Park Ridge and Jefferson Park, Sep 12th

There are several places around Mt Jefferson that are just stunning. From those, Jefferson Park is probably the most scenic which is why it gets very crowded on weekends. There are several approaches to get there. For this hike, we did the Park Ridge approach that climbs to a ridge that overlooks the park and Mt Jefferson right in front of it. The hike is magnificent, but before I get there I need to mention the “getting” there portion of it. I had read about the dirt road to Breitenbush Lake and also about the last two miles before the trailhead. These last two miles are, by far, the worst I’ve ever done in my car. Forget potholes and mud. This road not only is very narrow but is mostly just bare rock. I guess I should have listened to the “No Low Clearance Vehicles” notice. But we made it. We started our hike going through some dense forest and some open spots with very nice views of the valley around which didn’t last long. Soon we were traversing subalpine meadows with glimpses of Mt Jefferson. As we were climbing towards the ridge, our surroundings started changing quite fast to drier scenery with a lot of rocks and scree and not to many trees. The views behind us were outstanding and some of the rocks where pretty amazing. Nancy and I found a rock that looked like a chair and took the opportunity to take some pictures

Nancy sitting in Le Chaise


Soon after that, we reached our initial intended destination, Park Ridge. From here, the views just open up and you get a magnificent first row look at Mt Jefferson. You also get sweeping views of Jefferson Park right below with some of its lakes. WE made a short stop for lunch while enjoying the views and then, considering the magnificent weather, we decided to go down to the park all the way to Russell Lake. The hike down was quite grueling but not as much as the hike back up. The rewards made up for it though. We saw beautiful flower displays with the early fall colors and breathtaking scenery. After a while we got to Russell Lake which is very shallow so we made a stop to cool off and enjoy our surroundings

Russell Lake


The hike back was basically the same route in reverse. A grueling hike up to the ridge and then back down on the other side. As you’ll see in the pictures, Nancy had a small snowball fight when we passed the snow field on our way down which we all enjoyed watching. We got back to the cars at around 5 in the afternoon just to start our difficult drive out. This doesn’t have to do much with the hike although we got very lucky to be back at Breitenbush Lake with the perfect sunset light to take some extra pictures which I’ve included in this set.

Camping at Orcas Island, Sep 4th to 7th

Camping at Orcas Island, Sep 4th to 7th

This is the second time I go on this yearly trip to Orcas in the San Juan Islands. Although this time weather was not as good as last year when we went for the 4th of July, it was descent enough to have a good time. As you’ll see in the pictures, there are periods of time that are not captured. These where either due to bad weather or me not being able to take the pictures. Nancy and I took of from Portland late on Thursday with the idea of spending the night at Anacortes and catching the ferry the following morning. On Friday morning, we had a quick breakfast at the hotel before heading out to the ferry. The morning was looking great with bright sun and some clouds so after we got in line for the ferry; we went out for a walk on the beach.

Our walk while waiting for the ferry


Once on the island, we drove straight to the park and to our campsite, set up camp and had a light lunch. The group that had gotten there on Thursday where already out for the day so with Marianne we decided to go for hike up Mt Constitution. This mountain is the tallest peak in the island and from the tower on top; you can get sweeping views of the San Juan Islands and the Coast all the way to Canada. While doing our hike, weather started changing a bit and getting cloudier, we knew the views where going to be quite limited. On the way up, we did notice a cave a bit of trail and adventure ourselves to it. We went in as far as we felt comfortable but not having enough flashlights we didn’t explore the whole thing. Further up, we got the ridge that overlooks Mountain Lake and some of the islands. From there to the tower was a short walk. Since we had Shia with us, we took turns to go up the tower to get the views from the top. This time, there were not as impressive as the first time but still very enjoyable. That night we had a potluck dinner at camp and some nice conversation that didn’t go too late as we were all pretty tired.

