Funny timing but I was browsing around CNN today and ran across this article
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/19/remote.vacation.hike/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Look familiar?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Great weekend at the MTTA high hut
This past weekend a group of us (Laura, Dan, Mike, Natalie, and myself) headed out to a place we have been eying for 3 years. The MTTA (Mt Tahoma Trails Association) maintains a small network of huts near Mt Rainier. For $18 a person per night you can rent these spots. I say spots because there are a few cabins and a yurt.
We were originally scheduled for the yurt, with plans to rent out the whole thing. Well at the last minute Laura got an email saying that the heat at the Yurt was broken and we had been moved to High Hut. This cabin sleeps 10 so we expected company.
We arrived at the trail head around 2pm, and started getting our gear together to head up. It was sprinkling but we were all confident, or trying to be confident, that it would turn to snow up higher. I did forget to mention we had a 4 mile snowshoe ahead of us. All of the cabins are ski/snowshoe/hike in. Even better they are all off the grid and away from cell coverage. Yep, paradise....
It took us a few hours but we made pretty good time getting to the cabin. We were thrilled to walk in the door and not only see the cabin was better than we had expected but also that we were the only ones there.
We started flipping on the LED lights around the cabin after turning on the main power to the house (powered by a solar array). Next we tracked down the thermostat for the gas fireplace since it was 35f inside. Then we started changing into dry clothes. It had not stopped raining the whole time but was pretty moderate so we were all just damp.
After the heat kicked on and everyone was in dry clothes we all agreed this was what life should always be like. We spent the evening having a great time chatting about anything and everything. I felt like I was 10 years old hanging out in a fort I had built with buddies. Great friends and an amazing spot.
We were only there for the night as this was a scouting trip but after our experience we will be back for sure.
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| Muddy parking lot |
We arrived at the trail head around 2pm, and started getting our gear together to head up. It was sprinkling but we were all confident, or trying to be confident, that it would turn to snow up higher. I did forget to mention we had a 4 mile snowshoe ahead of us. All of the cabins are ski/snowshoe/hike in. Even better they are all off the grid and away from cell coverage. Yep, paradise....
 |
| Drying Out |
We started flipping on the LED lights around the cabin after turning on the main power to the house (powered by a solar array). Next we tracked down the thermostat for the gas fireplace since it was 35f inside. Then we started changing into dry clothes. It had not stopped raining the whole time but was pretty moderate so we were all just damp.
After the heat kicked on and everyone was in dry clothes we all agreed this was what life should always be like. We spent the evening having a great time chatting about anything and everything. I felt like I was 10 years old hanging out in a fort I had built with buddies. Great friends and an amazing spot.
We were only there for the night as this was a scouting trip but after our experience we will be back for sure.
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| View of the cabin as you walk up, you can see the solar panels |
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| Bit of snow coming over the porch railing |
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| group shot |
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| picture of the back door |
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Been in Seattle for 3 years and finally hiked the most popular hike around
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| Camp robber Jay at the top |
This hike was not as hard as I was thinking it would be even though we hit snow 2 miles in and had to put on yak tracks and crampons a little after that due to the icy trail.
I have to say I have never seen such a variety of hikers on a single trail. We saw everything from guys obviously training for big mountains, with their full packs with multiple ice axes hanging off the sides, to people in jeans with duffel bags (what do you use a duffel bag for hiking?) headed to the top. There were even quite a few people in shorts. ? Do you know it is icy and really cold out here? It was great people watching.
Round trip it is 8 miles and 4000 ft of climbing. A great day to be out in the mountains.
Thanks Mike!
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| Jeans are the new technical hiking clothing |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Catching up
Time just keeps on flying. I just looked back and my last post was at the end of February. It has been a busy winter of playing.
The first weekend of the month we headed down to Denver for Monica's baby shower. We all got a chance to catch up a little Thursday night then Friday morning Dave and I headed for Vail. It was my first time riding with Dave and we had a blast. We found plenty of tight tree runs and he some great video that I still need to get a hold of. I ended up ripping a giant hole in my jacket from a close call with one tree. At the end of the day we retired for beer and pizza and were joined at the house by Slick Lettuce. I have not gotten to see Slick since the wedding so it was great to catch up. You know good friends when you just pickup right where you left off.
