Summer has come and gone. From the start on June 21st to September 23rd, it was a busy summer. With the nice weather it is hard for me to stay behind my computer to blog, so I have been a little absent these last couple of months. I do plan on sharing more of what I was up to this summer, but here are some summer highlights.
My summer started with a new job! With any new job, it is hard to take time off right away, so I decided to make the most of my weekends.
Victoria, BC
After finishing my mountaineering class, I deserved a weekend away. What better way to get away than to cross the border on the Victoria Clipper from Seattle to Victoria, BC? We had a great weekend away together. See more pictures by checking out my Victoria Photo Essay. I had fun taking my camera out and just strolling around.
Penrose State Park Camping Trip
Every new job should start out with a camping trip, right? Well my second week of work, I headed to the Gig Harbor area of the Puget Sound to bond with my coworkers and relax on the job. I even tried stand-up paddleboarding for the first time.
Ingalls Peak
Mount Stuart can be seen from this hike (and climb) on a clear day. The weather was foggy with patches of blue sky. With hopes of the fog burning off, we continued to approach to Ingalls Peak. Once making it to the snow that had yet to melt, we traversed towards our objective without being able to see anything. The peak was socked in. After waiting about an hour with hopes of the weather to turn in our favor, we didn’t have luck and had to turn around. I still had fun hiking and tagged it as a training hike.
Glacier National Park
The big trip of the summer; we loaded up the Jeep and headed to explore this remote national park. I really enjoy using national holidays for long weekend trips and only had to take one day off. The Going to the Sun Road was open, so we were able to see most of the park. My favorite part was our overnight backpacking trip to Cosley Lake. Have you seen my Glacier National Park video yet?
Mazama Climbing
Wanting to have a friend weekend, we headed to the North Cascades for some rock climbing. It was one of the hottest weekends of the summer, and we were basically feeling desert heat. Whose idea was this?
Hiking Mount Pilchuck
My friend Hang and I decided to do a hike together and landed on the Mount Pilchuck trail. Even though the weather had been fairly dry, the trail was covered with fog. It made this summer hike cooler than it would have been if the sun was out, but the views the hike is known for were hidden. I guess we are going to have to re-do the hike. It was fun catching up with a friend while hiking.
Squamish, BC
A mecca for rock climbing, Squamish has so many areas for all types of climbers. Andy and I headed up for a weekend of trad climbing and hit up Murrin Park, Smoke Bluffs, and the Apron climbing walls. I learned that sometimes your intuition is right when you think you forgot something. I had a gut feeling I forgot something big–my sleeping pad. Fortunately, I have an amazing boyfriend that slept on a coiled climbing rope.
Golden Gardens
I don’t know why I don’t spend more of my summer evenings here. The sunsets are beautiful, and you can have fires on the beach within the city as you hang out with friends or spend time people watching.
Summerland Trail
A popular day hike in Mount Rainier National Park, Summerland Trail is a great get away from the city to stretch the legs and breathe fresh air. The wildflowers were in bloom, and it was nice to get closer to Mount Rainier than seeing it from a far distance in Seattle.
South Early Winters Spire Attempt
Scree fields are easily crossed if snow covers the loose gravel rock on steep slopes. An oversight on our part for our attempt to climb Washington Pass SEWS trad rock route. We turned around because we were sliding down more than going up the winter approach. Until next time. . .
Olympic Peninsula
I wanted to show my parents why I love living in Washington. A requirement for visiting Seattle is to take a ferry, so we crossed the Puget Sound and headed to the Olympic Peninsula. We visited the Dungeness Spit, Hoh Rainforest and Hurricane Ridge, along with other sights along the coast. It was a great weekend spent with my family and other friends visiting from Ohio.
Kendall Katwalk
After entertaining guests, another day hike was all I needed. A good day to climb and switchback 14 miles round trip through an old-growth forest, wildflowers and gorgeous views. Instead of turning around at the katwalk, we hiked a little further to alpine lakes where some of our party swam and soaked in the ice cold water.
Guye Peak
After the Kendall Katwalk, I headed out to hike after work with some of my friends to try to beat the sunset. Returning to climb the peak that I stared at while hiking the Kendall Katwalk, I was excited to challenge my physical endurance and climb 2,000 feet in roughly 2.5 miles. We were able to finish the hike without turning on our headlamps, which is one of the reasons why I love long summer days.
Pennsylvania
Heading to the country, I went home to visit family and attend my high school reunion. I decided to walk through the woods where I grew up and was flooded by memories of making maple syrup and creating forts and pretending to live off the land.
Olympic Coast Hike
A repeat from my birthday hike from last year, I decided to invite friends since it was a unique backpacking trip and good for new backpackers. We switched between plush, green forests, rocky bluffs, and sandy beaches. We even waded through low tide pools after setting up camp at Toleak Point.
Sloan Peak Attempt
Reuniting with some of my Washington Alpine Club classmates, among other friends, we formed two rope teams to cross the crevasses of Sloan’s glacier. A hard approach to the campsite for me, With a true alpine start, we started to the glacier. However, without the sun rising to light up the route, my rope team decided not to cross the snow bridge to get to the scramble to the summit. I had a great morning watching the Cascade mountains being lit up with the sunrise.
Fremont Oktoberfest
What better way to celebrate the end of the summer than with a beer festival? The Fremont Oktoberfest isn’t like most Oktoberfests and serves a variety of local beers. I sought out the delicious pumpkin beers first as I sampled my Grand Admission 10 tokens worth of beer (plus two extra tickets with my secret promotion code).
What was the highlight of your summer?
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