The Washington State Chronicles

The Incredible Adventures of Karen C.

Paradise...literally.

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So sorry everyone for practically disappearing there for awhile, but March has been rearing its ugly head -- weather wise. We've had rain and snow mixed, then sunshine and clear skies, and following soon after, black skies and hail...all in the same day. Ha! Good ol' Washington spring weather for ya.

I did get a chance to get out a few weeks back on February 27th with my Uncle. He has long shared my love and passion for the outdoors and photography, so it's always a pleasant trip when I can spend some quality time with my Uncle (aka my second dad).

We woke up super early and hit the road with the sun barely peeking its way over the mountain range -- our destination? Paradise, Mt. Rainier National Park. Rumors of the snow level being at 3,000 feet made us a tiny bit anxious, but we were determined to get as far up the mountain as we could with no snow tires. The ranger outpost reported that all east side roads were closed, and boy did they mean "closed." On our way up to Reflection Lake, our GPS told us to keep going straight once we got up to Paradise, but a huge ten foot wall of snow baracaded our way.

(Yeah...10 feet of snow up at Paradise)

We decided to see if we could hike a bit farther up the meadow once we got there, but after about fifteen minutes of plowing through knee deep snow drifts, we opted to turn back. We weren't going anywhere without snowshoes! Paradise was gorgeous with all the sparkly snow, and the mountain peaks off in the distance reminded me of something straight out of a Tolkien novel. The icy, crisp, clean air whipped new life into our lungs, and I stood in awe at the vast Cascade range looming up before us. Sometimes I just feel so small...

I caught my first glimpse at the newly remodeled Paradise Lodge, burried deep in its icy tomb, and the new Jackson Visitor's center which I was slightly less impressed with. I can't wait to return to the lodge in the spring. It's one of my favorite places, and holds many, cherished, childhood memories. We waited around Paradise for awhile hoping that the clouds would drift eastward, allowing us to capture a clear shot of the mountain. But if you know Rainier like I do, you know that it can make its own weather, and it decided to remain shy and hidden under a thick blanket of fog.


(Top view of Narada Falls from the parking lot)

After gazing at the amazing slopes of Mt. Rainier, we headed back down to see if we could catch a glimpse of Narada Falls and the Nisqually Glacier before tackling Kautz Creek yet again. It's one of the few places that's snow free during this time of year, so it sees a lot of traffic.

On the bridge near the Nisqually River Glacier, it was freezing! The wind whipped around the underneath side of the structure and over the top, cutting straight through my jacket. The views on top of the 150 foot bridge were breath-taking, and my Uncle and I both snapped photos of each other when we thought the other wasn't looking. :P

I was exhausted by the end of the trip, and it's a good thing my Uncle's new car has heated seats! We were up in the park for around six hours, and by the time I reached home, I was ready for a nap. The next morning dawned, and a red light filled my dark room, so I looked out the window to a gorgeous sunrise that only Washington State can provide. I love this state, and I'm so happy to be home.

(Early, pre-dawn sunrise)

(Later that day)

Kautz Creek (Take Two)

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Happy Birthday to meeeeee!!! ^_^

And boy did I receive the best gift ever! Sunny, 60ºF weather...clear skies...a snowy, white capped Mt. Rainier...and a return trip to Kautz Creek, this time with my mom in tow.

This time around, I came prepared with fresh batteries in my camera to avoid the fiasco that occurred on my last hike up to this neck of the woods. Crystal clear skies provided some awesome sights, warm sun on our faces, and towards the end of our journey, it even warmed the forest floor producing tiny wafts of that unparralleled, summer woodsy scent. It's little things like that, that I appreciate the most about the outdoors. You really take things for granted, or sometimes you don't pay much attention to them at all. The crisp, cool, mountain air was so refreshing, and let me tell you, it'll go loads farther than any therapy session if you want to de-stress.

A quick picnic lunch at the Kautz Creek Trailhead was all we needed -- and soon enough, we were synching up our backpacks, and heading for the creek.

This time, spring was much more apparent, and the creek was alive with the sound of birds, flitting from branch to branch up in their lofty heights. Some trees have even started to bud out early, making me wiggle my toes in my boots with anticipation for the onset of summer. But, something tells me that March may have something up its sleeve. We'll have to see. I hope it doesn't come roaring its ugly head like a lion.

It's really amazing what mother nature can do when you think about it. And it's not hard to miss some serious resurfacing when you take a walk through Kautz Creek. Even though we were well on the trail, and pretty far away from the creek, the ground was still loose enough to uproot a enormous tree from the glacial outburst. Huge boulders being carried down by raging glacial waters have been slammed into the creek walls, and poulverized into tiny, fine grain sand on the floor. Trees snapped in half like twigs and scattered all the way down the river, and log bridges washed out, no longer able to be in use.
I made it across the river, and up to the series of switchbacks that starts the strenuous part of the trek up to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, but it's still a little too early for that. We turned around at that point, and came home. Zuki definitely needed to be walked by the time we made it back home!

