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<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content"><channel><title>EveryTrail Feed</title><description/><link>http://www.everytrail.com</link><language>en-us</language><lastBuildDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 19:12:30 -0200</lastBuildDate><pubDate>Thu, 23 May 2013 19:12:30 -0200</pubDate><image><url>http://www.everytrail.com/images/everytrail-logo.png</url><title>EveryTrail</title><link>http://www.everytrail.com</link><description>GPS travel community, geotagging, geotagged photos, Google Maps, GPS tracks, waypoints, coordinates</description><width>144</width><height>41</height></image><item><title><![CDATA[Blue Heron]]></title><description><![CDATA[<br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1062275</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1062275</link><pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 03:18:16 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Olympus Track]]></title><description><![CDATA[<br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1062166</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1062166</link><pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 01:36:04 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Minute Man]]></title><description><![CDATA[<br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1060354</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1060354</link><pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:04:53 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt. Washington Successful Summit]]></title><description><![CDATA[    On Saturday I was able to make a 2nd attempt at summiting Mt. Washington.  I had made an attempt last fall but turned around to head down with my buddy Matt from back east.  This time I went with Evan and his friend Matt from Seattle.  We made plans for the climb just two days before hand with Saturday giving us the best weather window.  When Evan and I climbed TFJ (post before this one) earlier this summer we found ourselves stuck behind a bunch of people and some Mazama’s which forced us to wait nearly 5 hours total on the summit ridge for other climbers to descend.  This time I was hell-bent on beating everyone to the climbing section so we left Corvallis at 4:30 am to start our hike around 6:30 am.  
    We flew down the PCT towards the climbers path and made it up to the ridge by 8:30 am.  I lead the way down the PCT but felt the two of them on my tail so I ushered them to lead on up the ridge.  Matt is 23 and Evan is in his mid twenties.  Matt has been training for a 38 mile day hike around Hood and Evan has lost 10 lbs this summer climbing and exercising.  I say this because I soon found myself running up the mountain after these guys.  I was proud of myself that I was able to stay no further than about 30 seconds behind them for the whole day.  But, damn... they are fast climbers!  
    When we made it to the final ridge section before the roped pitches I dropped my poles and stopped to take some awesome photos of a fin of rock on the ridge with TFJ and Jefferson in the distance.  This proved to be a mistake because to our disbelief we found ourselves waiting behind a group of 8 older Mazama’s just 10 minutes later.  They had beaten us to the pitch climb by only about 10 minutes and were flaking out rope to set up a fixed line to the summit.  They seemed nice us to us but I still think it would have been considerate of them to allow us three young fit guys to jump ahead of them on the climb.  We clearly would be up and down faster than it would take them to get half way up.  But, adhering to climber’s etiquette we waited for them to head up.  They had come in a much shorter route then us and had started at 6am instead of 6:30.  We thus had to wait a total of about 1 and a half hours for the group and because of this they were afforded views at the top but we got clouded in by approaching clouds from the West.  To my and Evan’s disbelief one of the guys was actually one of the guys we had to wait for on TFJ.  He was a super nice guy but again... if I’m an older climber and see young guys fast approaching I’d let them pass.  
    Once the Mazama’s had made their way up Evan led the way up the first pitch with his 70 m rope with Matt behind and me cleaning up the route last.  We kept this setup the next two pitches which were considerably easier than the first.  While waiting down below for the Mazama’s and then for Evan and Matt to go up with me on belay I had put my full down pants and jacket on.  I had learned my lesson from TFJ about being forced to wait in the cold for others so this time I found myself comfy and warm while I watched Matt violently shiver.  I felt bad he was so cold.  But... the problem was that the down was the only warm layers I had brought and I found myself staring at really sharp volcanic rock on the first pitch as I started to climb... about 30 feet up after a couple small tears I gave up and took my jacket off leaving my Gore Windstopper jacket on instead.  This made it much easier to climb and I made it up quicker.  We passed the Mazama’s coming down and it seemed like they were kicking nearly every rock off the top of the mountain.  I heard “rock” yelled about 20 times.  Between the 3 of us on the way down we only had to yell “rock” once.  Again, we politely waited a little bit and I even put myself into a very uncomfortable position to allow them to pass by.  Perhaps next time they will allow smaller, younger groups to climb ahead of them.  I have always heard from other climbers that it sucks to encounter a group of Mazamas on a climb and now I can understand why.  In their defense they all do seem like really nice people and I’m always happy to see others enjoying the outdoors but at the same time I wish they would be more considerate.  
    We found ourselves pretty clouded in at the top.  We got one short break in the clouds to see a few views and stare down the south face of Washington from the top but that was it.  There was a summit register with ski stickers all over it which I found amusing.  We all signed it and got a photo of all three of us on the summit rock.  The summit rock was the coolest thing I saw all day.  It was clearly higher than all the surrounding rocks and therefore was a perfect lightning rod at the top of a mountain that itself looks like a lightning rod.  Pierced into the rock were about 20-30 pinky finger sized holes of black melted volcanic glass where lightning had struck the rock.  It was pretty cool to see how electricity had bored holes into the rock and melted it at the same time!  We stuck around at the summit for only about 20 minutes before making our way down.  Evan set up a rappel from the top and we made it down in 3 pitches.  For the climb up and the rappel down I had my helmet cam on and got some really amazing footage.  There was a lot of exposure and the various types of volcanic rock were beautiful in color.  It was difficult to throw the rope down in the wind and it got tangled a couple times but Evan was able to work out the knots as he descended.  Evan really did take care of us the entire climb and I always feel safe with him on rope.  
