Sucks Getting Old

We humans grow old. It's a tough pill to swallow. But it's a reality none of us will escape...unless of course we die before we get the chance to age. I used to teasingly use the mantra "die young, stay pretty," when I was a teen. How dumb is that?

Thankfully my years of worrying about retaining my youthful beauty are behind me. In fact, age itself has become quite beautiful to me - it's given me perspective and wisdom that my childish self could only mock.

Though there is something about becoming old I could really do without: having your body fall apart on you. My dear friend, Heidi, has really had to deal with this lately. But thankfully, with the help of modern science, she is being rebuilt! Back to back knee replacement surgeries. Ugh. It's been a really tough summer for her. I know Julie has had her health struggles too. Sucks getting old.

Though Heidi has been completely out of commission for the entirety of this year's hiking season, and I know it has added tremendously to her already large amount of pain. So I've been trying to think of ways to help her enjoy the summer that don't involve double digit miles and sleeping on the ground. I know my friends will help me out too when life decides to put me on the bench. 

So if you are a person that for whatever reason wants low miles and no tent, this trip report is for you. I didn't think I'd write anything up for this short girl's weekend getaway, but both trails we did are in my Alltrails App so I figured, why not?

A trail is a trail, no matter how short. Happy "for creaky and healing knees" trails. Oh, and stay tuned for Heidi's master plan for adventure requiring no major hiking coming up soon. It's going to be good! 

LOG: 

1) It's a long drive to Squamish, so a stop at The Beach House in West Vancouver for brunch is a nice break. There's some very nice boardwalk beach walking you could do here, but we opted to just be ridiculous instead.

We chose to stay at the Howe Sound Inn and Brewing Company in Squamish because of it's proximity to the Sea to Sky Gondola, NOT because of the beer 😉though if you do have a couple beers, there is a bus you can catch just a block from the Inn, and it's free on weekends! Plus it's much easier than dealing with the parking at the Gondola. 

You could actually hike up to the summit and take the tram down, but you can also go after 4 pm and get 40% off a round trip fare, which is of course what we did. Our only hiking was the less than half mile Spirit Trail Loop you can walk after crossing the very cool suspension bridge at the summit. I think it may even be wheelchair accessible? I know you can at least get a chair across the bridge because we saw it done, though it took a few helpers and did not look easy. 

2) We tried to stop at the Shannon Falls Lookout on the first day, but it was a madhouse with not a parking spot in sight. But now that we had mastered the bus system (and knew it was free!) we used it again and went to see the falls after all. This is also only about a half mile of walking (maybe wheelchair accessible too?) though there is a short side trail that is mostly stairs that will take you up for a closer view. Heidi pushed herself to do that too, even though her knee was really hurting. She is such a beast! An old beast 😆but still a beast.😍 

Heidi's bionic knees will be fully activated in no time!

To end I'll give a shout out to the Copper Coil Still and Grill as being a super cute and quirky place to eat, and a warning that even though you see a line out the door at the Fox and Oak doughnut shop all weekend making you think they must be amazing...they are not.  

I even did some rock climbing! I just needed to push the children out of my way first 😉

 

Scott Paul Deserves the Best

How cool would it be to have a trail named after you? I mean, I would settle for a bench...heck, even a port-o-potty (reference to an old story of mine) but having your own trail puts you in the big leagues. So I did a little "research" -- which is simply asking AI nowadays -- on why Scott Paul got his own trail. 

"Scott Paul was a dedicated Forest Service ranger, visionary trail builder and coordinator for the Mt Baker district." No shocker there. But what I was surprised to read was that the Scott Paul Trail is a secondary tribute to his name. His main memorial is a plaque at the 240 feet suspension bridge at Drift Creek Falls in Oregon, where Scott lost his life while helping build it. 

A private construction company finished the bridge after the tragic accident - and get this; the company was owned by Scott's close friend and fellow trail builder, Carroll Vogel. Around the same time, Vogel's crew secretly put an official looking sign renaming the Sulphur Moraine Trail to the Scott Paul Trail, and the Forest Service kept it.

Sammie says, "Take a right!"

 

Unfortunately, Scott Paul has to share his trail with the HIGHLY popular Park Butte Trail. At only about a tenth a mile you make your turn to get on the Scott Paul, though hardly anyone does. You will have another chance at the two mile mark with one more intersection, but the masses continue on to the left...either to Railroad Grade (and maybe a Mount Baker summit) the Park Butte Lookout, or even all the way to the ocean if you are doing the Pacific Northwest Trail. 

But I would encourage anyone and everyone to get off the well beaten path and try out this beauty of a trail for themselves. The only hiccup with doing the full 8 mile loop is that a pretty important suspension bridge is gone.  

