Into That Dark Time of Year

It is really, seriously, officially fall. We set our clocks back a couple weeks ago and now we're in the thick of it- rainy days, howling wind, bare trees, leaves on the ground, and the light already fading at 4pm when I ride my bike home from work. 

It could be depressing, but here in the Pacific Northwest we learn to steel ourselves against the cold and dark and make the best of the season. That means wool socks and down jackets and long underwear. It means cooking more soups and baking more bread. It means drinking pumpkin ales (but not so many that you get sick of them). It means finally having more time to read again. It means remembering that we have rich internal lives, and are part of something larger, whatever you want to call that. Lately, I've found myself knowing what some one was going to say before they say it. There are beautiful and perplexing reports of Orca whales coming into the Puget sound and circling a ferry carrying tribal artifacts. Really, dark is not depressing, but rather reflective and a new way to define our comfort and human connections.

I think that's why Halloween and Day of the Dead come at the perfect time. Fear and celebration. Death and abundance. Decaying landscape and ornate costumes. Somehow, in the dark time of year, these things are not opposites but complimentary. This year for Halloween, my stepdad made an amazing haunted house in the garage, complete with strobe lights, scary noises, a fountain of blood, pop-up monsters, dry ice, gravestones, and giant spiders. Then to top it off, there were three live monsters- my mom, stepdad, and oldest niece. Horror and creativity combined to make a pretty fun family holiday.

A couple days later, my sister, nieces, and I went to the annual Day of the Dead festival at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. They start with a candle-light procession outside, then end inside with a myriad of family-friendly activities. We saw traditional dancers, watched sand-chalk art being made, got our faces painted, made tissue paper flowers, decorated sugar skulls, and ate dead bread.

I didn't get around to making my own altar this year, but I did make dead bread with anise, an orange glaze, and a bone criss-cross pattern on the top. Speaking of food, I made a fall batch of kimchi, which is the traditional time in Korea to make kimchi for the year. I got a huge napa cabbage from the farmer's market and salted it overnight. Then I slathered it in a sauce of onion, green onion, red pepper flakes, red pepper paste, ginger, garlic, and fish sauce.

The other part of embracing the fall is getting excited for snow. I don't ski or snowboard, but I'm still trying to get inspired to get into the mountains. Snowshoeing! Hot springs! Cozy cabins! I'm sure those things will come soon.

Fortunately I did get one last warm weather hike in in September- with snow at the top! It was the best of both worlds. If you've never been to Sauk Mountain off Highway 20, I highly recommend it. It's short but has incredible views. Just the trailhead is impressive. You can see way down the Skagit River valley.

Then as you round the mountain on the north and east side, you see all the Cascades. YOU SEE EVERY MOUNTAIN. Well, it certainly feels that way. 

How do you get through this dark time of year? What are your outdoor activities for fall and winter?

Enchant Me, Enchant Me Not

Ask a backpacker what the most spectacular wilderness area is in Washington state, and there's a good chance they'll say "The Enchantments." Part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area to the southwest of Leavenworth, the Enchantments is an area of lakes and tarns surrounded by the peaks of the Stuart Range. Friends have described the area as stunning, alien, unique within the Cascades, and truly breathtaking.

Not surprisingly, the Enchantments are incredibly popular--so much so that staying overnight requires a permit through a lottery system. It is the only backcountry camping lottery permit in Washington state, and one of only a handful of lottery systems in the whole United States. The lottery application is in late February, then the winners are picked in March. That determines who will get to camp there during the prime (less likely to be covered in snow) time of June 15 to October 15.

Last year I wanted to go, and my friend Katie applied for a permit for us. She didn't get it, but I still REALLY wanted to go. I rallied a few crazy friends who decided we would try to do the whole hike in one day in September, since you don't need a permit if you're not staying overnight. It's a pretty burly day trip--18 miles long and 5,000 feet of elevation gain. That is far more strenuous than my average day hike, but for the Enchantments I was willing to do it. I would get up at 4am or whatever it took-- I WOULD do the Enchantments that year.

