Boulder River Rampage

It was one of those days I just wasn't going to be messed with. Most people know this is not usually the case, because I really suck at laying down the law. But this day I was sick of nobody taking me seriously... this day I was a force to be reckoned with. (My friend Debbie always gets that saying mixed up, so when she's mad she'll boldly announce, "I am NOT a force to be reckoned with!!"; which of course gets her giggles instead of the holy fear she is looking for)

As you could have guessed, it was my kids that got me into this mood; but it was poor Kayden (a friend of my oldest daughter) who got caught in the wake of my fury. I was determined to get a hike in, because I had been denied the last few weeks. I was leaving at 1:30 pm, and that was that. I invited Kayden to come along, and I let her know the deadline. She called at 1:30 to let me know she was on her way. I told her I was sorry, but on the way was not good enough, because we were leaving. I still feel a little bad about it; but I'll confess it felt a little good too. I've always tried to suppress my inner bitch, but I'm finding sometimes she's really great to have around. She just needs to be controlled is all.

Summer and two of her friends were coming, and now that I had an extra seat I decided last minute to take my other bitch along--my dog, Lexi. I don't usually take her hiking with me, because just like my inner bitch; she is not easily restrained. But she really needed the exercise, and if there was ever a day I felt up to showing her who the alpha was, it was today.

Cute bridge alert!

It took us a little over an hour to get to the trailhead, with Lexi whining and acting crazy most the way. This is a really popular hike, and it was a nice Saturday, so I wasn't surprised to find cars lined up for probably a quarter mile. There were a ton of little kids, and little dogs...just what Lexi wants to dominate. That, combined with Summer and her friends running ahead of us, made Lexi even crazier than usual. I honestly wanted to choke that dog for the first 3 miles, and I promised myself this was the last time I was ever taking her with me.

The girls wanted to go down to the water at the first falls, but there was no way I could take Lexi down there with all those people. When we got to the second falls, we had it to ourselves, so we headed down and got some good pictures.

After that, I made the girls go a little farther on the trail, until my odometer said 3.5 miles. (to make a nice even 7 miles for the day) Heading back, I finally felt like I had Lexi under control--my "calm, assertive" self was kicking in, and it felt good. I told the girls to go on ahead, and that we would meet at the first falls that we skipped on the way up.

3.5 miles...we get to go back now!

When I got to the falls, I saw a few people down at the water (but not too many) and I figured the girls were already down there as well. As I headed down, I took Lexi off leash because it was just so much easier to scramble over the rocks that way. When I got to the water, I found no girls. This made no sense to me. How could they not be down here? I yelled for them (screamed is more like it) and looked everywhere--even asked the other people. No girls. My calm assertive self was going out the window fast, and my hysterically panicked self was coming on full force. I headed back up to the trail, even though I was sure they couldn't be up there, and then Lexi took off. This of course added to my hysteria. I was on the verge of tears, yelling for the girls and the dog, heading down the trail, when they finally came into view. 

I greeted them with a very welcoming "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!!" They seemed shocked--they explained they simply didn't notice the falls and kept going. (which was exactly my point...how could you possibly not notice the falls?)  Though, I had to admit it made a lot more sense than a triple kidnapping--why do our minds always go to the worst case scenario? Summer said when Lexi came running to them with no leash, they figured I had fallen off the cliff. Love makes us worry...and even though I had to apologize for getting so angry, the other girls assured me their parents would have showed them just as much loving rage. 

I also had to apologize to Lexi for being so impatient with her; I mean, she did sort of end up saving the day when she got the girls to turn around and find me. And so, I think hiking lesson #31 could be either literal or metaphorical: Don't be afraid to take your bitch along, because you never know when you may need her.

Wallace Falls Revisited

I don't like the idea of re-doing a hike. It's sort of like re-reading a book...why? There are too many different books to read--and likewise, too many new sights to see! But this last Friday I made an exception. It's been 10 years since I did Wallace Falls; so I knew I could count on my failing memory to make it a new experience. Plus, spring is the best time to witness the fall's real power. 

The first time we visited Wallace Falls, I was testing out the idea of car camping. As a family, we love camping...but NEVER on this side of the mountains. (that would be the wet, cold side) But it was a hot summer weekend, so I thought we should give it a shot; I mean, how bad could it be?

My memory may be fading...but I do remember ending up in the car sometime in the middle of the night because I was so flipping cold. Needless to say, we went back to our week long camping excursions in Eastern Washington.

Cute bridge! Hooray!

Even so, that one night camping trip still held some dear memories for me. Re-hiking it would hopefully bring them back--not just to me, but possibly my daughter as well, who decided to come with me.