After hearing Scott Paul's story, this seems...I know ironic is not the right word, but I can't think of one that fits. So I'll just say it seems wrong. I don't think he would be too happy with having his trail missing a bridge that could possibly put someone's life at risk. (Some years it gets put up, some years it doesn't...although one of the supports is gone, so that will need to get fixed before it gets put up again.)

One of the few people I saw on the loop

I was thankful the water was low enough this day that I could cross without incident, but I would recommend you try and ford it earlier in the day; which means going clockwise. But I would also suggest that this trail would be just as good as an up and back...maybe even better. 

In fact, next time I do it, that's what I plan on doing. Make the early turn, avoid the crowds, get up to those amazing two miles at the top where Mount Baker is in your face the whole time, then turn around well before the missing bridge and enjoy those views for the second time before heading down.

IN YOUR FACE!

I think this would only be a mile longer than the traditional loop - and I think it would be more enjoyable. I rarely do trails more than once, but I can actually see myself doing this one multiple times, I was that impressed by it. Thank you, Scott Paul; and I hope that bridge gets put up again soon. Happy "well named" trails. 

Backpacking the Duckabush with my Sis

I've hit the double digits! Ten backpacking virgins are now under my belt. Taking someone for their first time is one of my greatest joys - but this trip was extra special. I'm still pinching myself that my sister actually came with me! 

Vicki has been toying with the idea for quite some time. Our walking holiday on the Cotswold Way proved to us both she could hike 11 miles in a day; but could she do it with a full pack?

Gotta have at least one pic of Sammie

 

Though maybe even more importantly, could she face her fears? Getting mauled by a bear or attacked by a cougar, slipping and breaking an ankle, tripping and falling off a cliff - or even getting impaled by your trekking pole - these are all real possibilities. Albeit they are unlikely, our minds like to fixate on them. We play out the whole scenario and imagine every detail so we can be prepared...just in case. 

I learned a long time ago (lesson #55) that this is a mistake. Of course we should have knowledge about survival; but the disaster movie that we play in our head is something else entirely. It takes time and practice to tame the imagination beast. You just need to get out there and have experiences that didn't include the misfortune you were worrying about, and eventually sleeping in the woods becomes a new normal. And the struggles you did encounter during your adventure...well, you got through them...and felt proud of yourself for doing so. 

I'm so pleased that Vicki got out there; and even if she was afraid during the night and slipped and scrapped her knee on day two, I know she still had a great time. It's important that you moderately set your goals when you first start (my first backpack was a whopping 7 miles total) so you can have the feeling of accomplishment that is so vital to overcoming fears and having a good experience. Thankfully Vicki declined my first suggestion of doing 30 miles on the Sunshine Coast, as I tend to get a bit overly ambitious these days. 

Instead we both agreed the Duckabush River Trail was a perfect fit. Number one reason was no smoke (we are really getting hammered with forest fires here in the PNW) but also it's well maintained and relatively easy to get to. The entirety of the trail is 22 miles (later miles are not well maintained FYI) to Marmot Lake (where you can keep going on other trails) but if you are doing an up and back like us, you can do however many miles you want. 

I'll give our specifics below, but end here with this encouragement: the outdoors are for everyone. And though us humans enjoy making goals and pushing ourselves to do ever increasingly difficult things, being in nature doesn't need to involve any of that. It can simply be enjoying the beauty around you with the people that you love. Happy "from your first to your hundredth" trails!

TRAIL LOG:

Day 1: A little over 2 miles to our camp with around 400 ft elevation gain. I originally wanted to go to the camp at 5 miles in, but I'm happy Vicki insisted she would rather play it safe with the earlier spot. There are three along the river; the first one being the best.

It was taken, so we continued to the third, which is the largest. It does not have a river view though, so we went back to the middle one. FYI, I did find a single spot close to the river that is behind the last largest spot when I went exploring the second day; you just have to search a little for it.  

We loved our spot

Day 2: We left our camp set up and did an up and back to the 5 mile camp for a total of around 7 miles and 1600 ft gain. You have to go over what is called the "Big Hump" which feels more like two humps,  and then back down to the river before turning around to do it again.

Five Mile Camp is very nice, but not as private as our spot was. When we were just above Five Mile Camp, I was too far ahead of Vicki for her liking and she called out to me, "where's the fire?"

I saw the men sitting below us having lunch look up at us with concern, and sure enough asked "what fire?" when we arrived. We explained, but they teasingly chastised us for using that word in the backcountry. Everybody is a bit on edge about fire at this time; which is understandable. 