    From there it was a quick descent down the northwest side scree slope after I had picked up my poles.  We followed the massive path of kicked up rubble left by the Mazama’s back down into the trees below where we passed them just before again reaching the PCT trail.  It was nice to take a different route down the mountain than back down the ridge.  We passed several meadows and rock slides which were pretty and colored by various alpine plants.  Back on the PCT I found myself almost at a light jog trying to keep up with the two of them on the way out.  We made it out the three miles in what felt like 30 to 40 minutes and were on the road home by 4:30 to catch the 2nd half of the first OSU Beavers football game at my place where there was a large BBQ going on already.  It was certainly nice to arrive home to a cold bear, bbq chicken legs and a warm bonfire to chill by after a pretty tiring hike trying to keep up with guys much younger than me and in much better shape!  Despite Matt being a hardcore Yankees fan (I almost pulled over and kicked him out --- kidding) I had a great time climbing with him and found him to be a great guy.  I’m super stoked to have made it up the last mountain I had planned to summit this summer.   <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1790869-Mt._Washington_9-4-10_1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1790875-Mt._Washington_9-4-10_7.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1790870-Mt._Washington_9-4-10_2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1790877-Mt._Washington_9-4-10_10.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=797122</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=797122</link><pubDate>Mon, 6 Sep 2010 23:52:13 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Olallie Mountain Ride 8-22-10]]></title><description><![CDATA[    Emily and I went on a fantastic bike ride today up Olallie Mountain just east of Mckenzie Bridge on route 126.  We stopped at REI in Eugene on the way there to pick up some bike shorts which we both desperately needed.  It was kind of a long drive to get there for only a 9 mile ride but thankfully after a grueling 5 mile, 2,000 foot ascent up the road (this ride would be a sick shuttle run with 2 cars) we were greeted with really amazing views at the top.  It was cloudy but we could see north to Mt. Washington and the base of TFJ and south towards the Sisters.  After snapping some pics we started down the trail.  The book had said not to go too far or we would miss the single track turnoff and I reminded Emily but once she started flying downhill she apparently forgot.  After a couple really loud yells down the trail she stopped and hiked back up to me with her bike.
    The ride down was absolutely amazing.  The trail was really smooth without many rocks or roots on the trail and we could really haul ass down it.  We got some great footage with the helmet cam of the descent.  It took us about an hour and half to climb up the 2,000 feet but we made it down in less than 20 minutes.. and that was with a few stops to rest.  We only encountered several areas of landslides and downed trees that we had to climb over.  Otherwise, the trail was perfect... and did I mention fast!?  We’ll definitely have to go back with Chris and Tiff for multiple runs down it! <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1709412-Olallie_Mountain_Bike_Ride_8-22-10_2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1709413-Olallie_Mountain_Bike_Ride_8-22-10_3.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1709414-Olallie_Mountain_Bike_Ride_8-22-10_4.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1709415-Olallie_Mountain_Bike_Ride_8-22-10_7.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=773845</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=773845</link><pubDate>Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:29:31 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sandy Ridge Trail]]></title><description><![CDATA[Having got out of Corvallis somewhat early around 8am we made it to the trailhead around 10:30 and started up the paved road.  Emily was super happy to be trying her new bike out on a great trail outside of Corvallis.  The official route we took was 338 to Hide &amp;amp; Seek.  The trail was literally brand new and amazingly maintained.  Trail crews had taken the time to build up tabletops, banked corners etc and there were so many turns that at the end of the bike ride Chris’s cycle computer (which determines distance based on wheel revolutions) was a full mile farther than my gps which tracks straight lines between all the turns.  Overall the ride was about 9.5 miles, had just over 1,000 feet of elevation gain, and took us 2 hours.  It was such a fun ride.  Some parts were a little difficult for Emily who is still a beginner but she simply walked down them.  Chris and I had a lot of fun chasing each other with my helmet cam and the footage came out fantastic. <br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=760838</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=760838</link><pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:43:35 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Goat Rocks 2010]]></title><description><![CDATA[    This weekend Emily and I returned to what has become our annual favorite hike in the Pacific Northwest, Goat Rocks.  But, this year we brought along our housemates Kevin and Alexa for their first alpine camping trip, and first real excursion into a remote wilderness in the Northwest.  They were pretty amped to go for a long time and even made a trip to REI to make sure they had sleeping pads and stuff sacs.  This was to be our wedding present to the newly married couple so Emily and I had gone shopping on Friday for spaghetti and a Jimmy Dean skillet breakfasts complete with 12 eggs for the four of us.  That.. and a Bota Box of red wine equivalent to 4 full bottles :)
    Last year the area was pretty quiet so we got a leisurely start on the road Saturday morning around 8am after stopping at the New Morning Bakery for some breakfast.  We made a quick stop at the REI in Portland so I could buy some gas for the stove and some camp dishes and cups and also to check out the scratch and dent sale.  Unfortunately the line for the sale was nearly 2 blocks long and we only allotted ourselves about 20 minutes for the stop.  We reached the turnoff for the dirt road at about 12:15 and although the road was fairly smooth it still made a dust pile out of Emily’s new Prius and the washboard surface in a few places was a bit much.  
    We were all pretty quick once we parked and were able to the trail just after 1pm for the 7 or so mile hike in past Snowgrass Flats to our campsite at Goat Lake (see map above left).  Alexa had hurt her ankle about a month and a half ago playing soccer and I was a little worried about it because there was about 2,000 feet of ascent to our camp but my fears were quickly alleviated when she began to lead the way and literally take off down the trail.  Occasionally we would stop to take pictures of the doug-fir forest or wildflowers along the trail but we made really good time right from the start.  We stopped at the river crossing at the bottom of the valley for some photos on the wooden bridge and I could tell that both of them were lovin’ it even though we weren’t even out of tree line yet or up to the alpine flowers...  When the trail began to get a little steep we stopped for some snacks on a breezy corner which kept most of the mosquitos (not many of them anyway thankfully) at bay.  We made it up to Snowgrass Flats very quickly but we had passed a bunch of people which got me worried that we might not get a good camping spot this year with our two tents.  Avalanche lillies began to spring up everywhere and we made a few snow crossings I hadn’t remembered from last year.  This got me a little worried as well because I know from my research that it had been the snowiest spring in the past 30 years and I had hoped that waiting two weeks past when we went last year may allow for some of the excess snow to melt... 
    Just past the campgrounds and beautiful wildflowers of Snowgrass Flats we stopped for a rest by a stream so Alexa could soak her now sore ankle and put on some moleskin for blisters.  We were making great time and still had plenty of sunlight for the day... but I knew we would be going slower just around the bend because it would open into the spectacular alpine meadows that prompt Emily and I to return every year.  Alexa and Kevin still had big smiles on their faces but I could tell they were getting anxious to get out of the trees and into some views.  
