Finding direction and purpose from travel and culture
Our first hike of the new year was a memorable one, replete with snow, history, ferry rides, and a kitchy burger joint. When we took a bike trip around the lower Olympic Peninsula last fall, I pulled a number of possible hikes we could do along the way. We ultimately landed on hiking Mount Walker, …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Tubal Cain Mine
Last year I asked for an annual U.S. National Parks Pass for Christmas, and it ended up being one of the most useful things I could have put on my list! I wanted to make the most out of having it. As we were plotting our travel plans for the year, we prioritized destinations where …
Continue reading Opt Outside: Exploring the National Parks
Our final hike of 2019 was a doozy—12.5 miles roundtrip and just over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. After all the Christmas cookies and holiday cheer, I needed something to kick my butt and help me end the year with a bang. Our roundtrip hike to Wallace Lake and Jay Lake checked all the boxes! …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Wallace and Jay Lakes
It seems like Mailbox Peak has been on our list of must-do hikes forever. We've been putting it off in part because it's a long one-- taking the New Trail puts the overall hike at just over 11 miles round trip. It's also considered a fairly tough one since you experience 5,000 feet of elevation …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Mailbox Peak
Despite the overcast skies we decided to squeeze in one more hike to round out our weekend of hiking adventures when we woke up at Mt. Rainier National Park's Paradise Inn on Sunday morning. We headed over to the Nisqually Vista Loop for an easy hike to a series of overlooks that were supposed to offer great …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Nisqually Vista Loop and Deadhorse Creek
On our recent trip to Mt. Rainier National Park, we opted to stay at the Paradise Inn for an evening and dedicate our weekend to hiking around Paradise. After an incredible morning hiking at nearby Sunrise, we finally arrived at Paradise to find that the clouds had rolled in, blocking much of the summit and …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Alta Vista Loop
During our recent trip to Mt. Rainier we decided at the last minute to check out Narada Falls on the recommendation of my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. They had visited Mt. Rainier during their time here and said it was a nice, quick stop on the way out of the park. They were right--the falls is …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Narada Falls
We celebrated our anniversary weekend at Mt. Rainier National Park, hiking around Sunrise and Paradise and spending the night at the historic Paradise Inn. We stopped at the Black Diamond Bakery for an amazing breakfast on our way down to the park and arrived at Sunrise around 9:30 a.m. to begin our hiking adventures. Although …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Sunrise Rim, Burroughs Mountain and Sourdough Ridge Trails
We wanted to take my brother-in-law and his girlfriend on an incredible hike in the Cascade Mountains last weekend but the weather wasn't cooperating. Although things can sometimes change while you're on the trail, the radar strongly suggested our window of hiking opportunity would be Saturday morning--by Saturday afternoon, the rain would be saturating the …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Barclay Lake
This weekend we FINALLY got around to hiking Mount Pilchuck! This hike has been on our list since we moved to Washington, but for some reason we managed to hike multiple other hikes around it while avoiding this big one. It’s actually not a ‘big one’ compared to most—it’s a little under six miles roundtrip …
Continue reading Washington Hikes: Mount Pilchuck
Finding direction and purpose from travel and culture
Finding direction and purpose from travel and culture
Finding direction and purpose from travel and culture
