Monte Cristo/Silver Lake

After work on Friday and buddy from work and I drove up to Monte Cristo trail head and headed the 4 miles toward the old mining town. The hike into the town is mostly flat, gravel and wide. It's pretty simple aside from a few detours where the gravel road had washed out and you meander through the woods on a small dirt trail and one giant log bridge used to cross a river. The log is really long and wide and should be fairly simple for most hikers, but because the rest of the trail is really simple there are lot of young, elderly, inexperienced hikers who attempt this hike and they might get frightened by the task of crossing a fallen tree several feet above cold moving water.

After crossing the river, the rest is pretty smooth sailing until you get into the town. There are several established campsites right outside the town center. This being a Friday night, and as expected, there were quite a few campers occupying these campsites. My buddy and I found a well treed spot since we were using hammocks to do out camping and awaited the arrival of the third member of our party. He got a later start than us and was on his way. He arrived shortly after we did and got our camp all set up for the weekend.

Once we got our campsite situated and everyone's hammocks were just perfect we headed into the town of Monte Cristo to check out the history of the old mining town. There is an old train turnstile that can still be moved, several buildings still standing and AMAZING mountain views. I can see why it was a popular destination; very beautiful.

The next morning we headed up from Monte Cristo to Silver Lake. The hike to Silver Lake is more of a typical hike; narrow, steep and dirt, with spots of awesome views. You reach the lake after 2 miles and 1600 feet of elevation gain, a lot of the elevation gain is toward the very end.

The lake was still partially covered in snow and ice, but beautiful nonetheless. There were a few parties up there that camped overnight. After we spent some time at the lake, and filled up our bottles with water we headed back down the trail. When we got back into town we relaxed a bit and started getting food ready for dinner. We all made up our own Mountain House meals and hung out for a while and gathered firewood for our campfire. We enjoyed a relaxing night around the campfire and then went to sleep in our hammocks.

In the morning we got up and cooked some breakfast and then packed up our campsite. We headed back to the trail head on a cloudy Sunday morning. When we got to the trail head we quickly realized my buddy's truck was MISSING. Someone had stolen his truck! We drove around the area in my truck looking for any signs of it off in a ditch or another parking lot with no luck. We reported it stolen to some park rangers we found at another trail head parking lot. On our way back into town we found it! It was parked on a side road. We talked to some people camping nearby and they witnessed this truck being used to break into other cars along Mountain Loop Highway. There was some minor damage to the truck and we couldn't get it started. We eventually had to get a tow truck to tow it to his house.

The hike, location and camping were tons of fun, but the bummer of my buddy getting his truck stolen was really lame and put a sour taste in our mouth about the whole trip. It's pretty sad how we can't go out and enjoy the wilderness without fearing for our possessions. I hope no one else has to experience this kind of bummer.


Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass-West
Distance: Monte Cristo 8 miles/Silver Lake 4 additional miles
Elevation Gain: Monte Cristo 700 ft/Silver Lake 1600 additional ft
Peak Elevation: Monte Cristo 2800 ft/Silver Lake 4350 ft
Difficulty: Monte Cristo Easy/Silver Lake Medium
Pass Requirement: Northwest Forest Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Barclay Lake

A good way to celebrate our nation's Independence Day is to enjoy some of the beautiful gems our country has and Barclay Lake is one of them. This morning we hike with a large group (my wife and kids and my sister and her family and my two brothers and their families) up to Barclay Lake. This is an easy 2.2 mile hike that can be done with little kids. My 5 year old hiked the full 4.5 mile round trip by herself. On a busy day (like today) parking can be a bit of an issue, so I would suggest going early if you can. Because we had such a large group, we did not arrive as early as I would have liked, but we did find parking.

