Ridley Creek S.P., 3/3/13

I had a little free time the other Sunday, and decided to stretch my legs in Ridley Creek State Park. I know I take RCSP somewhat for granted - it's about 20 minutes away, and the nearest "real" hiking (i.e., a trail in the woods, as opposed to walking on a paved path), so it's basically my default option for when time is limited. But it's more than a default, it's a good option, with pleasant trails and some very pretty scenery.

The goal for this day was just to get out in the woods again, as I hadn't done any hiking in...a long time. A few months anyway. So it felt wonderful to get out in the woods. The day was cold and gray, but I was dressed lightly and quickly heated up once I started moving.

I did what I guess is my standard hike - a big general loop with a couple of smaller loops thrown in. I did everything in a counterclockwise direction. I only saw a few other hikers, all of whom were dressed like Eskimos in the depths of an Arctic winter. I guess they thought I was the crazy one.

I took a few camera phone pics, and intended to put a slideshow here. But Google has changed their web albums, and if that's still an option, I can't find it. So if you're interested, here's a link to a few pics.

Distance: 5.49 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:40

Maine '13: Initial Plans

The first meeting of the Maine '13 planning committee was called to order on a recent Saturday afternoon. John, Ted, and I were present, and Eric was on board with all the tentative plans and available by phone.

The first question was "when", and we resolved that pretty quickly by process of elimination. Looking at people's commitments, middle September seemed like the only time that worked for everyone. Looking at a calendar, we settled on Wednesday 9/11 through Tuesday 9/17.

The next question was "how" (to get there), and that was also quickly resolved. Someone said that USAir had cheap flights from Philadelphia to Bangor, ME, and we found that to be the case. It looked tailor-made for us - a cheap, direct flight, leaving the Wednesday afternoon and returning the following Tuesday afternoon. It seemed so perfect that we wanted to book immediately, before anything changed. So we got Eric on the phone, got his blessing to book it, and made our reservations.

That led to the question of "what" (to do while there.) We came up with a rough outline. We want to spend time in two spots while we're there, and Bangor is about midway between them. The first is Baxter State Park, where we'll camp and hike. Baxter contains Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail, and the high point of the state of Maine. (More about Baxter and Katahdin in future posts.)

The other spot is Acadia National Park on the coast. That's been in our sights since 1986, when our college graduation trip to Acadia was scuttled at the last minute. So between these two places, we think we'll get the two classic Maine scenes - the woods/mountain/moose Maine at Baxter, and the rocky coastline Maine at Acadia.

The rough itinerary is to get into Bangor on Wed. evening, rent an SUV, and drive partway to Baxter. We'll have all day Thursday and Friday there, presumably doing the big hike to Katahdin on Friday. At some point Saturday, we'll break camp at Baxter and drive the few hours to Acadia. We'll have all day Sunday and Monday there, then break camp Tuesday, make our way to Bangor and airport, and fly home.

Nothing is reserved yet (campsites can't be reserved this far in advance), but this seems like a workable plan.

More details to come.

Hiking Year in Review

Looking back at my 2012 hiking, it was a year of quality over quantity. I did not do the amount of day-hiking I've done other years - just due to general busyness. I used a number of personal days as sick days, and to help take care of my mom. So I wasn't able to grab a personal day to do an A.T. day-hike, or even to get up to Hawk Mountain for a day of hiking and raptor-watching in the fall. But the hiking I *was* able to do was very memorable.

My Shenandoah N.P. weekend in May was memorable for the bear I saw, and the vistas from Big Devil's Stairs - and also because of the agonizing back pain I was in. Thankfully I recovered from that...though slowly. I've decided that I need to see both a bear and a rattlesnake in the wild every year. So this year was only 50% successful.

The boys' trip to the Adirondacks was another smashing success. It was the latest in a long line of fun and well-planned trips. I bagged two peaks (Marcy and Algonquin) - both were brutally hard, but the vistas from both summits were equally spectacular.

Finally, I had a fun day at Mt. Rainier. It was unfortunate that the clouds and snow took away the vistas I was hoping to see, but the hiking was still fantastic, and the pine and cedar mountainsides of Washington state have to be seen to be believed.

