Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge is 17 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing, with relatively gentle grades to make it manageable. The shoulders are thin, but cars generally swing around you and travel at modest speeds. We stopped several times for pictures ascending from Heart o' the Hills, and actually spotted a handful of large mountain goats up on Klahhane Ridge, our first sighting ever! I was thrilled by how manageable this supposedly epic climb was for me (much easier than our mini Tour de Blast), and the sunshine, mountains and goats were over the top.

At the visitor's center, we took a long break and affixed a blinky light to my backside in case the fog rolled in - there are three tunnels about midway up, and I figured a little added visibility wouldn't hurt.

Even on a beautiful late summer day, the steep descent brought me nearly to hypothermia and was overall truly unpleasant - I can only imagine what it would feel like on a cool, rainy day. I was shivering too hard to get up any real speed, and I certainly couldn't hear traffic. It's safe to say that I was the coldest I'd ever been, which is kind of pathetic when you look at my sunny pictures below. I was really surprised at the cyclists I saw coming up after us with minimal clothing, but then they may have been hardy Canadians. Portlanders do tend to be pretty timid about anything but the mildest of temperatures.

Coming Next Summer

A trip to Glacier National Park is in the works for next year. It'll probably involve less backpacking and more day hiking, but it looks like a real possibility. I'm even more excited about that than I am about Cuba in the spring!

Sunrise, Part Deux

Headed out to one of my favorite places today, Burroughs Mountain on the Sunrise side of Mount Rainier. Still spectacular.

P.S., the road to Sunrise from Paradise is closed indefinitely. I conveniently ignored the signage recommending the Highway 12 route to Cayuse Pass, and ended up having to cut across on FS 51 to Packwood. It took forever, but was ultimately worth it. Oh yeah, and the snow on First Burroughs is pretty much impassable, and I forgot that you can swing around the back side. But whatevs.

McNamee -> Saltzman Big Kids Ride

I occasionally like to pretend that I'm one of the big kids, and am perfectly capable of riding the West Hills like they do. In reality, I struggle to keep up with Dr B, particularly in 90+ degree heat, as it was yesterday on our first of what will hopefully be many Sundays off together. After a leisurely pre-caffienation session, we climbed up Cornell to Skyline, flew down McNamie (where I finally got to see the Troll Wall!), south to Sauvie where we relaxed at Kruger's Farm with snowcones and grilled chicken sandos, and then grinded back up Saltzman towards home. I have to say that Saltzman was relatively gentle despite the rubble, and though I was beyond tired from the heat, it was so much easier than hateful Newberry Rd. All in all, a great summer ride. But am I ready for Hurricane Ridge next week?!

35 miles.

Snowgrass Flats, Goat Rocks Wilderness

Dr B and I drove out to Goat Rocks Wilderness for the first time today. I've been determined to get out there for several days now, but the weather wouldn't cooperate until this weekend. 90 degrees in Portland? Get some elevation!

The drive was just over three hours, but the recently graded gravel road was beyond tedious. We chose the counterclockwise approach of the Snowgrass Flats Trail 96/Lily Basin Loop to avoid immediate strenuous climbing, and although the trail was relatively gentle the dense trees made for 4+ miles of fairly dull hiking. Near the cutoff for the PCT, the views open up a bit to gorgeous wildflower meadows and glimpses of Old Snowy, but still the dramatic views elude you. At about mile 6, Jordan basin unfurls before you and the payoff comes. We didn't complete the loop or make it to Goat Lake due to time constraints (our furry dependents were locked up back at home), but got a good view of the lush green basin and Hawkeye Point above. We saw no goats up high, due no doubt to the creeping temperatures, and the bugs were pretty aggressive. Overall, it seems apparent that the best way to experience Goat Rocks is via an overnight trip - we didn't see nearly enough!

13.5 miles, 5 hours