I'm trying to take advantage of every moment of these long, glorious days of summer. While the days feel long and slow, the weeks fly by! Soon Andy and I are going to have to take a weekend off, because for weeks we've been busy, busy, busy and I know we can't keep it up. The trouble is, every time I think of setting aside a day or weekend to relax at home, all the adventures we could have instead pop into my head, and getting them dislodged is not at all easy. For now, I'm thoroughly enjoying these jam-packed summer days. One evening this week, we met friends for a long, drawn out dinner on the patio of our favorite local beer shop. We stayed nearly until closing time, and between the good conversation, good beer, and late sunset, we hardly noticed the time passing. Saturday, with the holiday weekend, we got up early and headed for Whidbey. It's been too long since we've spent time at the cabin, and it was wonderful to be back. I had almost forgotten how peaceful it is there. There are never enough days in the summer, but hopefully we can make time for one more weekend on Whidbey!
Read moreLife: Week 25
Summer is most definitely here! This past weekend, I kicked it off right with a wonderful camping trip with two good friends. It was raining when we arrived at the campsite, but we came armed with half a dozen tarps. After setting up our assorted rain covers and setting up our site, we got down to some serious relaxation. This particular weekend, we lucked out. After Friday night, the weather was beautiful through the weekend, and having arrived in the rain, we had our pick of the best campsites. Between the three of us, we brought enough alcohol for five, enough seating for six, and probably enough food for eight. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time eating and drinking all kinds of delicious things, lounging by the river, and even a little hiking. If only every weekend could be as jam-packed with good times!
Read moreLily Lake & Lizard Lake
On our only free weekend for the entire month of June, I'd planned to go out on our first backpacking trip of the year. Then I saw the weather forecast. By midweek, there were chance thunderstorms forecast for the entire area - not something I want to worry about when sleeping on the ground in a tiny, wet tent! Checking the forecast again on Friday that week, the thunderstorms had disappeared from the forecast, but there would still likely be rain. Still, I was determined to go so we loaded up our packs and hit the road early Saturday morning. Destination: The Lily Lake & Lizard Lake trailhead near Bellingham.
Read moreLife: Week 24
After a mostly uneventful work week, Andy and I volunteered for our second WTA trail work crew this past Saturday. Since the trail we'd be working on was outside Leavenworth, almost a 3 hour drive from home, we spent the weekend at a rustic cabin near Leavenworth so we could sleep in a bit. When I'd checked the weather forecast earlier in the week, the weather had looked perfect for trail work - 70° and sunny. You can imagine my disappointment when we work up Saturday to rain. Throughout our extremely soggy day of trail work, I kept hoping to see the sun peek out from behind the clouds to dry us off a bit, and it did eventually, on our hike back out to the trailhead! Working all day in the rain, I did learn a few useful bits of information. First, my hiking boots are solidly waterproof. At one point I was nearly ankle deep in mud and didn't even notice! Second, for future work parties, we will be bringing a second pair of work gloves for after lunch. Putting on our cold, soaked, filthy gloves after lunch was the worst part of the day!
Read moreSummer Fun
My favorite summers are filled with tents, lakes, rivers, trails, and cold drinks in the sun. They are spent in the mountains and on Puget Sound, with friends and family. This summer will be busy with all the responsibilities of adult life (why is adulting so hard?), but I will try to fit in as much of the good stuff as I can.
Remote campsite on the Deschutes River that was our first stop on a road trip last summer
Fremont IPA - totally worth carrying up to Blanca Lake!
Sleep outside at least once a month.
Take a random weekday off work to hike a popular trail I'd never consider visiting on a weekend.
Summit a mountain.
Just like last summer: Spend time adventuring outdoors with both my nieces!
Learn a new practical skill: backcountry first aid, avalanche safety and the use of an ice axe, or navigation.
Go crabbing, and enjoy the fresh caught crab immediately!
Try my hand at making my own freeze dried backpacking meals.
Eat at least one meal cooked over a campfire.
If you're curious, here's how I fared on my spring list:
Hike as much as possible while the wildflowers are blooming in the Cascades. We did make it to Teanaway Ridge for a pretty spectacular wildflower show - read more here!
Bake my all-time-favorite: strawberry rhubarb pie! I baked a delicious one for Easter!
Get out for a short, early-season backpacking trip to test out my new sleeping pad. We didn't actually test out our new sleeping pads on a backpacking trip, but we did get a good nights sleep on them camping with the WTA Trail Work Crew on Vashon. I definitely consider this one a success!
Go to the Farmer's Market at least once a month Just barely! I still wish I had time to go more often.
Go for a picnic It turns out my niece is just as obsessed with picnics as I am! We had an impromptu lunch picnic in Wenatchee early in the spring.
Soak up the longer days by getting outside after work at least three days a week I think I managed at least two days a week, but not three.
Plan and host an afternoon tea I completely forgot about this!
Forage for morels We looked for them while we were in Teanaway, but sadly saw none. Maybe next year!
Sign up for a trail work party with the Washington Trails Association. We did two this spring! Read a little about them here and here.
Read Tolkien in the Tolkien room at the Sylvia Beach Hotel The Hobbit, and it was just as wonderful as I remembered.
