged in! Leslie’s BFF, Mona, is flying in tomorrow and we are very much looking forward to her visit.



8 August 2019 Back to Paradise

We decided we really wanted to hike in the Paradise area after seeing the north side of Mt Rainer from Sunrise. So once again we were up early to head up to Paradise. And once again, as we climbed up through White Pass, the fog/clouds moved in. It did not look promising. But we continued with the hope it would burn off in the morning. As we climbed in elevation the fog/clouds got thicker and just before we arrived at Paradise, we climbed above the clouds and were looking over a sea of white with jagged peaks poking up and beautiful Mount Rainer glistening in the sun. Spectacular. After conferring with a Ranger, we decided to take Waterfall Trail to Deadhorse Creek Trail up to Glacier Vista and then come down on Skyline Trail. The sun was bright, the temperatures just right, and a slight breeze to cool us off now and then. As we climbed up Deadhorse Creek, Mt Rainer was right in front of us. We had awesome views of Nisqually Glacier and the many waterfalls from snow and glacier melt cascading off the mountain. The climb was steep, but we took our time and trudged along immersed in the many wildflowers, pine scent, and fresh air. It only took us an hour to reach Glacier Vista. We stopped for a drink of water and to eat some of our trail mix. The little chipmunks came out of nowhere seeking a snack. After taking photos, we decided we were not really that tired and decided to continue up Skyline Trail to Panorama Point (Altitude 6800 feet). As we looked behind us, we could see the clouds were climbing up the mountain slowly and seemed to be getting thicker. In the hazy distance we could see Mount Adam and Mount St. Helens sticking up through the clouds. 

When we arrived at Panorama Point, we again dropped our packs and sat down for water and a snack. David went to the end of the point to use his cell phone camera to take a panoramic photo. As he started to take it, a bee landed on the camera lens. So he stopped and cleared the photo and tried again. Again the bee flew up and landed on the camera lens. So he shooed the bee off, and tried again, and again the bee came back and David was trying to move the camera while shooing the bee away. Needless to say it was not a successful shot as you can see his hand or the bee in the frame. We sat down on a rock and pulled open our trail mix for a snack and again a chipmunk came running up. This one was a bit more aggressive. It ran up David’s leg to his lap and kept trying to reach for the bag. David held the bag up high and the chipmunk ran up his back to his shoulder and then started climbing up his arm, so he switched hands. The chipmunk ran down his arm, across his shoulders and up the other arm! Leslie grabbed the bag and the chipmunk jumped from David’s arm to Leslie’s lap! Meantime there are 30 people watching this and laughing. David finally relented and gave the persistent guy a raisin and an almond. 

Following our rest, we trudged our way up High Skyline Trail and then took the Golden Gate trail back to Paradise. It was a beautiful hike (5.2 miles, 1,673 of elevation gain, 1594 calories burned) and a fitting end to our Mt. Rainer visit.

We came off the trail by Paradise Inn and decided to stop in the historic Inn for a beer before heading back to the Wanderer. While we were drinking our beers, a Ranger came strolling up and began to chitchat. Ranger Jim Roberts is a seasonal ranger (he worked 3 months a year) and has been doing it for 52 years! He was about to give a history presentation on Paradise Inn and the surrounding area and invited us to stay for his presentation. So Leslie grabbed our hiking poles and packs and took them to the Behemoth to get our lunch cooler and David grabbed the beers and headed for front row seats for Ranger Roberts presentation. We sat in cushioned chairs and learned about the development of the Paradise area and Paradise Inn while we enjoyed our lunch. The inn was built in 1916 and went through modifications to account for the 30 feet of snow they get in Paradise each winter. The inn just finished up a major renovation, which started in 2009, to shore up the old structure and bring it up to modern safety codes. Ranger Roberts passed around old photos illustrating the history of the area both prior to and after it became a national park in 1899 (the nations fifth national park).

