Tag: PNW

• Port Madison, Bainbridge Island

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on October 24, 2016

  Last week I found myself in the middle of a beach house community nestled on an island in Washington State. I visit this island often, but I tend to stay on the main roads. I travel here to commute to work each day, but I haven’t explored the heart of this city until recently.

  I have a friend that’s house sitting in one of the beach houses, giving me the excuse to explore. The houses wrap around in a curve shape hugging the Puget Sound on one side, and a lake of some kind on the other. These houses are quaint, but cost enough to fund my tiny house dreams for years.

  

  The time was 5:00pm, and the sky was putting on a show full of cotton candy clouds. The reflections had me enamored with the views. While walking to the nearby beach, I noticed an otter running up the road. I’m not sure where he was heading, perhaps the local supermarket, but he was clearly taking a break from the cold waters.

  The otter was just the start of the National Geographic episode I found myself in. Minutes later while balancing on shore washed logs, and sipping on my very first La Croix I witnessed a pod of killer whales in the distance.

  

  I almost didn’t notice the whales, but the steam like projections coming from the middle of the water gave them away. Washington is known for killer whale sightings, but I’d never seen them until then. They were too far for a photo, but the old faithful like streams shooting to the sky will forever be burned into my memory.

  As if the otter and the whales weren’t enough to elicit a sense of navigating the wild, a bald eagle perched high in a tree caught my eye. He was also too far away to photograph, and nearly too far to see, but his white head among the dark branches gave away his location.

  

  Split down the middle.

  I’m not usually a beach person, but when they are close by I find myself getting lost in the sounds of the waves. The crashes against the shore in the darkening light bring a sense of peace to my soul like falling asleep in front of a warm fire on a cool autumn evening.

  

  Next time you find yourself in need of being one with the wild, venture to an island and see what adventures you get yourself into.

  Q: Ever seen a whale outside of the TV box? The zoo doesn’t count.

  

  | 54 Comments Tagged Bainbridge Island, Beach, Explore, PNW

• Living for the Weekend

  Posted at 5:00 AM by Brittany, on August 8, 2016

  I cannot remember the last time I had a schedule that gave me real weekends. You know, the ones where you have those two days in the week that start with “S” free to do whatever you choose. I used to have sassy mental thoughts towards those that would ask me, “what are your plans this weekend?” To which I would often reply: “I’m working.”

  

  Savoring this morning commute before winter comes.

  Now I can finally say I look forward to my weekends, and I already have a mini routine set up for the time away from work. I do use some time for homework, but I also make time for play. Monday through Thursday I try to get home and be in bed by 8:30, but once Friday comes I’m more apt to do crazy things.

  Like drinking nitro cold brew coffee at 5pm

  

  I loose my morals with this stuff, it’s that good.

  Saturdays I try to sleep in, which for me is waking up around 6am. This allows me to have a calm morning before jumping into errands. Summer months are the perfect time to utilize shopping local, so Saturday mornings I go to the farmers market for my week of produce.

  And for these VGF muffins that are divine. 

  

  Sometimes I run, sometimes I don’t. It all depends on my mood and plans for the following day. Sundays I enjoy going to church, but sometimes I take off for a trip to the mountains. Last weekend I headed north for a lovely 8.5 mile solo hike to Melakwa Lake.

  

  

  

  This hike gave me all the feels as I sat and savored the scenes around me. I was a bit chilly one I got to the lake, but I still sat in silence for about 30 minutes, which is longer than I typically stay at the destination of my hikes.

  This weekend was the same, Saturday I hit up the market and finished all my school work. Sunday I set out for a hike, but the universe had another plan for me. I typically drive 2 hours to get to a good hike, and an hour into my drive my tire pressure light came on.

  

  I filled my tires with air, but the light didn’t go off. It then started to pour down rain. I somehow got the feeling I wasn’t meant to go on a hike, and instead went to Costco to have a professional check out my tires. I got the green light that they were fine, headed out for a 4 mile run, and refueled at Whole Foods with vegan lasagna, roasted veggies, and a brownie.