    Once we left Snowgrass Flats the views opened up and both our housemates were visibly blown away by both the views, the expansiveness of the terrain and how far we had already travelled up the valley.  We only had about 500 vertical feet to get to camp but that was still over 3 or so miles so it would be flat and enjoyable.  As we walked we stopped many times to take tons of photos and I was able to experiment with a new pseudo-HDR app on my new iphone to take some spectacular high-dynamic-range photos of us and our surroundings.  Alexa loved the waterfalls that were pouring down the walls of the valley on our right and Kevin had a fun time looking for pikas in the rocks (Alexa does a great pika call btw).  Towards camp a couple of the stream crossings were covered with snowpack still and were on the verge of caving in under our weight so I scouted out safer ways around them and helped everyone cross safely.  As we got closer to Goat Lake it became painfully obvious that there was A LOT more snow than last year and our campsite looked buried under at least 5 feet of it!  There was also a lot of snow to traverse across to get to the base of Goat Lake near the waterfall and I could tell Alexa was in pain, although still wearing a smile.  I saw tents everywhere I looked (way more than last year) and a group of 4 hooligans told me that a group of 10+ had already passed them looking for sights as well.  I did a quick jog around to see if I could locate anything but then turned around and told the very sad group I was with that we would be camping on the snow for the night... but, thanks to some skillful scouting by Emily around our old campsite we were able to find just enough flat ground at the edge of a snow berm to set up our tents next to each other.  
    At this point it was around 7pm and it was staring to get a little windier and colder so I quickly told us to get our tents up and the girls to get into warmer clothes.  Once everything was set up I used the remaining water in my camelbak to cook a great dinner of spaghetti with a jar of fresh sauce I had packed in, complete with parmesan cheese.  I of course also broke out the Bota Box (which Kevin actually seemed surprised I had actually packed in... yes my pack was VERY HEAVY - but well worth it).  We all had glass after glass of wine while chilling out at the same place Emily and I had last year.  Mt. Adams was beautiful in the distance with puffy clouds draped around it glowing in the setting sun.  Kevin and I ventured up the hill to fill up nalgenes of water for us all for the night and, like last year, goats began descending the ridge toward our campsite romping and playing around.  On the way up we had seen a couple marmots but this year at our campsite there was still too much snow for their homes to be opened up in the rocks I think and we didn’t see any elk like last year, although we saw plenty of elk paths in the valley below.  Kevin put on some light tunes from his phone and we chilled out watching the stars come out.  It was a perfect night (although the hooligans said it would storm... silly hillbillies).  By the time we all hit the sack we were all buzzin’ from the wine and very happy about where we were.  Kevin definitely liked it and I could tell would want to go again on a similar trip.
    In the morning I woke up and cooked up a huge pot of Jimmy Dean skillet packages I had burried in the snow the night before.  I combined them with two cartons of eggs that I had dumped into a nalgene to fill us up for the hike out.  I could tell Alexa’s ankle was sore but thankfully between Kevin and I we had plenty of Aleve to keep her juiced up for the hike out.  We ventured down to the waterfall to check it out and I figured out a shortcut across the base of the lake to save Alexa from crossing too much snow.  I also took her pack and strapped it to mine for the ascent up to the col of Goat Ridge where we would start our true descent.  It wasn’t so much heavy as it was lopsided and pulling me backwards the whole way but I could tell it helped her to have my poles and no weight for the climb on a rough ankle.  
    The views were very hazy (probably from forest fires) so we weren’t able to see Mt. St. Helens on the way out but we did see a bunch more marmots and various wildflower species which Kevin did a great job identifying with his iphone app.  We stopped at a big campsite just as we exited the alpine area and unbeknownst to me Kevin got eaten up by mosquitos there!  I took a seat on a windy ledge with views back to where we had come from so I was left alone.  From there it was just the usual trudge out of a hike in the woods although we skipped the fire tower we had climbed to last year up on the ridge as it was pretty boring.  Instead we followed the ridge down on the opposite side of the valley we had climbed in on and were afforded amazing views of the peaks of Goat Rocks.  
    Nearing the car I took off ahead of the group and dropped my pack at the westerly parking lot to run the 3/4 mile trail back to the car and drive it to meet the group, to save Alexa walking the extra distance.  I timed it perfectly and pulled up just a minute or two after they had reached the parking lot.  Everyone was glad to be back at the car and thankfully the mosquitos were not that bad.  I’m positive that despite Alexa’s painful ankle, both of them had a wonderful time!  On the way home they treated Emily and I to dinner at a Mexican restaurant near I-5 where Alexa had done some field work for Watershed last year.  After that all 3 of them passed out for almost two hours on the drive back to Corvallis.  We got back to town just at sunset with plenty of time for Alexa to pick up Dromi at Fausti’s and for Emily and I to relax at home.  What a great weekend! <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1605438-Goat_Rocks_7-31-10__74.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1605360-Goat_Rocks_7-31-10__1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1605361-Goat_Rocks_7-31-10__2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1605362-Goat_Rocks_7-31-10__3.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=738917</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=738917</link><pubDate>Thu, 5 Aug 2010 05:14:15 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mary's Peak North Ridge Loop]]></title><description><![CDATA[Just a fun day biking with Anna, John, Tiff &amp;amp; Chris while Emily tried out a full suspension rig she may buy.  Tiring but fun!   <br>]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=722400</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=722400</link><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:42:48 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Three Fingered Jack Success]]></title><description><![CDATA[    Today Evan joined me on my 2nd attempt at Three Fingered Jack in a year.  This time I was going to get the summit because Evan is a pro at ropes and rock climbing.  I knew that with him it would be easy and safe.  What I didn’t know was how freakin’ in shape he is and how fast he moves!  ha!  Fortunately, I was able to keep up with him pretty well, although my legs would pay for it later.  We got a late start around 9:30 and the number of cars in the trailhead parking lot had a me a little worried.  