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As I approach the end of the 2nd year of hiking, I realize I've got almost exactly twice as many hiking days this year as the previous year. And I'm averaging more than one hike a week for the year as a whole. Wow.
In addition to walking about in the outdoors, I've (re)discovered the joys of paddling about in the outdoors. At some point, I should probably separate out the NP visits, the cave tours, and the kayaking outings. I keep thinking that I haven't gotten out much yet this year, but the list below is changing my mind, particularly compared to the single hike I did in June and July of 2002.
I also did a little snowshoeing in the outdoors, and, after moving to New England after T-day, XC skiing in the outdoors. I've been out four times (as of March 17 -- Happy Birthday Rachel!), if you include skiing around the house as the first outing. The second outing was really cold (the teens). The third outing was, huh, really cold (teens, low 20s) and the snow was painfully icy. The fourth outing was not bad at all (high 20s/low 30s), almost enough snow but through backcountry woods on our back acreage (and some of the neighbors), including a stream crossing that completely unhinged me.
The second year of hiking started April 15, 2003 and will end April 14, 2004. This has absolutely nothing to do with Tax Day in the USA. It's simply a coincidence. I live in Washington State, but the initial hikes are out of state as at the time I was on a XUSA Road Trip which I have yet to post a trip report for.
I'm finally starting to do a little camping to go with my hiking. Of course I immediately realize that even lightweight car camping stuff is pretty obnoxious if you have to wear it on your back while scrambling over a bunch of logs on the beach. Repeatedly.
On the hike to Heather Lake, I brought along my wet suit (3 mm), snorkel and mask, short fins and gloves. I wish I'd had a hood. My ears started to hurt after a while. But with the gear, I was able to swim across the lake and circle back along the shore, about a half hour before I thought I should get out and warm up. My second time in was a lot shorter, maybe ten minutes, but I just couldn't seem to warm up so I got out and hiked back down. I saw a bunch of globules of eggs, either fish or tadpoles, I don't know which. I also saw two small fish, and several columns of bubbles coming up out of the mud. Dunno what that was about. Lots of trash, too. Soft bottom, but great visibility as long as I didn't muck it up myself. Some trees along the shoreline and a few interesting rocks, I assume glacial erratics (that would make sense in a glacial cirque, now wouldn't it?). I had a blast and fully plan to check out the underside of some more of my favorite lakes. After I get a hood. Brrrr.
Lake Dorothy is a lot deeper and bigger, but the visibility is worse, and the inlet end is definitely turning into wetland. I saw another trout, but I think a different kind. One frog on trail towards the inlet end of the lake. The new hood helped a lot, but it was a colder day so I stayed in just under a half hour. There's a great rock for entry and exit at the second camp along the lake.
Snoquera Falls was my first hike in the Enumclaw district. Despite the paved parking lot at the trailhead, this is a horribly confusing hike to start on, largely because the confusing mass of trails spilling over from the Boy Scouts' Camp Shepherd next door. Lots of disturbing rock slides and a few deadfalls on this otherwise very well maintained trail. I saw a brown lizard and an ungodly amount of vanilla leaf.
Lost Lake was the final destination on my second hike in the Enumclaw Ranger District. It turns out there's another access point, about a mile downtrail from Lost Lake, via FS 7220. If you take it, make sure you get a good hard look at the junction. There should be an orange flag but apparently people tend to miss it on the hike back out and wind up having to backtrack uphill (in the dark, never a good thing). Four lakes made it worthwhile, even tho none was hugely memorable on its own. The falls on the way to the Greenwater lakes are lovely. The trail is superbly maintained (for the horses, of course), so even tho it's a bit of a slog, at least you don't have to worry about your footing. There is yet another access from Noble Knob.
Lakes in Mount Rainier National Park thaw late, and so have very little living in them (some frogs and bugs and little else). The shallow ones that are not surrounded by trees are wonderful for swimming, as they warm up well in the sun. Upper Crystal Lake and Clover Lake are relatively accessible ones off 410.
