Month: October 2010

Before I get started on the topic I just want to mention that yesterday I started transcribing the journals I've kept since February 1990.  A couple of things: first of all it's fun and embarrassing to look back and read what I was like back then.  I wonder if I'll feel the same way 20 years from now when I look back.  And secondly, I noticed that the first couple entries were awkward but after a little time the entries smoothed out and flowed more naturally.  It was also interesting to note how honestly I was able to spill out my emotions on a page after some practice.

Today is Halloween.  Generally it's not my favorite holiday but the neighborhood is quite festive with all the decorations.  I think the trick or treaters are going to have some fun at those houses.  Trick or treaters are kind of a pain here, mostly because of the dog.  Everytime the doorbell rings she barks and barges out to see who's there.  She does not mind well when her curiosity gets the best of her.  Usually our strategy is to go somewhere else until it's all over.  That's what we're doing tonight.

I have a few memories of Halloween from when I was a kid.  Once when I was probably a little too old to go trick or treating but maybe not quite I decided that I would dress up and go by myself.  We lived out in the country so the houses were a fair distance apart and many had long driveways.  I think my sister went to a party in town or something because I don't remember her going with me and Mom must've drove her because I don't remember her there either.

I dressed up as a hobo in Dad's jeans and ragged flannel shirt then started going to the neighbors after dark.  We didn't get many trick or treaters out there and I was probably the only one on our dead-end road because all the little kids were now about my age (12 or 13?) and too old for trick or treating.  However, all the neighbors were prepared with candy.  There's a gap between neighbors after the first few driveways.  The road dips into a bit of a forested gully with a stream then comes back out to another clump of houses.  Of course the wind was blowing.  Of course the branches overhead were creaking and groaning.  And of course I was getting spooked.  However I was driven by lust for candy so I pressed on to the next clump of three houses.  After that there's another gap where the forest feels even closer because there's no stream to provide an opening.  And the houses are even more sparse and set back in the trees.  Country roads do not have street lights. I went to one more house then ran all the way home with my costume beginning to fall apart.  I held up my pants, ran back through the closed forest, past the clump of three houses, down through the gully with the creaking and cracking trees then back out to open pastureland where we lived.  Our driveway was long but the lights from our familiar house at the end were welcoming. Even though I didn't get to many houses, I still had a little bounty but I decided that walking in a costume for that distance was way to much work for the reward and it was way to scary on a dark forested road on Halloween.

Maybe that's why Halloween isn't my favorite holiday.  The candy has few rewards for walking alone in the dark.

I confess that I don't know if I'll actually establish a daily writing practice.  Perhaps a more frequent writing practice would be more accurate.

I've enjoyed writing since I was in elementary school and would entertain my friends with impromptu stories.  Fiction, of course.  After all, what kind of life experience can a second grader write about?

As an adult I enjoy telling the stories of trips I go on.  I wish I had more time to go on trips then write about them but I have a day job I wish to keep.

Even though it's the weekend I'm not on a trip so there won't be a forthcoming trip report.  I'm actually glued to the sofa under the dizzying influence of Actifed because I feel a cold coming on.  Yesterday I had a sore throat.  Today I have the stuffy sinuses and accompanying headache.  It's a good excuse to figure out how to make writing a more important part of my life again.  I used to make time for it but then my daily writing seemed to devolve into daily whining.  What kind of practice is that?  It's practice whining and practice makes perfect.  Swell.

Some of the best and most successful writers, e.g. Stephen King, suggest daily writing and accepting that most of your writing is going to be crap.  That might be an exact quote from his book "On Writing".  I love his story about submitting stories that always were rejected.  He had (maybe still has) stacks of stories that were rejected.  The point is that he knew he was a writer so he kept writing and writing and writing.  That's inspirational.

So expect to see some crappy writing here.  If you don't, then I've failed as a writer because that means I've stopped writing.

The weather forecast for the weekend predicted rain at best and a serious winter storm at the worst.  I dread weekends that require me to be indoors the entire time but I managed to talk Randy into going on a hike that I thought would be relatively protected from the weather.

