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.