Dave, Slick and I were back out at Vail Saturday morning and had to search a little for untouched snow but found plenty. It was a great day of getting out in the snow with the guys. The day ended way too quickly and we all agreed we would meet back up in Denver later that night.
Dave and I hit the road and after 2 coffee breaks we had him back in Denver in time to catch the tail end of the baby shower. We wrapped up the festivities and then all adjourned to the Berkshire Restaurant (Dave's brothers restaurant) where we got to see all the baby shower attendees as well as have a special visit from Slick Lettuce and Amanda (old friends from NC). We were so psyched that they made it out. It really was crazy because we just picked up like we had just seen each other yesterday. We really miss those guys and were so happy to catch up.
Too quickly we were back on a plane to Seattle.
The second weekend of the month we had our annual gathering up in Baker. We ended up with 6 great friends. The group was Natalie, myself, Dan, Laura, Ross, and Stephanie. The plan was to get out and snowshoe/ski and play outside. Unfortunately the weather was a bit of a bust and Dan had managed to stick a cheese knife through his foot a few days before so our outdoor adventures changed over to hanging in the hot tub and drinking a few growlers of beer from the brew pub down the street. Not a bad weekend at all.
Again too quickly we were in the car and headed back to Seattle.
In the spirit of not being home at all for the month Natalie headed out to a friends wedding the weekend before last and I headed up to the mountains to splitboard with a few friends. It was a great day in the snow. Perfect powder in the trees and a great group of people. We ended up getting about 6000 feet of climbing in over 11.2 miles. A great day!
And last but not least last weekend Natalie and I had our first weekend together in a month last weekend. It was great to not be in a hurry all day or feel like we needed to be anywhere. We got up Saturday morning and headed out to a cool breakfast place in Freemont, then headed over to the Burke Museum to catch a photography exhibit called The Owl and the Woodpecker. Amazing photos!!
This weekend is looking like we will be in town again and we are not sure what to do with ourselves. I am going to try to get out skiing but the conditions are looking a little dicey right now. Hopefully mother nature will get her act together.
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| You just don't see that every day. |
Dave, Slick and I were back out at Vail Saturday morning and had to search a little for untouched snow but found plenty. It was a great day of getting out in the snow with the guys. The day ended way too quickly and we all agreed we would meet back up in Denver later that night.
Dave and I hit the road and after 2 coffee breaks we had him back in Denver in time to catch the tail end of the baby shower. We wrapped up the festivities and then all adjourned to the Berkshire Restaurant (Dave's brothers restaurant) where we got to see all the baby shower attendees as well as have a special visit from Slick Lettuce and Amanda (old friends from NC). We were so psyched that they made it out. It really was crazy because we just picked up like we had just seen each other yesterday. We really miss those guys and were so happy to catch up.
Too quickly we were back on a plane to Seattle.
The second weekend of the month we had our annual gathering up in Baker. We ended up with 6 great friends. The group was Natalie, myself, Dan, Laura, Ross, and Stephanie. The plan was to get out and snowshoe/ski and play outside. Unfortunately the weather was a bit of a bust and Dan had managed to stick a cheese knife through his foot a few days before so our outdoor adventures changed over to hanging in the hot tub and drinking a few growlers of beer from the brew pub down the street. Not a bad weekend at all.
Again too quickly we were in the car and headed back to Seattle.
In the spirit of not being home at all for the month Natalie headed out to a friends wedding the weekend before last and I headed up to the mountains to splitboard with a few friends. It was a great day in the snow. Perfect powder in the trees and a great group of people. We ended up getting about 6000 feet of climbing in over 11.2 miles. A great day!And last but not least last weekend Natalie and I had our first weekend together in a month last weekend. It was great to not be in a hurry all day or feel like we needed to be anywhere. We got up Saturday morning and headed out to a cool breakfast place in Freemont, then headed over to the Burke Museum to catch a photography exhibit called The Owl and the Woodpecker. Amazing photos!!
