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The permit process this year for the Enchantments has changed and I hope to luck out with permits. And I’ll be hitting the trail for my first backpacking outing with my bro-in-law Kal. It will be awesome and possibly epic (well, not really, but definately fun at least). Hopefully they’ll be chances to get out again with some of my other brothers as we’ve done in past years and of course with my little hikers.

Other summer plans include, I hope, a backpacking first for me and my wife. We’ve car camped, dayhiked and even kayaked but never backpacked. She’s agreed to an overnighter (get ready grandparents!) and so we’ll find a nice hike that I hope will get her more interested in this. Maybe someday we’ll have some family backpacking outings (crazy idea, but I can dream) that’ll create some chaotic but fond memories.

Olympic National Park Trip - 1st backpacking trip since I was a scout - 4/2005

Kal on the Echo Lakes hike near Lake Tahoe, includes part of the PCT - 6/2010

Shanda & Kiera hiking at Cougar Mountain - 4/2008

The view from the Dam was cool, but I prefer just about any view while sitting in a kayak.

During our trip to Vegas, we had the chance to go to Hoover Dam and walk across the new Memorial Bridge as well. 

My only tip, don’t take your wife and your kids at the same time.  Being so high with such a long drop under us had Shanda on edge the entire time thinking about a child climbing the railing.  And I’m the one typically with a heights issue.

Kael liked jumping the small creeks that will dry up this summer.

I like seeing the waterfalls this time of year that are at the peak of their flow.

We were both happy to be outside.

And even on a mountain full of people looking to escape their winter shelters, there are quiet moments and scenes that make you stop for a moment.

And a picture of Shanda that I really liked and decided to try something different with below.

I’ll randomly post additional pictures from our trip as I have a chance.

• 1/1/2010: Tinkham Exit hike with Andrew

• 1/22/2010: Taylor Mountain with Kael & Kiera

• 2/20/2010: Arboretum with Family

• 5/8/2010: Shotgun Shooting with Boy Scouts

• 6/11/2010: Ancient Lakes with Boy Scouts

• 6/24/2010: Lake Tahoe – Echo Lakes hike with Kal

• 6/29/2010: Lamoille Canyon – Beaver Pond nature hike with Family

• 7/5/2010: Greenwater Lakes with Family

• 7/24/2010: Granite Mountain all by my lonesome (and several other hikers)

• 8/14/2010: Mount Rainier – Grove of the Patriarchs with Family

• 8/16 – 8/20/2010: Ross Lake Canoe/Kayaking with Boy Scout Troop

• 12/20, 12/23, 12/24/2010 – Las Vegas Trip – Multiple Red Rock Hiking with Brothers & Family

Granite Mountain is aptly named.  It is really a very tall pile of granite boulders, or at least that’s how its summit appeared.  Not very far North in the Enchantments stand mountain peaks with jagged sharp edges jutting skyward.  Granite Mountain must have appeared like this a long time ago, but it isn’t a short mountain just because it’s peak is a jumbled piled of rocks.

Saturday morning I hit the trailhead at exit 47 at about 7:15am.  The Pratt Lake Trailhead can take you to many different destinations, but most of the rest of shorter options from other starting points (including Pratt Lake).  My guess is most starting here are heading to Granite Mountain.  The trail wasn’t crowded this early but it wasn’t empty.

Heading up Pratt Lake Trail wasn’t tough in the cool morning forest.  At .6 miles it splits and the trail to Granite Mountain starts with a vengeance.  It climbs quickly from this point and by the time the trees part and there is a view, I-90 is far below.

Continuing to climb the trail passes through avalanche chutes and more forest before it finally breaks out above the tree line and I’m hiking through mountainside meadows.  While enjoying the meadows, I looked to the South to see Mount Rainier starting to show over Humpback Mountain.  This breathtaking view and the continuing climb upward required several standing breaks to enjoy the scenery and give my lungs a chance to catch up.  The pile of boulders at the top of the mountain are now visible but the Fire Tower is still blocked from view.

A few more switchbacks and then off in the distance, the tower is finally in view.  When I arrived at the ponds and the base of the boulder field, I realize a choice needs to be made.  I can head up the ridgeline over the boulders in the most direct route to the summit and Fire Tower or I can head around the North Side on the summer route.  After consulting some other hikers who were making a return trip I took the scenic route around the back.

There was still snow on the North side, but only in patches and with careful steps I avoided post-holing.  Climbing up the trail along the ridge on the back, Crystal Lake shows itself below the trail.

Finally, when it seems I am about out of steam, the trail ahead points right at the top of the boulders and I step onto the pile of boulders and grab a hold of the cross beam of the Fire Tower.

