4th of July(ish)

So, do most of you remember the post about us going camping last year around the 4th of July without a tent, in bear country? This is what we saw this 4th of July.

And This! Of course we werent camping, we went to the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, WA. On the 5th, we went Hiking with Kris and Joe and Andrew at Staircase Falls ( I think ). It was about 2 miles each direction, and was a very easy hike. we did take a few detours to see the river in places, and also a large cedar tree that had blown down. Darius and Andrew climbed inside the roots and up into the tree.

Darius was able to hike almost all the way on his own, with dad and Uncle Joe giving a few rides on the way.

I Guess this was the first hike this year, I still have a big one I have been talking about taking, about 5 - 6 days long, 7 - 8 days if I take Darius, but I think it will have to wait one more year

Serene Lake (or "Death of a PackPack")

Grandpa, Sebastian, Gina, Jesse, Caleb, Elizabeth, Abigail, Jonah, Darius, and I all climbed into two cars and drove to the trail for Serene Lake near Index. Since Sebastian knows all the trails in the area better than anybody else, he knew of a back road that would put us near the middle of the trail, cutting the walk to about 5 miles round trip instead of about 10 miles round trip. And since I would rate the trail as steep, I think it was a good idea. As always, when darius

saw his "packpack" going in the truck, he knew we were going hiking, and he got excited. I think he was about 8 months when we went on his first hike, and in the clinical trials at home it was decided that he was too heavy for the narrow straps of his baby pack, so I bought a backboard and attatched his baby pack to the backboard and it was much more comfortable to carry him. For the first year he looked foreward over my shoulder, but this spring, as his legs grew and he needed more room for his legs, I had to turn the pack around so he was looking backward , or at where we were had been.




On the way to Lake Serene, Darius seemed more uncomfortable than is normal and Aunt Gina and Grandpa had to add padding and rearange him a little to make him comfortable.

Once we got to the lake, he came out of the pack and played, we all went swimming, we ate lunch and rested, then everybody started back down the mountain, which is always the easiest part of the hike.

A side note to Jesse, one of the smartest kids I know, Dictionary.com defines "Lunch" as "a light midday meal between breakfast and dinner; luncheon.

As I was trying to get Darius back into the packpack, the trail was too steep and rocky for the 22 month little man to walk, ( despite what he thinks ) I realized that it was broken. The aluminum supports of the baby carrier had collapsed ( not made to support 33 lbs. ?) and he sagged too low to be comfortable, or safe. Now I have about 2 - 2 1/2 miles down the mountain with Darius in my arms in front of me, on a trail steep enough in some places that I really could not see over darius to see where I was putting my feet.

But we all eventually made it down to the cars. I should say that the bugs and flies were so bad that after lunch, Grandpa decided that he was going back down to the car to get away from the flies and take a nap while waiting for the rest of us, so he left 45 min to an hour before everybody else. Sebastian and the four older kids made it down the mountain much faster that Jonah, Gina, Darius and I, so they had time to stop and rest on a underground bee nest. ( uh huh, bee stings, but not seriously ) Once we all got to the cars where Grandpa was taking a nap, we found that Grandpa was NOT there taking a nap. It turns out that he could not find the turn off to take him back to the cars, so he eventually quit looking and continued down to the trail head, an additional 2 miles, then walked the 2 1/2 miles on the road back to the cars, getting there only 30 minutes after everybody else. So while we all hiked about 5 miles up and down, Grandpa walked about 9 1/2 - 10 miles up and down. I need to point out that I bought into the Idea that Grandpa was not "Lost" because he always knew where he was and was almost back to the car when sebastian picked him up, but Dictionary.com defines lost as "having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc" so................ I will never tell him though.

Blue Lake

Darla, Darius, and Dad went to Blue Lake for two days. Almost the middle of july, so you know it was warm and dry

And since it was warm and dry, there was no need for a tent, Right? And since there was no need for a tent, Darla was terrified of the black bears, mountain lions, and anything else that might go bump during the night, so she did not sleep much, allowing Darius and I to sleep soundly. Except for the period of time around midnight that is, when it started raining. (remember, no tent)

We took a day hike here last year, and saw this

So we know there are bears.

There was about ten feet of open water around the lake, so Darius and I fished for dinner. The experience confirmed that I have the patience of a (almost) two year old when it comes to fishing, but we did manage to catch one small trout to share. Luckily we brought some cup o noodle soups also, the cups then served for hot cider and hot chocolate cups later in the night.

Lower Lena Lake

Darius and I met with Joe, Kris, and Andrew Sunday morning. Lower Lena Lake was only a 6 mile round trip hike, but Darius is getting too big for the pack I carry him in, and big enough that he thinks he should be down and walking himself, so he was kinda difficult for much of the hike. at 20 months old, while large for his age, his coordination is still not good enough to hike without holding my hand, something he does not like to do.

But let him hold his uncle Joes and cousin Andrews hand and he is just one of the guys.

This was kind of cool. We hiked across this large Boulder field, it looks just like a large dry stream bed.

Then Below the boulders, this stream bed does start, coming out of the rocks

Once we got there we saw that this was one of the larger mountain lakes that we have hiked too.

It was nice, Darius even went swimming (kind of) then on to a stream, and back down the Mountain

Schriebers Meadow

This was not our original destination, but when we finally got tired of looking for a trail that was not blocked by snow, we settled on this one. Keep in mind that it was around 80 degrees and the end of May, so we were dressed for the weather.

Since Darla would not let us look for a different hike (something about the gas gauge needle bouncing on the peg, I told her it was all downhill on the way home) we called it quits before peoples feet got too cold.



not sure the name of the creek, but it was pretty framed in snow.

And finally, a pic of Mt. Baker

Twin Falls

Here is the first hike of the year. It was a relitively short hike, just a little east of North Bend on Interstate 90. Darla, Alysa, Darius and I drove out there on a Saturday morning ready to see some pretty country. Darius and I went on this hike last fall, I think it was actually one of the last hikes we went on before the cold and snow. It is an easy hike of only 1 1/2 miles each way, and with Alysa claiming that the back pack I carry darius in " isn't any heavier than her backpack for school " ( darius is about 35 lbs ) I actually got a little free time without the pack.

This was our destination, but the trail actually continues on for miles.


















Since we were in the area and nobody was too cold or tired, and since it still was not raining, we decided to stop at Snoqualmie Falls and take some pictures there also.

OK, Chelsea, Gina, Mom, and everybody else in the family that is gonna give me grief.......... the purpose of the blog when I created it was to have someplace to put some of the picturest that I have been taking when hiking. That way you can look if you want, and not have to worry about my putting a stack of pictures in front of you when you come over. And yes Chelsea, I do use your blog to stay on top of the events in your life, at least the ones that you post............. one of the many things your dad does to keep his eye on you. ( remember posting that you needed towels and shower curtains....?) So, anybody that follows the links from other posts over here, the picture that my devil daughter posted showed my oldest daughter on her graduation day at 18 years, and my youngest child, my son, at about 8 months, and I am proud of them both.