Mixed weather on Scorpion Mt

My friend Adam and I went for a short hike up to Scorpion Mt. The route is 8 miles round trip with about 1800' elevation gain.
The forecast was for rain below 4000' and snow above. Our trailhead sits at 4100' which put us where I wanted to be, above the rain!! The views were abundant even at the trailhead.



We were lucky enough to be in a hole in the weather and enjoy a few sun breaks!



As we neared the summit the land opened up and the colors of fall became more apparent.





We finally reached the windy and cold summit and we had fun taking in the disappearing views as the clouds rolled in and snow started falling.



A link to a full but small set of photos can be found here.
A link to a video with a few shenanigans in it can be found here.

Mt Clifty hike on a snowy day

For this hike I drove east on I-90 to exit 62 and headed west on the Stampede Pass Road #54. Drive towards Stampede Pass for 3 miles and turn left (south) on Road 41. Proceed 10 miles and turn right (south) on Road 4110 and drive 10 more miles to the trailhead on the left for the Blazed Ridge Trail #1333.



The trail is "mixed" use and is shared with dirtbikes. It is very easy to see the wear that a trail used by dirtbikes as it was more like a deep "V" than a trail. The first mile or so was up this "great" trail before it levels out more and the trail condition improves.



The trail runs the top of the ridge for another 2 miles or so before connecting with the junction of Manastash Ridge, trail #1388.



The views along the ridge were great!! I could look across the Greek Creek Basin and see North Ridge.



The winds were picking up and a few snowflakes started to fall from the sky.



I made my way up to the summit and climbed the 10 foot summit block.



Winds and snow continued on my entire way back down to the trailhead where I found about 1/2 inch of snow covering my car.





A full set of photos can be found here.
I also made a video from this trip too, that can be found here.

Mt Daniel attempt Oct 5-6

My friend Adam called me to go on an overnighter and said that his friend Craig had wanted to try for Mt Daniel. I said sure and Monday afternoon we left Seattle and headed east. After a long forest road drive we were at the trailhead and took to the trail at 5:00pm.



It didn't take too long before we were hiking in the dark with the assistance of our headlamps. Our goal for the night was Peggy's Pond and we got there and set up camp near some other nice people. After a quick dinner is was time to get cozy in the sleeping bags and get rested for our try at the summit in the morning.
We awoke and there was breeze in the air but the skies were clear and we saw patches of snow on the mountains high above.



I ate some nice warm oatmeal and we got ready for a great day. We left the pond basin and started up the southeast ridge and the winds gradually got stronger as we gained more elevation. Luckily the air wasn't too cold as I was in short sleeves. We hopped to and from boulder trying to keep off the snow as much as possible.
By this point Craig's stomach was giving him some problems and he was lagging behind a bit. We'd stop and let him catch and then give him a chance to rest before heading further up.
We finally made it to the top of the ridge and could see for miles in almost any direction. The views we spectacular and the winds were howling!!





At about 7500' Craig decided to stop and head back to camp. Adam and I decided to push further on and see how far we could get. At this point we decided to don our helmets as the route was getting more rocky.
Very quickly the route got pretty sketchy and the snow and ice didn't make things any easier. The winds were racing up the side of the mountain and blasting us with loose snow and ice pellets from below making our faces feel like they were getting sandblasted. There was one very tricky manuveur that I hope to never encounter the likes of again. We basically had to hug this big rock with a hand on either side of it and shift our body around it with no footholds at all. A slip of a hand would have meant a certain fall with some painful consequences. Had we not both felt comfortable with this situation we certainly would not have tackled it. I was very surprised though that even with the danger I was calm and my adrenaline was not pumping and my anxiety was low. Now don't think that I wasn't a bit scared, I was scared and very cautious!! I must say that it is indeed a very intense feeling to be holding onto a rock for dear life with no footholds and all the while getting blasted by upwards of probably 50 mph wind gusts!!!! WOW!!!!
Finally we were through the tough stuff and at a saddle below the east peak. We decided to press onward towards the true summit, the west peak. Traversing under the east peak was no easy feet either. there was loose talus on top of hard dirt on a very steep slope and didn't offer too many good footholds to enable a safe passage. There was one section that I really did not like. Adam helped me navigate my way through until I got up to a better section of "trail". Wrapping our way around the east peak we finally got a view of the middle peak and the smokestack to the north.



At this point we decided to throw in the towel for the day as we still had to get back to camp, pack up and make 6 more miles back to the car. We headed back to the saddle and from there we dropped below the ridge and traversed a snow slope back to a lower part on the ridge before heading back down.