The views are amazing and I can see Mount Rainier from bottom to top.  Looking around, Mount Adams and Mount Baker can also be picked out under the clear blue sky.  The Fire Tower provides shade but the door over the stairs are locked and no rangers are there currently.  It is still manned at times I understand.  I can only imagine what it would be like to spend a night in a room with a view like that in a wooden structure bolted to the top of a pile of granite boulders.  I watched as a small single engine Cessna flew far below, I’m staring at the top of it.

After some lunch and enough time to soak in the view, I head down and leave a group of young men who are trying to figure out where to setup a picnic for a friend hiking up with his girlfriend to propose to her.  I see the happy couple heading up as I hike along the North side of the summit and hope their friends were ready for them.

The meadows are still beautiful but its warm now and I look forward to the shade of the trees below.  My knees and toes are taking a pounding as I try to keep from falling down the mountain.  Tightening up my boot laces reduces the pounding to my toes, but my knees don’t get a reprieve until I’m on the Pratt Lake Trail and finally in my vehicle, enjoying the A/C and looking forward to Arby’s in North Bend.

My legs are still recovering, but it was an awesome experience.  To top off the day, after washing off the grime, I was able to get to a movie and dinner with my family.  I hope to do hikes like this more often but I need to start earlier and be back before lunch.  But the rewards are worth it.

Links:

My Granite Mountain photo set on Flickr.

My route on Everytrail

Granite Mountain Guide – Washington Trails Association

Next month we are taking our scout troop for a 6 day canoe trip (I’m bringing my kayak) on Ross Lake.  Camping, paddling, hiking, geocaching, campfires and more, it is going to be a lot of fun.  We are taking advantage of the great weather at Lake Meridian and getting the scouts used to trying to hold a straight line.  So far, they are getting a lot of practice on swamping and rescuing canoes (not on purpose).  Hopefully they get it out of their system and keep their gear dry on the trip.

The plus side of course is I get to put my kayak to work for a whole week!  And other than some family camping trips to some cushy state parks and Scout camps, this is going to be my longest wilderness camping adventure to date.

The NorthWest has some of the best hiking in the nation (it’s not alone, but it has some true gems and miles of trails).  However, I am at the stage of life where the time I have to head off to hit the long and steep trails is very limited by my time constraints and responsibilities.  This is not bad, it is just where I am at.  I will still try to find opportunities for the difficult hikes but I need to be sure my family is getting the time they need and I am having an impact on my children.

Shanda was recently very willing and interested in a family adventure and included herself in hiking plans I had started with my brother for July 5th.  We explored Greenwater Lakes for the first time and had a great time. 

Liam came along for the ride and Kael hiked the entire 4 miles with no shoulder rides.  Kiera did opt for staying with Grandma, though she does believe herself to be a good hiker.  I need to get her out for some Daddy/Daughter hikes as she tends to wear down on the few we’ve tried as a family.  Kids act differently when siblings are not around and they have a parent all to themselves.  I’ll get her there with practice.

Here are my favorite NW hikes with kids so far:

• Twin Falls
• Denny Creek water slide
• Franklin Falls
• Asahel Curtis
• Greenwater Lakes

So, what are some of your favorites?  And please, don’t limit them to the Northwest, we do travel occasionally and could use tips for other locations.

I do not want to delay the post’s on the rest of our family’s Northern Nevada trip so without delay, let’s sum up the rest of an awesome trip.

The day after our visit to Virginia City,  the weather cleared and the sun blazed.  We headed to King’s Beach to enjoy the sun, sand and water.  The water was on the cool side but refreshing considering the black volcanic sand mixed in on the beach made it painful to stand barefoot.  It was amazing to sit in the heat enjoying the view of Lake Tahoe with snow capped mountains.

Sunday we enjoyed breakfast and said our goodbyes to Shanda’s family after a wonderful 4 days together and headed off to Lamoille Canyon near Elko, NV.

Now, driving through Northern Nevada isn’t the most exciting time.  Towns are few and far between.  It was hot as well though the A/C in the Quest did well.  The kids were troopers and Shanda took over at the wheel.

We arrived at Elko late in the day and turned towards the Ruby mountains that had appeared out the Northern Nevada desert.  This is nearly smack dab in the middle between Reno and Salt Lake City.

We arrived to familiar faces that I haven’t seen in several years.  My Mom has seven siblings and each of the 8 children have had large families.  Now many of Aunts and Uncles are grandparents.  So there are children I don’t know and cousin’s spouses I haven’t met.  Our family reunions are fun and I wish we’d been able to spend more time in the beautiful canyon with my relatives (we arrived a day late and left a day early).

The food was good, conversation enjoyable and the activities fun.  I hope to be able to see my cousin’s family’s often enough that our children will get to know each other.  I wish the distances between us all were smaller.