But what's a birthday without dessert, right? So, a quick pit stop at the Copper Creek Inn was in order for some of their outstanding coffee, and world famous blackberry pie.


The Inn was absolutely buzzing with hikers, backpackers, snowshoe-ers, and all kinds of other people up there to take advantage of the mountain on such a sunny day. The friendly folks who run the diner welcomed us in out of the cold, and sat us down at the bar with hot, fresh coffee flowing into our cups not two seconds later. Who needs birthday cake and presents, when you've got fresh outdoor air and warm blackberry pie a la mode?

Check out my video for other cool views of our trip!

New Boots! ...Again.

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Hey gang!

I just thought I'd write real quick to let you all know that I haven't fallen off the face of the planet -- yet. :) The weather has been super nasty lately with a lot of rain, so I haven't been able to get out much. I've taken a few leisurely strolls through Bradley Lake Park, and Clark's Creek with my mom and dad, but no major hiking excursions to report this time. I did, however, get a taste for the first mile of Swan Creek a few weeks back when my mom and I decided to just "check it out." I can't wait to blast my way through the whole thing.

New backpacking/hiking boots arrived in the mail the other day -- an early birthday present, courtesy of my mom. My Uggs are perfect for trekking in the cold winter weather, but I definitely needed something a bit less warm for summer. The last two days have been spent breaking in my new Scarpa SL M3's.


Hmmm...do these look familiar?

:)

Anyway, they're definitely going to need some serious breaking in time. They're pretty stiff, but thankfully I have all winter, and all spring to wear them down in.

This next week the weather is supposed to be pretty decent, so we'll see. Pray that I'm able to get some nice weather up here in the Northwest to get out and about in. I'm starting to get cabin fever over here!

Kautz Creek (Take 1)

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So, I'm not gonna lie...I was thoroughly disappointed today by the fact that my camera's batteries died a mere two snapshots into my hike. Curse you stupid, unreliable, disposable, AA alkaline batteries! My next purchase???

...A package of re-chargable batteries and a charger. Go team green!

The weather wasn't as nice as I hoped it would be, but it could've been worse, so I guess I can't complain too much. I didn't risk hiking very far today, because we've seen a lot of rain fall over the last week or two, and hiking up steep switchbacks with loose trail underfoot didn't seem like a very safe idea to me. I'll wait until early summer to tackle my way up to Indian Henrey's Hunting Ground, once the ground has had a chance to dry out a bit.

Still, my 2.0 mile out-and-back trek proved to have some stunning views (despite the fact that Mt. Rainier was nowhere in sight). I wish I could've had my camera working so I could've taken pictures, but I guess I'll just have to describe it to you, and take photos later this summer when I go back. The Kautz Creek Trail is relatively easy going for the first mile and winds its way through white birch forests, plenty of woodpecker roosts, and rocky terrain, all the while with Kautz Creek whispering in the distance. Although the rich, red, iron infused creek is fairly small (as of now), the creek bed itself is rather large due to the Glacial Outburst Flood of 1947. Sixty-three years later the devestation is still blatantly obvious. During the summer, I'm sure the creek will be quite a bit larger with all the glacier melt-off. Grey, misty clouds crept down from the mountain side, nestling themselves in the deep fir forests of the foothills. The woods were strangely quiet, without even so much as a chirp from a bird. Perhaps because of the season. I went as far as the Kautz Creek Crossing, then turned back, for fear of rougher trail further ahead.

Here's my weak attempt at footage and pictures of my adventure. Drat those batteries! Hopefully next time I'll be more prepared, and maybe the summer weather will provide better light, flowering meadows, and bluer skies.


Kautz Creek (Take 1)

Karen | MySpace Video

Waiting Out the Rain...

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Well, I have quite a bit of time on my hands over this next week -- due to a very drastic lull in business at work. However, my spirits are high, and I'm greatly looking forward to the amount of time I have off in conjunction with the fair forecast that's been predicted for the next few days. Although fairly rainy today, I'm hoping the clouds will wring out their stores this evening and into the night to produce the sunny skies reported for tomorrow. If that's the case, another trip up to Mt. Rainier is in order with my mom for a quick hike up the Kautz Creek Trail. While I won't be going all the way up to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground (I'll save that for a later date and more preferred, summer weather) it'll still be a good 2.0 mile trek up to the Kautz Creek Glacial Outburst Flood site and back. I finally bought my resevior for my pack, and this will give me a good excuse to test it out.