Evan assumed that they were probably PCT hikers or people shuttling supplies for thru-hikers but I was worried that they may be climbers on TFJ which we would have to wait for.... Unfortunately I was right.      We made it over the 5-6 miles through burnt forest to the ridge in just about 3 hours.  It was near 1pm when we reached “The Crawl” where Emily and I had turned around last fall.  We were surprised on the route to find a lot of snow still left over from the amazing spring snow season.  We were both in sneakers so were glad that it hadn’t melted too much in the morning.  We scrambled up the steep scree slope to the ridge in what felt like 15 minutes (damn he is fast!).  We moved quickly down the ridge and upon reaching the crawl realized that there were at least 6-8 climbers in front of us roped up on the final ascent.  It is common climbing etiquette to wait-your-turn so we decided to sit down on the rocks in the beautiful sun and relax while some of the climbers descended down to us.  We also took that time to go over the rope system we would use and my rusty belaying/rapelling skills.  It was like riding a bike and it all came back to me very quickly.      When the four climbers reached us they thanked us for waiting and letting them take their time.  We had been there for over an hour and a half.  Evan set up the anchor quickly and I set up my belay and off he went leading the way around the “crawl”.  He only found one pin nailed into the rock that he was able to clip into but set up a couple others using a few nuts and webbing that he had.  The 9.1mm rope we were using was 70 meters long so he was able to get pretty far up the ridge before setting up to belay me.  It was a blast being on a rope again I was hoping that the helmet cam mounted to my rock helmet would get some cool video of the crazy exposure where we were.  We quickly made it along the ridge and instead of belaying up the middle part of it we just scrambled along to set up our 2nd  pitch.  Again we found ourselves waiting for a team of climbers descending from the summit.  Once up the 2nd pitch we found ourselves directly beneath the summit pinnacle, a 40 foot high wall of crumbly rock.  Above us was a father/daughter team.  We learned it was the girls first technical climb and her fathers first time leading. For an older father and a daughter about half my age we both found them picking this mountain to start on was pretty dumb but the father seemed to really be taking his time and assuring his daughter was clipped in to anchors.  Even so, it took them nearly two hours to go the 40 feet to the summit and back at the top of the crumbly rock wall.  Before they set themselves up to rappel down the father asked if we wanted to come up and pass them.  We had been sitting in a funnel of wind for nearly two hours and I was shaking violently so we both nodded yes very quickly.  While we had been sitting there we had scrambled over to the edge of a cliff to try to get out the wind.  From there we had a great view of the true summit and north towards snow-capped Jefferson.  3,000 feet directly below us was a cool moraine lake from a long-since vanished glacier (now just a snow field I presume).  Colored volcanic rock was exposed and rippled all over the flanks of the extinct volcano (it’s so crumbly because it consists of the innards of the massive volcano it used to be.  In fact TFJ is one of the oldest in the Cascade Range.    It took us about 25 minutes to get up the final pitch to the summit and rappel down.  The top was amazing.  The actual summit was at the end of a very narrow spine about a food wide with massive exposure on either side.  I stayed roped up as I made my way over to the true summit.   It was one of the most exhilarating summits I’ve ever been up.  We snapped a few photos at the top of each other and then Evan set up to rappel down.  We made it down very quickly and then jogged down the ridge to pass the father/daughter before the ‘crawl”.  We tried to call the girls on the ridge but didn’t have reception so we decided to haul ass down the face of the mountain, skiing on our boots over the small snow fields.  When we got back to the PCT we still had 5 miles left and it was nearing 7pm.  We pretty much jogged out the rest of the way snapping a few pics of the sun setting on Mt. Washington above the bright white bear grass we jogged by.  We made it to the car by 8:30 and thankfully had reception to call Emily who was pretty worried by that point.      It was a great hike and I’m really glad we stuck it out waiting to bag the summit.  Total time for the hike was 11 hours but we waited at various points for a total of almost 5 hours so in reality we actually did the hike very quickly.  I definitely hope to climb with Evan again soon.  The maps below are based on a previous attempt with Emily last fall but on this hike the gps tracking accidentally got turned off.   <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1558072-Three_Fingered_Jack_7-19-10_1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1558075-Three_Fingered_Jack_7-19-10_2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1558149-Three_Fingered_Jack_Pano_7-18-10.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1558078-Three_Fingered_Jack_7-19-10_3.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=722276</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=722276</link><pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:33:41 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[South Sister Ski Descent]]></title><description><![CDATA[<br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1338693-South_Sister_Ski_Descent_5-29-10_1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1338697-South_Sister_Ski_Descent_5-29-10_2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1338702-South_Sister_Ski_Descent_5-29-10_5.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1338706-South_Sister_Ski_Descent_5-29-10_7.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=647111</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=647111</link><pubDate>Wed, 2 Jun 2010 22:30:04 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Broken Top SW Ridge Ski Descent]]></title><description><![CDATA[ I got up around 6:30am and switched the heater on which woke Chris up outside.  We both started getting or gear ready and making some breakfast.  I made Emily oatmal and had a couple bowls of Campell’s chicken soup myself.  As usual it took Emily and little while to rise from the car.  After a relaxed effort of gearing up we hit the trail at about 10 of 8am skinning down the closed road first and then onto the flat nordic ski trails that criss-cross the area.  The snow icy at first but gradually softened up making it perfect for our skins which really slid across the tracks easily.  Instead of taking the exact route I had mapped out on my gps at home we took a more direct route through the trees to get to the parking area Tiff and I had left from for our hike 3 years ago.  It took us about 2 and a half hours to go the nearly 4 miles over flat terrain to the parking lot.  We probably could have been faster but we took our time and Emily had some pant issues to take care... hehe.  
