Hiking, Mountaineering, and Climbing Adventures
Jim and I have been wanting to do an Alpine Lakes Traverse for many years. With help from Fay and Jim Aga, we were able to do the traverse over our anniversary last week. The weather forecast was not great for a 5 day trip: 3 nice days of weather sandwiched between 2 questionable days.…
Nine years ago, Jim and I did the Ptarmigan Traverse with a group of friends. This was my first and Jim’s second attempt. After spending the last several years doing trips in the area, I really wanted to repeat the traverse via an alternative exit over the Chickamin Glacier and out through Hanging Gardens and…
Last week, we headed into the Olympics with our friends Greg and Tony. Tony’s daughter, Anna, and her friend, Engre, joined us. Brooke had to miss this adventure due to a bachelorette party at Lake Chelan. The 6 of us met at the trailhead near Lake Quinault in the late afternoon. We hiked in 5…
When Brooke arrived in Seattle last September, she had a list of the top 10 hikes in Washington State. One of the places she really wanted to overnight camp was Sahale Arm in North Cascades National Park. We told her so does everyone else visiting the North Cascades. Sahale Arm might be the most sot…
One of Brooke’s buckle-list items was climbing Mt Rainier. Big Surprise! We were supposed to attempt it June 2020 but Brooke couldn’t get out of Australia. Covid lockdown. Brooke told us Australia lockdown again a week ago. They have 22 new cases. After spending the last 4 months testing out vanlife with Dan, Brooke returned to…
Jim and I have been trying to climb Mt Whitney for the last several years. One trip didn’t go due to weather. The other didn’t go because of a fire closures. The day before our trip in June, we were informed that Whitney Portal was closed due to a fire. Whitney Portal was our exit…
For my birthday, Jim and I went to Yosemite to do our first backpacking trip of the season. Our main goal was Clouds Rest peak. We saw it 5 years ago from the summit of Half Dome and have wanted to climb it ever since. After a stop at Jim’s cousins, we headed into Yosemite,…
Last Wednesday, Jim and I headed to Sedona, Arizona to get some early season hiking in and enjoy some sunshine. Unfortunately we seemed to have taken the Seattle weather with us. Unknown to us, I happened to book the only hotel in town with a straight on view of Capital Butte. It immediately became a…
We decided to take the long way to Moab so we could see Capital Reef National Park. I had driven through the park several years ago with Erika but we only had time for one quick photo stop. Jim and Brooke were eager to stop at all the interesting rock formations. It was brutally cold…
We arrived the Watchman Campground in Zion National Park to find others camping in our spot. They were in no hurry to leave and hung out to watch us put up our tent. They actually milled around all night long. After setting up camp, we head into the park. We only had the afternoon so…