Lo and behold, by the time lovely September came--sunny clear skies, leaves just starting to turn--the wildfires came too. You may not remember, but last year there were huge fires in eastern WA, creating hazardous air quality conditions and shutting down our long-awaited trail for the season. It just wasn't meant to be in 2012.

So this year, I approached the lottery system more determined and more strategic. I talked to five other groups of friends applying for permits, and we agreed that whoever got a permit would take the other party along. In March, we eagerly awaited the results. And then, NONE of us got one.

However, I had just started dating Max, and he had applied on a whim right before the deadline, and got a permit! It was for the end of September, which is a great time for seeing the larch change color, but also risky for late season weather. Nonetheless, I was excited and hoped we would still be dating in 7 months! He got a group of 7 of us together, plans were made, packing lists disseminated, and we looked forward to it for over half the year.

Then, the DAY BEFORE we were going to leave, western Washington got hit with a crazy huge uncharacteristic freakish storm. Like torrential downpours, possible flooding, and snow around 6,000 feet and above. At first, just thinking we were going to get a little rain, our party was still planning to go on the backpacking trip. I had a few friends though who expressed their concern and pointed out that this was not just going to be a rainy weekend. Once we looked at the forecast more, it became clear that the trip was not possible. Our highest point would be Asgard Pass at 7,800 feet, putting much of the upper part of our trail under a dumping of fresh snow and up to 40 mph winds.

So the day before the long-awaited date, we called it off. I could not believe that my Enchantment plans were foiled again.

We considered going somewhere else at a lower elevation that wouldn't be hit by snow. Maybe the Olympics? Max called a ranger station, and spoke with a ranger who advised against backpacking due to flood danger. He called the upcoming weather conditions "apocalyptic."

With that, I officially decided that an outdoor adventure was not in the cards for the weekend, and to just enjoy some indoor activities. I read a book. A WHOLE BOOK. I went to the University farmer's market for some goodies that I would cook that day: pears to can in a brandied vanilla syrup; leeks to make soup with potatoes from my garden; bok choy to do a sesame garlic sauté for dinner; and napa cabbage to start brining to make kimchi. I also baked drop biscuits, ginger-pumpkin muffins, and a pumpkin cheesecake. I listened to music and drank hard cider and just enjoyed having time to make things in the kitchen.

Turns out I haven't made a lot of time for that lately since when it's nice I just want to be outside. But sometimes a weekend of crazy rain is what you need to just hunker down. And once again, I will wait for the Enchantments and hope that 2014 is the year.

Wedding Bike Ride to Port Townsend

Two weeks ago some friends of mine got married. While most people just drive to out-of-town weddings, I was inspired by Tessa Hulls to ride my bike. She is a friend in Seattle who rides her bike most places, whether around town, to a mutual friend's wedding outside Portland, or coming home from a trip in Alaska. (She is the one who gave me a great run-down on her bike touring packing list right before I did the Oregon Coast bike trip.) My boyfriend had already left town on Friday, so on Saturday morning I set out solo to ride from my house in Seattle out to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula.

I'm north of the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry, so I decided to take the Edmonds-Kingston ferry and not have to backtrack. In the grey morning light I got on the interurban and pedaled north, barely giving myself enough time to make the intended ferry. I got to the ferry dock after all the cars were loaded and the boat was full, and I looked pleadingly at the ferry worker, "Can I still get on?"

"Go grab a ticket!" he replied, to which I bolted in and out of the terminal. I rode down the dock past all the cars, onto the full ferry, just before they pulled away.

It was a beautiful, foggy crossing on Puget Sound. It had been forecasted to be sunny, but it was fairly mild and very misty. A lot of small boats were on the water, and I watched a salmon jump over and over.

From Kingston I hopped on 104, which is a somewhat busy but pleasant enough road with a wide shoulder. The Hood Canal bridge was pretty to cross, and pads had been laid on the sharp grates on the shoulder for bicycles.