This weekend is looking like we will be in town again and we are not sure what to do with ourselves. I am going to try to get out skiing but the conditions are looking a little dicey right now. Hopefully mother nature will get her act together.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Snow Caves and Back Country Skiing
A few more pics (here) and (here)
This past weekend was the second field trip with the back country ski class I am taking. The plan was to get in some skiing, dig snow caves and sleep in them. It was a success...
At 4:30am Saturday morning much to the delight of Natalie my alarm started going off. Ross and I were scheduled to be on the road headed to Mt Baker by 5am. Anyone who knows me knows I was less than excited to be up so early but after a Red Bull and some cereal (breakfast of champions) I was feeling better.
We pulled into the Baker parking lot at 7:45, got dressed and met up with the rest of the class. There were about 20ish people total on the trip including instructors. After breaking up into two groups we headed for Artist Point which was about a mile and a half away.
After a few hours of skiing we rolled into camp and chose our sites to dig our cave for the night. Ross and I lucked out and got a primo spot in a large berm of snow. This cave was going to be awesome!
It took just under two hours and lots of sweat but we built a sweet cave. We had room to fit all of our gear and lay down comfortably. The pictures make the ceiling look low but we could easily sit up with room to spare. The only tight spot was getting in and out of the cave as you had to go down under the wall through a narrow cave area. You can see Ross digging out that part in the picture down below.
About 3pm everyone was wrapping up their construction so we decided to get in a quick ski down the Swift Creek drainage right behind camp. The snow was pretty nasty and had a crust on top that kept even the best skiers on their toes. It was nice to be out and good to warm up on the climb back to camp.
The night was spent melting snow for our water the next day, cooking dinner, and then a good group get together to go over the plan for the next day. In the end due to the weather report not being great for the next day the plan was that there was no plan. We all headed back to our caves and tucked in for the night hoping to wake up to powder on the ground and no rain falling from the sky.
Sunday morning brought clouds and snow. The visability was terrible so we did a little navigation practice to deal with whiteout conditions and then called it a trip. It was sad to not get in the tour I was hoping for but it was the right call given the weather. We all had an interesting ski back to the car with full
backpacks. Once you get 30+ pounds of camping equipment moving it does not want to stop. We did a quick debrief at the parking lot and headed back to Seattle.
The next trip is at the end of the month and I have my fingers crossed for better weather that time around. All in all sleeping in a snow cave was a complete success!
This past weekend was the second field trip with the back country ski class I am taking. The plan was to get in some skiing, dig snow caves and sleep in them. It was a success...
At 4:30am Saturday morning much to the delight of Natalie my alarm started going off. Ross and I were scheduled to be on the road headed to Mt Baker by 5am. Anyone who knows me knows I was less than excited to be up so early but after a Red Bull and some cereal (breakfast of champions) I was feeling better.
 |
| Skinning up |
After a few hours of skiing we rolled into camp and chose our sites to dig our cave for the night. Ross and I lucked out and got a primo spot in a large berm of snow. This cave was going to be awesome!
It took just under two hours and lots of sweat but we built a sweet cave. We had room to fit all of our gear and lay down comfortably. The pictures make the ceiling look low but we could easily sit up with room to spare. The only tight spot was getting in and out of the cave as you had to go down under the wall through a narrow cave area. You can see Ross digging out that part in the picture down below.
About 3pm everyone was wrapping up their construction so we decided to get in a quick ski down the Swift Creek drainage right behind camp. The snow was pretty nasty and had a crust on top that kept even the best skiers on their toes. It was nice to be out and good to warm up on the climb back to camp.
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| Digging in |
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| Cozy in the cave |
backpacks. Once you get 30+ pounds of camping equipment moving it does not want to stop. We did a quick debrief at the parking lot and headed back to Seattle.
The next trip is at the end of the month and I have my fingers crossed for better weather that time around. All in all sleeping in a snow cave was a complete success!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wedding Photo Video
I have been meaning to post this for a long time. This is a video that our photographer put together for us. This version is pretty lo resolution. If you would like something higher quality you can download it from here (click me). Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Video Clip from the Other Weekend
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