Our only full day at the reunion was Monday which was filled with family olympics (tug of war, egg tossing, etc.), softball and an evening campfire with entertainment.  Kael enjoyed becoming part of the boys club which had built a fort in a stand of trees.  Kiera always has fun with her cousing Ava.  Shanda made fast friends with many and even enjoyed a pedicure from my cousin’s wife, Audra (who is awesome!).  Except when being fed, Liam usually spent his time with hanging out with other women who couldn’t resist a baby.

Tuesday morning we packed up (we had cheated and stayed in a hotel in Elko while everyone else camped at the canyon, I know, but with a baby and all the travelling, camping didn’t fit in).  We joined everyone for the Tuesday morning hiking activities.  Most of the fit crowd headed out for a tougher hike while I opted to attend the easier hike to be with my wife and children.

We took part in a short (1 mile?) nature hike that took us by a river with some industrious beavers that had created 4 private ponds and their lodge while clearing a football field sized area of aspen trees.

My parents even made this hike (standing in the cleared area cleared by the beavers with new trees now growing).

The trip was a blast.  If you’re ever through Elko, take the time to visit the Ruby Mountains.  It’s a diamond in the rough.  Below is a shot of Camp Lamoille, the location of our reunion in Lamoille Canyon.

Tuesday we headed home up a lonely stretch of highway towards Idaho and onto Oregon.  We drove alongside a river in a narrow canyon, through Duck Valley Indian reservation, into a heavy thunderstorm with rain and lightning, past a couple brush fires caused by said lightning and on up to the Holiday Inn in Ontario, OR.  The next day we gratefully made it home to our own beds where the kids could sleep in their own rooms and we could finally get a normal night’s rest.

We traveled 2,000+ miles and drove through 5 states in 9 days.

I’m not sure that I agree with the use of blue in terms such as “Feeling blue” or “I have the blues” as an implication that one is sad or depressed.  I think they should be replaced with “Feeling grey” or “I have the greys”.  I know, it doesn’t have much of a ring to it, but it’s grey skies that get me down.

What do you think, do these images of blue get you down?

Skies above Lamoille Canyon

Lake Tahoe

Andrew overlooking Snow Lake on a blue sky day.

The Blue Angels over Lake Washington for Seafair.

Having grown up in the West I’ve been to a few ghost towns and Old West spots.  This was my first time to visit Virginia City in the mountains of Northern Nevada near Lake Tahoe.  On 6/25 the clouds loomed over our family vacation at Lake Tahoe so rather than try the beaches we went with Shanda’s family out to Virginia City, only about 35 miles from Lake Tahoe.

Of course on the way over, I made the one request that we stop for lunch in Carson City at the closest In-n-Out burger.  I usually get my double double fix once a year in Las Vegas but as we have no plans for Las Vegas this year I was happy to find on in Carson City.

Virginia City is up in the high desert and gets covered with snow in the winter.  The road up is steep, winding and narrow.  A lot of mine tailings cover the hills and there are many old abandoned vehicles and machinery littering the area.  But its doesn’t have a trashy feel, more like heading into a forgotten place.  I wonder a bit if the abandoned vehicles are staged as it is obvious that the towns main income now (with some nearby mining still in operation though) is tourism.  The town was busy with some sort of street racing event happening nearby.

The downtown area keeps its original feel with rickety boardwalks and original saloons and shops still in use today.

The kids enjoyed ice cream and climbing on old mining equipment.

A saloon was built onto the hillside and a mine entrance was in the back of it.  It was situated between two very wealthy mines that had pulled out millions of dollars of ore in the 1800s.  The owners thought they had it made.  The two owners lost over $1 million dollars each after only pulling out a few hundred dollars worth of ore.  So it was turned into a tourist site instead:

Hard hats were recommended for taller folks as the average height of men in those days was 5’ 4”.

We enjoyed the tour though when the guide turned out the lights (as they always do on cave and mine tours) Kiera was freaking out.  Kael was quite interested.

We spent sometime getting shots of the younger adults in old west outfits at one shop.  I may or may not post those once I get them scanned in.

The town is an interesting stop for anyone in the area.  This is where the famed Comstock load was found and Samuel Clemens first penned the name “Mark Twain” while writing for the Territorial Enterprise paper.  The TV series “Bonanza” included daily trips for the Cartwrights into Virginia City from the Ponderosa (the wonders of TV can turn a 35 mile horseback ride into a short trip apparently).

On the drive out we were given a reminder that while the town is kept alive for tourists, much of the area is still untamed and wild as we stopped to watch several wild horses roaming the hills.

I hope to finish our family’s Northern Nevada trip picture uploads and blog posts before our next family vacation, so stay tuned as I crank them out.

Additional Virginia City pictures

http://b2.broom9.com/?page_id=519