Barclay Lake

Today we hiked with some friends to Barclay Lake. There were 5 of us with 4 kids. This is an easy hike and pretty flat that is covered in shade by trees almost the entire way. My 3 year old daughter walked almost all the way to the lake before she wanted to ride in the pack. One of the other 3 years old boys walked the whole way, in and out. I was pretty impressed.

Once you get to the lake and the trees clear you see Mount Baring soaring high above you. It is quite spectacular. I have hiked here only once before, like 5 years ago, and the lake is much smaller now. Lots of water has disappeared, I imagine it has something to do with the alarmingly low amounts of snow this past winter.

After taking a break at the lake and eating a quick lunch and having the brave 3 year old boy swim in the lake for a bit we headed back down. It was a beautiful day and great to get out and enjoy the sunshine with the family and some friends. This is a great hike for families and kids of all ages. Definitely should be on the list for getting kids started and interested in hiking.

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.

Labyrinth Mountain

Today was my first trip that I have led with the Mountaineers. I led a group up to Labyrinth Mountain. This trip was intended for alpine scrambling students so I posted the trip as a slow easy pace, and boy am I glad I did. It was crazy hot that day, 96 degrees. We stopped a lot to drink lots of water and rest in any shade we could find.

The first part of the trip is on a trail that takes you to Minotaur Lake which, luckily, is very well shaded by tall trees. The climb to Minotaur Lake is very steep but short. The lake is quite beautiful with Labyrinth Mountain as its backdrop. That was to be our destination.

After reaching the lake we squirted the side of the lake and headed toward the mountain. The climb to the top of Labyrinth is open, with no shade to protect us from the blistering sun. There is a footpath that leads you to the top, but it has many different off-shoots and some fade rather quickly. So after a while we kind of just trudged up the hill toward the top. After a good climb in the heat we reached the summit and enjoyed the views of the many peaks in every direction. We ate some lunch signed the summit registry.

Then we headed back down to the lake. At the lake we took a good rest and some took off their boots and soaked them in the cool water. After feeling refreshed we headed back down the steep trail under the cover of the tall trees and made it back to the cars. It was a good trip, and a successful first trip as a leader. Hopefully many more to come!

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass East
Distance: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2800 ft
Peak Elevation: 6350 ft
Difficulty: S2, T1
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.

Boardman Lake

This morning we hiked up to Boardman Lake with some friends who all have young kids. This is a good easy hike for young people and families. The trail is easy, short, and mostly flat. Gaining just 300 feet of elevation on your 1 mile hike to the lake. The day was pretty foggy, and had lots of low clouds although it didn't rain, which was nice. Our three year old daughter hiked all the way to the lake by herself. But she rode in the pack on the way back.

 

My wife carried our new born on some sort of baby carrier on her stomach, which the baby seemed to enjoy. Although the weather could have been better and views grander with fewer low clouds it was a good day to get out in the woods.

This is a great way to introduce young kids the the wilderness. Lots of large old trees to wonder at, and a peaceful short hike to a lake with established campsites. Highly recommend for beginners to enjoy the great outdoors.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation gain: 300 ft.
Peak Elevation: 3100 ft.
Difficulty: very easy
Pass requirement: Northwest forest pass.

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

Experience Field Trip 2015

Today was the Experience Field Trip for the 2015 Alpine Scrambling Course I was helping teach through the Everett Mountaineers. After having covered all the basics it was the students turn to show what they know and take the lead on a real scramble. We had several groups going to different locations, I went with the group going to Guye Peak at Snoqualmie Pass.

Guye Peak is a short but steep climb and normally this time of year still has lots of snow. But not this year. Not a single instance of snow until we reached 4800 feet, and then it was just small patches where the sun doesn't shine on a regular basis. There was one 30 foot section that was pretty steep that required good ice axe skills, and that was pretty much it. The rest was pretty much a walk up.

We took the trail from the Alpental ski area up to Guye Peak, and on our way down we went back down the other side (on purpose) out through the Common Wealth Basin. The weather, temperature-wise, was excellent. Not too cold, and not too hot even when we got moving. But the visibility was non existent. Lots of fog in the parking lot, and once we reached the summit, you literally couldn't see anything but white all around. It was actually kind of eerie, looking off the edge and not seeing anything.

Despite not having a great view at the top, it was a great day with a great group. Lots of fun, and it was a good end to the course. Look forward to scrambling with these students in the coming summer and upcoming years. Great job everyone!

Region: Snoqualmie Region, Snoqualmie Pass
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2100 ft
Peak Elevation: 5168 ft
Difficulty: S2, T3
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.