Spring and Manning's book "100 Hikes in Washington's North Cascades National Park Region" describes the hike to Monogram Lake as 4200' of elevation gain in 7.5 miles; allow 9 hours.  The first part of the trail leads up to a lookout on Lookout Mountain, which I have hiked many times so I know that the first few miles are in the trees and can provide a certain degree of protection from rain and wind.

Saturday morning proved to be a little warmer and definitely drier than we had expected.  We drove up river in the dark but by the time we got to Darrington the sun was coming up, highlighting Whitehorse in a grey-ish pink morning light.  Before Rockport we turned onto the Rockport Cascade River Road, which brought us to the Cascade River Road just after the turn you'd make from Marblemount.  The trailhead is well marked and parking consists of a wide spot in the road with enough room for 4 or 5 cars.  So far ours was the only one there.

The trailhead has several signs warning about bears and how food attracts bears and so on.  I can attest that the last few times I have hiked up to the lookout I have seen at least one bear in the meadow just before the top.  And here I was with peanut butter and jelly smeared in various places across my front.  So much for driving with breakfast.

We started up the trail at a good pace just before 9:00 a.m.  The trail starts steep and pretty much remains steep.  Countless switchbacks.  The trail is generally in good shape.  Many varieties of mushrooms popped up near the trail edge.  Not sure if any of them were edible.  We saw the first signs of old fall color in the vine maples in an opening below the trail junction.  We had been on the trail for about an hour.  The brush was closed in and damp from morning dew.

About a half hour later we were at the junction.  Left leads up to the lookout while right climbs straight up in the direction of Monogram Lake.  I'd never paid much attention to the trail to the right since I was always going left to the lookout in the past.  The trail to Monogram Lake is steeper and less maintained.  We crossed over several large down logs.  And kept climbing.  And climbing.  The trail was no longer the steeply graded switchbacks we had gotten used to on the way up.  It was narrow, rocky, and steep.

I'm glad it wasn't raining because not long after the junction the trail breaks out into an open heather meadow, which would not provide much protection in the rain.  The blueberries and heather were a kind of burnt yellow-orange.  Some berries remained on the shrubs but they were getting a little shriveled.  The trail continued over a forested ridge and finally at 5400' we saw The View.  To the east was Eldorado and its glaciated sidekicks.  To the south were Hidden Lake Peak and a little west, Snowking.  To the north we could see the lower glaciers on Mt. Baker.  Will I ever get tired of that view?  I hope not.  It would be a waste of time and space to live here if I did.

We descended the meadow to the lake.  It was still dry and warm enough to sit by the lake and treat the hotspots that were developing on my heels.  Oh yes, this is why I never wear these boots on hikes.  A snack then we turned around to gain the 500' we'd lost coming down to the lake.  The shriveled blueberries were still quite flavorfull and sweet.  However, the trail sure seemed like a lot longer than half of 7.5 miles.  And it had taken nearly three hours to get to the lake.  I pulled out the Green Trails map.  It says 2.8 miles to the junction then 2.1 miles to the lake.  The way I do math says that the round trip is 10 miles.  Maybe the book meant to say that it was 9 miles to the lake and allow 7.5 hours.  That would seem more accurate.

You think that after a long, steep uphill that going downhill would be a relief.  It's not.  The downhill can actually resemble torture.  We were both uncomfortable by the time we got to the junction.  Only 2.8 miles to go but we didn't say anything outloud but pushed on.  At one point we found a nice rock bench to sit and rest our aching parts.  My feet felt like they were going to burst out of the confines of my boots.  And the hotspots on my heels, even with bandaging, were clearly more than hotspots.  Randy's quads ached.

The switchbacks were relentless on the way down.  We listened for the Cascade River in the distance.  Yes, we were closer.  We watched for signs on the trail that we were getting closer.  Yes, there's the rock wall we passed.  We listened for cars.  Not many on Cascade River Road but we both heard one.  We passed some hunters who were going to camp at Monogram Lake (no hunting at Monogram Lake) but we don't question people with rifles too closely.  Then I saw my truck.  And finally the trail registration box.  And finally the trailhead.

