Cape Flattery, WA

Cape Flattery is the most northwestern point in the lower United States. Recently renovated by the Makah Tribe, it is a one mile hike to a beautiful view point of Tatoosh Island. Parking permits are $10 a car and can be purchased at the local grocery store/gas station. Dogs are allowed on this trail.

 This view point is an excellent spot to look for Puffins. Our groups was able to spot two Puffins and a loud group of Sea lions.

 Tatoosh Island

South of the view point

Playa Carricitos, Sayulita

Today we went to Playa Carricitos. We followed a dirt road north out of Sayulita through the cemetery and turned left up a dirt road before Playa de Los Muertos and followed hand painted signs to Playa Carricitos.  This beach usually has fairly mellow waves for body surfing, but today was a bit rough due to a small storm the day before. We went with a couple from our hotel, Shyla and Max, and met a very friendly beach dog. The beach dog we named Coco made herself at home on our beach towels and ran off with Shyla's shoe. Luckily Cody convinced Coco to trade the shoe for a stick. The waves were very fun to play in and Cody turned a nice reddish pink color. This beach had very little traffic and we had it all to ourselves.

Playa Carricitos

Beach dog "Coco"

Dirt road to Playa Carricitos

Playa de Los Muertos, Sayulita

Today we visited Playa de Los Muertos which translates into The Beach of the Dead. Most likely named for the cemetery you walk through to get to the beach. The cemetery is very large and maintained by family members. The beach is also a popular spot for Mexican families and maintained by the city. It was a fairly short hike compared to our hike to Playa Malpasos, but a wonderful taste of Mexican culture. There are three main extended Mexican families that make up a large part of the 2000 full time residents in Sayulita.

 This is the Cemetery

 The Beach of the Dead

Playa Malpasos, Sayulita

Far from the Pacific Northwest in Sayulita, Mexico! The temperature is around 85 degrees Fahrenheit and beautiful. Sayulita is 24 miles north of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Ocean. For our first day here we picked a hike to Playa Malpasos, one of Sayulita's less traveled beaches. The trails through the jungle in Sayulita are not your typical well marked National Park Trails. For example here are some hiking directions to Playa Malpasos, "Shortly you will cross a small river (dry in the winter) the main path appears to follow the river to the right but look straight ahead and you will see several large boulders. Clamber over or go around the rocks and follow the path across a cobblestone road (which is a private road from the beach-house to the main highway) and continue along the dirt track." This can get slightly confusing sometimes. However, it is well worth the effort if you make it to Playa Malpasos. It is a great place to sit in the sun without a hundred other people around you. Not a great place to swim because of the strong undertow.

The dirt jungle road to the beach is full of birds and butterflies. I was able to get a couple butterflies to sit long enough for a picture. I also was able to get some unusual flowers as well.

This flower reminds me of Horton Hears a Who. I have yet to identify it.

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.