Just after the bridge I got to my favorite section of the ride. For about 2 miles, you can take the parallel Shine Road, which goes along the water, lined with cute houses and yards and fruit trees.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, with long gradual hills. About four miles before Port Townsend, I got onto the Larry Scott bike trail. It was a peaceful, wooded bike trail that eventually will go all the way to Neah Bay. But for now it was just nice to have a separate bike trail coming into town.

Once the trail got closer to the city, it opened up to the coast. I could see the ferry, lots of sailboats, and a half-sunken mini-ship.

I arrived at the wedding venue of Fort Worden State park just within my comfortable time limit. I was an hour early, and I'm glad I wasn't any later! I had just enough time to take a quick shower at the main house and throw on a dress that had been rolled up in my pannier. Dangly earrings, leather flats, a little mascara, and no one would suspect that I had just arrived sweaty, in bike shorts. Last time I checked, that does not make for the best wedding attire.

There was a drinks and appetizers happy hour before the wedding. I'm a big fan of the pre-event cocktail hour- weddings go so fast that it gives the guests more time to chat, and slows the day down a bit. It also gave my ravenous stomach a chance to normalize.

The ceremony was outside, which the bride had been adamant about. Even if it had ended up pouring rain, the wedding would have taken place outside. Luckily, the sun came out and it was a profoundly beautiful afternoon. Here's the groom and officiant waiting for the bride by a huge pacific madrone.

The ceremony was heartfelt, funny, and original. The chairs for guests were arranged in almost a complete circle. I like the inclusive, community feeling of that shape more than the straight, spectator rows. Then the bride walked down the aisle (well, across the field) to a live electric guitar Jimmy Hendrix-esque version of Here Comes the Bride. The couple wrote their own vows which were incredibly beautiful. There was also no shortage of humor with lines like, "I will always be there for you. When you are cold, I will keep you warm. When you are hot, I will take off your clothes." Also, instead of a flower girl, they had three "flower knights", who were all brothers in medieval costumes and capes, throwing petals. Later they came around before dinner to hand out little roses to all the guests.

After the ceremony it was happy hour before dinner, but I couldn't bring myself to stay inside. The light was incredible, warm early evening light with unexpected layers of coastal fog.

We climbed around on the old military bunkers, watched the water, and played with little kids until it was time for dinner. The rest of the evening was a blast- trivia about the couple, cake, lots of dancing. I know it sounds cliche, but those two really do make a fabulous couple, and I wish them the absolute best. I'm so happy for them that they found each other, and happy for me that I had a fun destination for  a longer bike ride.

Farewell Summer

It was a stellar summer in western Washington this year. I cannot even remember such a consistently warm, dry, and idyllic summer. In August a bunch of friends visited from out of town, the tomatoes got ripe, the sunflowers got big, the BBQ's were plentiful, the nieces and nephews played, and Golden Gardens hosted night after night of beautiful sunsets. 

I kept harvesting in the garden, as well as started planting for fall crops and overwintering veggies. I liked to challenge myself to make meals that were almost all from the backyard garden.  

One night I made garlic mashed potatoes, cherry tomato caprese salad, sauteed onions and kale, and Puget Sound crab that I caught. Everything was home-grown (and fished) except the butter, milk, and mozzarella. I feel like I just need a cow to make that dream happen!

I also got to learn about honey extraction through a demonstration by Seattle Bee Works. They set up a screened tent in West Seattle, and had all the tools for harvesting honey, along with a large, 20-frame motorized extractor. It was open to beekeepers bringing their own honey to extract for a small fee, or just for the public to learn about the process.

I helped "uncap" the honey frames by using an old-school hot roller knife to take off the the layer of wax on the comb that tells us that finished honey is underneath. Then the uncapped frames get spun in the extractor, and honey comes out the bottom. Then that honey is put through a strainer to remove bits of wax. And voila! You have pure, raw honey ready to eat. (I still haven't decided if I'm going to harvest any of my own honey this year... more on that soon. But just in case you are wondering, both of my hives are alive and doing well!)

