Mount St. Helens

John and I climbed Mount St. Helens on Thursday with our friends Allison Porter, Andy Larsen, Kris Gibson, and Kathryn Osborne.  We spent the night in Cougar and got on the trail at 7am.  We hiked through the forest for 2.5 miles (10% avg grade), then picked our way through boulders for about 2 miles (20% grade), then went straight up through the ash for about a mile (30% grade).  The rim was very narrow and windy and snowy but offered an amazing view of Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, and Mount Adams.  It took 4 hours up and 3.5 hours down including stops.  We could see the new mountain growing in the crater through the steam.  What a great trip!

Stehekin 2018

We had another awesome trip to Stehekin.  All five of us hiked in with perfect trail conditions and weather.  We did 7 miles one day, 10 miles the next, and just 1 mile the last day.  Everyone did great on the hike and we were very excited to get to Stehekin Valley Ranch.  Nothing much had changed since last year - horses, pie, horse swing, hammock, the river, beautiful views, and the lake.  On the way out, John and John hiked back to the car (16 miles in 6 hours) while Alex, Julia, and Sofia took the ferry.  It was a long day but a wonderful end to summer.

Camp Orkila

Alex and Julia both went to Camp Orkila on Orcas Island the last week of August.  Julia's highlights were the giant swing and playing in the mud.  Alex enjoyed the zip line.  Julia definitely wants to go back next year.  We will see about Alex.