Beckler River Campground -> Bridalveil Falls -> Mt Index

Right next to our campsite was the Beckler River. We'd recommend campsite #26.

Townsend taking a few drinks.

Eggs for breakfast to prepare for our hike up to Bridalveil Falls. Oh yeah, and testing our new stove for car camping: a Primus!

Townsend found some breakfast too: a yummy stick!

We're never quite sure what Towno thinks of our adventures.

Right below Bridalveil Falls. Easy hike, tough for the first one. It reminded us of a little Reichenbachfalle.

Towno leading the way...

through the lush trail!

Like we said, we're never quite sure. Towno acted like he has never been this worn out...for two days!

He slept the day away as we made quesadillas on our new stove!

And he slept through an evening of reading books!

Left of center is Mt Index with Bridalveil Falls below it in the trees.

Taken outside of the Espresso Chalet on Rt 2. We can't believe we pass this every time we go skiing at Stevens Pass. Come to find out, Harry and Henderson's was filmed close by!

Rattlesnake MT [Ledges and East Peak]

in preparation for our summer vacation, and general
enjoyment of the seattle outdoors, we'll behiking
a lot of elevation. we started on rattlesnake mt
for a warm up. this was our view from the "upper ledge."

family portrait.
we enjoyed a nice lunch with a half-dozen other people.
tip: hike further to the "upper ledge" to avoid the crowds.

happy hiker!

tired hiker.

this is townsend's favorite part of hiking.
we'll call him an "extreme napper."
he puts up with us so wel!

as we reached east peak, and settled in for snack.
towno sauntered over, laid his head on my shoulder,
and signed deeply. he was, as usual, distraught.

sun halo.
we snacked, rested, and took in an amazing view
of mt rainier before heading back down.

oh yeah, we also gave towno some encouragment
for the trek down!

back at home in the post-hike fetal position.
does anyone else have a lazy gsp?!

Apology & Schweizter Ski Trip

no, we're not dead.
sorry for the two months of silence. it's been quite busy, but we're prepared to get you caught up!


we spent this past weekend at schweizter ski resort in idaho.
schweizter is probably the biggest-closest ski resort to washington, with the exception of whistler/blackcomb; which [1] doesn't have any snow and [2] is currently hosting the oylmpics.

schweizter is perched high above sandpoint, idaho and lake pend oreille [pronounced: pend-o-ray]. now some folks from the midwest are going to knock idaho, but don't...until you've been there. northern idaho is completely awesome!

we spent saturday and sunday skiing; a question we get a lot is "how was the snow?" good saturday, crunchy sunday with a few fluffy stashes.

...and thanks to the super bowl hardly anybody was out on sunday. we had this beautiful mountain to ourselves! way to go nfl, you do do something useful! :)

back in sandpoint, we hit up: mickduff's brewing company [try their organic ipa], laughing dog brewery [stop by and see to toby], northwest handmade [where we bought a sweet "blue pine" bench for our mud room], tons of little local shops, and misty mountain furniture, where andrea found a huge rustic chair; too bad it wouldn't fit in our car!

both schweizter and sandpoint were worth the trip, and we will definitely make it again. but maybe next year we'll try whistler...if they have snow. :)

Yosemite Backpack Days 1 & 2

we entered yosemite np through the north entrance and drove across tuolumne [too-all-uh-me] meadows. one of the largest alpine meadows in the states; it's quite majestic. we stopped to pick up our wilderness pass for our backpack, and continued down the road to yosemite valley.

upon arriving in yosemite valley you are immediately greeted by el cap. we'd learn a day later that it takes climbers normally 3-5 days to climb el capitan's 3000ft face!


as you're careening your neck to keep peeking a view of el cap, you find yourself faced by half dome.

with getting into the valley late, we set up our camp in the backpackers campground and headed off to the mountain lounge. for those east coast readers out there, i'll use this analogy: yosemite valley is to yosemite backcountry as gatlinburg is to the smokies. the only thing this valley lacks is a putt-putt course; although i'm sure it's hidden in curry village.

