Walking in the Mountains

This hike was one of the best of the summer, if not the best. Starting at the Twin Lakes trailhead we made our way up the appropriately but originally named Low Pass and High Pass toward the peak of Mt. Larrabee. From this view, just 1.5 miles south of the Canadian border, we had views of the American Border Peak, Canadian Border Peak, The Pleiades, Tomyhoi Peak, Mt. Shuksan, and of course Mt. Baker. We had such an unusual vantage point of Mt. Shuksan that I hardly recognized it. The red of all the brush on the trail, mostly berries and heather, was quite striking. Of all the wonderful views and glaciers we've seen, this is the first time we felt like we were walking in the mountains.

High Pass on Mt. Larrabee

Roosevelt Glacier on Mt. Baker

These pictures were taken with my phone. I didn't bring the camera because I have been taking pictures of the woods and mountains all summer and didn't think I could outdo any of the previous pictures. We have been wanting to do this hike, the Heliotrope Ridge Hike, all summer but the Forest Service road leading up to it has been closed. It opened a week or so ago and we decided to go do the hike. The hike required fording some glacial streams that Kirsten and Marcos didn't like. We met some nice hikers-- Pam and Lance, who currently hail from New Jersey although Lance had some tales about growing up in Sumas, Washington and doing a milk delivery run through Glacier and Maples Falls (along the Baker highway)-- and they had a rope which made fording the glacial streams a little easier, at least in a psychological sense. Marcos seems to freeze up at the streams not because it's too deep (because his feet can touch bottom) but he has bad memories attached to these fordings. Anyways, you can see that fording the cold streams was worth it.

Not having a camera makes adventures better. To keep Lupe calm during our drives, we usually stop early to look for some hike or maybe just some open land along the highway. After leaving Cle Elum recently after a fishing trip,I pulled over at USFS road # 9714 not knowing what to expect other than a space with trees and devoid of cars and people where Lu and Mar could run free. We found trail #1351, the Iron Creek Bear Creek Trail, which led us to the Nason Ridge. That morning, September 10, 2009, will be etched in my memory as we came up to the ridge and there stood Mt. Rainier, looking ominous on the horizon, huge and engulfing our vision. Over 70 miles away, it dominated our view, making us realize just how big it is and how it dominates life in Washington. Not having a camera to document the beautiful view and the beautiful ridge that we were walking, made even more beautiful by the cool, crisp September air, made the moment even more special. Here's to leaving your camera at home.

Yakima River Fishing Buddies

Recently, we took a fishing trip to the Yakima River with my parents. We fished mainly with hopper patterns and it was the first time that I fished with crane fly patterns. One of the pictures shows my dad and I with a double hookup. I caught a 16-17" cutthroat trout on the Yakima and maybe 10-12 smaller cutts and cuttbows (the hybrid version of the rainbow trout and cutthroat-great sporting fish). You can see Lupe showing a lot of curiosity about the fish that the guide is holding for me. My mom got a big one, too. The picture of my dad with a big fish is actually one my mom sent me that documents their trip to the South Fork in Idaho where they continued after the Yakima River trip. Marcos was a little afraid of the boat but settled in and enjoyed the ride.