Last summer, at one of the several WTA work parties we participated in, we heard rumors of something wonderful at Mt Rainier. You see, WTA partners with the national park on trail maintenance, and last summer they were focused on the Longmire area of the park. The reason everyone we talked to was excited about this is a not-so-secret secret: the Longmire Stewardship Campground. This quiet, mossy campground is available only to volunteers, and for the low cost of one day of volunteering, you get free park entry along with up to two nights camping in this magical spot! When WTA started up their 2019 trail work season in the park early in June, I was overjoyed to see that they'd be operating out of Longmire again, and immediately signed both Andy and myself up for the first weekend we had free. I am happy to report that that Longmire Volunteer Campground fully lived up to the hype. It was a weekend of hard, dirty work in the hot sun and it was one filled with laughter, new friends, and plenty of post-trail work relaxation, and Andy and I are already plotting our return!
Read moreLife: Week 28
This week had some ups and downs. In the middle of the week, our kitty wound up spending a few days at the emergency vet with a bladder blockage. He's doing great now, but we had a stressful (and expensive) couple of days that almost led to me cancelling plans for a weekend camping at Mt Rainier for the Alpine Trails Book Club adventure. Thankfully Andy convinced me that a weekend away was just what I needed, and I'm so grateful he did. Instead of sulking at home, I spent a weekend in Paradise in the company of the most wonderful group of women. It's amazing to me that the combination of books and hiking seems to draw in such a diverse group of like-minded people. Over the weekend, I discovered many other passions I share with some or all of the ladies, and while discussing tea over breakfast, one woman mentioned she packs china teacups with her on hikes to up her backcountry tea drinking experience - something I'm totally going to copy! Somehow, we also managed to squeeze in three hikes over the course of our two days in the park, all of which were spectacular in their own unique way. I'll write more about the weekend soon, but it's certainly safe to say that Andy was right - the weekend was the perfect cure for several stressful days spent worrying about a sick pet!
Read moreHawaii
Every few years, Andy and I take a couple weeks off work and venture off on a big trip. While I have a huge list of new places to visit, for our trip this year, I wanted nothing more than to return to an old favorite - the Big Island of Hawaii! Usually when Andy and I go on a vacation, I have every day planned out months in advance. Apparently the laid-back nature of Hawaii is contagious, because for this trip, other than loose plans to go hiking a couple times, and one restaurant we absolutely had to visit, I made no plans at all. Over our 12 nights on the island, we decided to spend 7 at the same condo south of Kailua-Kona we'd stayed in on our last visit, 3 nights at a tiny cottage near Volcanoes National Park I'd found on Airbnb, and our last night at an historic Japanese hotel in Captain Cook.
Read moreLife: Week 36
We spent our second week in Hawaii roaming the island, starting with a drive from Kona to a tiny studio cottage in Pahoa. After driving all day, we spent the afternoon reading on the small patio and enjoying our new jungle setting. We split our two days on the west side of Hawaii between a visit to our favorite snorkeling spot from our last trip to Hawaii and a long day in Volcanoes National Park. Both were just as good as we remembered from our last trip to Hawaii, especially the National Park, since Kilauea was much more active than the last time we visited in 2012. Another change from our last visit to Hawaii - the Saddle Road is now much safer, so you can drive a rental car on it without invalidating insurance, so we took that route through a lunar landscape back to Kona. With our last few days on the island, we visited one last beach and had lunch at Kona Brewing for a second time. We ended the trip perfectly with drinks and a free Ledward Kaapana concert at Don's Mai Tai bar. I always love visiting Hawaii, but I was very happy to come home to some clouds and cooler fall weather!
Read moreFremont Lookout
In the past, I haven't had much luck with the weather when hiking in Mt Rainier National Park, always finding the summit of Rainier shrouded in clouds for the duration of my trip. On one particularly memorable trip, Andy and I were practically chased off the mountain by an unexpected summer lightning storm. Needless to say, when we left home to clear skies, with a cloudless view of Rainier in the distance, I was hopeful my luck had finally changed. Maybe the mountain would reveal herself for the Alpine Trails Book Club! When our group hit the trail from Sunrise at 9 AM it was under a cloudless sky, but soon drifts of cloud began to gather around the summit, partially obscuring our view of the mountain. Even with the mountain hidden by clouds, the bloom-scented alpine meadows and panorama of surrounding peaks made this spectacular hike a new favorite of mine.
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