    When we got to the base of Broken Top I was simply blown away by how beautiful the day was.  We could see South Sister in the distance next to Broken Top and little Ball Butte on our right had tons of possible ski lines.  From my Oregon Descents ski book I knew that some of the best lines were on the SW ridge of Broken Top so after some discussion with Chris and Emily we decided to head in that direction.  On our way we saw a group of 3 skiers emerge from the Tam MacArthur Rim side of Broken Top and cross the glacial cirque towards our destination.  I was a little bummed they would have first tracks on the day but at the same time relieved because they would guinea pig the stability of the steep slopes for us.  Hood and northward had received 3-5 feet of snow and there were special avy warnings out for all of Washington but in the Central Cascades of Oregon where we found ourselves there was little signs of new snow and what was there had gone through many freeze/melt cycles so it was pretty stable, but the possibility of wet slush slides on a hot day could still occur.  We watched them traverse and then ascend the ridge and where I thought they would drop in... they kept going... up towards a steeper, narrower colouir dropping from cornices higher up on the ridge near the top... of course this meant that I would have to follow suite!
    Emily and Chris followed me up and into the hot glacial bowl of Broken Top and I let them know that I would be going ahead of them in order to make it higher on the ridge while conditions were still good (and stable).  Emily had a little bit of trouble ascending the steep bowl and making turns while doing so but eventually made it.  Chris caught up to me once we topped out on the ridge and both of us spotted a sweet drop-in point for him between where Emily would ski down and where I would ski down up higher.  When we spotted it, the drop in certainly looked steeper than it did coming up and I told my buddy to be careful and to avoid his slough hitting him on the way down.  I continued onward up the ridge eventually taking off my skis and skins to boot pack up the colder icy crust, thankfully following the kicked-in bootpack of the three skiers before me.  I had seen them descend on my way up and watched one of them fall from the drop in point but self-arrest themselves with their ski poles.  It had also sounded icy up there... all of which made me a bit nervous, yet excited at the same time.  I climbed about 800 feet above where Emily dropped in and about 500 feet above where Chris dropped in, and I was rushing on my way so as to not make Chris and Emily wait too long for me after they descended.  At one point on the ridge I got a little too close to the edge or over some rocky outcrop because one of my legs fell into a deep hole.  I don’t think I was over a cornice but I was over some sort of rock outcrop because when I looked into the hole I couldn’t see the bottom.  Luckily I pulled myself out easily and kept going.  
    When I got to the drop in point I noticed I was only about 100 feet from the top of the SW ridge so I decided to run up and have a look.  I’m glad I took the 10 minutes to do so because the views I found of South Sister to the true summit of Broken Top were amazing.  I got a great panorama shot from my perch at the top.  Much like Thielsen I wasn’t sure what was solid at the top and it was very narrow so I plunged by toes and a hand into the snow for security and snapped a bunch of great photos.  
    Once back down I tore of my skins to get ready for the descent and waved to Emily down below (just a black speck in the snow) with my ski poles to let them know I was about to drop in so Chris could get some video of me.  The drop in was super steep and definitely a “no fall area” because if I lost my edge or slipped it could have meant a 1,000 ft Tomahawk down the couloir to Emily, which wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience for either of us.  Thankfully, the hour or so after the three guys ahead of me had dropped in had allowed the sun to soften the snow a bit more which made it no problem for me.  Once into the couloir I made a few jump turns down the steepest part and then opened’er up at the bottom to scream down to Emily.  My legs were on fire but I pushed it and made the whole descent without stopping, only slowing down once to pick my line.  When I got down to Emily Chris wasn’t there and I was worried he had missed it but then we saw him waiting 50 yards away in the snow blended into the trees behind him with his green jacket.  He had got both Emily and I on film. 
    From there it was a fun, yet long and mostly flat descent down the mountain back towards the cascade lakes highway.  On the way out we stopped at a small hill we had skirted on the way up so Chris and I could climb up it and ski down the backside for a few more quick turns in the sun.  When we got back to the nordic trails we decided to put on our skins for a while in the wet, slushy snow.  About a quarter mile from the car across dutchman flats we took the skins off to move quicker but as we approached the Prius exhaustion hit all three of us as the excitement of the day drew to a close.  
    On the way home we stopped at the Cascade Lakes Brewery for a beer and food which I was thankful for because Emily and I hadn’t eaten much on the hike and later I found out she only drank about 8 ounces of her camelbak.... gonna have to have a talk with her about that....  All in all, this may have turned out to be the most beautiful and exciting trip of the year for me.  Much like Goat Rocks last July blew my mind, this trip did the same and I can’t think of much that may top it this year... <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1254726-Broken_Top_Skiing_5-8-10_4.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1254727-Broken_Top_Skiing_5-8-10_8.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1254729-Broken_Top_Skiing_5-8-10_9.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1254724-Broken_Top_Ski_Pano_5-8-10.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=611227</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=611227</link><pubDate>Sun, 9 May 2010 22:26:40 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt. Thielsen Ski Descent]]></title><description><![CDATA[On Sunday Emily and I climbed Mt. Thielsen near Crater Lake.  We drove up on Saturday night with the Prius and camped overnight in the Thielsen trailhead off 138 under nearly a full moon and a sky filled with stars.  Once again sleeping in the Prius was a dream and waking up to the heater for changing into our gear was the best.  As usual it took Emily a little bit to wake up but I took that time to cook us breakfast and start getting our gear ready.  I was shocked that for a beautiful day without any clouds we were the only car in the parking lot.  We started our ascent at about 8am in the morning and except for about a 10 foot section of trail were able to keep our skins on right from parking lot.  The trail was very well marked and as usual I had a gps track that I had downloaded from the net to follow in case we got off track.  I had Emily lead the entire way up the mountain.  It was good practice for her to follow the trail through the snow looking for markings that would indicate where the trail went.  The blue markers on trees were helpful but when we couldn’t see them or they were spaced too far apart I taught her too look for other indicators like dirty snow, harder snow from previous tracks, depressions in the snow, broken branches, chain-sawed trees, open clearings, etc, all indicators of the trail.  She did a fantastic job only losing the trail once or twice in hard spots.  When we hit the West Ridge we were afforded a wonderful view of the “lightning rod of the cascades” as guidebooks call the mountain.  We were looking at the Northwest Bowl which is definitely skiable but our goal was the Southwest Bowl which is skiable from all the way up to just below the 80 foot summit pinnacle.  