Granite Mountain Hike, August 2011

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Granite Mountain
Date: August 11, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 47, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: WTA Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry, if you take the rocks.
Hiking With: Yuta Hagi & my dog Macho

For the past week, I have been waiting for a sunny day to take Yuta Hagi hiking with me. Yuta is Japanese and lives about one hour South of Tokyo. He came over to spend one week in Seattle to enjoy and study Northwest culture. I thought Granite Mountain (exit 47, I-90) would be the perfect choice for my friend….it’s challenging, great views and I knew there would be lingering snow yet. I decided on a later start hoping the clouds would vanish by the time we reached the top, the forecast was calling for sunny skies later in the day.

We started around 11:00 a.m., which was sunny at the trailhead and then got cloudy about two miles in. The cool part, we got above the cloud cover and then had an awesome view of the clouds below and the mountains surrounding us. Yuta did very well on his first Northwest hike, he stayed right behind me; I think this was his toughest hike yet. When we reached the pond, I threw some sticks in so Macho could fetch and cool his body off, we stopped at the pond on the way down too. The last time I did this hike 5 weeks ago, the pond had 3 feet of snow on it.

We took the rock scramble up and the snowy backside down. I helped and coached 3 ladies on the rock scramble, they were stopped at the beginning of the scramble and were thinking about heading back down. After relaxing on top in the sun for 1/2 hour, we headed down the back trail. Coming down in the snow was actually a lot fun, plus it was easy on my old knees. As usual, we stopped in at the North Bend Bar & Grill for a 9 Pound Porter and a cup of Jambalaya soup.

Lake Oahe Trip, July 2011

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It has been three years since I have been to Lake Oahe, South Dakota. This is an annual fishing trip that I started going on with a few of my Nebraska buddies; the first year I made the trip to Lake Oahe was in 1995. I went year after year and then took a 3 year break after the 2007 fishing trip. The early years, it was a trio that consisted of John Dorsey, AJ Hudjins and myself. AJ and John live in Cozad, Nebraska (my hometown) and the last few times Scott Diehl has been joining us, he lives in Brady, Nebraska about 30 miles from Cozad. This year, AJ didn’t make the trip due to his moving from Cozad to Hartwell, Georgia to start a new job.

My wife Linna had the pleasure of waking up at 4:30 a.m. to give me a ride to the airport. I flew from Seattle to Minneapolis and then back to Pierre, South Dakota. The flight from Minneapolis to Pierre was on a small turbo-prop plane….which was loud and slow. John and Scott were waiting for me at the Pierre airport with a cold beer. John picked up Scott in Brady about the same time my flight took off from Seattle. John and Scott pretty much just had to drive due North, a 5 hour drive to Pierre. As usual we headed to Dakota Mart to pick-up a few items, a store that carries guns, fishing equipment, liquor, clothing and groceries. We stayed at the West Prairie Resort www.westprairieresort.com, a place we have been doing business with for the last 4 fishing trips. The owners Terry and Tammy Nelson are some of the nicest people you will ever meet; Terry is considered to be the best guide on Lake Oahe by his peers and customers.

Each morning consisted of breakfast at the lodge and out on the lake by 9:00 a.m. We usually had our limit by early afternoon, which was a good time to get off the lake. Fishing in mid-summer on Lake Oahe, temperatures can reach over 100 degrees, which must have reached each day for us! When we got back to our air conditioned cabin, it felt like you walked out of an oven into a refrigerator. Seattle hadn’t had a full day over 80 degrees yet and my body was acclimated for the low 70’s. After each day of fishing, Terry would clean, pack and put our fish in our cabin freezer. He treats you like a king on the boat and makes sure you are having a great time. He will even bait your hook and take your fish off….as he did for Scott all three days; of course John and I were making fun of it! This resort goes beyond the usual customer service, since my flight was in the late afternoon and my Nebraska buddies wanted to take off in the morning, Terry gave me a car to drive to the airport. So I stuck around the resort and used the wireless until I needed to catch my flight.

Mt. Teneriffe Hike, July 2011

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Mt. Teneriffe
Date: July 22, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 11 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,838 ft.
Time: 5 to 6 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: None Required
Trail Conditions: Started off dry, but mostly wet.
Hiking with: Rick Massie & my dog Macho

I met up with Rick Massie at Starbucks in North Bend, Washington and we decided on Mt. Teneriffe for our Friday hike, it’s the next peak over from Mt. Si. I went into work for a few hours today so our trailhead start didn’t happen until 9:15 a.m. We took the Kamikaze Falls route up and the 5 1/2 mile service road down. After 2 1/2 hours of steepness with a few breaks on the way up, we hit the summit with clouds surrounding us. I was really hoping that the clouds would have moved on by the time we reached the 4,530 foot summit, but no such luck.