I also did a couple day hikes with girfriends. Off I-90, Tessa and I climbed up to Mailbox Peak. That's a great one if you don't have time to go far, but you still want a killer quad workout. It's something like 3,100 feet of elevation gain in 2.8 miles. That's basically like climbing stairs the whole time. But the views are worth it, and as a bonus there is a mailbox at the top full of surprises. There are endearing "letters to self" from teenagers, random pictures of Eminem, bug spray, bandaids, maps, keychains, etc. A friend told me that when she went last year, there was a whole bottle of whisky. So the contents are always changing- make sure to bring something of your own to leave! 

Serena and I went to Gothic Basin, off the Mountain Loop Highway, about 30 miles past Granite Falls. The trail begins on the same road to Monte Cristo, a ghost town from silver mining prospects of the late 1890's. I am fascinated by the idea of a local, mountainous ghost town and plan to go there someday soon. But instead, we forked off the river trail and climbed up to the stunning Gothic Basin at 5,200 feet.

And that catches us up to last night, when some friends and I celebrated the end of summer and the beginning of fall. I wanted to make an appropriate meal- fall comfort food straddling the freshness of summer. So I made a vegetarian pot pie with carrots, potatoes, parsley, and chives from the garden, and a garden salad of mixed greens, arugula, and radish. We packed a dinner picnic and headed down to Greenlake where the Fremont Arts Council was putting on their annual Fall Equinox Luminata lantern parade. There was a gathering of people with lanterns and lighted costumes, fire dancers, and marching band music.

As full darkness settled, the group turned into a parade, walking partway around the lake to end in a dance party of light, moonrise, bonfire, cookies, and hot cider. From here on out, the days will be shorter than the nights. And after the hot, frenzied summer we had, I couldn't be more ready for the fall.

A New Baby! And Other Thoughts

My older sister just had a baby! She lives in Bellingham, and since I wasn't working, I was able to head up there before the baby came. I hung out with my mom, my niece, and my sister's partner at the hospital, and then the sweet little girl was born at 10:14pm. She was beautiful and healthy and had one real tear in her eye. My mom started crying as soon as she saw the baby. It's her 8th grandchild and the joy of a new baby in the family will never diminish with time or quantity. My mom is a BIG fan of her kids having kids.

We went home to their house to get some sleep, and headed back to the hospital in the morning. It was so nice to be back in my sweet college town, and just have unhurried time to hang out with family. I absolutely love being around newborns- tiny humans with a huge energy about them. 

Being around the baby reminded me that life is precious and exciting.... and also that babies and pregnancy can be sensitive issues. There are all sorts of medical risks for the mom and baby. But wait! Even before that point, there is the trying to get pregnant part. Since I've recently gone from my 20's to 30's, it's like a switch flipped and suddenly every one is trying to get pregnant, and those experiences vary widely.

I have friends who are a married couple and tried to get pregnant for over seven years. They finally decided to consider adoption, but even that has been a slow and arduous process. The whole thing baffles me as I know they will make the most wonderful, loving parents. Some other friends have been trying to get pregnant for just a few months, and they are already experiencing the stress and frustration of that. Then I have other friends who just got pregnant, right when they planned- the exact same month that the wife defended her dissertation and got her PhD. The timeline is totally different for every family.

We were taking family pictures last weekend with the aforementioned seven grandchildren. It was suggested in jest that I shouldn't be in the family picture since I didn't have kids. It was, of course, a joke. But don't they say that people only make jokes when there is a nugget of truth? 

The thing is, having kids is a private issue. Sometimes it feels public because it's so visible- a big pregnant belly, or loud, energetic kids running around. We connect to cute children, want to talk to them and play and feed them and keep them safe, even when we don't know them. It takes a village, right? But it's important to remember that everyone has a different reality of medical, personal, philosophical, financial, and logistical issues that might not be appropriate to just bring up casually.  