We kept our skins on most of the way up the ridge past many cornices of overhanging snow.  Finally we got to a point where it became too steep and the snow hadn’t softened up quite enough for our skins to sink in far enough for good purchase.  Thankfully though, this made for fantastic boot-packing up the ridge and then up the face of the Southwest Bowl.   We timed the weather and snow conditions perfectly as the snow was just soft enough for our crampons and boots to dig into sufficiently but not too deep where it was overly exhausting to pull our feet out of the snow.  LIterally, perfect snow for climbing.  Once again Emily led the entire way up the very steep face kicking steps the entire way and taking our time.  She could have used an ice ax but wanted the arm workout so stuck to using her poles.  I carried both pair of skis to save her some weight. Near the top we were passed by two guys and their dog who ran across the steep slope to my dismay to bark a hello to us.  They beat us to the top but we were just behind them for 2nd tracks.  Near the summit pinnacle the snow got a little deeper as it was now about 1pm in the afternoon.  Em and I took a quick break to eat some lunch and then we headed round a corner of snow with sneakers in hand to attempt the 80 foot summit pinnacle that was covered in ice and snow.  Emily got about 10 feet up and felt really nervous so she climbed down and waited for me as I soloed the spire myself.  I chose not to bring gloves for better grip and hand holds on the solid rock.  Going up was easy and the summit was breathtaking... literally, it was so steep with so much exposure that it takes your breath away.  I wasn’t totally sure what was solid rock or snow so instead of peering over I stuck my camera over for some video of the 1,000+ foot drop to the bowl below to the northeast.  I was getting slightly cold so decided it was time to down-climb which was FAR SCARIER THAN CLIMBING UP.  Halfway down I lost which way I had come up and peering down at Emily 40 feet below me asked her to point it out.  I calmed down, took my time and carefully worked my way down at one point lowering myself over an edge with just my arms and fingers clamped into a crack.  One slip and it would have been really bad.  Thankfully I made it down safely but it wasn’t the smartest choice I’ve made in the mountains I will admit.  The difficulty of coming down had not crossed my mind, but will forever in my future climbs for sure.  Once down we packed up our bags, put our skis on and my helmet cam and had a friggin’ amazing ski descent of the huge bowl.  The snow was perfect.  We didn’t hit any bouncy, icy spots.  It was like skiing through butter on the way down.  I followed Emily down and she got some video of me peeling around a big fin of rock into a side couloir then back onto the face.  We followed the tracks of the other two fellows back to the ridge and then using my GPS followed our ascent track back to the trail and then to the car.  Unfortunately, the other two guys didn’t have a gps and I saw their track veering to the west knowing that they wouldn’t end up at the parking lot.  In fact, we all made it back to the car at the same time except they had to walk a quarter mile back down the road to the parking lot.  It was a fantastic day in beautiful weather and because both of our forgot to bring sunscreen we ended up pretty badly burned.  It was possibly the best 3 minute ski descent I’ve had in the backcountry yet.  It’s hard to explain to people that a 7 hour climb is worth those three minutes but it sure was this time.  We had great views north all the way to Mt. Hood and South all the way to Shasta and from the top you could even see the water inside Crater Lake.  It was one of the best views I’ve had in Oregon!  Emily and I enjoyed a couple bottles of Guiness I stuck in the snow to cool off before driving home in just under three hours to find a BBQ of all our friends going on at our place that we happily joined.  What a wonderful end to a great weekend and I’m glad I can now check Thielsen off my list of Cascade peaks with a ski descent to boot! <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1185680-Mt._Thielsen_4-25-10_3_-_Version_2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1185681-Mt._Thielsen_4-25-10_4.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1185682-Mt._Thielsen_4-25-10_8_-_Version_2.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1185683-Mt._Thielsen_4-25-10_8.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=592134</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=592134</link><pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:50:12 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cape Mountain]]></title><description><![CDATA[then up to Cape Mountain for the 2 mile hike up to the summit where there are historical markers from an old fire lookout there in the 30’s.  There was an old wheel left over from the garage that was there along with other signs showing photos of what it used to look like up there.  Much had grown back on the summit in the 70 years since.  We were afforded some nice views down towards Florence and the Dunes below from the 1500 foot summit meadow.  We saw a few Rough Skinned Newts on the trail and a plenty of horse tracks.   <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173867-Cape_Mountain_4-17-10_1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173868-Cape_Mountain_4-17-10_4.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173869-Cape_Mountain_4-17-10_5.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173872-Cape_Mountain_4-17-10_6.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=588039</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=588039</link><pubDate>Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:29:49 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sutton Creek Dunes]]></title><description><![CDATA[    We started the afternoon off by checking out Sutton Creek Dunes just north of Florence.  Our guidebook said to check out the area at the Holman Vista viewing deck first where we got a cool panorama of some smaller dunes near the beach.  We then headed off on the 4.1 mile loop trail following the creek and then out to Alder Dune and back.   It was a pleasant hike through the woods and we saw a bunch of different critters including the biggest snail I’ve seen in Oregon, multiple banana slugs as usual on the coast and about 8 Valley Garter Snakes ranging in size from 1-2 feet long.  The snakes seemed to be all over the place.  When we arrived at the edge of Alder Dune we found a rope swing which was fun for a few swings up into the air and then down into the soft sand.  Both my crocs and Emily’s sneakers soon were filled with sand on our walk back to the car.  It wasn’t an overly amazing hike but seeing all the little critters made it fun. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173865-Sutton_Dunes_Pano_4-17-10__1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173856-Sutton_Dunes_4-17-10_3.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173857-Sutton_Dunes_4-17-10_4.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1173866-Sutton_Dunes_Pano_4-17-10__2.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=588028</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=588028</link><pubDate>Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:25:32 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Owl's Head]]></title><description><![CDATA[    Today I picked up my dad's car early and drove to NH for a very long climb up Owl's Head mountain in the Pemigewasset Wilderness of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Owl's Head is a very remote mountain that is about 8.8 miles from the trailhead at the Hancock Campground off the Kangamangus Highway (route 112).      When I got to the trailhead at noon I noticed people with mountain bikes... damnit!  If I had mine I could have biked the first 3 miles in and out and saved myself over an hour of walking for the day... Oh well.  