| April 29, 2003 | Elephant Rocks, Johnson ShutIns and Onandaga cave, MO | Ielleen |
| April 30, 2003 | Mammoth Cave: Historic and an abbreviated walk topside | |
| May 1, 2003 | Mammoth Cave: Grand Avenue | ranger and dozen or so others |
| May 3, 2003 | Great Smokies NP, TN (saw two bear cubs) Clingman's Dome, part of AT, Deep Cove | Roland |
| May 4, 2003 | Cumberland Gap NHS (including a tour of Gap Cave) Pinnacle Overlook, Tri-State marker, Gap Trail | Roland |
| May 5, 2003 | Big South Fork NRA primarily viewing the Blue Heron interpretive site | Roland |
| May 7, 2003 | Kayaking on Lake Norman, NC | alone |
| May 10, 11, 2003 | Jockey's Ridge SP in Outer Banks, NC, also some walks on the beach, part of a trail in Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and a kayak eco-tour in the sound | Rachel |
| May 20, 2003 | Olympic Peninsula: Hurricane Ridge walk in the snow, Olympic hot springs | Eric |
| May 29, 2003 | brief walk on snow at end of Teanaway River Rd (Ingalls Lake, Esmeralda Basin trails) | alone |
| May 30, 2003 | off trail hike in the Eagle Creek drainage at Mt Stuart Lodge | Britta, Taryn and John from WFR |
| June 6, 2003 | Lake Serene | Eric |
| June 19, 2003 | Basic Strokes class from NWOC in Lake Union | two instructors and a handful of others |
| June 20, 2003 | part of Boundary Trail at Mt St Helens | Eric and five people (2 ozzies, 2 phillies and 1 Londoner from the downtown hostels) |
| June 25, 2003 | part of Tonga Ridge(saw a bear on FS 68 going back) | alone |
| June 28, 2003 | Lake Twenty-Two | Cheryl, Travis |
| June 30, 2003 | Lake Elizabeth | Madison |
| July 3, 2003 | Trout Lake and Bridal Veil Falls | Alone |
| July 5, 2003 | part of trail from Hurricane Ridge (the one that parallels the road in); 2nd Beach trail 3X (this is what happens when you forget the fuel in the car) | Houke, Verena, Kevin, Eric |
| July 6, 2003 | 2nd Beach trail out; part of Bogachiel | Houke, Verena, Kevin, Eric |
| July 11, 2003 | Heather Lake | alone |
| July 13, 2003 | NWOC to Gasworks park and back | Renee and Jina |
| July 14, 2003 | Snoquera Falls Loop, Moss Lake Nature Trail (by accident) | alone |
| July 16, 2003 | Lake Dorothy, to the inlet bridge | alone |
| July 18, 2003 | Mt St Helens, Boundary to view of Spirit Lake | Clive and Peter |
| July 22, 2003 | Comet Falls, Nisqually Vista | Erik, Beckee, Trish, Jennifer, Jason, Sabrina |
| July 23, 2003 | Mt St Helens, Boundary to view of Spirit Lake | Beckee, Sabrina |
| July 28, 2003 | Lake Twenty-Two, Big Four Ice Caves | Sabrina |
| July 31, 2003 | Agua Verde through the Montlake Cut to Foster Island | Sabrina |
| August 2, 2003 | Upper and Lower Greenwater Lakes, Quinn Lake and Lost Lake | Alone |
| August 4, 2003 | Talapus and Olallie Lakes | Nikki |
| August 6, 2003 | Noble Knob | Alone |
| August 13, 2003 | Crystal Lakes, Upper and Lower | Alone |
| August 15, 2003 | Boulder Lake, access via Sultan Basin/South Shore Rds | Kris |
| August 18, 2003 | Annette Lake | Maria |
| August 20, 2003 | Denny Creek Waterslide | Renee |
| August 27, 2003 | a mile into Snoqualmie Tunnel | Renee |
| August 28, 2003 | Carbon Glacier | Alone |
| August 29, 2003 | Green Lake (Carbon River entrance to MoRa) | Nadine |
| August 31, 2003 | Tonga Ridge, a couple miles | Kris |
| September 3, 2003 | Upper Palisades Lake | Daniel |
| September 7, 2003 | Hoh River to Olympus Guard Station | Roland |
| September 8, 2003 | Olympus Guard Station to Lunch Lake | Roland |
| September 10, 2003 | Lunch Lake to Sol Duc Trailhead via Deer Lake | Roland |
| September 11, 2003 | Snoqualmie Tunnel | Roland |
| September 13, 2003 | Mt Si (not the Haystack) | Roland |
| September 14, 2003 | Twin Falls to Iron Horse junction | Roland, Jina |
| September 15, 2003 | Cathedral Rock trailhead to Deception Pass | Roland |
| September 16, 2003 | Deception Pass to trailhead | Roland |
| September 20, 2003 | Mt Pilchuck | Alone |
| September 24, 2003 | Summerland | Cheryl |
| October 5, 2003 | Dead Horse Point State Park, UT (large loop) | Alone |
| October 6, 2003 | Mesa Verde: Petroglyph Rock, also toured Cliff, Balcony and Spruce Hill Houses | |
| October 7, 2003 | Aztec Ruins loop, Chaco hike up the mesa to Pueblo Bonito overlook | |
| October 8, 2003 | Bandelier: main loop + ceremonial cave; hiked out to both falls but not quite to the Rio Grande | |
| October 9, 2003 | Tent Rocks: loop + overlook | |
| October 10, 2003 | Williams Lake (from Taos ski area) | |
| October 17, 2003 | Great Gulf/Madison Gulf to base of headwall (sylvan grove), then return to junction | Roland |
| October 18, 2003 | junction to TH | Roland |
| October ? (sometime during the week of 20-27th), 2003 | Mt. Monadnock, up White Dot to junction with White Cross, and back down White Cross | Alone |
| February 14, 2004 | Nauset March/Coast Guard Beach loop, Cade Cod | Roland |
| March 5, 2004 (Friday) | Ravenswood, long loop plus some other bits outside the park | Marlene |
| March 6, 2004 (Saturday) | Short trails in Palmer River Wildlife Sanctuary, Cape Ann | Roland |
| March 31, 2004 (Wednesday) | Acadia NP, carriage road from junction #6 at north end of Eagle Lake, to junction #7, then up to Bubble Pond | Alone |
| April 1, 2004 (Thursday) | Acadia NP, Beehive to Bowl loop | Alone |
| April 1, 2004 | Acadia NP, Jordan Pond Nature Trail from north lot to junction with Pond Trail, Pond Trail to Triad, Triad-Hunter's Brook trail to carriage road, carriage road to loop road, to car | Alone |
| April 11, 2004 | Wadsworth Falls State Park, Connecticut | Roland |
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Copyright Rebecca Allen, 2002.
Created: June 25, 2003
Updated: April 12, 2004