The Year In Review
2007
I had another great year on the trail. I spent 87 days
on the trail. I traveled 745 miles gaining 218,000'. It was my fifth consecutive
year over 200,000'. I went on seven backpacking trips spending 18 nights
out. Best of all, I hiked 20 trails for the first time. That is the most
new trails in many years. For the second consecutive year I backpacked in
the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Floods took out roads into the west side
of Glacier Peak but Kim and I made two backpacking trips to little
visited areas. Not many years ago I did the vast majority of my trips
solo. This website and the Internet in general have changed that.
I did only 13 out of 69 trips solo this year. Though I am not a peakbagger
I did manage to visit 49 summits. It was a year of good skiing, good
snowshoeing, fun snow scrambles, fine wildflowers, lots of backpacking,
spectacular mushrooms, and terrific golden larch trees. What more could
I ask for? Now on with the month by month review.
January
The year began with my first trip with Kim. We snowshoed
to
Olallie Lake
. Next was a return to
Pratt Mountain
. Last winter we were stopped high on the ridge. This
year we summited. Gary and I skied the
Amabilis Mountain
Loop. Great snow and very cold. The month ended with
two great snow scrambles. First was
Mazama Dome
near Mt. Baker. A new trip for me on a beautiful sunny
day. Suzanne, Bob, Kolleen (SBK) and Kelly joined me for
Norse Peak
near Crystal Mountain. A long ridge walk in the sun.
February
SBK and I tried for Jim Hill Mountain. Beginning at the
Stevens Pass Nordic Center we snowshoed to
Lanham Lake
then up the ridge on rock hard snow. The weather was not
great and we turned around. Next we headed a little farther east for
a shot at
Arrowhead Mountain
. I had done it from the west side. There was no legal
parking so we went up from the northeast. A dozen folks showed up
plus dogs. We made it harder than it needed to be but summited. Bad
weather led Suzanne and I to
Dirty Harry's Peak
. Snow on the road in. Wet, cold, and miserable. Soaked,
frozen, and wallowing in deep snow, we gave up.
March
Joined a group for a snowshoe scramble of
Mt. Higgins
. Lots of snow. Suzanne and I left rain in town for a sunny
day snowshoeing up
Mt. Margaret
. I joined another large group for a snowshoe scramble of
the
Red Mountain
near Salmon La Sac. Fun route and group. I'll return for
this one again.
April
Gary and I hiked up
Mt. Washington
and threw in Cedar Butte to give us an early season 4500'
day. Next, I made a second overnight trip to the summit of
Iron Peak
. Again nobody was available so it was solo. Great day going
in and a nice sunset. Sleet in the morning as I headed down. A group
of us headed up
Mt. Baldy
. Crampons required. Suzanne and I then returned to
Humpback Mountain
. Like our previous trip we had bad snow at the very top. Summited
but should not have tried. After failing to summit
Mt. Dickerman
the three previous attempts, SBK, Joe, Nikolai and I tried
again. We failed again. We went to Lake 22 as a consolation. The month
ended with a backpacking trip to
Navaho Peak
.
May
The month was mostly composed on close in hikes until Memorial
Day. Kim and I went east to the area around Republic. We backpacked
in and did a loop over
Cougar Mountain
. Great wildflowers. Next we drove over Sherman Pass and hiked
up
Wapaloosie Mountain
in the Kettle Range. Sagebrush near 7000'. A fun time in a
new area for me. I ended the year with my first trip up Mailbox Peak
in a dozen years.
June
New trails was the story of June. Gary and I hiked
Tronsen Ridge
. More Tweedy's Lewisia than I had every seen. I returned to
Bandera Mountain
amid an incredible display of beargrass. For the first time I continued
on to the real summit. Next I joined Kim for a trip back to the Blewett
Pass area. We hiked a loop around
Mt. Lillian
. More good wildflowers. The month ended and July began with
a 5 day trip to
Horseshoe Basin
in the Pasayten. It was a little somber as Suzanne's dog Sadie
had just passed away. We hit 8 summits.
July
Suzanne and I hiked up
Mt. Jupiter
. The trail was closed for several years due to logging. We
saw only one person. Suzanne, her daughters, and I went to Surprise
Lake to scatter Sadie's ashes at one of her favorite places. SBK and
I hiked up Rock Mountain on a cloudy day. It was the first time I hike
up via the Snowy Creek Trail. The month ended with the most unusual trip
of the year. Kim and I biked 11 miles of the Suiattle River Road to the
end. We hiked up to see the remains of the Milk Creek Bridge the first
day. The next day we hiked up
Sulphur Mountain
then biked out with overnight packs.
August
B&K joined my for a return to
Bootjack and Highchair Mountains
. I had been up both several times but never as a backpack.
After four straight failures in the snow on
Mt. Dickerman
I was determined to see the summit once again. This time I
made it. Mark and Gary joined me for a loop trip of
Red and Thorp Mountains
near Salmon La Sac. My second time up Red this year but by
a totally different route. Another new route for me. SBK and I went
for a rare summer trip in the Teanaway. It was one way over
Teanaway, Iron, and Bean Peaks
. The end of the month and the start of September brought the
most interesting trip of the year. Kim and I did a long loop of
Circle Peak & Meadow Mountain
ridge. The Whitechuck road has washed away. We saw nobody for
4 days. Beautiful country and no signs of people.
September
Kim and I headed north to
Park Butte
. The last time I was there the Scott Paul Trail had just opened.
I had not hiked it so we made it a loop trip. Amazing devastation from
the recent years floods. Suzanne and I made an annual hike to
Rainbow Lake
and filled containers with ripe huckleberries. Suzanne had
business in Sun Valley and I planned a visit to my brother. First we
hiked up Proctor Mountain in rain and snow storm. Then we had a great
4 day trip through the
Sawtooth Mountains
. Saw very few people.
October
Only one larch hike this year but it was one of the best. At
Ingalls Lake
Gary and I had blue sky and fresh snow with peaking golden
larch. Many hundreds of photos were taken. South Bessemer Mountain
turned into the first snow slog of the year high up. Gary and I went
to
Mildred Point
near Longmire at Mt. Rainier. My first visit and Gary's first
in many years. Suzanne and I made a second trip to
Mt. Margaret
this year. Snow on top but no long slog on the road.
November
Suzanne and I tried out the new Mt. Washington Trail. Kim and
I visited the Lime Kiln. I hiked to the
Kendall Katwalk
on a cold snowy day. Fun to see the Katwalk with snow on it.
Lastly was my first time up on the new West Tiger 3 trail.
December
I had three excellent hikes this month. First was a slog up
to
Nordic Pass
. Not a lot of snow but it was all soft and unconsolidated. It
took the whole day to go about 8 miles. Kim and I went to the ocean
just before Christmas. We were right on the beach at
Moclips
. We also went up to the Quinault rainforest and Ruby Beach.
Beautiful places to photograph. Of course, I spent New Years Eve on
Tiger Mountain
. Suzanne joined me for a one way trip. The snow and rime ice
on the top of Tiger 1 was the most beautiful I have ever seen Tiger.
My Top 10 Trips Of 2007
01.
Circle Peak - Meadow Mountain
02.
Sawtooth Mt. Traverse, ID
03.
Horseshoe Basin
04.
Ingalls Lake
05.
Cougar.
&
Wapaloosie Mt.
06.
Tronsen Ridge
07.
Iron Peak
08.
Suiattle River - Sulphur Mountain
09.
Navaho Peak
10.
Norse Peak