Following Ranger Roberts presentation we headed back. The clouds were still hanging below us as we started down in the Behemoth. But as we got closer to the Stevens Canyon entrance gate the clouds thinned and the sun poked out. We drove over to Packwood to fill up on fuel and pick up some grocery items before driving back through White Pass to Rim Rock Lake. Critter Sightings: On the drive up White Pass in the morning, a pair of Elk cows crossed the road in front of us, we saw a Grouse sitting in the shade along Waterfall Trail and a Marmot was along the Skyline trail just before we got to Panorama Point. 
Hiking in the wildflowers above the clouds

Mt Rainer from Dead Horse Creek Trail

Marmot near Panoramic Point

Mt Rainer from Glacier Vista

Bee interrupts David's Panoramic

Flower Field facing the clouded valley


Wednesday, August 7, 2019

7 August 2019 Patriarchs and Silver

We were up early again this morning to beat the crowds. Our plan today was to hike the Grove of Patriarchs and Silver Falls trails. We had notice on our previous trips through Stevens Canyon that the parking lot of these trails filled up early and stayed full all day. So we arrived at the parking lot about 08:30 and got the last parking spot! Whew! 

We headed for the Grove of Patriarchs first (1.8 miles, 69 feet of elevation gain, 532 calories burned). The trail follows the Ohanapecosh River (which starts as snow and glacier melt on Mt. Rainer) through a forest of younger growth (compared to the Patriarchs) until you cross over on a cable suspension bridge to an island. The bridge swayed and bounced as you crossed over the river and we could only go across one at a time. On the island is one of the remaining fragments of northwest old growth forest. Some of the Western Cedar and Douglas Fir trees on the island are over 1,000 years old and are over 200 feet tall! The trunks are over 20 feet in diameter. Standing next to these ancient trees, craning your neck to see up them, makes you feel small, insignificant and humble. They are incredible! The giants that have fallen act as nurseries for new trees. New trees start to grow on the decaying trunks of the ancient giants. We counted one ancient truck that had 14 trees, each over a 100 years old already, growing on top of its slowly decaying carcass. Its hard to imagine that man clear cut the forests of these massive trees in just 100 years! Just cutting down one would be a huge undertaking using just axes and handsaws. These trees have survived multiple eruptions of both Mt. Rainer and Mount Saint Helens in their life times. These trees give you a new appreciation of the time span at which Mother Nature works her miracles.
Returning to the parking lot, we crossed over the road and followed the trail down to Silver Falls (1.8 Miles, 355 feet of elevation gain, 525 calories burned). The trail being at just 2400 feet in altitude sure make a big difference in how we felt hiking. There’s oxygen!! This trail, similar to the trail to the Grove of the Patriarchs as winds through a younger growth forest (probably due to old forests fires or maybe eruptions of the mountain) along the Ohanapecosh River to where the river enters a narrow canyon and eventually pours out at Silver Falls. The falls are pretty. What caught David’s attention were the tree trucks embedded high up in the canyon walls where they had been wedged by flash floods. It’s hard in imaging water that high flowing through this narrow canyon. We continued down the trail until the bridge that crossed over the river giving great views of the falls. Back at the parking lot, we sat in the Behemoth and ate our sandwiches and chips for lunch before heading back to the Wanderer.