When we arrived, I was excited to try to find our campsite to spark the ol' memories. Instead I found five cabins. There are still two regular campsites remaining, but I knew they weren't "our" campsite because they were pretty small. Ours was big enough to share with a cute couple, their little girl, and a puppy. Meeting them, and being able to offer our campsite so their plans weren't ruined was the best part of that night. (The campsites are first come first served, just like the campgrounds on Icicle Creek. That can be risky business, as I explained in my "Spontaneity is the Essence of Pleasure" post last July. But the new cabins can be reserved, making life a little less risky.)

Pictures from our first trip--hard to believe we ever lived without digital cameras!

Kramer caught a fish and Oscar caught a frog...good times!

I was a little bummed the big campsite was gone, but the cabins are super cute. If they had they been there 10 years ago, I'm sure my perspective of car camping would have been totally different. 

Amber's philosophical look...she should be on top model 

She gets her modeling skills from her mother

When it came time to start hiking, my memory didn't serve me well at all. I thought I knew what I was doing, so I really didn't bother looking at the map. When we got to the "Woody Trail" we passed it on by...we need to go up, not down after all! We were chatting away, so I didn't think much about the fact that this was the most boring trail I had ever been on. We passed an older couple on their way down and asked if they enjoyed the falls. Boy, did we get an earful! "We couldn't even find the falls! We couldn't even hear the river! Look at my shoes, can you believe he wouldn't even let me go back to the car to change them?! I'm going to write about this on my blog, you better believe that!"

So now we understood that: 1) Everyone on the planet has a blog, and 2) We went the wrong way.  Thankfully, we decided to go a little further and found a sign with a map which told us there was a connecting trail that would lead us down to the Woody Trail. 

The connecting trail, our saving grace

Once we were on the correct trail, I found it even more beautiful than I remembered. (we could have kept going and eventually made it to the falls, but that way really is yawnsville) I was so proud of Amber, who didn't seem to mind the uphill climb at all. She was even willing to go all the way to the very top...something none of the kids were willing to do the first time around. 

It took us 3 hours to get to the upper falls, and only one to get back to the parking lot. Obviously, the first trail we took is no short cut, that's for sure. And so I'll end with hiking lesson #30: don't rely on your memory (especially if your over 40), but take the time to actually look at the maps. That is, unless you want to write a blog about how miserable your hiking experience was (and I know you all have blogs!) in which case, be sure not to wear your hiking shoes as well.

Don't miss the "little falls"--just barely into the Woody trail

Don't miss the "butt tree" either!

The Anti-Party at Lena Lake

Trying to figure out an April backpacking trip in Washington state is not easy. You can look through every guide book (which I think I did) but you're going to find that your options are few. (Unless your into snow, and have the skills and equipment to make it happen...which I have neither.) A better idea is going to the Washington Trail Association page and using the "advanced" options in your search for trip reports. You can narrow it down to the month of April, overnight instead of day hike, un-click snowshoe, and bingo! You have your list of what the hot ticket in April is.

I was happy to find Lena Lake, which coincidentally is also in my "100 Classic Hikes" book. I had over-looked it because it included "Upper" Lena Lake. (Most definitely not an April hike.) The trip reports had many warnings about Lower Lena being party central...but the truth is, I love a good party. I had yet to be part of any kind of social nighttime interaction on a backpacking trip; to date only total solitude with the exception of the father/son pair at Boundary Camp on Hannegan...and they were not exactly what you would call party animals (unless whittling is your thing).

My friend Debbie and I have been amassing our own gear all winter. It's been so nice to have friends who let us borrow everything--but enough is enough. It was time to be legit, and so every REI coupon that came our way was put to good use. Between the two of us, we had everything we needed. I watched anxiously for any sort of break in the unending April rain until at last a 20% forecast. Good enough! We were off like kids after Christmas morning, impatiently eager to play with our new toys.

We didn't get on the trail until 4:00 pm. It took a lot longer than I expected to fiddle with our never before used backpacks and trekking poles and such. The 20% rain forecast was right over our heads of course, so we also had to get out our day before purchases of backpack rain covers.

Do I look legit?

As soon as we were finally all set up, the sun came out; and so 10 minutes into the hike we were both boiling hot. Is there anything more annoying than stopping to take stuff off that you just put on--when all you want is, for heaven's sake, to just get going! No, there isn't; and so we kept going...for another 10 minutes...and then it was, "screw it, we have to stop and take this crap off, or we are going to die!"

This is not a difficult hike, but it is steady uphill. I'm glad I read the trip reports that said it takes 2 hours to get to the lake. It's hard to believe it takes 2 hours to go a piddly two and a half miles, but it does. I thought I had read that the best sites were the farthest around the lake, and so we ventured over the slightly scary bridge to find them. We didn't. On the way back my worn out legs just couldn't do the "how low can you go" limbo under a blow-down; therefore I ended up on my back like an over-turned turtle.

Hang on, Debbie!