rising early, we broke camp, packed our bags and hopped a shuttle bus to the visitor center. we double checked the weather, used the bathroom for the last time, and started walking down the road. our plan was to hitch-hike up to tuolumne meadows and hike back to the valley. our hitch hiking proved to be harder than thought. the only two folks who stopped were from france and mexico. one wasn't sure where he was going and the latter had a full car. after walking down the shoulder for two miles, finally two guys stopped. they informed us they were heading up to tuolumne and would be glad to give us a ride. we enjoyed the hour and a half ride, and learned they both worked at the mountain shop. we thanked mike and eric as we exited the car at tuolumne meadows, hoisted our packs up, and started our four day hike into yosemite's backcountry.

yosemite has the coolest looking trail markers.


making our way up the trail to upper cathedral lake.


getting camp set up with just a few remaining minutes of daylight left. the temperature drops quickly at 9000 ft, so out came the down puffy sweaters!


as the sun began to set, we got treated to beautiful cathedral peak.


watching the night settle in.


we awoke to a bright sunny day. we hiked up over cathedral pass...


where we were passed up by a few groups of mule trains!


enjoying the warm afternoon and the open views.


a lunch spot with the most amazing views! we sat eating our bagel sandwiches over looking the sierra nevada mountains.
(side note: always pre-pack your bear cannister before heading out for a 4 day adventure. if this step is forgotten, be sure to eat the large items first.)


after crossing up and over cathedral pass, we came to long meadow. long meadow is the sight of one of a 'high sierra camps.'


this high sierra camp definitely had the nicest toilet! solar powered vent fan! very posh!


long meadow was a great place to take our packs off and stretch before we began the downhill section of our hike.


as we wound our way down to our next campsite, we passed many trees that looked withered and worn. there's a whole lot of sun, and not a lot of air up here.

Spray Park, and on....

What else better is there to do than go hiking on a beautiful summer day with the wildflowers in full bloom? We headed back to one of our favorite spots to camp for the weekend, Mowich Lake at 4900'.

We started with a day hike to Spray Park.


Just entering Spray Park at 5500'. Get out the bug spray. Lube up. Push on.


Taking a break on the path of wildflowers.


Indian Paintbrush. Always a beauty.


Some sort of delicate lilly.


Lupine. Fields and fields of beautiful lupine...


beneath a majestic mountain.


Mt. Rainier looks so close at 6500'! Tempted to run up to the top, but we'll wait. We'll see you next summer, friend, face to face.

Instead of heading up, we decided to push on and complete a 16.5 mile loop to bring us back to our campsite. This loop takes you toward Seattle Park, down to Carbon River, over to Ipsut Creek, then back over Ipsut Pass and to Mowich. Oh dear...what are we getting ourselves into?


When navigating through rocky territory, cairns (pictured above) are used to direct you back on trail, assuming you have strayed off admiring the mountain.


Getting ready to cross a snowfield. You might get an idea of the amazing views we had from the parks. We were looking at higher peaks all the way up in Canada.


This snowfield creates a beautiful pattern.
The difference between a glacier and a snowfield? Glaciers are always moving, where snowfields stay put. Interesting.


We stop at a creek to wash up and cool down.


Ever wonder what the beginning of a raging river looks like, before it has picked up speed, rocks, debris? Kinda like this. Peaceful. Quiet. Inviting.


Andrea thought it would be a good idea to add a gallon of water to her day pack for 'training.' It came in handy when we decided to push on past Spray Park!
Cataract Valley, 5200'


Part of the trail was to cross over this suspension bridge, built over the Carbon River at 3500'. Wow...it was high. And bouncy. But fun!



We crossed back over the Carbon River again at 2500'. Note all the debris and devastation from year after year of massive floods going through. The most recent being Jan '09.

We measled our way back up to 5300' through the pass and back to camp. We cleaned up a bit in the lake and took a dive into our sleeping bags. Ahh...another peaceful night at Mowich Lake.