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In reverse chronological order:
- Twin Falls, Snoqualmie (05/13/03) The River Was More Fun Than The Falls.
- For our last hike, we wanted a short, close-by, easy hike. This was the busiest place we'd been, so eventually we pulled off of the trail and went the several hundred feet to the river and scrambled over the boulders, trying to work our way upstream instead. This hike was at a much lower elevation that the others, hundreds rather than thousands of feet up, so all the plants were further along in their spring growth.
- Swauk Forest, Wenatchee (05/12/03) In Which We Learn That May Is Not Summer.
- This was our only hike on this vacation east of the Cascades. It was a much hotter, dryer climate. There was a greater variety of conifers than we had seen anywhere else. We originally planned to hike in the meadows, but almost sliding off the mountain twice in the car convinced us to turn around and find another trail. Despite our initial trepidation, the "Swauk Forest Discovery Trail" turned out to be a real trail, not a paved, sign-laden thoroughfare. Unfortunately it was too short: when we reached the end of the 2.75-mile trail, we still really wanted to keep going.
- Ape Cave, Mt. St. Helens (05/09/03) 8-Foot Lava Walls Are Not Your Friend, But They're Fun.
- The 10-30 foot high boulder piles were easy compared to the 8-foot lava wall (with no rope or any assistance up it) and the 7-foot high boulder completely blocking the path. Initially the ragged basalt ground seemed difficult to walk on, but after scrambling over boulders, it seemed perfectly flat and easy. The cave is pitch black (we carried flashlights) and 42 degrees F (we dressed warmly), and is one of the most fun trips Anna and I have taken. They estimate 2.5 hours for the 1.5-mile cave trek and 1.5-mile walk back to the car, but it took us 3.5 hours to get through the cave, due mostly to lots of "ooh! Look at that!", picture taking, and stopping for a long lunch partway through.
- North Fork Sauk Trail, North Cascades (05/08/03) Skunk Cabbage Smells Like... Well... Skunks.
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- First a half-mile round-trip hike to a waterfall, then an 8 mile drive to the trailhead. We hiked about 1.5 miles of the long trail and saw skunk cabbage, rivers, beautiful spring flowers, and lots of amazing old-growth forest.
- Mason Lake Trail, Snoqualmie (05/07/03)
- This hike will never make my "Top 10 Hikes in Washington" list, but it certainly was fun. We stopped before the trail got too bad, up in the old growth forest, about 2 miles out. The trail continues for another three, getting progressively worse (according to a trail guide we read), before ending at Mason Lake.
- Mountain Drive (02/23/03)
- Okay, so it's not really a hike...
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