It had taken nearly 3 hours to get down.  Down is as fast as up.  There was only one other vehicle in the parking area, probably the hunters.  We changed into non-sweaty cotton and drove toward Birdsview Brewery.  Randy napped on the way.  It was a good workout but I'm not sure I'd hike to Monogram unless I was outvoted.  Hiking to the lookout is hard but not as hard as Monogram.  For one thing the lookout isn't as far and the scenery is even more stunning because it's up higher.  As much as I like hiking (I know, it's hard to tell from this report) I'm hoping that next weekend is nice so that we can get on our bikes.  With this winter storm, that actually arrived not long after we got home we may have to shine up our skis.  Here are the pictures from Monogram Lake.

Stats: 10 miles round trip, allow at least 6 hours for picture taking at the view point and relaxing by the lake, no dogs allowed on the Monogram Lake side but they are allowed to the lookout.

After a couple weekends of obligations I was itching to get out into the mountains before the weather turned to winter.  My friend Mark agreed to hike with me to Stiletto Peak, which is near Rainy Pass.

Since darkness comes a little earlier this time of year we agreed to meet at the park and ride before dawn.  I hadn't slept well the night before because I was anxious about hiking after having what seemed like a long absence from hiking in the mountains.  The day promised to be beautiful so I enjoyed the long drive up Highway 20 into the North Cascades.

We arrived at the Bridge Creek trailhead, which is part of the PCT, just before 9:00.  The few cars in the parking lot that had spent at least one night had a thick frost covering.  We each started out wearing jackets, knowing that once the trail started uphill we'd have to stop and take them off.  However for the first mile or so the trail goes downhill for about 500'.  At two point log bridges crossed streams.  We worried that they'd be slippery and treacherous from frost but surprisingly they weren't.

The first trail junction arrived quickly.  We went left toward Stiletto Peak.  The second junction came shortly after.  The left fork went to Copper Pass, which is an unmaintained trail.  A couple friends had hiked it earlier in the week and reported that there were several places with blowdown to go around so we opted for the right fork, which follows Bridge Creek on the east side then forks again (left) up to a former lookout site.

At that point the trail switchbacks many many times to climb the slope.  In places the trail was slippery where 1-2" of hoar frost pushed up the top layer of soil and degraded rock. The grade between switchbacks is very reasonable and the elevation is gained quickly.  The maintained trail climbs a little over 2000' in a little over a couple miles.  At treeline the trail peters out but there are plenty of rock cairns showing the way up through the meadow, rocks, and scrub. The Beckey guide states that the former lookout is at 7223', which is over 3000' above the junction where we started up the hill.  Mark's altimeter basically verified the vertical distance we had gained.

Even though the sun was out, the temperature had not climbed above freezing so we ate lunch behind the old stone foundation of the lookout, which provided a fabulous 360 degree view and little protection from the chilly breeze.  We pondered scrambling the peak but we were on the opposite side of what Beckey describes as the "proven route" to the summit and thought that it might take a couple hours to traverse cross country to the other side then up the route.  Then a couple hours back.  Then we'd be trying to negotiated the bottom part of the trail in the dark.  Which isn't a bad thing but the slippery bridges might be trouble.  We settled with the fabulous view and potential plans to hike it from the Twisp River side in the future.

We started back down the trail when it was too cold and uncomfortable to sit with the view any longer.  Off the top, the cold breeze subsided and I was able to remove a couple layers of jackets.  The hike down went quickly.  We came across another party near the junction of the creek trail.  They were backpackers who were taking a side trip.  We saw their packs stashed alongside the trail further down.

At the junction it was a bit of a trudge back up the 500' to the trailhead.  Usually I like to be able to just roll to the car when it's all over but this last mile or so of uphill wasn't bad at all.  And it took the pressure off my quads and toes from the relentless descent.  It was close to 4:00 p.m. when we got to the car and realized that Mark hadn't put his forest pass in the window.  A ranger vehicle was parked in the lot but no ticket was on Mark's windshield.  We wondered whether he'd get one in the mail later on.

It was a great hike and I hope the weather holds another week so I can get up high for another great view somewhere else.  Here are the pictures.

Stats:  Elevation gain ~3500', RT mileage 10-11 (including the summit would likely be 13-15 miles), no special gear required.