A few years ago when I lived on Orcas Island, some acquaintances of mine got married. I was talking to a good mutual friend who had just gone to the wedding. "So, are they planning to have kids?" I asked. "Um, you could ask them directly," he replied. "And it's not really anyone's business but theirs." At the time, I thought his comment was really harsh. Looking back however, I now agree a lot more with that sentiment. I'm all for having babies (yeahhh!!) but also being conscientious about how we talk about it.

Pacific Crest Trail: Snoqualmie to Steven's Pass

"Just so you know, there is no water going over Cathedral Pass for about 7 miles. Fill up as much as you can at Daniel Creek," the man tells us.

"Thanks!" We offer, "The footbridge is out at Lemah Creek, but there is an easy crossing on a log just downstream."

And so a typical conversation might go with other hikers we passed, as Max and I made our way for six days down the trail. In the backcountry with no phones or internet, old-fashioned word of mouth was our most valuable communication tool. We had detailed maps, but of course a map cannot tell you that it's been a dry year and a certain creek isn't running right now, or how murky the glacial tarns might be looking, or whether people are already at a certain campsite.

There are several hundred people per year that hike the Pacific Crest Trail in its entirety, through the mountains from Mexico to Canada. They typically leave in April, with the faster ones just now getting into the central and northern Cascades of Washington state. When Max and I decided a couple months ago to backpack the section of the Pacific Crest Trail from Snoqualmie Pass to Steven's Pass, we didn't think of ourselves as "section hikers". We had just heard that it was a beautiful section of trail, and happened to be a distance (74 miles) that we wanted to do. But as the days went on and we met other hikers doing anywhere from dozens to hundreds to thousands of miles, we realized that we too were a small part of that big community.

Since most hikers are coming from the south, they naturally go from Snoqualmie Pass to Steven's Pass, known as Section J of the PCT. However, we decided to start at Steven's instead, partly to go against the grain, and partly to finish closer to Seattle in case anything were to go wrong. This ended up working out great for us. It was fun to pass so many thru-hikers and section-hikers, and get an idea of who was doing the trail.

We met local residents, hikers from around the U.S., Europeans, couples, solo hikers, friends, and parent-child duos. We passed a total of 117 backpackers, or approximately 20 per day. I wouldn't exactly call the trail busy, but it is definitely well-used this time of year as it is late enough that the snow has melted, but early enough that it's still warm and dry. We were lucky to get really nice weather the whole time, a mix of sunny and partial clouds, and only one night of rain.

Okay, pictures! Here's what we did each day...

Day 1: Steven's Pass to Trap Pass

Even though you start the hike walking under the chair lifts of ski resort, it's only a few miles until you feel worlds away.

The trail is in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and true to its name, you pass many alpine and sub-alpine lakes of various sizes. Here is Josephine Lake on our first sunny morning. 

We passed Trap Lake and climbed steeply up to Trap Pass where there is one campsite with sweeping views to the east and west before the trail descends back down the other side. We camped there the first night with a ton of mosquitoes, but luckily didn't have too many bugs to deal with the rest of the trip.

Day 2: Trap Pass to Daniel's Creek

We started the day with a nice downhill to Surprise and Glacier Lakes.

Then it was a steep uphill again over the scree and out of this valley over Piper Pass. Here's Max partway up looking back down at Glacier Lake with a view of Glacier Peak in the distance.

We had lunch at the top of the pass, tired and sweaty. I had put my trekking poles point-up strapped to the outside of my pack, and when I hoisted up my pack, I accidentally stabbed a pole into my thigh. Luckily that was the worst injury incurred on the whole trip.

We switchbacked down the other side of the mountain, partway down reaching Deception Lake where we had a beautiful and refreshing swim.

We kept descending, all the way down to 3,500 feet into the Daniel's Creek river valley. Did I mention that every day the trail gains and loses 3,000 to 4,000 feet of elevation? It's a constant up and down.

Day 3: Daniel's Creek to Waptus River

Daniel's Creek is also known as "the ford" as it's a bit tricky to cross and impassible for stock. We had been warned of its sketchiness, but luckily it wasn't too hard.