  It’s a great feeling when your mind is at peace. You start to care less about eating two muffins in one day (I had to make up for lost time, I missed the muffin man two weekends ago at the farmers market), you start to appreciate little things around you, you start to do things you didn’t used to do, you start to make friends with people you typically wouldn’t talk to, and you let things like missed hiking adventures roll off your back.

  

  On that note, happy Monday.

  Q: Do you have a weekend routine?

  

  | 77 Comments Tagged Hike, Lake, Melakwa Lake, PNW, Starbucks, Vegan, Weekend

• Mount St. Helens Summit

  Posted at 8:00 AM by Brittany, on October 22, 2015

  I find great joy in standing on the peaks of mountains.

  

  I find even greater joy when it takes every speck of energy I have to get there.

  

  There are two large and active volcanoes that are very well known in Washington State. One of them is Mount Rainier, which I’ve visited twice now, but to summit Mount Rainier it takes training, and somewhat extensive planning.

  

  The other one, a bit more “active,” a bit more rugged, but a bit more accessible is Mount St. Helens. This has always been on my list of “must climbs,” yet wasn’t on my radar until I got a text two weeks prior to the climb that went something like this.

  “Hey, I’ve got two permits to climb Mount St. Helens on October 17th, do you want to go?”

  

  You don’t have to ask me twice. After requesting the day off, finding a hotel for the night before, and packing my bag FULL of food I was ready.

  

  The beginning of the hike was mild, I like to think it was the warm up before the real hike. Only 1000ft elevation spaced over two miles was more than manageable. Once we hit 4800′ though, not only were permits required, but perseverance was too.

  

  

  Just past the tree line were the first signs of a blow. Back in 1980 this active volcano erupted causing a catastrophe that killed many people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. It is now known as one of the deadliest active volcanoes.

  Awesome.

  

  It was past this tree line that the hike really began, starting with the above field of boulders. With nothing but a handful of trail markers to guide us it was a bit of a puzzle to find where to go. What I knew for sure was that “up” was a solid direction.

  

  Like where’s Waldo, stick version.

  The boulders were fun, though a bit sketchy at times. The vertical climb was more mental than physical at this point of the hike. Each step needed to be precise to ensure avoiding any loose rocks.

  

  After 2500′ of ash pumice boulders, the final stretch came into sight. This is when the weather started to take a turn. The rain started to fall and the wind got stronger. From this point to the top it was a complete mental sludge.

  

  There was so much loose ash and rocks it felt like one step forward, two steps back. I had to keep my head down because anytime I looked up I was convinced I had made zero progress. I never wanted to stop, but I was definitely tired and cold.

  After sludging for what felt like lightyears I passed a girl that said something to me that lit a fire under my feet. She was struggling just as hard as I was yet with a smile said to me, “you can only go up for so long right?”

  Damn right, and thank you for that.

  
  After four hours, 2 bananas, 2 kiwis, 2 Kit’s Organic Clif Bars (obsessed), 2 servings of pumpkin seeds, and an apple – the crater from the eruption was found.

  

  I didn’t stay at the summit for long due to frozen hands and a thick fog cover, but the 10 minutes I did stay were 10 minutes of pure accomplishment.

  Photos don’t even begin to do this sight justice, but it’s all I’ve got.

  

  

  

  Unlike any terrain I’ve hiked before, and officially the tallest peak I’ve stood on (8365′) Mount St. Helens is my most unique summit to date. It also fueled my soul for more. I want to hit the 10,000′ spot on Mount Rainier so bad.

  The climb down was a bit of a cold blur, but provided a great view of the trees when we came upon the home stretch. It took 3hrs to get down making 7 hrs total.

  
  

  

  

  I’d like to thank the trail markers for keeping me sane, and lost in the right direction.

  

  From death comes life and despite the destruction the eruption caused, life is slowly but surely coming back on this volcano.

