After spending last week bopping around downtown Seattle and Bainbridge Island, it seemed too much to head right to Cascade Spine and hike the crest. After a quick Costco gas stop, my Highlander was the first car in Pisgah North lot. Around 6:15 the light was just enough to forgo headlamp. Soon after heading up…
After what seems like years, the heat and sun (and all the fire impacts) gave a little way for a series of rain storms from the Pacific. I think everybody wanted to be out in the rain after the desert-like parching. Initially, I thought hiking Hardesty Mt to walk under those great trees in the…
Honoring a request, I changed a backpacking plan for car-camping at Crescent Lake to explore the lakes between Crescent Lake and Diamond Peak for 3 days. Three very different hikes: a) Whitefish Creek and Crater Butte; b) Oldenberg and Windy Lakes; and c) Maiden Peak (on way home). The larger lake names read like characters…
To expand Saturday’s PCT hike from Willamette Pass to Bobby Lake, yesterday was the PCT from Bobby Lake NOBO to Charlton Lake and back with a pass up The Twins. The woods were basically empty – literally. I saw maybe 10 PCTers and 1 local hiker the entire time. Animals and birds were scarce as…
Saturday, I headed up to Willamette Pass to hike PCT NOBO and back with objective of hitting Bobby Lake and Maiden Peak. I arrived around 5am and was hiking by 5:15 with headlamp – just as 2 trail runners were heading out as well. The runners informed me that about 150 runners – The Waldo…
I initially planned to go to Willamette Pass, but woke up unwilling to drive far … so at last minute, went to Pisgah. Timed the start for sunrise after the top … the view to Sisters was as expected and they hid behind clouds and haze the rest of the day. A full (or nearly)…
With good weather and wild fire smoke avoiding the west side of Three Sisters Wilderness and an Obsidian TH day hike permit … perfect. I started at TH around 6:00 went straight up Obsidian Trail. At one of the first burn scar clearings, sunrise came over the ridge on the knoll. Middle Sister quickly comes…
Our original backpacking plan was Tuesday-Saturday, but the Akawa Butte Fire (InciWeb) was dumping smoke into Three Sisters Wilderness and then a Red Alert for thunderstorms and possible additional fires in same area. We waited until after the Red Alert cleared and left Thursday morning for Devils Lake TH. Driving to the TH haze and…
With this year’s OR snowpack so far below averages, I was backpacking Three Sisters Wilderness 2 weeks earlier than any summer in last 10 years. Context on how this year fits into the last decade: the 2025–26 winter was one of the driest in the Cascades in years. Peak snow water equivalent in the Central…
Part 3 of the Danube River photos is all about the Magyar Cowboys in Hungary. Their ‘ranch’ is about 15 minute drive from the river, and they put on quite a show. Fancy riding, great horses, and 3 generations of cowboys in the show. The youngest stole the show! Weather was extreme for their show…