Having a little fun with AI on my IG story

Day 3: Out the 2 miles back to the car with around 400 ft gain. We left camp at 8:30 am and were through the pot hole maze (driving the road was the hardest part of this day) by 10:30 am. This was perfect because we made it to Harbour Public House just before the noon rush, and that place is POPULAR. 

Scored a great table outside

Then we took a little detour to visit Pia the Peacekeeper before getting on the ferry and heading home. There are 4 other Trolls in Washington, so now we have a new goal! 😉 

Mount Rainer looking ethereal from the ferry

 

Monte Cristo and Beyond

The Timberline Trail is just one of the many thru hikes I bailed on. But it's the last one I need to go back and finish. Therefore, I drew up a plan to do an up and back for the missed section, secured the days off of work well in advance, got Julie on board (Janet already got er' done) and so all was set.

But then came the trip reports for that specific chunk of woods with very discouraging tales of dead-fall woe. 350 downed trees to go over or under between Elk Cove and Cloud Cap...and with an up and back, we'd do them twice. Obviously, finishing the TT was going to have to wait. 

So, now what? With four whole days, it seems you should have lots of options; but nothing felt like a good fit. Monte Cristo to Twin Lakes has been on the list for a long time, but four days seemed like overkill. 

Now that it's done, I know this is not a place to be rushed. This area is absolutely stunning - but also rugged, wild and unforgiving. Humans tried to tame and claim this wilderness in the past...the mining and tourism history here is fascinating! Except Mother Nature said "nope" and took it back. We visit with wonder and humility, and hope she is merciful while we are there.

Hard to imagine this was all there once

We were so grateful she smiled kindly on us. I'll confess I was in my head pretty hard over some of the drop offs on these trails. This screen shot of the last bit before getting to the view of Twin Lakes had me terrified; though it wasn't nearly as bad as Alltrails made it look. Even so, as a somewhat clumsy hiker, the thought of falling still made me quite anxious. 

But facing fears is a big part of what hiking means to me - fear of crossing icky, steep washouts (check) fear of walking across high logs (check) fear of looking stupid trying to do a bear hang (check) - The Henry M Jackson Wilderness has got you covered! 😉Happy "stay out of your head" trails. Trail Log below, and YouTube video here. 

Granted, not that scary...but my clumsy self still doesn't like it ;)

 

TRAIL LOG:
Day 1: The abandoned road section is an easy 4 miles, but was harder than I expected; probably because of the heat. We made camp there just before town and hung the food (sorry about that tortuously long video if you watch my YouTube...I do believe I'm done with bear hangs from here on out😜) then took our day packs into "town." 

Julie wisely decided it was too hot to keep hiking, but was okay with me going up and back to Glacier Basin and meeting her back at camp. This is a 4.5 mile and 1,700 ft elevation gain side trail you'll find at the end of the town. The trail reminded me so much of the AT...going up rocks without a switchback in site. I tracked myself for a total of 9.5 miles with 2,228 ft and 6 hours of hiking for the day.

Day 2: I originally thought we'd go to Twin Lakes this day - I mean it's only 6 miles. Thankfully we decided on Silver Lake instead, because the rain hit us right after we put up our tents. (And because we never would have made it to Twin Lakes! More about that on day 3.)

Some mood on the way up

 

Silver is supposedly only 2 miles from Monte Cristo - felt much longer with the 2k gain and obstacle course. (Handful of BIG trees to get over, but all doable.) We had a good portion of the day to stay in our tents...but who cares with this view?

I did later in the day try and follow the climber's trail shown on Alltrails up to Silvertip Peak, but a climber I am not. I could not find that trail to save my life!

As far as I got

Silver Lake from the beach...crazy how the lighting changes the color

Day 3: I could not have underestimated the up and back to Twin Lakes any more than I did. I tracked myself as having done 4.48 miles (and I didn't even go the half mile down to the lake) with 1.5 gain and it took over FIVE HOURS! And this is with a light day pack! 

Though a couple passed me who where going up to Columbia Peak AS A DAY HIKE -- so I guess this is all relative to your fitness level and speed.

The couple on the left. They were actually celebrating their engagement!

 

Celebrating by going up there! People are nuts 😜

I actually heard from an elderly gentlemen that his first backpack was Twin Lakes! 70 years ago when he was like 10...all I could respond was "parents sure raised em' tough back then." If you read my previous blog post, you'll find the story of my grandkids first backpack at about the same age. Three whole miles 😆and they acted like they were going to die, haha. 

Day 4: Another benefit of camping at Silver Lake was our hike out was a shorter 7 miles. An 8:45 am start meant we were at Playa Bonita in time for a delicious late lunch.  

Old Sammy was a post hike beer kind of guy; but new Sammie likes her Margaritas :)

And one last pic because I liked it but didn't know where to stick it