Japanese Gulch

October 14, 2018

I always heard people taking about it, but never went to explore Japanese Gulch even though I grew up in Mukilteo and work nearby. Nowadays we're looking for close dog-friendly hikes. This was certainly a good one, though I expect it'll get muddy once the rain starts.

We parked at the big, empty Japanese Gulch South Trailhead. The lot is shared with a community garden. There's a port-o-potty available, too. We hiked north through the forest and ended up at the Japanese Gulch Tails and Trail off-leash dog park. Parts of the trail were narrow, but totally manageable. It was a peaceful hike with nothing too exciting. I think Toby would beg to differ, though. He enjoyed walking through the stream and letting loose at the dog park.

Loving the sunny, Fall days

 

Lake Valhalla

July 28, 2018

We went on our first official summer hike this month. By "official" I mean getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Somehow Andy and Toby got away unscathed. Other than our bug jackets we didn't prepare for anything else, which was fine. I think even with deet we wouldn't have had much peace from the biting flies and mosquitoes.

Anyways, we didn't let the annoying suckers deter us from having an awesome time with Toby on the trail. We actually went on this hike a few years ago before we had Toby. This was another good one for him. The trail is wide, elevation gradual, and there were plenty of flowing streams for him to cool off in. We also brought his gulpy water bottle for the hot stretches without a stream.

We started at the Stevens Pass trailhead (Lot D). It's a huge lot and you do not need a pass. There are no toilets either. For a sunny Saturday afternoon, it was a quiet day on the trail. There were about a dozen tents set up along the way and at the lake. A good amount of people were having lunch, relaxing and swimming when we arrived. Probably ran in to 6 groups on our way back down.

Wide trail from the beginning

Lots of streams along the way

 

Another yummy stream

Shaking off the mosquitoes at Lake Valhalla

Toby makes friends wherever he goes!

 

Dragon's Teeth - Kapalua, Maui

June 5, 2018

While visiting Maui for our 4th anniversary, Andy and I didn't go on any hikes (gasp!). Actually, that was the plan.. We focused on relaxing/beach bumming/eating and did just that. We did, however, take a stroll down Dragon's Teeth trail in Kapalua in West Maui near where we were staying.

From the parking lot we followed a small dirt path along the perimeter of a golf course. I'm not a golfer, but wouldn't it be difficult to play golf at such a windy location?

You can walk to the very tip of the land, though I wouldn't advise it due to the crashing waves and windy conditions. There's also a labyrinth here similar to the one we hiked to in SF at Land's End trail.

Obviously the views were beautiful :)

Jagged Dragon's Teeth

Looking SE towards DT Fleming Park

Lava Rocks!

We probably spent less than an hour hiking and taking pictures here. It was a good stop to make after enjoying a yummy breakfast at Sea House on Napili Bay.

Taylor River - Otter Falls

May 12, 2018

In celebration of another sunny weekend we took a hike to Otter Falls over in North Bend. The trailhead is a little over an hour drive from home. The actual trailhead is currently closed to cars so we had to park about 0.5 miles down the way. There's plenty of room for parking, but no facilities. I think normally you would need a NW Forest Pass, but there was no signage and no other cars were displaying their passes.


I know, Toby. Two hikes, two weekends in a row?! Wow.

At 11 miles RT, I was a tad nervous for Toby. This would be his longest hike to date and it was pretty warm out. I had little to worry about, though. Most of the hike was under tree cover and there were plenty of yummy streams for Toby to drink from. We also passed by several prime, unoccupied campsites along the river.

Wide trail nearly the whole way and in the shade

With minimal elevation gain (like maybe 500' over the whole trip) Andy and I were able to do some light jogging here and there. The trail itself was well maintained and generally very wide. Prepared wearing our quick drying vibrams, we crossed through streams and diversions without worrying about getting our feet wet or falling in. From now on we're just going to run through streams and creeks. Makes hiking a lot easier and more fun!  At the highest we got in about knee to thigh deep at the falls. We wanted to get around a boulder to an area no one else was sitting. It was also in the sun while everyone else was in the shade. If it was warmer out we certainly would've jumped in.

View from our spot at Otter Falls. I was testing this clip-on lens thing Andy found, hence the black corners.

Cheers!

Lunch spot at the falls

After a light lunch and beers we headed back the way we came. Not including our lunch break it took us 90 minutes to hike to the falls and another 90 minutes to get back to the parking lot. Not too shabby!

Hiking along the river

Taylor River

Of course we went to No Boat Brewing Co. in Snoqualmie for après-hike. It's an awesome space with a large outdoor area that's dog-friendly. Support WA beer!

Post-hike beer is best beer

 

The World is Your Oyster Dome

May 5, 2018

Following a rough April, I needed to find my peace and get outdoors. Oyster Dome was the perfect hike to take with Toby. Only an hour drive from home, we planned to make a day of it afterwards by visiting Taylor Shellfish Farm and a few breweries in Bellingham après-hike (all dog-friendly).

We arrived at the trailhead around 9:30 am on Saturday morning. The lot was full, but no one was parked along the road or upper "lot". Views from the parking lot were gorgeous. There was one 15-minute parking spot available for those who go only for that. Two toilets, a map, and directions on how to purchase a Discover Pass on your phone were also available.

Parking lot/TH view

PNT - Trail

 A majority of the hike was through the forest. Sunshine beamed down through the trees so we were thankful for the shade. I was able to hike in shorts and a t-shirt.

 

It took us about an hour to get to the top. There were about 10 groups relaxing on the two sloped rocky surfaces. You can see Taylor Shellfish Farms from the top. Too bad there's no direct zipline.

View from the top

Glad we got an early-ish start because on our way down there were many groups on their way up.

