hike: glacier mountain

Finn and I set off for Granite Mountain Sunday morning with four liters of water for the two of us, way more lunch than I could eat (I'm usually ravenous when I hike, but not this time), and not a speck of extra clothing (an oversight on my part, but I was way too hot to care). And, sans camera. But whatever, we all know what Mt Rainier looks like on a spectacular cloud-free summer day, right?

Eight miles round trip. Every single step out was uphill, and every single step back was down. Certainly an exercise in heel blistering and toe bashing. Ow. But great. Really great, actually. The top half of the trail is almost entirely exposed, sparse trees creating little oases along the way. On the way back down, Finn would plop his butt on the trail in these shade oases and refuse to move for several minutes. Once we were back into the forested lower portion of the trail, he trotted right along.

I am nearly as sore as I was after Mt St Helens last summer (ok, probably not even close, but it is reminiscent). Wait a minute... that too was eight miles... up... back.... view of mt rainier.... same old, same old....

hike: ira springs trail to mason lake

The goal of my second hike of the season was origininally Bandera Mountain, but I changed course to Mason Lake as I reached the trail junction. The Snoqualmie Pass area was socked in with clouds, so I opted for a scenic lake, rather than a view of the clouds. I estimate 8-9 miles total, as I took the "Road Closed" sign too seriously and parked on the forest road about a mile shy of the trailhead (the way between the sign and the trailhead was completely passable, and about 40 cars were in the parking lot when I got back ot the trailhead... oh well. Four and a half hours, round trip. A lovely hike, a very well maintained trail -- you'd have to work really hard to get lost on this trip.

view from the trail looking out over Snoqualmie Pass

dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis) dotted the trail edges, along with bear grass, indian paintbrush and lupines.

mason lake, from its outlet, where the trail approaches the lake

hike: anderson butte

My first hike of the year was to Anderson Butte, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. I was aiming for Watson Lakes, but for a multitude of little reasons, I turned back early, around what I think was the foot of Anderson Butte. Most of the hike was on a snow field, so the trail was sort of a decomposed remnant of a snowmobile trail, getting thinner and weaker as we went. The snow was rapidly melting -- I could hear the snowmelt rushing along the streambed that was under our feet at some points, which made me nervous -- both for myself and for Finn -- if one of us had crashed through the snow, serious trouble could be had, or at the very least, some real discomfort for the return trip. I also got an embarassingly late start, and I wasn't prepared for hiking in the dark. So I called it a day before all the little stresses turned into a big stress and ruined the hike.

It certainly was beautiful though!


aforementioned snowmelt underfoot





finn tries his hand (paw) at forest management






that's Mount Baker there, hiding behind the clouds in the distance

handmade shopping

I am a huge fan of buying handmade goods, especially locally. To that end, I do as much of my "shopping" at craft fairs and festivals as I can, including today at the Fremont Fair in Seattle. I had on my list a couple of t-shirts, a skirt to wear to Alaska in September, and a wine bottle stopper (that one had been elusive!). Since I want to do what I can to promote buying handmade, here are the websites of the folks I bought from today:

Uzura www.etsy.com/shop/uzura
Intertwined Designs www.intertwineddesigns.com
B Hive Designs www.bhivedesigns.com

go handmade!!

catching up

I did a few really cool things since I last posted in September (coincidence? I think not). First, I climbed Mt St Helens. Amazing trip, and I'd do it again. I had essentially zero practice or training, and still did pretty well. Not setting any speed climbing records, but it was a great time. I was joined by my friend Brent and his friend Heather, who was on a flight layover between Nova Scotia and Australia. Most folks I know bring a book or knitting for layovers... this woman climbed a mountain.


just getting started



the fog is clearing



the climbing route: Monitor Ridge



on top of the world, but not yet on top of the mountain (Brent, Heather and me)



making progress



getting closer (the horizon line is the top)



looking north from the cornice -- the 1980 eruption blew the top and north side of the volcano off.




at the top! known to the mountain's climbers as half way


============================


Next up, my parents went on a long road trip that included a visit to Seattle and British Columbia. I loved having them here and I loved the time we spent exploring Vancouver and Victoria, BC. We ate well, laughed much and saw new things.



My mom and me at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park....



Here are my parents on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria....



My dad, Finn and me canoeing at Green Lake, Seattle.


============================


Then, just as they'd done some 23 years earlier, my parents dropped me off for my first day of school. My first quarter of full-time grad school went wonderfully, and was as much fun as I've had in a long time. Drawing and coloring, cutting and pasting, showing and telling -- I tell you, this is all the fun of kindergarten with all the perks of adulthood. My classmates are awesome, and my grades are good. I am having a blast.


==========================


Lastly, a note from Mr Finn. He gained a little fame when the doggie day care we take him to selected his image to paint on the side of their doggie transport truck. How awesome is this?



thanks, Great Dog!

alpaca shearing

I was generously invited to the annual alpaca shearing event at Vashon Island Alpaca, which took place yesterday. I helped with fleece gathering and bagging, as well as animal handling.




