Marble Mountain, Washington

Its time for snowshoeing! Yesterday Cody and I went to Marble Mountain Sno Park with our friend Dan. The park has a series of trails that wrap around the base of Mt. St. Helens. On a beautiful sunny day like yesterday at 2,700 ft elevation we were join by snow mobiles and cross country skiers. The snow mobiles had their own set of tracks separate from the snowshoe and skier tracks. We did the Marble Mountain Loop Trail with an accidental 1 mile of the Pine Martin Ski Trail complements of Cody. The snow was so dry that snowballs simply would not pack. 

This was our very first time snowshoeing and we learned some important lessons. 1.) Buy a sno park permit ahead of time 2.) Bring the water bottle with you on the hike 3.) Bring a compass 4.) Cody really has no idea where he is 5.) It is impossible to walk backwards in snowshoes as demonstrated by Dan. 6.) Bring a Camera!

Snowshoeing is an inexpensive way to spend a day in the snow. We rented snowshoes from REI and it was $20 a pair for the weekend. If you plan to go more than 5 time during the winter buying the shoes is the way to go. After covering our first 4 miles in snowshoes we are ready to dig in a make a routine of snowshoeing. Mount Hood and Mount Rainer all have tracks for snowshoeing and are on our list to do.

Ape Cave, Washington

November 20th Cody and I visited the Ape Cave which is located north of Cougar, WA in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The ape cave is not named after primates but after a 1950's outdoor club that called themselves the Mount St. Helen's Apes. The Ape Cave is a lava tube formed from one of Mount St. Helen's more unusual eruptions. The tube was formed about 2000 years ago by fluid basaltic lava similar to that of the Hawaiian lava flows.

Cody and I arrived in the Ape Cave parking lot to find about 9 inches of snow on the ground. We were around 1900 ft in elevation. We hiked the lower cave first which is considered an easier route. However, in total darkness with only a head lamp and a flash light we found it was still easy to lose your footing. The lower part of the cave is about 1 1/2 miles round trip. The cave was very damp and is a solid 42 degrees year round. We found Gor-tex boots and warm clothing were very nice to have. The cave took on many shapes and sizes throughout the hike. We found ourselves looking up most of the hike. Next we hiked the more difficult 1 1/2 mile upper cave. This part required climbing over rock piles and paying close attention to our footing at all times. This portion of the cave had a sky light that let some light down into the cave. However, the light did not travel far before the cave was returned to pitch black conditions. This hike absolutely can not be done without a light source. If bringing a flash light, I strongly suggest keeping some extra batteries in your pocket just in case. The upper cave has an exit that lets you out onto a trail that takes you back to the main entrance of the cave as well as the parking lot. Cody and I finished up with a snowball fight on the way back to the car. Snow tires or chains would have been nice as we received help from some other fellow hikers pushing our car out of the parking lot.

Cougar Bar and Grill was a welcomed stop on the way home for a beer and an "Ape Cave" Sandwich. 

Portland Stairs

All through Northwest Portland there are stairs everywhere! It is my mission when go on runs up in the west hills to find at least one flight of new stairs and figure out where it goes. Today I found one hidden behind a guardrail and a Photinia. This dropped me onto a road that looped back around to the top of the staircase and a sidewalk that went down a very steep slope for about three blocks and ended on the corner of Thurman St and 29th Ave. On the other side of Thurman St there was another set of stairs that drops you down under a bridge and is an entrance to part of the Forest Park trail system. Following all these stairs took me from a city neighborhood out into the woods. I guess that is one advantage to never planning a walk or run.

Washington Park in Portland, Oregon

This morning there was a window of blue sky, so Cody and I grabbed a water bottle and walked to the 23rd Ave entrance of Washington Park located on the North end of the park. We spent the morning walking through Washington Park's miles of trail that weaves in and out of the acres of woods and gardens. All of the trees were brillant yellow and red with leaves falling at the slightest breeze.  It was a relaxing stroll through the series of old staircases and winding pathways. Some of the staircases went to nowhere. I am not sure if the stairs use to go somewhere or the path was never completed to begin with. Fall is only for a brief period of time in the Pacific Northwest and rarely dry so today was special.

If you have not got a chance to take in any of this Fall's color I highly recommend a stroll through Washington Park. It is a beautifully designed Urban Park that allows you to step out of the craziness of the city for a moment and into a relaxing and greener setting.

Lewis River, Washington

This is my first blog post. I have always kept nature journals and detailed notes on longer hikes and trips, but for the shorter day hikes it is usually just a few snap shots on my camera. I hope with this blog to be able to take some notes on these day trips.

 On October 13, 2010, I had the pleasure of going on a series of small hikes north of Cougar, WA in Gifford Pinchot National Forest with Nathan and Josh Cramer. Along Forest Service Road 90 we were able to stop and hike short distances to 3 stunning water falls of the Lewis River. Josh (a beginning but serious nature photographer) took many shots of the falls, and the photo below is just one of many. At the water fall featured below we attempted to take a shortcut where both Josh and myself managed to slide down the side of river's rock bank and into the river. Nathan amazingly made the climb to the top and remained dry.

No trip is complete without the post hike meal. On the way home there was a little tavern on the left side of the road right before entering Cougar. If you are looking for a hardy burger or sandwich this is the place to stop. I highly recommend the favorite "Ape Cave Sandwich." 

Josh has several more nature and art project photos on his gallery page.