The walk in was along the Pemigewasset River and was beautiful (see pic).  I was moving at a pretty good pace because I wanted to be out well before dark.  When I hit the Lincoln Brooke Trail to start skirting around Owl's Head the black flies and mosquitos started to pick up so I threw onsome bug spray.... right in my eye by accident, which forced a couple angry remarks about my own stupidity.    At about 2500 feet I began looking for the herdpath leading off to the right from the marked trail.  I soon came upon a small pile of rocks (a cairn at N44 08.258 W71 36.952 see pic) marking the start of the herdpath up a very steep land slide on the side of Owl's Head which offered great views of the backside of the Lafayette Lincoln Range (see pic).  As you can see from the picture the  slide was simply a very steep jumble ofrocks that would give way and slide under my feet with almost every step.  No wonder they didn't make the herdpath an official trail... too many people would slip and get hurt climbing it!  Near the top of the slide I reached the ridge line and after a short walk found myself in a well trampled down area with a small fire pit.  Thinking this was the summit I checked my GPS and noticed that the true summit was still down the ridge... I never would have known this without my GPS telling me my exact location and apparently most hikers didn't have a GPS when they reached this point because there wasn't really a trail from this point on.... After about 20 minutes of struggling through blow down, ferns, thick brush and spruce trees (see pic)I came upon a small pile of rocks in the center of the ridge marking the true summit which my GPS verified.  I logged this as a waypoint (N44 08.665 W71 36.298 for those who care) and continued back down the crumbly land slide to the Lincoln Brooke Trail.  On the hike out I noticed a lot of toads in the woods which made me happy because I haven't seen that many frogs or toads in years which I had feared was just another sign of environmental change for the worse.  The bugs were once again bad so I threw on some more bug spray.  At one point I had my head down while some branches brushed past my face and when I took another step I hit a downed tree over the trail with my forehead knocking my ass to the ground hard nearly blacking out for a moment.  haha.    On the way out I hiked an extra .6 miles to Franconia Falls to check them out.  It was a beautiful area of rock smoothed over by the flowing water into pools and eddies.  If it wasn't nearly 6:30 pm at that point I may have thought about jumping in for a quick swim.  I snapped a few pics of the area and then headed out down the &quot;never ending trail&quot; (see pic of trail corridor through the woods) arriving at my car at 7pm exhaused after the 18.8 mile hike.   It was supposed to thunderstorm all day but I lucked out.  I also forgot to pay the parking fee of 3 dollars which could have resulted in a $200 ticket but thankfully I lucked out on that as well.  I stopped at McDonalds (yeah yeah, I know their food sucks) for a burger and a coffee for the very tiring ride home.  I got back to my parents 3 hours later at 10:30pm.  It turned out to be the longest hike I've done in over 6 years and was probably one of the least rewarding because there was absolutely no view from the summit (see pic).  Oh well... only two more hikes till I'm done!!! <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116957-Owl_S_Head_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116958-Owl_S_Head_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116959-Owl_S_Head_003.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116960-Owl_S_Head_004.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=564177</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=564177</link><pubDate>Wed, 7 Apr 2010 22:47:49 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[MacNaughton]]></title><description><![CDATA[    Today I decided to head up north with my dads car to climb MacNaughton.  I had mentioned this mountain in my previous posts and my intentions to climb it before moving.  Although it is not on any of the 4,000 foot peaks list in the Northeast or NY I wanted to climb it before leaving.  All the peak lists were made 20 to 80 years ago before accurate surveying technology was developed.  Because of this there are several mountains on the peak lists that aren't actually 4,000 feet high!  On the other hand, MacNaughton which was never thought to be 4,000 feet and thus never was added to the lists was recently discovered with more accurate laser surveying techniques to be EXACTLY 4,000 feet.  Now how could I possibly climb all the peaks on the lists and then move out west knowing that there was still one more out there that was 4,000 that I missed?  I couldn't... so I decided to drag my ass north one last time to climb this trailess peak deep in the heart of the High Peaks region.      The mountain is very remote and requires a long hike through Indian Pass on the western side of beautiful Algonquin and the MacIntyre Range.  From there you have to follow the Wallface Ponds trail for another couple miles to the ponds.  Where I left Indian Pass there was an old dam built out of large boulders.  I'm not sure when or why it was built but it was enormous and beyond it was a good view of the cliffs on Wallface mountain as well (see pic).  I had forgotten all my printouts from the web of people whe described where the herdpaths were so I was pretty much on my own for finding them.  When I arrived at the ponds I soon came to a section where the trail literally dissapears into the water (see pic on right) which is quite higher due to recent beaver activity in the area.  So I bashed my way through the woods following my GPS as best I could to try to find the beaver dam crossing between the two ponds which should have led to a herdpath up the mountain... Nope.  I did ironically run into a guy and a woman at the damn who had both given up and turned around on their attempts to climb up MacNaughton.  This was not a good sign.  Also, on the way up to the ponds I noticed that I had completely lost one half of my left Leki hiking pole!  I left the broken pole against a tree and marked it with my GPS to grab it on the way down.      I chatted with the two for a few minutes and they both seemed a little concerned that I was starting the mile long bushwack so late in the day at 1pm.  You can see the summit of MacNaughton in the pic on the right rising above Wallface Pond.  They didn't know the kind of hiking I'm capable of... haha.  As soon as I crossed the beaver dam the herdpath simply dissapeared.  I then took out my GPS, determined I was going the right way and began to climb.  The area looked like it had been slammed by a hurricane.  Hundreds of downed trees blocked my ascent and I ended up walking on downed tree trunks almost as much as the ground in some places.  I found myself on my hands and knees crawling at times and pulling my self up steep moss-covered ledges on many occasions.  I had gaitors on but where the skin on my knees where exposed I was getting slashed and cut with every movement through the sharp spruce trees and dead branches.  As you can see from the pic on the right there is no trail... Where the two before me had taken hours of struggle before turning around I had bashed through in about 45 minutes before arriving at the summit ridge.  Oddly the ridge had a very clear herdpath on it but again it disspeared completely into the moss and spruce trees when you tried to follow it off the ridge.      The summit had a beautiful rock overlook towards the Santanoni Mountain Range.  I walked down the entire length of the ridge to ensure that I crossed whatever true summit was up there and came to another overlook on the western side of the mountain of Street and Nye.  I was glad that after nearly 7.5 miles of climbing I had some views to appreciate at the top.  It was 2pm and I decided to start heading down which proved to be just as difficult if not more than climbing up.  