We were happy to start today's climb in the cool of the morning, and when we weren't too tired yet. Here you can see Cathedral Rock, which is a popular rock climbing destination. We went up over Cathedral Pass....

... and then down the steep switchbacks of the other side...

... and had lunch at Deep Lake in the shadow of Cathedral.

We continued on into the Waptus River valley, which was pretty much the only flat section of the entire trail. We set up camp near the river and made dinner, then drank some bourbon hot chocolates before calling it a night.

Day 4: Waptus River to Lemah Creek

Again, we planned nicely to do the big climb of the day in the morning. We got up above Waptus Lake and then over Escondido Pass.

I really like to be able to see the trail ahead, which we could as we traversed Escondido Ridge. You can just make out the trail here.

We stopped for lunch on the ridge before continuing into a section with remnants of a 1994 forest fire. It was eerily beautiful to walk through the ghostly white trunks, black char, and bright pink fireweed.

At the bottom, we reached the Lemah River valley. Just before our low point in the meadow, I spotted a bear. We had a chance to watch the huge brown-colored black bear traipse around for a bit before we continued on, talking loudly to make our presence known.

The footbridge was totally missing at Lemah Creek, but we were able to cross anyway and find a nearby campsite to call home.

Day 5: Lemah Creek to Ridge Lake

It was uphill again, through another burn, past more lakes, and over waterfalls.

We had heard Spectacle Lake was indeed spectacular, and like good hobbits we planned to have second breakfast there. Max's cup is also a thermos, so we had hot coffee and snacks overlooking the most stunning lake of the trip.

Here's the lake again, from a little higher. Seriously, if you ever have 3 or 4 days, try to get to Spectacle Lake. It's about 19 miles north of Snoqualmie Pass. Even though the whole trip was beautiful, this section after Spectacle was definitely the most wild, rugged, and impressive.

We went down a little into Park Lakes basin, then back up over another ridge.

This was another ridge traverse, skirting Chikamin, Huckleberry, and Alaska Mountains, and looking way across to Joe Lake.

The clouds rolled in and the wind picked up, but that didn't stop us from having a lunch picnic on the side of the trail. Max and I realized that the only pictures we had taken of us together were selfies, so we asked a passerby to take our picture. He was a middle-aged man in a brand new and huge Gregory packpack and Stergis cap. In answer to our request, he said, "Shit, this is more than a 15% grade!" Then, "You guys seen any hunters? I hope I don't come across no one with a gun out here." He finally took our picture. We both squinted at our upcoming trail section, as he would go up and over a pass, and we'd go down over scree. "Do we pass that Joe Lake?" we asked. "Dunno," he replied. "All these lakes look the same to me!" He was awesome.

Here you can see the trail go right through the scree field. This was the slowest day of hiking, because the trail was pretty rough. It took us longer today to go 13 miles than yesterday going 15.

On the plus side, I convinced a pika and a marmot to pose for pictures.

We finally made it to Ridge Lake and found a site with a great westward view. It was a little strange to be camped somewhere with so many other people around, as Ridge Lake is only 8 miles from Snoqualmie and it was a Saturday night. Max whipped up some delicious glass noodles and veggies in a coconut peanut curry before we collapsed onto our thermarests exhausted.

DAY 6: Ridge Lake to Snoqualmie Pass

Since we only had 8 miles to hike and it was all downhill, we had a pretty mellow day. We slept in and drank our coffee slowly at our little campsite. I soaked my feet in the cool water of Ridge Lake. I washed my face and combed my hair and tried to look somewhat presentable since we were no longer passing only thru-hikers, but casual, nice-smelling day hikers.

We got a nice view of Mount Rainier toward the end of the trail. Seeing this familiar sight made me feel like I was almost home, like I had made it. The trail spit us out right near I-90, and it was a short walk into commercial Snoqualmie Pass. It was strange, to have been somewhere so rugged just 24 hours before, then to suddenly find myself at a Chevron station. But we embraced the front country with a late lunch at a delicious food cart, and a cold beer. Then I turned on my cell phone for the first time in a week and called our ride to pick us up.