Karen and Tom Wanderings

A gathering of Karen's family for Thanksgiving in New Mexico gave us an opportunity to swap the grey Northwest for some sunshine.  We spent several days in Albuquerque, where (besides hanging out and eating) we walked and hiked in the Sandia Mountains, which form a barrier along the eastern edge of the city.  Nice fresh air, interesting vegetation, long views, and quiet! Cholla Cactus at Sunset Yucca The family then relocated to a mountain cabin near Jemez Springs, about an hour northwest of Albuquerque.  On the way, we hiked on an interesting spine in the middle of the desert (Dragon's Back).  The following day, we hiked to McCauley Warm Springs (85-90F ... about perfect on a cold winter's day) and on to Jemez Falls.  Driving back to Albuquerque, we stopped at Valles Caldera National Preserve.  It's main feature is a huge, flattish meadow in a collapsed volcano.  Big country!  We also stopped at Bandelier National Monument, which cont...

Broken Top from the south With still more nice fall weather in store, we headed on down to Bend, Oregon (again!).  Why do we keep heading back there?  Sunshine and absolutely perfect (for us) mountain bike trails.  The drive down included some great fall colors in the riparian zones on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.  And of course a lot of big sage-brush country.  We also stopped at Smith Rocks State Park, a rock climbing mecca here in the NW.  And, it being a Sunday afternoon, we got to watch lots of climbing!  It's also quite picturesque in the late afternoon sun.  In Bend, we spent our days hiking and biking, then wandered into town along the Deschutes River for dinner.  Two of the days were spent revisiting a couple of our favorite mountain bike rides (Phils, Mrazek).  Both gave us a great workout, and were a total blast on the decent ... miles and miles of smooth singletrack!  On the middle day, we hiked to the ...

After a spell of cold and fairly gnarly weather, milder conditions returned ... and just in time for a hike to see the larches!  This year, it was a return to an old favorite ... Lake Ingalls.  Reports of huge crowds during the previous weekend (with not-too-great weather) motivated us for an early departure from Seattle.  Even so, we got the last spot in the parking lot.  The few-mile hike up to Ingalls Pass was reasonably lonely, but it was bustling shortly thereafter.  From the pass, the scene was mind-boggling ... the larches, in all their golden glory, filling Headlight Basin below, and Mount Stuart across the valley under crystal blue skies!  Ah, but the magic didn't stop there!  The trail wanders through the basin among groves of gold, giving close up views of the twisted trees.  Finally, a stretch of a steep, rocky trail brings you to Lake Ingalls.  No larches there, but the lovely blue lake surrounded by a combination of jumbled bou...

Mt Baker and The Black Buttes above Skyline Divide After a perfect day at Cascade Pass, we were highly motivated for more.  So, after spending the night in Bellingham, we headed to Skyline Divide on the north side of Mt Baker.  This hike had been on our list for a while, and we were excited to finally go there.  And we weren't disappointed!  A couple of miles climbing in the forest, then miles of up and down ridge walking, with fall colors popping from the hillsides and big glaciers on the flanks of Mt Baker.  And more mountains than you could count in almost every direction!  Another absolutely stunning day!  Twin Sisters Mt Shuksan Mt Baker beyond Skyline Divide Black Buttes Roosevelt Glacier on Mt Baker View back along Skyline Divide Forest Fungus More Photos Activities Hiking - Skyline Divide "Oh Wow!" Moments Eye-popping fall colors in the meadows, consistently there, but constantly changing...