================================

The shearing itself is done by a three-man team of shearers: one man using the clippers, while the other two held the animal. Kind of like different cuts of beef, there are different parts of the fleece: "one" is the back, "two" is the neck and the upper parts of the legs, and "three" is the belly, the topknot and lower parts of the legs, if it's not very dirty. We who collected the fleece and bag it (one large plastic bag for each type) would scamper around the feet of the shearing team, pulling shorn fleece off and picking locks of it up off the floor, working as quickly as possible to keep it tidy, out from underfoot, and organized into the three types.


Jake, a farm regular, and I made a good fleece collecting team




most of the animals stood throughout the shearing, but not all of them.


Knitters: you know that baby alpaca yarn we all oooh and aaahh over? This is it.... baby.

================================

After several rounds of that job, I helped fix some jagged wires in a fence of the holding pen, and then I helped prepare the animals for shearing. Each animal was identified by serial number and name, then rounded up by one person (basically by grabbing their head and neck--I let the pros do this bit), and then holding them--this is where I came in--for a blowdown with a high-powered hairdryer, and some fleece-picking, if necessary. And yes, I jumped right in when asked to pick twigs, lichen bits and.... other bits... out of the critters' fleece.


a little alpaca ass-grabin'


a good mix of befores and afters, for reference

================================

I tell you though, there is just no end to how funny these guys look after they've been shorn....


this guy insisted that they leave his sideburns


...and they sure can bend!

I had an incredibly good time, and I sincerely hope I can come back and do it again next year.

Thanks to Bill and Lee for having me, to Nathan and Harlan for allowing me to help, and to Cohni and Josh, for inviting me, and for taking pictures!

come and gone

Eric was here all last week, and we had a great time together. We celebrated our eighth anniversary a little late by taking a three day trip to San Juan Island, where neither of us had been before. We stayed at a bed & breakfast on the western side of the island -- a working ranch, tended to by very friendly innkeepers. After the orcas, alpacas seem to be the island's mascot, and while we didn't see any of the former (they were out in open ocean), we saw plenty of the latter, and got to feed the ones at our B&B. As you might guess, I left the island with some lovely alpaca yarn. We brought with us lunch fixins and picniced every day, we brought dinner foodstuffs and had a bbq at San Juan County Park before settling down with some brie and wine for the sunset. We saw harbor porpoises, seals and sea lions, bald eagles, deer and foxes. We criss-crossed the island a few times, saw American and British Camps, lingered on beaches and generally had a lovely, relaxing time.

the shoreline at Lime Kiln State Park


a picturesque fence at American Camp

more picturesqueness near American Camp

alpacas at Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm

We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Portland to see Heather & Stephen and their lovely new home, paint the sun room, bunches of gardening, dinner with Cohni & Josh, and I think I even went to work for a little bit.

can't talk now....

... having entirely too good a time on San Juan Island with Eric. More later.

spring cleaning

treetops at carkeek park, seattle

I am sometimes asked by my California-based friends and family if the dreary weather of the Pacific Northwest depresses me. I went to college in extreme northern California, where it was also often foggy and wet, and I've lived in Portland since then. I remember the same feelings when I lived in those places as well: I certainly don't feel depressed, or even down about the weather (I've always quite liked the rain), but man, if that first warm, sunny day of spring isn't the best thing ever, then I don't know what is.

evidence of sunlight

I had an action packed weekend this weekend: birdwatching early on Saturday (we didn't spy what we were looking for, but we saw some other neat critters -- including a squirrel expelling itself rather comically from a trash can), then therapy dog class, three hours in the garden and then I trotted off to knitting group in sandals. Today I went to yoga, and in a fit of spring cleaning, cleaned the garage and de-grimed the tops of the kitchen cabinets (ew). Took my bike out of hibernation and in for a tune-up, then ran some errands with the car windows rolled all the way down and the stereo (slightly) up.

In finished project news, I finally got the last of the seed beads put on the felted bowl....

finished measurements: 10 inches in diameter, 5 inches tall, Alpine worsted weight wool, in a charcoal grey and pale blue, seed bead embellishments.

hike: monte cristo

South Fork Sauk River, from the Monte Cristo Town Site Trail, mile (approx) 0.75.

To celebrate the Fourth, we decided to go hiking. On Frank's advice, we went on a hike to the old historic silver mining camp of Monte Cristo. Off the Mountain Loop Highway, a two-lane scenic highway that winds around Granite Falls, Darrington and Arlington (the latter two being near where I hiked last weekend with Elise). We also used our hiking-with-dogs book, which was apparently published before 2006, when we understand some winter storms did a number on the trail.

Finn sporting his new threads.

Decked out with a day pack (with first aid kit and emergency blanket, our lunch and snacks, extra clothes, and water), and Finn with his brand new dog-pack (with his lunch and snacks), we hit the trail at 12:01pm. We got to the trailhead just fine (the Mountain Loop Highway has also had it's share of trouble over the last few years), but the trail (Monte Cristo Town Site Road/Trail) had issues. It had some mass wasting damage that we couldn't identify, it just looked like a five-foot-deep canyon cut into snow and forest slash (the WTA trail report calls it a clay slide), and then the bridge that the book refered to has been washed out completely by the South Fork of the Sauk River. We talked to a pair of outbound hikers who informed us that the only way to cross the river was via a log crossing.