On the way down it was even harder to see where my foot was coming down through the blowdown and brush so I almost crashed on several occasions.  Then I came upon something that really made my day!  As I was walking through the woods... literally with no trail within a mile radius of where I was.... I randomly came across a very nice and expensive pair of collapsable Black Diamond Hiking poles.  How odd is that?  On the same day that I finally break and lose half of my hiking poles I randomly stumble across a new pair of really nice ones in literally, the middle of nowhere in the woods.  When I got down to the beaver dam again following my, now dying from lack of batteries, gps I passed by the woman again and asked if they were hers... which they thankfully were not.  No one else had been in the area that day so I happily brought them home knowing that some unfortunate sole had lost them on their attempt at MacNaughton.      It was a long walk out through Indian Pass and my GPS died about halfway out from lack of power.  It had been such a beautiful day with a light breeze and 60 degree weather which kept the bugs at bay.  On the way down to Indian Pass I was able to snap a great picture of the backside of Algonquinand Wright Peak.  I was even lucky enough to have parked for free at the Adirondack Loj because I had forgot cash and a nice girl at the entrance had let me in for free.  I got some great pictures of the high peaks on the dirt road heading out of the mountains.... check the last picture.  I got home around 8pm, had dinner with my parents and went home very sore to take a shower and sit down for a while before heading out for some drinks and to hear Richie Ortiz (who just signed a major record Label) at Baileys with Josh, Jess and Mike.   Great day, but very long and tiring all the same! <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116855-Macnaughton_8-12-06_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116838-Macnaughton_8-12-06_001.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116856-Macnaughton_8-12-06_002.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1116839-Macnaughton_8-12-06_002.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=564171</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=564171</link><pubDate>Wed, 7 Apr 2010 22:37:16 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[White Butte North Dakota]]></title><description><![CDATA[We got up early from Bowman, ND and headed the wrong way towards White Butte right off the bat!... 20 minutes later we discovered we were in the wrong area and had to turn around which set us back an hour. Thankfully White Butte was a piece of cake hike only about 2 miles long. Emily and I made it to the top and back to the car in less than an hour. The only hard part of the whole thing was taking Nina the Nissan down the overgrown farm roads to get to the trailhead which was surrounded by cows. There was a mailbox with a requested $10 fee for climbing the privately owned Butte which we paid. In August the mountain is supposed to be crawling with rattle snakes but luckily for us we never saw one. When we started off on our hike we immediately began to hear buzzing noises that at first scared Emily who thought they were snakes but we quickly found out that they were just hoards of grasshoppers everywhere around us. The top of the mountain had some pretty cool views of the surrounding ranches. It is always cool to hike on different terrain and this was one type of terrain I'd never been on before. It's white because of the Bentonite Clay found in the surrounding soils left over from fairly recent glaciation of the area. After leaving the high point it was a long drive through North Dakota and Montana towards the town of Cody Wyoming just outside the East Entrance of Yellowstone. We found a nice little motel in town that was fairly cheap and then took a walk through the very rustic looking town stopping at the Silver Dollar Bar for some good ol' country music and beer. It was nice to have a relaxing night after a long drive and the hectecness of trying to find a motel last night after midnight. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109550-Emily_Xcountry_-_White_Butte__ND_19.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109549-Emily_Xcountry_-_White_Butte__ND_18.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109548-Emily_Xcountry_-_White_Butte__ND_17.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109547-Emily_Xcountry_-_White_Butte__ND_16.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=561560</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=561560</link><pubDate>Tue, 6 Apr 2010 02:37:54 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt. Washburn]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the first quarter mile of our hike up Mt. Washburn we both agreed that it was way more beautiful then Avalanche Peak yesterday and the best hike Emily had been on yet. We had heard that it would be a great place to see grizzly bears but again we got unlucky and didn't see any. The hike took us through open forest on an old road and through beautiful meadows, winding it's way up the still-used firetower on the summit where a watch-person works all summer long living in the tower night and day. The views from the summit over Yellowstone were absolutely amazing. We could see all the way over Hayden Valley, filled with wildlife, to the Tetons towering to the south. We also had spectacular views of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone as well as the mountains we came over and Avalanche Peak to the East over Yellowstone Lake. On the way back down the mountain we took some time to climb up some volcanic spires to look over the rock area for bears but instead saw a group of big horn sheep making their way up the mountain towards the top. The hike again brought us to over 10,000 feet in about 6 miles roundtrip but this time there wasn't any wind except for a cool breeze and with Emily's feet taped up she felt ok. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109400-Emily_Xcountry_-_Mt_1.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109433-Emily_Xcountry_-_Mt_88.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109415-Emily_Xcountry_-_Mt_32.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1109426-Emily_Xcountry_-_Mt_53.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=561542</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=561542</link><pubDate>Tue, 6 Apr 2010 02:28:13 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mt. Rainier]]></title><description><![CDATA[For a much better description (won't all fit here) go HERE.<br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1108704-Rainier_8-4-08_159.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1108656-Mt_Rainier_8-4-08_243.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1108654-Mt_Rainier_8-4-08_232.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1108653-Mt_Rainier_8-4-08_225.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=561373</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=561373</link><pubDate>Mon, 5 Apr 2010 21:50:47 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tumalo AT Ski]]></title><description><![CDATA[We had planned to ski Paulina Peak but the road was closed so instead we headed up Tumalo for Emily to test out her new backcountry ski setup for the first time. <br><img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1084882-Tumalo_AT_Ski_4-25-0915.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1084883-Tumalo_AT_Ski_4-25-0914.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1084884-Tumalo_AT_Ski_4-25-0913.jpg"/> <img src="http://images.everytrail.com/pics/thumbnail/1084885-Tumalo_AT_Ski_4-25-0912.jpg"/> ]]></description><guid>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=553146</guid><link>http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=553146</link><pubDate>Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:38:24 -0500</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
	