Glacier Peak & Mount Rainier Double
This tops the list for the best weekend we’ve had, probably ever. Except for maybe when we got married. Eh, no, I think this still might have been better.
Fastpacking on a Whim @ Rainbow Lake
With summer fast approaching, Kaytlyn and I decided to go for a quick after-work fastpack in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness just west of Snoqualmie Pass.
Katy had about a 14-hour window between time-points at lab, so we decided a great way to take advantage of the time would be to unwind in the woods, by a lake. It helped that the weather was shaping up to be excellent: no wind, low in the high-40’s at ~4000′, and clear.
Mt. Maude/Entiats
A few years ago, we hiked the Leroy Carne High Route and camped/explore the Larch-filled alpine playground. That trip had its fair share of adventures, but one of the biggest takeaways for Katy and I was that we wanted to come back and scramble to some of the Entiat summits.
When this early-October weekend came around, we got lucky with some gorgeous, warm, clear weather, so we hopped in the car and drove east towards the hills. We were rewarded with an awesome adventure and gorgeous autumn colors.
Oregon Coast 50k
When you get two data people into a room with a course map, an elevation chart, and a crazy idea – a few hours and beers later you just might get a well-calculated, ambitions plan. That’s exactly what happened a few days before Oregon Coast 50k this past weekend.
Enchantments Extravaganza
Trip planning at a brewery always results in epic and creative adventures.
Enchantments Scrambling
After I got a taste of the Enchantments a couple weeks ago I was itching to get back. I especially wanted to share those views with Kaytlyn.
So when our friend Kyle offered a couple spots on his camping permit at Snow Lakes, we rearranged plans and made it work. Camping at Snow Lakes and a day full of exploring the Core Enchantments basin? Sign us up!
Copper Ridge/Chilliwack River Loop
We first explored the Hannegan Peak and the surrounding area last year, when we took a weekend backpacking trip with Katy’s brother, Mitch.
All three of us were struggling with some injuries back then, and we couldn’t get permits for the entire Chiliwack River loop. While we saw some amazing terrain, we didn’t fully experience it.
As a result Katy and I have had this trip firmly planted on the “to-do” list. However, in the year since we were last here, we started trail running, so naturally this shifted from the “to-backpack” list onto the “to-run” list.
Seven Lakes Basin/High Divide Loop
Prior to our weekend to Goat Rocks, countless backpacking loops sat on the shelves of my mind collecting dust due to, mostly, lack of vacation days and good weather windows.
However, now that we figured out we can cover a lot more miles by running the loops, Katy and I restarted our tick list of trips to check out here in the PNW.
Given how my legs felt running last time, I figured I should still ease into this, so we chose a popular and beautiful loop in the Olympics. The plan was to do the High Divide Trail (also known as Seven Lakes Basin loop), and camp outside the reservation-only area to split the loop up into two days.
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Fastpacking: Goat Rocks Wilderness
Ever since Katy and I started trail running this past spring, we started thinking about how to combine this with backpacking. A few research articles hinted that this is totally a thing, and suddenly we didn’t feel so weird calling it “fastpacking”.
Ross Lake Run
24 miles out and back on the East Bank trail along Ross Lake in the North Cascades National Park.
Unbelievable weather, a gorgeous trail, and a beautiful lake. The water was this beautiful alpine-lake blue, fed by cascading creeks off of distant glaciers.