Eric and Finn, post log-crossing (we took Finn's pack off to let him dry and regain his composure).

Now, incase you weren't aware, our dog Finn -- once he figured out how -- loves to swim. I think he might think twice about swimming in swift, cold current though. He got close, too close, and fell in for a short, heart-stopping moment. Fortunately, his dog-pack has a handle on the back so you can grab the dog as though he were a piece of luggage, which Eric promptly did. We had to hand Finn to each other to get on and off of the fallen log that was passing for a bridge that day, which was a little nerve-wracking for me, who naturally lacks the upper body strength that Eric has (I hike faster to make up for it... where did we put that medicine ball anyway?).... to say nothing of how Finn was feeling about the whole ordeal. But we managed to get to the other side and get our hike back on track. I must say, regarding the river, that it has some of the clearest water I have ever seen in a mountain river. The road continued on the other side, but was laden with issues there too....

Trail washout (or river expansion, depending on your perspective). The trail consists of an old railroad grade, though we marveled at how they apparently buried the old rails instead of pulling them up as is usually the case.

There were many trees down, which Finn lept over without a second thought, and a few that provided me with camera fodder....

Interesting lichen on a fallen tree. Looks like a sea coral to me....

The undersides of fir needles, taken from above.

We reached the town site of Monte Cristo, a cluster of five one-room cabins, some mining artifacts and a rail car turntable. The trail continues to Silver Lake via Poodle Dog Pass, but we decided that that would be a hike for another day. We had our lunch of PB&J, sunflower seeds, carrots, pluots and nectarines, and Finn had a half-sized meal of kibble (he usually doesn't get a mid-day meal). We took advantage of the solitude, scenery and the auto-timer on the camera and took some family portraits. Then we headed back.

Family portrait at Monte Cristo.

Dicentra leaves with water droplets.

Gratuitous scenery shots....

Eight miles total, 500-foot elevation gain, out-and-back hike. Not bad for our first of the summer. Next up: Taylor River or Mt Rainier (Sunrise area).

you know you're at the Fremont Solstice Parade when....

I went to the Fremont Solstice Parade last Saturday with some friends. It was easily the strangest parade I have ever seen, either in person or otherwise. There were no banners or other announcements of what group was coming next, and I am pretty sure that whoever wants to be in the parade, can be. You and your friends want to dress up in mardi gras beads and thongs and march down the street with finger cymbals? Go for it. There were a few (man-powered!) floats, a smattering of semi-organized musical ensembles who appeared to have practiced the same songs, and I tell you, there were absolutely no political statements whatsoever....





I perused the craft fair but I think I was missing a street or two, because I remember it being much larger and with more real crafts and fewer booths of sunglasses for $3.99. Oh well, next year.


these guys had a guitar case proclaiming them as the Old Time Jug Band or similar, but mostly I recognized two of the four as being from the Tall Boys.

gig harbor & caucusing

Eric and I took a drive out to Gig Harbor today (just west of Tacoma) to pick up a serger sewing machine I had found on craigslist. We made a morning of it, taking a walk along the waterfront and having lunch (possibly the best clam chowder I've ever had) at what was obviously a local favorite, Tides Tavern.

The Gig Harbor waterfront -- old boat dock

The water in Gig Harbor was so clean and clear, we got to see lots of thriving harbor wildlife.

We drove back to Seattle just in time to get to our caucasing site. We were a little hesitant about the time commitment (I think I thought it was going to be more like jury deliberation, with everyone in the precinct having to be in agreement on a single candidate), but felt that we ought to see what it was all about. Our caucasing site was at a local middle school, and was actually the site for several different precinct, and as we approached and saw the parked cars all down the street and the sharp increase of pedestrians hoofing it towards the school, we pulled over and joined them. The line of voters snaked out the front door of the school and around the corner, so we stood in it. Inside was a bit chaotic for people like us who arrived without our presinct number, but when we all got to the right place and our precinct leader showed up and got us all signed in and recorded our initial candidate preferences, it went pretty smoothly. We sat and stood in roughly a circle, sharing the school library with another precinct. Our leaders tallied up the initial preferences: the Obamas and the Clintons and the "others": two for Kusinich and three undecideds. Two of those three undecideds were Eric and myself. Then about eight folks volunteered their opinions -- who they were voting for and why -- then the leaders asked if anyone wanted to change their preferences. Still not totally convinced, but swaying enough to write down a name, Eric and I went and changed our paperwork, the leaders retallied and based upon the nearly three-to-one Obama to Clinton ratio, we broke into two groups and elected a total of seven delegates (and a few alternates) to represent our precinct at the County caucus in April. That done, we headed home.

The line to get into our caucus site, when we got there...

I'm glad we went. It was good to get out and feel like we were participating, especially in such a different sort of atmosphere than your basic rickity voting booth.