Mt. Adams Climb, August 9-10, 2020

 

Mt. Adams Climb

August 9-10, 2020

 

South Side of Mt. Adams

We started out our trip by driving to Trout Lake and then on up to the climbing parking lot.  Once we got everything out of the car we were ready to go.  Our climbing party consisted of Becky and I and our two boys, Brian and his two boys, and one of our former Scouts.  The first couple of miles were hot and dusty.  

Our climbing party

After a quick break to pump and refill our water, we started climbing.  Just a couple hundred yards before our campsite my legs started to cramp up.  We finally made it to our campsite in the lunch counter area, around 9,000’.  We found some rock shelters to set up camp in.  We ate dinner and watched the sunset over Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens.

Climbing up to our camping spot at Lunch Counter

Camping spot at 9,000' feet.  Mt. Hood in the background

Sunset with Mt. St. Helens in the background

We got up and ate breakfast around 3am and then started up the mountain.  We stopped and put our crampons on and then started going up some of the steeper sections.  We watched the sun come up.  It was a very clear day with few to no clouds.  

Early start

The shadow of the mountain at sunrise

We cleared Piker’s Peak, which is a false summit, then made our way over to the final push to the summit.  At the top there is an old abandoned cabin from back when a group tried to mine sulfur from the mountain.  We took some time on the summit taking pictures and found a place to get out of the wind and eat.  The view from the top is amazing, with a 360-degree view of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and more.

Final push to the summit

Old abandoned cabin at the summit

Mt. Rainier in the background

Snack break at the top

After our snack and some more pictures, we made our way back down.  From the top of Piker’s Peak we could glissade down about 2,000’, which made our descent quicker.  Everyone had a fun time glissading.  We stopped at our campsite for lunch and packed up the rest of our gear.  On the way down I started feeling nauseous and tired.  Once we made it back to the car I fell asleep until we reached Goldendale and got Dairy Queen for dinner. 

Glissading down

Olympic National Park, August 3-4, 2020

 

Olympic National Park

August 3-4, 2020

 

In order to beat the heat at home, we decided to take a quick trip up to the Olympic Peninsula and visit Olympic National Park.  The boys and I did backpacking trips there the last two summers, but the girls had not been there in years.  We camped along the Hoh River, where the kids found some cool downed trees to play on in the river. 

Tree fort in the Hoh River

Hoh Rain Forest

            The next morning we got up early and went over to the Hoh Rain Forest, hoping to beat the crowds.  Luckily, there were few people there that early.  We went for a short hike, looking at all the various shades of green.  Every time I come here I am amazed at how lush and beautiful this place is!  When we got back to the parking lot there was a line of cars coming in, so it paid off to get there early.

Hall of Mosses

Rialto Beach

            Next we headed out to Rialto Beach.  With COVID going on, there are a lot of people traveling local, which meant that the park was busy.  We ended up parking almost a ½ mile down the road.  We hiked along the beach and out to Hole in the Rock.  Like most days here, it was very misty, which gives everything a mysterious feel.  Since the tide was in, we couldn’t go through the Hole in the Rock and instead climbed over the headland.  Once we were over there, we had the whole area to ourselves.  The kids played on some logs and threw rocks.  After a while we decided to head back to the car and move on.

Hole in the Wall

Going over a headland

            We drove over to the northside of the peninsula and camped at Heart O’ the Hills campground.  In the evening we took a drive up to Hurricane Ridge to look around.  There were a lot of deer out foraging.  The next morning we got up and finished the loop around the peninsula on highway 101.

Hurricane Ridge

Backpack Trip to Warm Lake, July 20-22, 2020

 

Backpack Trip to Warm Lake

July 20-22, 2020

 

As a family we decided to go for a multiple-day backpacking trip, since the girls had never done one before.  We decided to do a loop hike in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, about an hour from our house. 

The hike started at Conrad Meadows.  The first couple of miles through the meadows were hot, dry, and dusty, with lots of cow and horse pies.  Once you make it through the meadows, you start going through the trees and then start to gain elevation. 

Starting the hike at Conrad Meadows

The last mile was a lot of switch backs up to Surprise Lake.  It is about seven miles from the trailhead to Surprise Lake.  There were a few people camped and fishing at one end of the lake, but we had the other end to ourselves.  There were a lot of bugs and mosquitos, which is to be expected at this time of year.  We set up camp and ate some dinner and relaxed.

Switchbacks up to Surprise Lake

Surprise Lake

Pumping water

Cup of Soup for dinner

The next day we set out for Warm Lake.  We went around Surprise Lake and continued around the basin.  We finally found the trail up to the upper basin.  Once we made it to the top, the view was great, but the bugs were horrible along the creek.  The trail basically ended there, so we needed to use our map skills to try and find Warm Lake.  We made our way in the general direction of the lake, scouting out the area as we went.  We stopped for lunch at a nice little campsite.  The kids wanted to just stop and camp there, but I told them I thought the lake was just up the hill, which it was.  We hiked about four miles from Surprise Lake to Warm Lake.

Starting up to Warm Lake

Upper Basin

Trying to find Warm Lake

Lunch spot

Made it to Warm Lake

When we arrived at Warm Lake there was only two other people there and they were just packing up and getting ready to leave.  The rest of the day we only saw one other guy who had climbed Gilbert Peak and was making his way back.  Becky and I pitched our tent close to the lake, while the kids placed their tents back in the trees.  This proved beneficial to the kids, since there was a lot of wind at night.  Becky and I got blown around out in the open, while the kids were fine in the trees.  The rest of the afternoon we relaxed and went for little hikes around the area and played in the snow.  Warm Lake is a beautiful spot with no people, which is hard to find these days!  We had the whole upper basin to ourselves.

Warm Lake in the Goat Rocks

Looking down at Surprise Lake

Warm Lake

Exploring around the basin

In the morning we started on our way out.  We ran into a couple camping about a mile and a half from us.  Once we made it back down to the main trail, we started our descent back to Conrad Meadows.  The temperature kept rising as we went along.  By the end everyone was hot and tired.  We cover a little over 12 miles to get out, but it felt like a lot more.

Sunrise at Warm Lake

Making our way back out of the basin

Finally back to the car