Tuesday 11 September 2018 James Lake to Ipsut Creek It pours steadily all night long. O and I find it hard to believe there is so much water in the clouds. Aaron, our youngest participant, quotes Mark Twain, “It was the hardest rain I’d ever seen, except it was midnight and I couldn’t see it.” By morning the rain has graciously stopped so that we can eat breakfast and take
Monday 10 September 2018 Fire Creek to James Lake Today will be a short hiking day, which is good because tents and tarps are drenched this morning from last night’s rain. The ten of us huddle under our two tarps as we eat breakfast. Luckily, the rain pauses as we begin to pack up. Our packs are heavy with wet gear. We start the day’s hike with a descent to
Sunday 9 September 2018 Northern Loop Trail to Fire Creek (8.2 miles) O and I wake in the dark. The morning goes quite smoothly. We are indeed packed up and on the road by 8 am! By a bit after 9 we arrive at Sunrise where Rainier intermittently reveals its glaciated peaks through the clouds. It is 42 degrees F when we begin our initial climb, which warms us quickly.
Saturday 8 September 2018 After a pleasant night at Packwood Lodge we drive up to Ohanapecosh visitor center and campground. We buy a map and yet another geology book. We chat with a ranger who suggests we walk the Grove of the Patriarchs and see Silver Falls. Our morning is spent exploring these paths. There are indeed ancient and awesome cedars and firs in the Grove. We drive to the
Friday 7 September 2018 Packwood, Washington We have a smooth drive to Packwood, Washington which is very close to Ohanapecosh Campground, the meeting place for our Sierra Club trip. Just after we exit I-5 we stop to buy some pie for dessert later this evening. We enjoy a lovely lunch in Morton at Rivers Coffeehouse and Bistro. At our motel in Packwood, we gather all of our gear and weigh
Thursday 6 September 2018 Corvallis, Oregon We rise early today, break camp at Jed Smith and drive north into Oregon. In southern Oregon we are back in hazy forest fire smoke. By the time we reach Grants Pass where we stop for breakfast, the smoke has lessened. We stay in Corvallis, Oregon for the night so we can spend a few hours catching up with my cousin, R. It is
Wednesday 5 September 2018 Although we fully intended to get an earlier start today, O and I do not arrive at the Prairie Creek visitor center until about 11:30. We are not on the trail until noon. Once again we wind our way through a forest of incredibly tall trees. With redwoods above and lush ferns below this place has an other worldly feel about it. It is five miles
Tuesday 4 September 2018 Apparently, if one wishes to hike among redwoods, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is the place to go. We begin the day by having breakfast in Crescent City and checking out of our motel. We spent a peaceful night at Jedediah Smith State Park last night, but it was cheaper to keep our two night motel reservation than to change to a one night stay as
Monday 3 September 2018 O and I spend the morning catching up on the everyday tasks we have been ignoring while hiking Lassen. For the first time since this summer’s trip began my blog is up to date! We get laundry done and reorganize Vincent. Finally we drive to Jed Smith State Park. Just a short distance north of Crescent City we enter an entirely different world. The redwoods lining
Sunday 2 September 2018 Sunday of Labor Day weekend is a good time to leave a campground. Only one night of campfire smoke and revelry and then on to a new location. We drive westward again through Redding which was recently in so much peril from the Carr Fire. We have a delicious breakfast at a restaurant called Deja Vu. As we leave town we see hillsides covered with brown