It wouldn't be so bad looking at it
if they were at least functioning

We finally settled on a nice spot by the bathrooms. Yes, looking at this structure took away from the "wilderness" feel, but otherwise it had nice access to the lake, and great seating around the fire pit. As predicted, there were plenty signs of partying...but we had missed it. We had the whole place to ourselves, like usual. I wasn't about to complain; we can make our own party! (Party AND clean up--I mean, come on people, you really don't need to leave your trash all over the place) Only thing is, when the temperature goes below freezing, the only party you're interested in is getting in your sleeping bag and praying you don't get hypothermia. (No joke...the dampness made it colder than cold...we couldn't even get warm by the fire.)

In the morning everything was so wet and frozen that even a half tube of fire starter couldn't revive any sort of flames; so we gave up and just drank our hot chocolate by the water where the sun was. Neither of us felt much like packing up our icy gear, so we sat there a long time just soaking up the rays and trying to thaw out.

Slowly packing up--the sun finally hitting the campsite

I had really hoped to explore further on a little towards the upper lake, and it was an absolutely beautiful day for it; but the frigid night had really taken a toll on us. We really could barely muster enough energy to get our butts out of there. Oh well, this was just our season warmer-upper after all. There will be plenty of time for us to get our hiking party animal on. ;)

Party animal Debbie is on the prowl!

I do love a lot of cute bridges!

P.S. Hiking lessons: #28--an overnight in April requires a 2 duro log minimum. #29--eat your dehydrated food as soon as it's ready. If you forget and let it sit too long while it's "cooking", it will taste like absolute crap. I know the stuff usually doesn't taste that great to begin with, but it is SERIOUSLY bad if you let it sit...
like you would rather die of starvation than eat it bad. 

Does it look like we got very little sleep
 and ate only crappy camp food?
Ummm, that would be a yes. 

Little Mountain, the Whole Enchilada

                                           

I've hiked on Little Mountain more times than I can count. It's my stomping grounds; almost literally in my backyard. So of course I never take a camera, or think about writing about it--it's too much of a snore. But this last Saturday when we had temperatures reaching almost 70 degrees (unheard of in March...heck, it can be a rare thing in June around here!) and no hope of driving to somewhere exciting, (a house full of people coming the next day for Easter...lots of cooking and cleaning and yard work to be done...ugh) it was time to turn Little Mountain into something a little more inspiring, being it was my only option. So I decided it was the day to do what I've been meaning to do for years--up and over.

Rick called the night before, antsy to go anywhere because of the weather being so good and the skiing conditions not so good. (every Washingtonian had being outdoors on the brain, I'm quite sure) Melissa's chore list was even longer than mine, so she opted out. Ken was game though, and so were our girls; (with fully charged ipods at the ready) and thus the Little Mountain expedition was in full motion.

Little Mountain has evolved tremendously in the decade plus that I've lived beneath it. The Mount Vernon Trail Builders have done a TON of work making the trails top notch. I had every intention of showing up on the Saturdays that they have work parties...I managed to show up once. I discovered what it was like to hike with a wheelbarrow of crushed rock; and I'll confess, it really kicked my butt. Not to discourage anyone from helping out with the Trail Builders...but if you do, just remember the emphasis is on "work", and not "party".

Thankfully, there are some real hard workers out there that can handle their wheelbarrows, and they have completed the trails so that you can go all the way from one side of the hill to the other. We left our car at the trailhead on Little Mountain Road, and drove Rick's car over to East Hickox. On the map it shows that there is parking--but don't expect anything like there is at the east trailhead. On Hickox there is just a little sign that shows the start of the trail, and it is super easy to miss. (We drove by it twice)

I don't think we were on the trail more than 15 minutes before the girls were out of sight. It's really not fair to have your legs as 75% of your body; not to mention how tiny of a torso it has to carry. They looked like little gazelles bounding though the forest...oh, to be young again. (Actually, you couldn't pay me enough to go back to middle school--for real.)

We took a nice break at the top to enjoy the lookouts and have a snack. Of course, the girl's break was much longer, considering they got there about 20 minutes before we did. (punks ;)) Ken had fun freaking them out by pointing out the abandoned hang gliding launch, and recalling the story of his friend who forgot to hook in. (more about that on the Sauk Mountain post)

Too bad this warning isn't on the launch at Sauk

To get down we took Sidewinder, (without the winding--not necessary without a bike) to Service Road, to Up Only (except we went down), to Laz-E-Boy, to the new Cairn and Nature Trails, and finally to our car and our not-so-patiently waiting tweens who ran the whole way down. (Is there an end to their energy? Oh yes, when you tell them to clean their room ;)) From there it was just a short drive back home, where my dirty house and messy yard awaited. But I was so thankful to have enjoyed a whole morning of sun and adventure on my faithful, always present, near and dear, Little Mountain.