Splish, splash

We took a few more pictures before leaving the trailhead. Toby wasn't having it with the seflies, but we got him in the background of one.

A 20 minute drive was all it took to get to Taylor Shellfish Farm for the freshest oysters. After a yummy snack, we headed to Bellingham and visited three dog-friendly breweries: Asland, Structures, and Gruff. We also stopped by Farmstrong Brewing in Mt. Vernon on our way home.

Trying to sleep with his head up in the car. It was a looong day for this guy!

 

Panorama Point Snowshoe

February 10, 2018

If you ever want to feel like you are standing on top of the freakin' world, I highly recommend snowshoeing up to Panorama Point at Mt. Rainier.

From the Paradise parking lot, snowshoeing towards Panorama Point is gorgeous with gradual elevation gain. You have a view of Rainier the whole time and large snowfields to explore with no cliffs to fall off for the most part.

Momma Nam catching up

Andy's mom was able to join us on this trip. It was such a lovely, sunny day. Lucky for us, Rainier was out the entire time. Mrs. Nam did a great job keeping up. She ended up finding a flat spot with great views to set up "camp". We had lunch together before Andy and I headed off to Panorama Point.

Lunch break

As we approached the hillside up to Panorama Point, it really didn't look that ominous. As I surveyed the amount of people on the hill, I wondered why so many of them were stopped and not continuously climbing up.

 

I'm not sure if it was this particular day with these particular conditions, but climbing that hillside was so difficult. There was so much sliding. The layers of snow and ice kept breaking off in chunks or layers and sliding under foot. About that time I understood why everyone was taking it slow. We saw this one couple attempting the climb in sneakers. They were both clearly struggling and I'm quite certain they turned around. There were many people stuck on the hill because they just couldn't get their footing.

During my 40 minute climb up, I was continuously squashing my fears of heights, steep slopes, sunburns, avalanches, wondering how the heck I was gonna get back down, having the earth give way right under me,  losing footing, and potentially ungraciously rolling down a steep slope in front of 50+ other people struggling up the same climb. So, you see, in my head I was a mess. On the outside, however, Andy said I looked like a beast haha :D

Making my way up. Too scared to take my phone out for pictures.

Notice the drop off behind Andy.

There was part of the climb where my kickstep technique was spot on. I was able to quickly ascend and passed some folks. But, towards the last third of the climb the snow beneath me kept shedding off in sheets, bringing my footing with it. It was terrifying and at one point I swear I was doing the splits. So, every time this happened I would stop and assess my surroundings. Every time I stopped, I would look back and every time, I got scared. So scared that my legs started to shake. At one point I was on the left side of the slope and Andy was all the way to the right. I looked at him and told him I wanted to go back down. We were SO close, though, so I shook it off. I knew I could do it, it was just my mind holding me back. I carefully shimmied over diagonally to the right towards Andy and was able to maintain my footing again.

Beat Andy to the top to take a picture of him

It was glorious at the top. Standing on Rainier with Hood, Adams, and Helens clearly in the distance was awesome. It was too hazy to see Jefferson this day, though. We spent some time taking in the views. Some skiers and snowboarders continued on to Camp Muir (another 3 hours or so), but with boards you can get back down within an hour.

View from Panorama Point

Other folks at the top. There's also a summer toilet up here, but it's closed now.

View from Panorama Point

View from Panorama Point - looking down the way we came

After basking in the sun and taking pictures, it was time to head back down. Andy descended like a madman and I couldn't keep up. Talk about a quad burn!

Had to take a rest while heading down. Phew!

About two thirds of the way down, we again reached a part where the snow and ice was sheeting off. I watched as Andy kept sliding and before long, he decided it was safer to sit and slide down the slope on his butt. Another guy followed his lead and once I reached that area, I sat down and decided if I really wanted to do it. I changed my mind and tried to get back up, but with the snow sliding out from underneath me I couldn't get up. At this point I had no other option but to follow suit. I am not one who has the need for speed, but I made it down without taking anyone out!

We returned to camp where Momma Nam had a relaxing time chilling out. Clouds began to roll in as we were nearing the parking lot. We ended up taking a lower route back and saw some cool patterns in the snow. 

Like a snowy blanket

Hehehe....

Mt. Baker Snowshoe

January 20, 2018

Our original plan was to snowshoe Panorama Point at Mt. Rainier this weekend, but the government shutdown affected National Park Services so while Rainier was technically open, we'd be going at our own risk - there would be no visitor services, limited emergency response, and no plowed roads. Instead, we headed north to Mt. Baker and had a wonderful time snowshoeing there.

I've never been in such perfect snow. It was dry, fluffy, and there was lots of it. It was gusty at times so the falling snow bit at our faces but we were all smiles. John mentioned it was perfect conditions for skiing/snowboarding, which is probably why we saw so many of them and only a handful of snowshoeing groups.

Two separate couples we passed on the way up were heading down due to either low visibility or fear of avalanches (avalanche danger was high today). They did not make it all the way up, but noted a group of 10 were still climbing.

We decided to head up farther, though, since we'd only been at it for an hour or so. Eventually all we could see was whiteness and all we could hear was snow pelting our hoods. There was no established snow path stomped out since we weren't following anyone else's trail/there wasn't one nearby. Andy was leading the way and plowed through the thigh deep snow for us with his powerful legs! Needless to say he was super tired the next day!

Near the snow-buried summer cabin

Low visibility as we approached the top. Literally like walking into whiteness.

 

Likely all dreaming of what to eat once we get down...



Heading back

The hike down was quick and we had a lot of fun stomping around, falling on our butts, and getting stuck. Nothing like a tiring snowshoe trip and long drive to get our appetites going for beer and then oodles of Asian food.