We took the service road down and it seemed it would never end (as always). After the long trek down, we changed into some dry clothes and stopped into North Bend Bar & Grill for a well deserved cold beer.

San Francisco Trip, July 2011

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It has been a while since I have been to San Francisco and after spending a three day weekend….it was a good reminder why I love this city. Linna and I flew Alaska Airlines down to Oakland airport which is just a 20 minute hop over to San Francisco. We stayed at the Hilton hotel in the Union district; this area is close to highend shopping and walking distance to plenty of sightseeing. We had dinner the first night at Jardiniere’s restaurant, this is a neighborhood hotspot and the dinner reviews were spot on, the place excelled.

Next day we met up with a friend at the Butterfly located in Embarcadero, this was more of a business casual dining….but, I would definitley hit this spot again if I come back to this area again. That night I had a craving for Italian food, so I picked Palio d’ Asti which was a little more than a mile from our hotel. I wanted to walk so we could do a little shopping along the way. After living in Seattle for 15 years, the shopping is a little stale and every shop seems to offer the same things. Palio d’ Asti dishes were delicious, but the service was a little weird….our server would never look at you when he spoke. After dinner we hit a Chinese massage place to relax our feet after a long day of walking. The foot massage was okay, but….I would be looking for something better next time in San Francisco.

The last day was more shopping and we finished the day off at Scala’s Bistro in the heart of some major shopping. I ended up with a couple of cool shoes and three new jeans and Linna ended up with three full bags of expensive apparel. Our flight was delayed from Oakland to Seattle, so I wrote this blog up during three cold Stella’s.

Granite Mountain Hike, July 2011

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Granite Mountain
Date: July 1, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 47, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: WTA Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Heavy Packed Snow (only on top)
Hiking With: Rick Massie & my dog Macho

I haven’t hiked Granite Mountain since last year with Doctor Robert McElroy and I was overdue. I met up with Rick Massie at Starbucks in North Bend on a beautiful Friday morning. After a Starbuck’s egg sandwich and an americano to wash it down we headed to the trailhead. We got started around 9:15 a.m., not an early start…but we both had all day to finish this hike.

The trail was pretty much dry until we broke out into the open and started to hit a few patches of snow. Soon, it was all snow and very deep snow at that. The pond was completely covered with 2 to 4 feet of snow yet….on July 1st! Snowshoes or crampons were not needed, but….we did put on our boot traction devices. We took the snow-ridge along the rocks, very stable and no post-holeing. The summit was filled with sun and fantastic views. After getting down, changing into dry clean clothes, we headed to North Bend Bar & Grill.

Japan Trip, June 2011

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I usually make a trip to Japan once a year and the last time I was there was January, 2010 with my wife Linna….so I was overdue. You never know when you are missed until you see your buddies again. It was great to see old acquaintances and meet new ones. This was a short trip, but….still fun as always.

There wasn’t much site seeing on this trip, but dinner out with good friends. The last three or so trips I have been staying at the Hilton in the Shinjuku area, it’s a perfect spot to be; close to Tokyo, shopping and nightlife. The mid-seventies weather was perfect for me; could have been less clouds and more sun though. I am planning to come back in the fall to do some hiking with a few friends.

Church Mountain Hike, June 2011

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Church Mountain
Date: June 4, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 8.5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,750 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near Glacier, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: No Permits Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Packed Snow
Hiking With: Linna Freeman & my dog Macho

My wife Linna and I spent the weekend in Glacier, Washington….the last town on highway 542; the highway ends at the Mt. Baker Ski Resort. We decided to hike up Church Mountain on a beautiful Saturday morning, it was close to Glacier and close to where we were staying. We had to drive 2 1/2 miles on Forest Road 3040 to reach the trailhead. Looks like they just installed a new bathroom this year, which means this trail gets busy, but…even though it was a warm sunny weekend, we were the only ones there. If this trail was near Seattle, it would have been packed.

As we got started, there were posted bear warnings….hmmm, at this moment I was thinking it would have been nice to have my .45 Kimber on me. The trails starts off on a 1/2 mile gradual grade on a nice wide trail enough to fit 3 or 4 people wide. Soon after that 1/2 mile the trail narrows and it gets much steeper. Even though it was steep, the trail is quite nice to hike on….no rocks or tree roots to worry about.

The higher we got the older the trees were, it was very sunny so I appreciated the old growth canopy to protect my old skin. Every once in awhile you could see the North Fork Nooksack River….which was roaring with the June snowmelt. Most of the trail is on the Southern slope, which is why there wasn’t any snow; as soon as we traversed around the mountain heading North…we hit snow and a lot of it. We lost the trail and we decided to head up the mountain making our own tracks. The problem was the deep snow and I left my trail map in the car. We finally turned around 4,600 feet and called it a day. We knew we missed the beautiful view that was waiting for us at the top.