So 2012 is in the books, and I can't possibly complain. 2013 doesn't promise to be any less busy, but hopefully there will be more opportunities to get out for interesting day-hikes. Discussion and planning for a boys' 2013 hiking trip will be the subject of future posts.

Rampart Ridge Trail, MRNP, 11/11/2012

Part 2 of my Mt. Rainier hiking day. In my previous trip report, I cut short my hike to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground because I thought it might be snowing hard. When it turned out it wasn't, I decided on a second hike. I saw on my map that the Rampart Ridge Trail was a 5-mile loop, starting at the Longmire Visitor's Center, so I decided to give that a try.

My trip report follows.

12:06pm
I'm on the trail again. It's still lightly flurrying, but nothing to be concerned about. I'm parked at the Visitor's Center, and the trail starts just across the road. According to the map, I'll do a clockwise loop. I'll take the Rampart Ridge Trail for about three miles. When it junctions with the Wonderland Trail, I'll take the right fork, which will bring me back to the Visitor's Center in another two miles. That seems like a perfect hike for the time I have available - and especially as the last weather forecast I saw had heavier snow starting at 3pm.

12:55pm
Longmire Overlook. Holy smokes what a climb! After maybe a quarter mile of flat ground, the trail started climbing relentlessly, switchbacking up a mountainside. As with the last hike, the trees are enormous, and it just seems magical to be hiking in such a forest of monsters.

There's been the occasional break in the trees, giving me a view out to the surrounding area. I've had a few very brief glimpses through the thick clouds of distant snow- and ice-covered mountainsides. They're gorgeous views, but quickly gone (and un-photographable with my phone's camera) and are a tease of what the views could be on a clear day.

My GPS says I've come 1.9 miles, and I'm sweating profusely. The climb has been steep and unrelenting. I'm wondering how much elevation I've gained, and I'm guessing somewhere between 1500 and 2000 feet.

1:18pm
Junction of the Wonderland Trail. The last mile has been blessedly flat, and seemed to be a walk along the ridgeline. I'm pretty sure that on a clear day, there would have been vistas of Rainier itself to the left - but today I just looked out into clouds and fog. It's still snowing, and maybe a little harder then before. 2.0 miles to the trailhead, and there has to be a steep descent from this point on.

2:04pm
Trailhead, Longmire Visitor's Center. The descent was steep, but not as much as I expected. I hiked a little over 5 miles in about 2 hours, and that was perfect.

Postscript
I'm discouraged to see that the Park Service website says the hike I just did has an elevation gain of 1339 feet. It felt like *much* more than that. But no complaints, it was a beautiful and challenging hike.

I have nothing but good things to say about both the hikes I did in Rainier. The only unfortunate thing was the weather - the cloud cover took away all the mountain vistas, which are undoubtedly spectacular. But there's nothing you can do about the weather, and the chance to hike among such amazing trees was pure pleasure.

If the opportunity ever allowed, I would gladly return to Mt. Rainier National Park for more hiking.

Distance: 5.20 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:57:07

Rampart Ridge-Wonderland Trail Loop (hiked clockwise)

My two Rainier hikes, showing proximity to the mountain (which I never saw)

Kautz Creek Trail, MRNP, 11/11/2012

Last Sunday, I had the day to myself in the Seattle area. My only restrictions were that I had to deliver my friends to SeaTac airport at 7am Sunday morning, and I had to be at the airport myself the next day around 9am. The time between was mine to do as I pleased.

Two years ago, I also had a free day in Seattle, and that day I took John's advice and did a one-day exploration of the Olympic Peninsula that I still remember with great fondness (trip report here.) This time I wanted to do some hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park.

I had a hike picked out in the east side of the park - but I found out the day before that that section of the park is closed for the winter. I confirmed that the west side of the park was still open, and selected a hike: Indian Henry's Hunting Ground via Kautz Creek. This is a fairly long and strenuous hike, but I figured I had all day and I wanted to do something good.

