Big Snow Mtn

Big Snow Mountain, WA
September 23-24, 2006

Baring Mtn

Baring Mtn
6,125 feet
September 23, 2006

Marcus and I decided to take on a grueling objective while our wives were off climbing Big Snow, so we chose the scramble up Mt Index. The 75 Scrambles book from which we were referencing, suggests gettiing a Weyerhauser logging road map from the North Bend Ranger Station. We didn't have one, and after about an hour of driving around the logging roads of Forest Service Road 60, and deadending three times, we decided to bail and go hike up Mt Baring.

The trail to Baring begins at the trailhead for Barclay Lake, but heads up a climbers' trail 1,800 feet straight up to a ridge west of Baring. We topped out on this ridge after an hour of steep, calf-pumping climbing. Once on the ridge, it was a fun romp for a mile or so along the crest of the ridge until we reached a long boulder field spilling down from the notch between the north and south peaks of Baring. We boulder hopped up the talus until we reached the notch, where crystal clear views into the Central Cascades opened up.

From the notch, we stashed our trekking poles in preparation for the "T5" scrambling ahead. After about 8 feet it was over and we were hiking again. We were a little disappointed and hoping it wasn't the end of the scrambling. Mid-way up the ridge we decided to veer off to the left over to some granite slabs to make things a little more challenging. We found some nice hand jams to mimic the feel of some real climbing, although it was never more than 3rd or 4th class. From the summit we had breathtaking views all around, from Rainier in the south to Stuart and Glacier to the east and Baker to the north. We enjoyed some snacks and the Guinness that Marcus carried up, then headed down.

The way down was more difficult than the way up because the trail is so steep for periods of time. Most of the forest is devoid of underbrush, which seemed remarkable because it is on the wet, west side of the Central Cascades. There seemed to be a lot of potentially good skiing on this trail. Not just the nicely spaced trees in the glades, but we came across several steep chutes. Lots of potential for a multi-day skiing trip if there's a good snowpack and if the road stays open. In the summer though, it is quite a pleasant outing with good views and varied terrain.

Slush Cup!

Pinnacle Peak, WA
Slush Cup '06
August 20, 2006

The Pinnacle Peak Slush Cup is an old event revived by members of the Turns-All-Year community. It takes place at a small tarn that melts out below a decayed glacier between Pinnacle and Castle Peaks in the Tatoosh. The goal is to build up speed as you ski down the 200 foot slope of the glacier remnants and then continue as far across the tarn as you can go. This year's edition was the fourth in its revival, and around 50 people showed up. Things started off calmly enough, with people mustering the speed to make it halfway across. Then Marcus hit the slope and let his Tele Daddies loose. He skimmed across the surface of the water with only the tails of his skis even touching the water until he finally came to a rest in the tarn's outlet. After that it was game on and people were flying across the tarn like regular water skiers. Then, after a couple hours of that it was time to build the kicker...

Tofino Honeymoon!

Tofino Honeymoon!
August 8-13, 2006

On August 5, 2006, Kirsten and I tied the knot! Woo! On Tuesday, the 8th, we left for Tofino, BC, for our honeymoon. We drove to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, arriving about an hour before the ferry was scheduled to leave. We thought that on a Tuesday morning the ferries wouldn't be too busy, but we barely made it on, being once of the last 5 or so cars to load. We drove off the ferry in Nanaimo and started the long drive across the middle of Vancouver Island.

After about three hours we finally made it into Tofino and checked into our hotel, the Pacific Sands Resort. We got a nice, cozy lodge unit with a living room and kitchen about 100 feet from the beach. Tofino is pretty expensive. It's hard to find a meal for less than $15 per person, so we ate in for about half our meals. Tofino also is not known for having spectacular weather. It was overcast for most of our trip, which was actually really nice because allowed us to participate in lots of activities without being uncomfortably hot. On Wednesday we took surfing lessons in the afternoon. On Thursday, we had planned to rent surfing gear, but we were too sore from surfing the day before so we went for some short hikes in the rainforest.

One of the best parts about the honeymoon compared with most other forms of vacation is that you can watch lots of movies in your hotel room and not feel bad about it. Even really bad movies. On Friday, we got up and rented our surfing gear. Then we came back to the hotel room and it was really cold outside, so we watched a movie. We finally went surfing later in the morning, but after a couple hours it we got too cold and walked back to the hotel room to warm up and watch another movie. Then in the afternoon we went surfing again.

Saturday we went kayaking in Clayoquet Sound. Our guide, Nick, took us to an island filled with ancient rainforest. The island was the site of huge logging protests in the 80's and 90's and there were some pretty incredible trees, including one in particular known as the Hanging Garden Tree because it had it's on ecosystem growing on it, including other trees. On the way back we paddling across a strong current. As we were going by a small whirlpool, the two French-Canadians in our group, bumped the rear of our kayak with their bow. The impact pushed the left side of our boat down and the current almost grabbed it and pulled it under. Fortunately we stayed upright. The French-Candadians however, weren't as lucky. Their kayak also started to tip and the current dragged the side of their boat and pulled it under. I turned back just in time to watch them go in, but they were able to rip off their spray skirts quickly and get out. After several minutes of effort by Nick and them, they managed to get out of the freezing water and back into the kayak.

After more movies Saturday night, we had to get up Sunday morning and prepare to head home. Our magical two weeks of getting married on Orcas Island and honeymooning in Tofino was over and it would soon be time to rejoin the real world. Everything was all so fun and exciting and relaxing -- a perfect way to unwind and enjoy our first week of marriage.