Once we were all unloaded (and about 37 bathroom breaks later) we were ready to hit the trail. Immediately you are drowned in shade from the canopy of trees above. The trail conditions remain vastly unchanged for the majority of the hike. Very little elevation gain or loss with some roots and rocks on the trail. There is one log bridge that crosses over a creek which is a pretty neat spot. There is also a clearing a little further past the bridge where you can see a spectacular view of Baring Mountain towering over you nearly 4000 feet higher. Simply amazing. Keep going on you come to the lake, this year the lake was much bigger than in previous years. The very wet winter and spring made for a high lake level.

Our large group found a nice spot by the lake and ate some lunch and hung out for a bit and then made our way back to the cars. We went a little faster on our way out due to some of the little kids made their way to the toddler carriers on their parents' backs instead of walking. When we got back to the cars the parking lot had cleared out substantially. It was a great day for a hike and everyone had lots of fun.

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass, West
Distance: 4.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 500 ft
Peak Elevation: 2423 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Pass Requirement: Yes, Northwest Forest Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Lake Valhalla Snowshoe

The morning after Christmas a few friends and I drove up to Stevens Pass on a nice winter day. It was around 30 degrees at the pass, cloudy with no precipitation. Although there was a big storm scheduled to arrive in the afternoon, it was quite pleasant in the morning while we were hiking. We parked at the Stevens Pass parking lot with the rest of the skiers and snowboarders, but instead of going to the resort like the rest of the masses we headed on the PCT toward Lake Valhalla.

The trail toward the lake was almost perfect. There was a path already made in the snow like someone had been there a few days before, but it was still soft and not real crusty. It made for great snowshoeing. We continued on the path taking in the great views of valleys and mountains covered in snow. We traversed a couple slopes that could be potential avalanche hazards, but the avalanche conditions weren't high today. We still proceeded with caution, but fortunately nothing of concern happened.

We hiked in a couple miles on the trail and decided to turn back before we reached the lake due to the impeding storm. We didn't want to get stuck in the high winds and downpour of snow. So we made our decision and headed back to the trail head. After we returned to the parking lot we decided to have lunch at the Ski Resort. That ended up taking much longer than we anticipated because one of the restaurants was closed due to not having any running water, so the only remaining open cafe was crowded. But it did give us time to catch up and visit for a while. After lunch we headed home feeling good about a fun and successful snowshoe trip with friends.

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass East
Distance:  4.5 miles
Elevation Gain:  350 ft
Peak Elevation:  4800 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Pass Requirement: None

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Today my brother and I took the canoe out to our super secret giant hidden lake. Literally, it is a nearly 1700 acre lake that doesn't allow motor boats or swimming which is probably why it isn't a very popular destination. But it does allow canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking, etc. So on a beautiful holiday weekend we set out on the canoe with no one else in sight. We explored the other side of the lake and found a good docking place and got out and looked around for a bit. Lots of cool untouched land. We got back in and paddled the glass like clear water into an inlet in search of more cool places to explore. We eventually canoed all the way to the far inlet of the lake and found a cool beach.

We beached the canoe and explored the area. Found a cool bed-down area where deer certainly have been, a good spot of gold-panning, and an excellent site for a future camping trip, and a bald eagle perched on a dead tree stump. We grabbed a quick snack and paddled back to where our truck was. By the time we got back it was mid-day and there was a total of 1 paddle-boat, 1 kayak, and 1 paddle-boarder in the lake in addition to us (on a holiday weekend with blue skies and perfect 80 degree temperature!!!)

We will definitely be back for an overnight trip to our secret beach site. And maybe, if you're really nice and I like you, I might tell you where it is...


As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Dirty Harry's Balcony

This is a new hike to me, one I've never done before. I think that is going to be a focus for me this year; hikes I've never done before. Should be a good year I hope. Well anyway I drove down after work Friday night to the trail head and slept in the bed of my truck. I have modified my truck to be quite a comfy overnight sleeping arrangement for such occasions. Saturday morning I woke up and ate some breakfast and headed out. The trail head is located on a firefighter training facility road, the road has been closed to civilian vehicles, so you have to park outside of a gate and walk about a half mile on the road before you get to the actual trail.