Then at the party on Saturday night, I talked to a guy who works for the National Weather Service. He told me that snow was expected in elevations about 3000 ft. on Sunday afternoon. I promised I'd be careful (making him the latest in a long line of people  to receive my promise of being careful.)

Sunday morning arrived, gray and cool, and we left our cozy home-away-from-home at 6:10am. Part 1 of my trip report follows:

7:18am

Breakfast stop at McDonald's. I got my friends to SeaTac at 7am, and the rest of the day is mine. It's cloudy and cool, and the forecast is still not good. The park is maybe two hours away, and I'll get there as quickly as I can, so I can hopefully hike before the snow starts.

9:12am
Entrance to the National Park. Admission is free, as it's Veteran's Day. I got a few glimpses of Rainier over the last half hour, as I approached the park. I could only see the shoulders of the mountain, as its head is in the clouds - but even the first glimpse of that made me say "Woah!" It's *massive*, and I hope I'll get a view of the mountain today - though that's probably a long-shot, as it's getting more cloudy, not less.

9:39am

Kautz Creek trailhead. I drove maybe 5 miles into the park, and there's ice on the narrow windy road. I drove slowly and carefully and had no trouble. It's cold - probably a little above freezing. I'm dressed for it - with a few layers and my Gore-tex jacket. I have a water, a Gatorade, and a couple of energy bars. There are a few snowflakes falling, and the cloud cover is so heavy that there are no mountain vistas. Oh well, off we go.

10:15am
For the first 3/4 of a mile, the trail was flat and followed a stream. Then things got interesting - the trail crossed the stream, went into the woods, and started climbing. As soon as I went into the woods, I couldn't stop gaping. It was like entering another world...maybe Tolkien's Middle Earth. The trees were unbelievable - they were so thick and so *massive*. Some had fallen across the trail and had been cut, and its diameter was more than my height. They were mostly cedars and firs, and the smell was pure Christmas morning.

If you've read any of my trip reports, you know that a climb means that I start generating body heat like crazy. First my gloves went in my pocket. Then my jacket came off and got strapped to my daypack. I have a short-sleeve wicking shirt under a long-sleeve flannel shirt.

The trail is climbing relentlessly, and I'm huffing and puffing. There are no vistas, but hiking through these trees is magical.

10:42am
The trail is still climbing relentlessly, and my flannel shirt is now completely unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up. I'm stopping for a short rest and drink, and I've decided to turn around and head back to the car.

Snow has been falling steadily - I would call it a light flurry, but that's what I'm seeing under the canopy of these massive trees, and maybe that means it's really snowing hard. I'm a little less than halfway to Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, and I hate to abandon the hike - but as I already noted, I've promised a number of people that I'd be careful, and I don't want to get in over my head if it really is snowing hard out there.

11:43am

Trailhead. That was a grueling downhill - I find the steep downhills hard on the legs/quads, where steep uphills are hard on the lungs. As I came out of the woods and followed the last half mile along the creek, I buttoned my flannel shirt again and put my jacket back on.

When I came out of the woods, I realized that my fears were not realized. What was a light flurry under the trees was indeed just a light flurry - so light that I think my hiking for the day is not over. The Longmire Visitor's Center is a few miles away, and I know there are a number of trails that go out of there. I'll drive up there and see about a second hike.

Distance: 5.22 miles
Elapsed Time: 2:09

Grand Canyon, Three Years After

I have a naturally good memory for dates - it's not something I have to work at, I just remember birthdays, anniversaries, and days of note. So I've noted that the past three days are the three-year anniversary of my Grand Canyon backpack with John and Ted. In some ways it seems like it happened yesterday, but in more ways it seems like so much has happened since then that it should be 5 or even 10 years ago.

Pack break, Hermit Trail (10/3/2009)

From Grand Canyon Backpack, Day 1, 10/3/2009

I can still say without a doubt that it was the most fun, most beautiful, most exciting, and most memorable outdoor thing I've ever done.

I re-read my blog posts of the trip today (it starts here), and I'm so happy that I wrote down my thoughts at the time. Re-reading it now transports me back there in a visceral way - the sights, the sounds, and the *feel* of hiking into the canyon come back to me.