Snow Field Trip 2015

As a volunteer instructor for the Mountaineers I went up to Mt. Baker to help teach snow travel and ice ax arrest skills as part of the alpine scrambling course over the past weekend. The snow fall this year has been alarmingly low and the snowpack has suffered greatly. Luckily if you gain enough elvation you can still find some snow.

We began the weekend with basic travel on snow, how to hold and walk with an ice ax, how to step, where to step, traveling up, down, and across snowy/icy hills. We then got into glissading and how to stop yourself; ice ax arresting. We spent a good portion of the first day then hurling ourselves down the mountain while trying to stop ourselves from sliding too far. We went down on our butts, on our stomachs, on our backs, with our pack, without our packs, every way you could think, and learned how to stop ourselves from sliding to our demise.

After  good long while of sliding down the mountain we had a short demonstration on how to dig a snow pit to learn about different snow layers and avalanche conditions. After that informative display we headed back to the lodge to eat some good food and rest for the next day.

The next day we did some more ice ax arrest practice, and then we took a short hike up to Huntoon Point. It was a short scramble, but gave the students a great opportunity to practice navigation skills, and all their newly learned snow travel skills. Each student took turns leading and got the pleasant opportunity to kick steps in the new snow.

The views form Huntoon Point were pretty awesome with the clear blue skies and mountains in every direction. Some of which were Mt. Baker and the allegedly most photographed mountain in the world: Mt. Shuksan. It's easy to see why it may-or-may-not be the most photographed mountain...

At the top of Huntoon Point we ate a quick lunch, and socialized as a big group, and then had the joy of glissading down one at a time. That is by far the funnest part of snow scrambling. Then we headed back down to our cars and drove home. It was  great weekend and had lots of fun and sun.

Region: North Cascades, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation gain: 1200 ft.
Peak Elevation: 5150 ft.
Difficulty: Easy
Pass requirement: None.

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

Rock Field Trip 2015

I volunteer as a trip leader and alpine scrambling instructor for the Mountaineers. This year we took our rock field trip to a new location a few miles away from our old location that we have been using for many decades. So this year was special, and presented new challenges with familiarizing ourselves with a new site and how to best utilize it. But after much planning and hard work buy several other volunteers we had our trip planned and were ready to teach.

We taught the students taking the course how to traverse on rock fields and slabs, basic bouldering moves like mantling, stemming, counter pressure, wedging and others, using a map and compass, route finding, leave-no-trace, ropes and knots and belaying using a hasty harness.

The day was perfect, it was clear and blue skies as far as the eye could see. It was warm with a cool breeze. We had lots of fun with the new students and things worked out pretty well for being at a new location for the first time. After the learning was over we headed down to eight mile campground and had a BBQ and enjoyed good times and tasty food. Lots of fun!

Region: Central Cascades, Leavenworth Area
Pass requirement: None

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

Boardman Lake

Today was a clear blue sky day, but seeing that it is still February that meant it was also pretty cold. But my daughter and I bundled up and headed out on the Mountain Loop Highway. We passed the super popular Lake 22 trail head which is right off the highway and noticed the parking lot was already completely filled with people parking on the highway. We kept driving, way too many people for my taste. We eventually arrived at the trail head for Boardman Lake, finding ourselves to be the only car there. But that didn't last long, before we hit the trail another car had pulled in right behind us.

The trail starts shadowed by trees and in almost no time at all you reach Lake Evan, which is a small lake with no real lakefront to enjoy. We did find that the lake was frozen over with a thin layer of ice. But we quickly got back on the trail heading for the larger more prominent Boardman Lake. The trail climbs slightly just about 300 ft worth over the one mile total hike, all in the shadows of large cedar trees.

We reached Boardman Lake with my daughter, who is not yet 3, walking the entire way by herself, which is a big accomplishment for her. I have taken her hiking quite a bit in her early years, but always carried her in my pack. Now I'm trying to convince her "hiking" is not daddy carrying her in a pack but actually she does the walking. Today was a success, and I think she enjoyed it immensely. We spent some time at the frozen lake sitting in the sun trying to warm up. We ate a few snacks and saw more people arrive as the time past. On the way back I carried her in the pack just to speed things up a bit. But I have to say it was a glorious day enjoying the cold wilderness with my daughter. I look forward to more of that this year and in the years to come.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation gain: 300 ft.
Peak Elevation: 3100 ft.
Difficulty: very easy
Pass requirement: Northwest forest pass.

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