Leslie on the Cable Bridge

Us standing in front of a 1000 year old root ball

Leslie standing in a grove of 1,000 year old Douglas Firs

Base of a 1,000 year old Western Red Cedar

Silver Falls

6 August 2019 Mt. Rainer NP Sunrise Area

When the alarm went off this morning, we were up and moving eagerly. We had plotted a loop route out the night before for our hike in the Sunrise Area of Mt. Rainer NP. We arrived at the Sunrise parking area at 9 am and found there was plenty of parking spots. Apparently the locals had slept in this morning. We walked over to the visitor center to find it did not open until 10 am. As we turned around to leave, two rangers walked up and asked if we needed help. So we discussed our hiking plan with them and the ranger suggested some modifications and that we take the Sunrise Rim trail for the first part of the hike instead of the last. He explained that the climb was steeper, but that you had a view of Mt. Rainer all the way during the climb. If we went the other way around there was a ridge that prevented you from seeing the mountain until you got to the top, and then you had the mountain to your back on the way down. We took his advice. We started out on the Sunrise Rim trail and followed it till it intersected with Burroughs Trail and followed that back to Sunrise Visitor Center (5.3 miles, 1115 feet of elevation gain, 1351 calories burned). The hike to Shadow Lake through forest and meadows was very relaxing and warmed our legs up. The climb from Shadow Lake for 1.3 miles to the intersection with Burroughs Trail was steep, rocky, and tough. But the views of Mount Rainer as the trail meander of the ridge were incredible!!! The climb was about 1,000 feet starting at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. So the air was thin, the trail was steep, there was no shade and the temperatures were in the upper 70s to low 80s. We would not change a thing! We were hot, sweaty, tired, but the views of that mountain was worth it! We considered climbing the 500 additional feet in altitude to the top of Burroughs Two, but decided the view could not be any better than what we had already seen. The hike back to the Sunrise Visitor Center was a comfortable stroll after that climb. We stopped at the Frozen Lake Overlook and sat down to have a snack and drink water. As we sat there enjoying the view, a Chipmunk came nosing around looking for a treat and climbed up David’s leg and sat in his lap! There was a Ranger near by, so we did not feed him for fear of getting in trouble (Don’t feed the wild life!!) but it was obvious people had done so in the past.  When we arrived back at Sunrise, the parking lot was packed and there were hundreds of people milling around, dozens of cars circling the parking lot in search of a spot, and too much hustle and bustle. We were glad we had gotten there early this morning before the overwhelming crowds had descended. We stopped in the Sunrise Inn to look through the gift shop. Then wandered into the snack bar for a couple of beers and a chocolate chip cookie to build our energy back up. Back at the truck, we pulled out our cooler and ate our sandwiches and chips while enjoying the cool breeze off the mountain. 

After we got back to the Wanderer, and had cleaned up and eaten dinner, we sat down to work some more on our Mount Rainer puzzle. We were quickly filling it in, but there was one very distinctive piece that seemed to be missing. We looked under the couch, under the table, checked the box to see if it was there, but could not find it. We were down to the last 30 pieces or so and it was not there. So Leslie ran her hand across the top of the assembled portion of the puzzle and there it was! It blended in so well with another portion of the puzzle, we could not see it! The mystery solved, we quickly wrapped up the rest of the puzzle and admired our work. It had taken four evenings and a good portion of Monday to complete. But with no TV, cell phone or internet, what else is there to do?

 
Shadow Lake (Notice the reflections on top of the shadows)

Mt Rainer from lower Sunrise Rim Trail

Mt. Rainer from Upper Sunrise Rim Trail

Leslie coming down Burroughs Trail with Mt. Rainer behind her.

Please feed me! I won't tell the Ranger!

Our finished puzzle.


4 August 2019 Mount Saint Helen National Volcanic Monument

We woke this morning to find it sunny and very hazy. Deciding that Mt. Rainer NP was probably going to be over run with locals like on Saturday, we decided today would be a good day to visit Mount Saint Helen National Volcanic Monument which is run by the Department of Agriculture. The drive to the Northeast entrance to the monument and then on to the Wind Ridge Overlook was 2.5 hours. We followed US12 to rt131 in Randall. From Randall, its 46 miles to the final overlook on a paved road that is falling apart. It was rough, twisting and rockin and rolling. Considering the number of people we saw driving the road we are surprised it is not better maintained. There are two other entrances to the monument, one on the southeast corner and the other at the northeast corner, but they would be an additional 2 hours to get to either one. At the second overlook, we could easily see Mt. Hood and Mt. Adam along with Mt Saint Helen. 

We stopped off at the Harmony Lake and Spirit Lake overlooks to see tree trunks that were blown/washed into the lakes in May 1980 are still floating around in large log mats that drift on the wind. The devastation from the blast is still clearly visible almost 40 years later. The areas outside the monument have been restored through a combination of public and private re-plantings with native trees. The areas in the monument are being allowed to recover naturally and are being closely studied by scientists. The one visitor center we passed on the way in was closed. We had planned to do some hiking in the monument in return trips but decided it was just too far to drive for a day hike.  Critter Sighting: We saw a white tail deer along the road on the drive in.
 
Entrance Sign with Mount Saint Helens in the background

Spirit Lake with floating tree trunks

Mount Saint Helens