We rejoined Craig on the ridge as he was taking his time getting down while enjoying the views and such. Got to the pond in good time and took down our camp and continued on our way back to the car.



Oh, and can I say how much I love the colors out here this time of year!!!



To watch the video that I made on this trip click here.
A full but small set of pictures can be found here.

Iron Goat Trail

East of Seattle is an old section of railroad grade that was abandoned in 1929 after the new Cascade Tunnel was completed, making for an easier passage below Stevens Pass. This old section of railroad was converted into a trail years later and is now a popular trail for short dayhikers.



The trail has many snow walls that were erected to help hold back the mountainside from collapsing onto the tracks.

In 1910 just (50 Feet) outside of the rail town of Wellington there was a nasty tragedy. A terrible snowstorm essentially closed down the tracks and two passenger trains were trapped on the western side of the original Cascade Tunnel until the snow stopped and the tracks could be cleared. With passengers hearing avalanches off in the distance they feared that one would come down onto them and was their train into the valley below. The train folks said not to worry since there had never been an avalanche on this section of track before. Well the train folk were wrong and an avalanche came down and swept the two trains off the tracks. I think it was 96 people that died because of it. Quickly the rail company erected a concrete snowshed in the very spot those poor folks perished.



I have many pictures that I took of this section of trail and the signs along the way that tell the story much better than I ever could. The photographs can be found here.

I hope that you all enjoy the photos and the beauty that I was able to enjoy on a nice and sunny day.

Great views!!!

In addition to the plethora of reasons why I really like my job, every now and then I take a moment to go to the roof and take in the views.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Not much new lately

Life as of late has calmed down which is always a good thing. I've taken a few photos around town but not as much as usual.
On a recent walk to work with fog rolling in from the Sound I caught this shot of the Space Needle.



Last week I went to a favorite spot of mine, the Ballard Locks. Salmon running season is coming up fast and I managed to get a shot of a few jumping in the large lock. It's not the greatest shot, but you can see one in mid air right in the center of the frame as two splashed back in the water on either side of Mr. Airborne



I then proceeded to drive down the road to Golden Gardens, a beachfront park on Puget Sound.



Thank you for continued reading and support of my blog.

Library's closed and my car gets relocated

Earlier this year Mayor Nickels asked city departments to find a way to cut their budgets by 3% for the remainder of the year. He gave the departments a bit of time to have the proposals on his desk then he would decide what to do. In April he announced that the library would shut down for 1 week and the staff would be on a furlough. The library decided which week of the year that would be and this is that week.
Word about the closure has been spread in the last several months, as we prepared for this week. Some projects that had been scheduled are being done during this closure. I am currently at the library and will be for this week but I am not exempt from a week with no pay. I will take my unpaid days later this year when I travel home to Michigan in the first half of November.
I must say that it's really strange to be in such a large building with so few people inside. It kind of feels like an end of the world scene with books filling the shelves and computers waiting for patrons to come back and use them. At the same time it's nice to be able enjoy the peace and quiet in an otherwise rather loud building(for a library that is). With the ventilation system off, the book sorting machine sitting idle and no hussle and bussle in the staff hallways I'm really getting a chance to really realize the life that this building has.
Seeing people walk up to the front door and read the signs stating our closure has really helped me to see how important the library is to all of the members of the community.

This morning while conducting some repairs I get a call from a Seattle Parking Enforement Officer. She asked me where I parked my car last night. I had to think about it for a second because I park on the street and sometimes have to hunt for a spot. I informed her of where I had parked and asked if there was a problem. She informed me that my car was in somebody's driveway and was blocking their way out. I was perplexed and got up there as quickly as I could. The resident was upset and told me that her driveway was not my parking spot. I informed her that I hadn't parked in her driveway nor would I ever consider doing such a thing. I found my driver side door open and I was afraid that my ignition would have been torn out. Well I got lucky and that wasn't the case, but how the heck did somebody drive my car and not break in or anything?
The lady asked if anybody had my key? Did I have any friends who would borrow my car and leave it there? I told her no to both questions but she kept insisting that somebody parked my car in her driveway, NO KIDDING LADY!!!!! but it wasn't me or anybody I know. She wouldn't let up on this. I then moved my car out onto the street and she kept on. The Officer was still there but did not interject, of course she did not have to as things were still calm and remained so. I apologized that my car ended up in her driveway and thanked her for not towing it away, which she could have.
I thanked the Officer for her help and went back to work. Now I'm going to have to buy a "Club" since somebody has the ability to take my car out for a drive without me or my key. I'm just glad though that it's not damaged or stolen and chopped, I've been through that one already.
It's only 12:30pm now, I wonder what the rest of the day will hold for me.........