Staircase, an Early April Fool and a Grumpy Troll

Hot cross Madrona Trees




Lake Cushman through the tree branches




A slug nibbles a flower



Mount Rose Waterfall


I woke up at 8:30am and did not want to get up. I’m still a bit ill but I forced myself out of bed anyway. My goal was solitude and for the most part I got it. Hiking in the rain on a Monday is a good strategy for solitude.

I left the gate at about 11:30. The waterfall coming off Mount Rose is very big; the spring melt is in full force. Lake Cushman is low for this time of year because they have started letting more water flow into the Snohomish Valley.

It was raining, so I decided to brew my tea and cook my lunch under the bridge just past the Staircase Ranger station. Ah what wonderful quite solitude and then suddenly BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. Shit! Someone decided to plow the 1/8th of an inch of snow off the closed parking lot in the closed park on the closed road. This must have been in preparation for April Fools Day. (Staircase re-opens on April Fools Day) Finally after about half an hour the god awful noise stopped and I got to enjoy some peace and quite.

I hiked 11.5 miles round trip so I could get some peace and solitude and instead I got the noise of heavy construction equipment. I would be willing to wager money that the snow would have all been melted by April Fools Day. I suppose the snow plow driver was having fun though.


Mixed rain and snow all day long. This was my part of my lunch time view

I had been hoping to see some elk but I assume the snow plow drove them all back into the woods. Quite a few signs of recent road work and a new culvert are in place. Yes the road will open soon then I can hike the trails but will have to leave the dog at home.

On the way out I stopped to admire a huge old tree and then I heard the car that the snow plow driver had arrived in so I hid behind the tree until s/he had passed by. S/he probably wondered why they did not see me on the way out. They also probably wondered where I had come from when they first saw me after I came out from under the bridge


It's a long ways down to the water from the road

I was able to hold a trekking pole in my right hand today, I've not been able to do that since before my wrist surgery. I only took one pole with me and I only took it because I thought there might be some snow. But I really did not need it for the 1/8 inch of snow that I encountered at Staircase.

I saw many pretty things that I did not take pictures of. Pictures just can not capture the way I feel about some of the beautiful things I see on my hikes.

My crazy dog had a good long swim in Lake Cushman on the way back. I don’t know how she can stand that cold water, but it gets her clean for the ride home. I finished my hike at about 6:30.

26 miles on my new shoes. My feet were warm and dry all day long, I’m glad I splurged on the gortex!

11.5 miles


This Madrona was killed by the Bear Gultch II Fire then it tried to regrow from the roots but some elk chewed most of it back down. Will it survive? There was fog on my camera lens.


Cooking Lunch. In a moment of inattentiveness I burned my new gloves.



I'm the grumpy old troll who lives under the bridge



Begging dog ignores an entire can of dogfood spilled out at its feet.

I started playing with some pano software in Dec of 2009 and I went back through some of my old trips reports. Here is one I went back and made of my lunchtime view.

Spring Break Weenie Roast

It has been close to two months since my last hike. I have been ill and the snow level has been low. Today I decided to go see just where the snow level was. So I loaded up my Jeep with firewood, hot dogs and marshmallows and went exploring with my family. We did not make it very far, we were hoping to go to Brown Creek Camp Ground but we were less then 1/2 there when the snow turned us back.

We probably could have kept going a lot further but we were not in the mood to do much snow driving today. So we went to a spot near Lake West and had a relaxing day roasting weenies in the woods.

It felt great to be out in the woods and away from the information overload at home. I only wish my 5 year old had talked a bit less. Maybe I will bring some wine with me next time so I'll be less irritable.

The dog has a swim in a creek, this was good as it cleaned her up some. She cut her paw on something and was leaving blood paw tracks in the snow. She stopped bleeding by the time we got home, good thing because she is too wet to stay outside tonight and I don't want blood on my carpet.

I did not think to bring my camera, I'm still too manic to do much in the way of planning for any of my outings. I hope to go hiking next week while my husband is on break. Then I can hike in the middle of the week and hopefully have the road or trail all to myself.

Mount Walking is tempting me. It is accessible in the snow because the trail head is right off 101. It is a short but steep hike. I don't know what kind of shape I am in after not hiking for so long. I have been doing a lot of digging. Digging up plants from my old house and digging holes for fruit trees.

I ordered three fruit trees and some blueberry bushes but I don't think they are going to come because my credit card got turned off when I forgot to pay the bill for the third time in the last 12 months. Very irritating but still my cash back reward more then makes up for the late fees. I think I may need to re-order the trees though.

I had to fill in one of the holes I dug because I realized it was too close to the garden, yep still manic. Dig a big hole, fill it back in, dig a big hole, fill it back in. At least I am aware enough of my environment to know to stop before I throw out my back.

I want to go to the Moonstone Beach Motel but they now want $80 a night. That is too much. The place has always been a dive but it sits right on the beach so I like to go there. Last I went there was about three years ago and the price was was
$55 a night then.

I also want to go camping but am not sure where to go. I know the snow level is low and I don't like to pay State Park prices and the National Forest campgrounds are all closed this time of year so that only leaves the National Park. Well to get to the National Park by car I would have to go to the West Side of the Olympics. It rains a lot there and I don't feel like driving that far.

Cotton Kills ?

Cotton doesn't kill people, pants kill people!

Next quarter I am going to take a photography class. It is black and white film photography but still I hope to learn something that will apply to digital photography. Maybe I will finally learn the mysteries of F-stop and Shutter Speed and that other thing that my camera can do.

Soon

I hope to go hiking on Sunday. I've been ill with one thing after another for the last couple of months. I finished this quarter at college and now I get a two week break. This manic episode is not gone but it is easing off a bit. It was a tough quarter fighting mania.

I still don't have all my hand strength back, that makes it hard to repair things around the house. My wrist is not giving me much pain, but it is still a bit stiff.

Not one hike in feb

I did not get to go hiking at all in February. I've got a double ear ache and a sinus infection. I'm on my third round of augmenton.