Once on the trail, you start to climb quite steadily and consistently almost the entire way with little areas of relief. Even though you are climbing the whole way it isn't so steep that it becomes too difficult. The trail is a bit uneasy though because the trail is almost all rock. So be cautious about rolling an ankle or slipping if the rocks are wet. Normally I wear my trail running shoes if I am just doing an easy day hike with a small day pack and only use my boots when going on longer hikes with a heavier pack or if I'm doing some scrambling. On this day I wish I would have had my boots because of all the rock.

As you continue up the trail you will see another trail off chute from the main trail, that's the one you want to take. I knew beforehand there would be a intersection of trails and one would lead to the balcony and the other would lead to the peak. I took the wrong trail and after a few hundred meters I realized I chose the wrong one and had to backtrack. But it wasn't much and I quickly was going the right way. Eventually I made it to my destination: Dirty Harry's Balcony.

Dirty Harry's Balcony offers great views of surrounding peaks and Snoqualmie river below and also of I-90 if you're into watching vehicles from 1000 feet above. There isn't a ton of room for large groups to sit and relax on the balcony so if it is a crowded day in the summer it might be kind of a bummer if there are lots of people there with you. I was lucky there were only 2 other people there when I arrived. After soaking up some sun and some great views I grabbed a quick snack and headed back down. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day at about 70 degrees. Couldn't ask for a better day.

Region: Snoqualmie Region, Snoqualmie Pass
Distance:  5 miles
Elevation Gain:  1300 ft
Peak Elevation:  2600 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Pass Requirement: Discover Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Lime Kiln Trail

This morning I took my two older daughters (age 4 and 1) on a hike. My 4 year old is finally enjoying doing the hiking herself, she used to be carried in the pack by me and thought that was what hiking was, riding in a pack. But now that she is older and I have a younger one to pack around she has had to do the hiking herself. This was the first hike that she actually loved walking herself the whole time. So that was good to see.

We headed toward down town Granite Falls and just outside of town is the trail head for Lime Kiln Trail. It is a great easy hike for kids, lots of old growth and if you make it to the Lime Kiln lots of old history. It's really cool. We didn't make it to the kiln today, our goal was really just to get outside and let the kids enjoy the wilderness. It was a success.


I packed the little one the whole time and let her out and explore when we stopped for a snack. She absolutely loved it. My 4 year old also loved hiking the whole way and was obsessed with how much mud there was (there wasn't even that much mud in my opinion). But to her it was way too much mud and made a comment about it every time we came across any mud.

The trail was in good shape, there was one downed large branch that easily stepped over. Even my 4 year old could get over it with no help. We only hiked in a little over a mile and then back out. But it was a good mix of dirt and gravel with open views of the sky and being dwarfed by large trees. Certainly a good hike to start the season with and get the kids outside and excited about nature and wilderness even though you are just outside of town.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance:  7 miles
Elevation Gain:  625 ft
Peak Elevation:  750 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Pass Requirement: None

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Yellowstone

We were able to spend a week with another couple and their son staying in West Yellowstone and visited the park on 4 days. I will say Yellowstone is a very unique place. Lots to see and wonder at. We got to see most of the park, and hit a lot of the big attractions. And we went on a short hike with the kids. Some of the things we saw were: Old Faithful, Midway Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Spring, Fountain Paint Pots, Morning Glory Pool, West Thumb Geyser, Yellowstone Lake, Upper Falls, Lower Falls, Artist Point, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Mud Volcano, Hayden Valley, Lamar Valley, Mammoth Hot Springs, Firehole River loop, and TONS of wildlife.

We had lots of fun and the weather was perfect, sunny everyday but not too hot. The crowds weren't too bad either since it was near the end of summer. I think it was the perfect time to go. Great time was had by all.