Karen and Tom Wanderings

We purposely left the latter half of the summer unscheduled, to allow us to connect with our son, Brian, on the PCT.  We anticipated providing resupply services, hiking some partial days with him on the trail, and doing some of our own hiking and backpacking.  Our first foray was to Ashland, Oregon, near the Oregon/California border.  Unfortunately, as our departure date approached, Tom pulled a hamstring successfully retrieving his bike from a deadbeat thief (sprinted after said thief, pulled him off the moving bike, then suddenly questioned the wisdom of such a strategy!)  So, our activities were curtailed somewhat.  And no hiking with Brian. After spending an evening with Brian dining, grocery shopping, and dining again ... then sending him on his way the next morning, we headed to Crater Lake to deliver a resupply package, and explore.  We'd driven through the park many years ago, but it left us wanting more.  The boat ride on the lake to Wizard ...

Tom needed a close-in hike to get in shape for hopefully joining Brian for a few miles on the PCT later this summer.  Mailbox Peak is just outside North Bend on the western slopes of the central Cascades, and, it was (surprisingly) new territory for Tom.  The trail was well-graded and in the woods for most of the 5 mile, 4000' climb, but it got a bit steep once above treeline. The big views were obscured by clouds, but the flowers were spectacular!  It made for slow going on the way down!! Misty Trail Mountain Hemlock Tiger Lillies Mailbox on the summit More Flowers Beargrass Seeds Colorful Hillside More Photos Activities Hiking - Mailbox Peak "Oh Wow!" Moments The endless colors, shapes, patters and combinations of flowers!!

The Okanogan, an area east of the main Cascades Range and adjacent to the Canadian Border, provided an early-season backpacking opportunity.  It's a long drive from Seattle, but without any real time constraints, we saw a great opportunity to go mid-week.  After a day of driving, including a spontaneous brief visit to Grand Coulee Dam, we spent the night in Omak, and headed out the next morning.  After a day's delay due to a mishap (see Random Scenes, below), we headed out again.  A good chunk of the first 5 miles is in an old burn ... providing interesting contrasts of dead silver trees, charred trunks, saplings, and incredible flowers.  Needless to say, the going was slow for Tom. After reaching Sunny Pass, gateway to Horseshoe Basin, the scenery really opens up.  Broad meadows with groves of subalpine fir.  And amazing carpets of flowers!  We camped at beautiful Loudon Lake, which is a little further along the Boundary Trail (which, as the n...

We needed to test out our hiking legs, and we found an early-season answer ... Lake Serene.  It's situated on the western slopes of the central Cascades, below the three cliffs of Mt Index.  This was one of the first hikes I did in Seattle back in the day, and had been back once or twice.  In the mean time, the trail has been drastically improved (not a root-grabbing climb).  The weather was a bit socked in until later in the day, but no rain.  It was good to get out in the (nice green) woods! Bunchberry Lake Serene Cliffs and Clouds Sword Ferns in the Forest More Photos Activities Hike the Lake Serene Trail

With the forecast indicating the weather taking a turn for the worse, we packed up in Kanab, and settled in for our 2-day drive back to Seattle.  But the morning was beautiful.  After passing a sign indicating that Zion National Park was only a right turn and 20 miles away, we looked at each other, and, in a somewhat uncharacteristic display of spontaneity, we took the turn! It went without saying that we were going to hike to the top of Angel's Landing ... a high narrow ridge extending into Zion Valley.  We had done this hike many years ago when the kids were little.  Tom had made the final, harrowing push to the top (complete with chains to grab onto) with Kelsey, but Karen had stayed behind with Brian.  Needless to say, Karen had a need to get to the top (perhaps partially due to her son telling her something to the effect that she was too old to do it now), so off we went.  The crowded trail tested our patience a bit, but we successfully made it to t...