Gold Creek Trail Snowshoe 2011

Group [L-R]: Danelle, Matt, Brenda, Brandon, Andrea, Andrew & Libby

Towno got a bit tangled.

Andrew, Libby, and Brenda.

Towno, Brooke, and Andrea.

Brandon would like a general caution to be noted regarding trying to walk backwards in snowshoes.

Matt had fun trompin' around!

Amazing how Towno can stretch his paws! Built in snowshoes!

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day: looking up to Rampart Ridge.

Matt and Danelle.

The Hoard: Andrew, Brenda, Libby, Brooke, Brandon, Andrea, Towno, Matt, and Danelle.

Beautiful day!

Packing up after lunch. Towno shakin' off!

There couldn't be a more noble dog. Goofy, but noble!

Andrea and Danelle.

Truckee -> Lake Tahoe -> Yosemite

heading east from lassen volcanic national park we were hoping for warmer weather around lake tahoe, but we found more snow and our new favorite mountain town: truckee!


truckee is a wonderful little mountain town with amazing people and awesome art studios.


we first wandered into drake and lulu's. a cheerful little space that had a lot of metal and cloth art. we inquired about a cheap place to stay, as it was snowing and the temperature was dropping. many great suggestions were given, including one offer to stay at a friend's recently converted studio apartment.


next, we headed next door to Riverside Studio to check out pottery and other fine art creations. we ended up spending the snowy evening sharing stories over bottles of wine with allana and amie. we extended the evening over dinner at trio, and took them up on their offer of the studio apartment. amie and blake were gracious hosts. we hope we can return the favor someday.


when we awoke, snow covered the ground. we were thankful for a roof overhead, and warm blankets. southboard to yosemite national park was our agenda for today, but not without checking out lake tahoe first.


the water was so blue. snow had started to cover the mountains surrounding the lake.


andrea and i decided that the west road of lake tahoe, at the time we were driving it, was one of the most beautiful drives we've been on. above is emerald bay.


when we stopped for photos andrea found this big-ass pine cone! she stole it.

andrea wanted her photo with her and this peak!



as we were leaving the lake tahoe area, we began to ascend up and over monitor pass. in the distance we saw a weather station...or fire tower, or military installment. we really didn't know what it was, but the road was rocky, winding, and long. as our traveling motto is "leave no rock unturned" we turned off the nicely paved road. further proof that you need four-wheel drive.

here's a sample of what we get into.

twenty minutes up the rock road and the gate was locked! can you believe it! nobody came down to meet us. i was happy not to get arrested. we walked a little ways up the road, but then decided whatever was at the top wasn't worth the walk.


we could see forever up here. i think we were above the weather.


it was quite peaceful up here. nobody but us and the mountain. after "wasting" enough time, we traversed back down the mountain side to head south to yosemite.

WA -> Lassen Volcanic National Park

this fall for vacation, we set off to california for some backpacking. a trisler vacation wouldn't be a trisler vaction if you headed straight to our destination; after all...our motto is 'the destination is the journey.'

our first stop was mt shasta city, which lies at the base of mt shasta in california. the town is filled with nice people, one of whom told us to venture down to the city park to drink some 'live' water out of the lava tubes.

we're not ones to pass up free water, so off we trotted. we had to wait in line to fill a bottle, as i think most town people get there drinking water from the city park. let me tell you, this water was alive!

andrea dipping her hands into the sweet, sweet nectar of the sacramento river headwaters.

after mt shasta, we headed down the road to lassen volcanic national park. lassen peak was the first volcanic eruption witnessed by man in the 'lower 48.' it's regrowth over the past one hundred years gives hope to the mt st helens area.

lassen peak.

lassen has a very interesting landscape. certain spots look like the moon with evergreen trees.


with the sudden temperature drop and snow, we only day-hiked one trail, bumpass hell. bumpass hell is not joke, just read the warning sign.

bumpass hell has a desolated beauty that we've never seen anywhere before.

matching down puffies are a must! :)

a mudpot with pyrite [fool's gold] .

on the hike out it really started snowing.

while sitting around a campsite in mid-twenty degree weather sounds appetizing somedays, today wasn't one of those. we thought we'd head to lake tahoe to try to warm up.

as we loss elevation, we found fall.

stay tuned for reports...

Day Off - Crystal Mountain Skiing

There were a bunch of things i loved about teaching, but one ranked at the top of the list [somewhere between working with kids and rectangular pizza]: summer vacation! while i don't necessarily get a 'vacation' with my new job, i do get a few days off. with the amount of snow that's been falling late in this season, we felt that i was due for a day off.


we packed the car, dropped townsend off at pethotel for doggie day camp, and pointed the family truckster in the direction of our 'local' hill, crystal mountain.

as usual we stopped at the enumclaw safeway for donuts and chocolate milk.


it was great day skiing. the sun showed it's face a little, and the snow was good.


here's andrea racing down the mountain!
she has gotten very proficient over the past two years living in washington. i'm trying to talk her into going down to utah next winter; hope for the best!


brooke zipping down the hill. trying to be goofy!


a thirty year old trying a 180 degree spin!


here comes the sun...kinda.


today couldn't have been better, unless we were joined by friends. used the sunnto to see how much elevation we skied: 27201 vertical feet.

ps - townsend wanted us to let you know that he did very well on his 'paw-gress report' while we were away.

Kendall Peak Lakes

went up into the cascades today for some snowshoeing. the snow was hard and crunchy [cascade concrete], but we felt a lot of freedom in the crisp cold mountain air.



we've had a spell of fog, so the lower elevations made our photos look a little antiqued.


not all snowshoeing is a walk in the park.


the art of nature is supremely beautiful. i don't think an artist could mix a shade of blue like the packed snow and ice revels in it's crevasses.


this is flocked tree nation.


perspectives are sometimes skewed. we wandered up to the 'little' snow covered three foot tree. after the snow melt, we would discover that we would actually be looking at the top of a twenty foot tree.

taking a break for cookies and frozen rivers...


and re-gloving.


the remaining half of mile of trail to kendall peak lakes laid of the other side of this blown out river bed. we could of crossed it, but were content in just basking in the beauty of the frozen ice.