My primary thought on looking back at it is the same as it was being there at the time - the sheer *immensity* of it. Everything is on such an unbelievably big scale. Of course you get a sense of that standing on the rim looking out at it - but to put a pack on your back and hike down into it just felt like walking into another world.

Sunrise over Grand Canyon, Day 3 (10/5/2009)

From Grand Canyon Backpack, Day 3, 10/5/2009

I will never forget my sense of disbelief as we approached Santa Maria spring, maybe an hour and a half into the first day's hike. We could finally get a view of the inner canyon, and it seemed *preposterous* that we could be going so far down. I would have found it easier to believe that we'd be putting parachutes on and jumping to get down there.

Three tired and happy guys (10/5/2009)

From Grand Canyon Backpack, Day 3, 10/5/2009

Our two nights on Hermit Creek, and our day at the Colorado River were magical, and the experience of watching the full moon rise over the canyon at our campsite is one of the handful of images that you burn into your brain and give thanks to the powers-that-be that you were fortunate enough to see in this lifetime.

There are countless beautiful places on this Earth, and many that I'd love to experience and hike. But if I'm given the choice of one place I can go, you'll find me with my big pack on, heading for some remote campsite deep within the Grand Canyon.

White Rock Falls Trail, 9/2/2012

I'm very late with this trip report, but hopefully it's better late than never.

I was with family in Staunton, VA over Labor Day weekend, and had some free time on Sunday to hike. I investigated some short hikes, and it's hard to choose, as there are so many excellent options. On previous Staunton trips, I've done some amazing hikes in the southern part of Shenandoah National Park. My stepdaughter's house is 20 minutes from the Rockfish Gap entrance to SNP.

This time, I decided to go south from Rockfish Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway, find the White Rock Falls trailhead at mile marker 18.5, and do the hike described here.

My trip report, in diary format, follows:

11:10am
I'm at the trailhead and about ready to hike. It's cloudy and cool, and the forecast says rain is possible. That's okay, I have my rain jacket, and I won't be out that long - the trail description I've seen says it's a 4.9-mile loop, so that's probaby about a two hour hike. I feel good and am ready to go.

11:45am
White Rocks Falls. Very pretty little falls as the stream tumbles over rocks. I've been descending gradually but steadily since coming off the ridgeline. I passed a woman with a dog just after starting, and I haven't seen anyone else since. The stream valley is very close and it really hold the humidity - it felt good until I got to the stream, but it's almot unbearably humid here. I'm stopping for a quick snack and a drink.

12:02pm
I'm stopping at an overlook with a very pretty vista. The climb out of the stream valley was steep and difficult - and the humidity stayed until I was completely out of the valley. I'm basking in the nice cool breeze. There are some rock climbers rapelling down the cliff, and I've spent a few minutes watching them.

12:15pm

Blue Ridge Parkway. I crossed the road and took a brief rest at a picnic table, and now I'm ready to go again. According to the map, I should find the blue-blazed Slacks Overlook Trail going right, which will complete my clockwise loop.

12:57pm
The Slacks Overlook Trail has been a pleasant walk - relatively flat compared to the ups and downs on the first half of this hike. There haven't been any more vistas, but the woods are very pretty - a few of the leaves are just starting to change color. It looks like a storm is brewing - there have been a number of thunder crashes that sound pretty close. I think I'm almost back at the car.

1:03pm

Yep, I was close. I'm back at the car, changing into a dry cotton shirt, and finishing my Gatorade. It hasn't rained yet, though it looks imminent. That was a very nice little hike. Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge has more hikes with bigger waterfalls and more spectacular vistas, but this is a pleasant little hike to stretch the legs.

Distance: 4.73 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:48

Postscript: almost as soon as I started driving, it started teeming rain. Some of the hardest rain I've ever seen. So hard I had to slow to a crawl, and I had the car's wipers on the highest possible speed - which I never do. It lasted until I got near Rockfish Gap, and then eased off into a normal rain for the rest of the drive home.