On Saturday, the weather was less than optimal with low level clouds and fog. Only a few adventurers woke up early in the morning to go Kayaking while the rest of us took our time to wake up, have breakfast and plan for the day. Since David and I had our mountain bikes with us, we decided to go for a ride while others in the group including Nancy, went for a hike around the lake. To make our ride fun, we took the road up to Mt Constitution, riding for about two hours. While going up, temperature started dropping; we got a bit of rain and even crossed paths with a deer. Once up we took a short brake and then headed back down but this time on the trail I had done the previous day. The ride down took us about half an hour going thru some really fun and fast sections where we just flew down and some other more technical sections that even required us to get of the bike to make the tight turn. We would have done it a second time if it wasn’t for the fact that you needed to ride up first! Later that day, Nancy and I went for a ride looking for a pottery store towards West Beach. We got there about 10 minutes before closing so we only did a short tour around. Not only the place was amazing with a couple of small houses a tree house and an incredible garden with ocean views but it was packed with beautiful ceramic pieces. We spent some time going around but then decided to go back the following day with a bit more time. From there, we continued toward West Beach and got there before the sunset. We didn’t know that the whole beach is part of a resort that doesn’t allow non-guests, so we stayed on a little section of beach enjoying the views and taking pictures.

View from West Beach


That night David had planned a potluck dinner so we got back to camp just in time to start preparing our share that consisted of some avocadoes, tomatoes and some good spices. After enjoying our time with the group around the campfire, we headed out to the lake to make up a fire there and take some night shots. Nancy and I started playing around with a couple of glow sticks and then doing some light painting which resulted in some very nice shots.

Happy faces


AS planned, on Sunday we went back to the pottery store and spent more time there checking out the pottery. After that we drove back pass the park and went all they way to the other end of the island to Obstruction Pass. At this end, there’s a smaller state park with the same name that has some beach access and campsites. We did a short hike around the park while enjoying the views of the sea and the rocky cliffs with the contrast of the red Madrones. It was a rather short hike, but very worth it, especially because of Nancy’s company. Later that evening, while we were still on the road, it started raining so we got back to camp to set up a tarp and cook dinner. I made some “Venezuelan” style hotdogs that were delicious. After that we went to bed early as we couldn’t do much with the rain.

On Monday, the last day of our trip, we woke up early, packed everything quickly and headed to the port to get in line for the noon ferry. Once there, we went for a walk, had a healthy big breakfast with views of the sea and then went to the port to take some more pictures before heading back home.

On our way back to Anacortes


As with our previous yearly Orcas trip, this one was very relaxing in the company of a great group of people. Hopefully we'll keep the "yearly" portion of this trip going.

Indian Heaven, Aug 29th

I just love this place, unfortunately there is a small window when weather is perfect and mosquitoes are gone. This time I think we were just about right. The idea for the weekend was to camp at Blue Lake, one of the most scenic lakes in the area. Considerably, this is the first place I backpacked to when I moved to Portland back in 2007. Being the weekend before Labor Day, we knew there was a big possibility of finding a lot of people out there as summer is coming to an end and schools are starting again. Contrary to what the weather guy said, we got to the trailhead on a very cloudy, misty, foggy day. That didn’t stop us in any way. Passing thru the multiple lakes on the way to Blue Lake was very nice although with limited views. We got to Blue Lake only to find out that all campsites where already taken. I had though of that possibility so my plan was to continue towards Junction Lake and try to find a campsite there, but just because I went by memory, I took the wrong turn and actually hiked in the complete opposite direction. After several miles I came to realize this mistake at which point it was easier to continue than to try to head back. Shortly after, we got to a pond in the Indian Race Track. This pond is usually visited by people horseback riding and by deer and elk. Being kind of remote added the bonus that there was nobody there. We found a perfect campsite with enough space for all our tents and a nice view of the pond and its floating water lilies. Later that evening the skies cleared up and we had a fantastic star show and a bright moon. Nancy and I went for a short walk and where delighted by the colors and shadows on the trees as we illuminated them with our flashlights. On Sunday we woke up to an incredible clear day so after a nice breakfast, we packed everything and headed back the same way we hiked in; this time enjoying the views and multiple lakes.