Mailbox Peak Hike, May 2011

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Mailbox Peak
Date: May 20, 2011
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: No Permits Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Packed Snow (only on top)
Hiking With: my dog Macho

I knew it was going to be a sunny warm day and I wanted a big work-out so I chose Mailbox Peak.  It was such a nice day, we hit our first 70 degree day this year…it was a perfect hiking day.  Since I was only hiking with my fearless dog Macho and I had all day to hike, I casually loaded up and got to the trailhead around 9:45 a.m.  There was five cars in the parking lot when I drove up….which meant there were only a few people on the trail. 

The trail was pretty much dry until you came out on the first opening on top, there was packed snow which wasn’t that bad to hike on.  The rock field was free of snow, but most people were taking the thick snow to the north of the rocks.  After the rocks, the trail to the top was free of snow until you reached the top, which had so much snow, there was no signs of the Mailbox.  I found a dry rock and took my boots off and shared a Starbuck’s turkey sandwich with Macho.  It was such a beautiful day, I sat on top for nearly a hour.  On the way down, I was feeling the Mt. Si hike I did two days earlier…my legs were tired and stiff.  At the bottom, I stopped at the creek to wash the mud off of Macho and rinsed the sweat from my face and hair.  On the way home I stopped for a 9 Pound porter at the North Bend Bar & Grill.

Nebraska Trip, April 2011

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I haven’t been back to my hometown (Cozad, Nebraska) since my class reunion in September 2009.  The main purpose was to spend Easter with my sister Nova Walker, she was diagnosed with cancer 6 months ago.  Linna and I flew direct from Seattle to Denver on Alaska Airlines, just a little over 2 hours.  Cozad is located on Interstate 80 halfway between Denver and Omaha; taking a direct flight from Seattle is much easier than flying into Omaha with a connection and still driving 4 hours.  The Eastern side of Colorado is not much to look at and all it does is encourages you to drive as fast as you can through it.  Speed limit is 75 and I usually drive 85 to 95 to make sure I get to Cozad for dinner…..well this time I had Mr. State Trooper stop me to say hi. 

After we settled in with my good friend AJ Hudgins and his girlfriend of 27 years, Colleen Favinger in Cozad we headed out to Bella Italia for dinner.  There isn’t much in Cozad, but I have to admit I am totally impressed with this Italian restaurant located in my small hometown.  After dinner, AJ and I sat up until 4 a.m. gossiping about the 4,000 residents in Cozad.  The next two days AJ and I spent driving around Cozad seeing old friends and neighbors.  We stopped in to visit with Mark McKeone, Scott Diehl, Eric Seaman, Marty Munster, Verna Story, Ardi Wilcher, Heidi Bazata, John Dorsey, Scott Hergenrader, Sherry Armagost and even dropped off a dozen tulips to Ardi Wilcher.

Linna and I spent Easter Sunday with my sisters Nova and Alicia and their families.  We started the day off with church service at the Nazarene; I haven’t been to a church service for 9 years or so…..and it might be another 9 before I go back.  After church we drove over to Gothenburg, ten miles west of Cozad for brunch at Walker’s Steakhouse.  After munching down the Midwest buffet, we headed back to Nova’s house for pictures and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. 

Most all small towns in the Midwest, especially Nebraska….the towns are pretty much closed down on Sundays….which means there is no place to dine.  The nearest town for a decent dinner on a Sunday is Kearney, a college town 50 miles East of Cozad.  We first stopped at Hunan’s, a Chinese restaurant that Linna rejected after taking one look at the menu.  After another late night, we got up Monday morning and headed back to Denver.  I took a small detour to Sidney, Nebraska and stopped in at Cabelas to pick up a new shotgun case for my over/under Browning Citori 12 guage shotgun that I was flying back to Seattle with me.

Sao Paulo Trip, April 2011

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A trip to Sao Paulo is always a good time, especially when the city that you are living in (Seattle) is getting inundated with rain every day.  This was more of a business trip this time, but still had time to enjoy the great restaurants and good friends.  The weather was sunny and the temperature stayed in the mid-seventies.  The last time I was in Sao Paulo was 2008 and I can’t remember the traffic being so horrendous.  It would take us on average a couple of hours to get anywhere in the city, you would spend half of your day just driving. 

The area is exploding with economic growth, you could see manufacturing buildings going up representing America, Japan, China and South Korea.  The taxes are so high here that you almost need to have your company here instead of importing; taxes are higher than the cost of your product you are shipping.  Cars that cost $25,000 in America, will cost you over $50,000 in Sao Paulo because of taxes; maybe it’s a deterrent to keep cars off the road.