Trying desperately to prepare myself for the amount of hiking I plan on doing this summer, I've added yoga to my routine to try and build up strength, while lengthening and stretching out my muscles. Doing Moon Salutations in the evening before bed has proven to be a great way for me to relieve stress, and prepare my body for sleep and rest. I'm going to try to incorporate Sun Salutations in the morning to aid me in laying the ground work for the day, and finish off of course with de-stressing Moon's at night. Still, I wish it wasn't so rainy so I could get out and jog a few times a week, but that's the Pacific Northwest for ya.

I'll report back tomorrow, hopefully with footage and photographs of a sunny day up at Mt. Rainier. Until next time...

Trail of Shadows

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I just absolutely love spontaneous trips. My mom has always proven to be a reliable companion on such excursions, as we both share like-minded spirits -- and more often than not -- she is the one responsible for coming up with, and executing the ideas. Take yesterday for example.

I awoke early in the morning at 7:00am, and had absolutely no plans whatsoever for the day, except that I had to be at work at 6:00pm that evening. I stumbled down the stairs in a groggy stupor, and imediately reached for the coffee pot. My mom then asked me, "Well? What should we do today?" I knew the wheels in her head were already turning as we dicussed many options over our morning coffee. We came up with tons of ideas, but one remained constant: Zuki (my mom's dog) had to come with us! She needed a day out of the house too! Still not settled on one particular idea over the other, we decided to get ready and take it from there.

Once I was ready, I bounded down the stairs once more, completely convinced that we might just be going into town. "I think we'll go to Mt. Rainier," my mom said as we gathered our things, "Longmire is still open even though it's winter." My reaction was estatic! Mt. Rainier?! Are you kidding me?! I didn't think I was going to make it up there until well into spring! I certainly wasn't prepared for that, but that's what's so great about my mom. She'll always surprise you. So, I raced upstairs, grabbed my backpack, threw on another layer, changed into my boots, and off we went.

It only took us forty-five minutes to reach the Nisqually Entrance Station, and soon we were driving through thick Douglas-fir forests, carpeted with moss, and littered with streams towards Longmire. Shortly after gaining access to the park, we stumbled upon two deer -- a doe and her yearling fawn. I didn't expect to see anything since we were visiting the park in the dead of winter, so seeing those deer was extremely rare, and a real treat. We also stopped alongside the road to take a short video, and snap a quick picture of me hugging a HUGE 300-400 year old Douglas-fir tree. It was so big I could barely wrap my arms around the thing, so you can just imagine the size of it.

Once inside the vicinity of Longmire, Zuki had the chance to stretch her legs and walk the parking lot. Animals are not permitted on the trails at the park, only in zones where your car is allowed (like parking lots, campgrounds, and roadsides). But that didn't dampen her spirits in the slightest, and she was quite content racing around the wooded parking lot and sniffing all kinds of new scents. My mom and I took a few more pictures, and visited the giftshop at the Inn, where she secretly purchased a book for me and surprised me with it once outside. It's called "A Falcon Guide: Hiking Mount Rainier National Park" and it has limitless information about all the trails in the park. I can't wait to delve into it!

I got to look my ultimate adversary in the eyes as I gazed in awe at the trail head of the Wonderland Trail there at Longmire. I just sort of sat and stared at the sign for a few moments contemplating to myself, "I will hike you...eventually. I'm nowhere near ready yet, but I will be. You just wait and see." Ha-ha!




After staring longingly at the Wonderland Trail trail head, my mom and I set out for the Trail of Shadows -- a much, much easier hike. This trail takes you leisurely around the woods and hotsprings surrounding Longmire, and gives you a history of the site itself (when it was discovered, when it was built, various facts about wildlife in the area, and the different landscapes).



After the hike, we drove back down towards the park entrance and stopped at the "Copper Creek Inn" for lunch. The Copper Creek has been there since 1946, and man do they have some good food. Of course, no trip up to the mountain is complete without having a good cup of joe to cap off your day, and the Copper Creek Inn offers a rich, bold blend that's sure to warm you up.





A lazy drive back ended our trip and provided some stunning vistas over Clear Lake. Zukes was exhausted from being a mountain doggie, and my mom and I were fairly tired as well. I curled up next to the fire once we were home and skimmed through my new book before I had to leave for work.





Altogether, not a bad day at all. Not at all...

Thanks mom for a great daytrip, and memories to last a lifetime!

New Layout!

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Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Wait a tick...am I on the right site?" Well the answer is yes. Yes you are. I thought my blog needed a little freshening up, so I sprayed some digital Fabreze around and spruced things up a bit. Enjoy!

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