  

  Oh, and before I forget – shout out to the volcano for not erupting again on October 17th, I wasn’t quite ready for that.

  

  Q: What gives you a huge sense of accomplishment?

  

  | 53 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Mount St. Helens, Mountain, PNW, Volcano

• Mount Rainier – Reflection Lake

  Posted at 7:35 AM by Brittany, on August 20, 2015

  My last trip to Mount Rainier was so monumental I couldn’t get back there quick enough. To round out the end of my 4 day weekend I wrangled up a hiking buddy and headed south. Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to Rainier we go!

  

  

  The weather was a perfect 75ish in the mountain range, with sun sun sun. The only clouds in the sky waited to make an appearance until we were ready to leave.

  How kind, I made sure to thank them before we left. “Thank you clouds.”

  

  This time I took a trail that led away from the mountain through fields of wildflowers, marmots, and enough chipmunks to build me a Cinderella like dress. The destination was Reflection Lake, I’ll let you figure out how it got its name.

  

  

  Round trip we probably meandered for about 7 miles and ended up being spit out onto the road, where we discovered Reflection Lake was a spot most people drove to.

  What can I say, I like to do things the hard way.

  

  I’ve decided Rainier is one of my top spots for adventure these days. The endless trails enveloping this mountain require days of exploration.

  One of my goals is to hike up to Camp Muir, the highest point you can climb without a climbing permit. Muir sits at a lovely 10,080 ft, and is a grueling 8 mile round trip climb. I hear it’s harder than a half marathon. Perhaps it’s a good thing I’ve got six of those under my belt.

  

  After I accomplish Muir, to the top I must go.

  Post Rainier shenangans my hiking partner was hung-ray so we stopped for a road side burger. I noticed a guy picking what looked like small green chickpeas from a nearby flower plant, and naturally had to inquire about what he was doing.

  

  Turns out they were seeds for the above flower known as NASTURTIUMS. “One of the few edible flowers in this area.” And then he ate one…so I ate one too. Nothing like trusting a stranger at a small town burger stop eating flowers.

  HO-LY SPI-CY. Like, peppery spicy. I Googled the flower and sure enough the flavor is described as: “peppery spice similar to watercress.” I don’t think I’ll be sprinkling these on my salads anytime soon. First hiking to a location that you can drive to, second eating flowers with strangers, clearly I like to live my life on the wild side. 😉

  Q: Have you ever eaten edible flowers? 

  

  | 43 Comments Tagged Adventure, Explore, Flowers, Hike, Mount Rainier, PNW, Washington

• Mount Townsend Tumble

  Posted at 7:16 AM by Brittany, on July 23, 2015

  I’d been dying to get back to Mount Townsend since around this time one year ago. The way the snow sparkled atop the mountain peaks made my soul sing louder than a yellow canary, and I’ve literally thought about my last trip once every month.

  At least. 

  

  

  This time however, the snow was hard to spot. The hotter than normal summer we’ve been having must have melted it all away.

  

  

  This was a perfect example of how change is constant, which is funny because I mention something similar in my last post about this hike. Despite hiking this mountain during the same time of year, the views were slightly different.

  I did enjoy an apple in the sky though, just like last time.

  

  My friend and I got an early start to beat the heat this past Sunday, but I still felt the affects of the 90 degree stagnant air at a few spots. I’m a wuss with the heat.

  

  Quite the view at 6200 ft up.

  

  Sundays have become my day for adventure. I always have them off of work, and try to take advantage of them in any way that I can. Hiking is always my favorite choice.

  

  

  The trees are my happy place, even when I become so enraptured by them that I don’t see the large rocks in front of me. I took my first trail tumble, which was too close for comfort to a large ledge. It hurt like hell, but man was it comical.

  

  I’ll spare you the close up photo, but I’ll just say as I type this post my knee continues to throb. The first thing I thought of as I was going down was how much I regretted not purchasing the mini first aid kit each and every time I stepped foot into REI.

  I had it in my hand for purchase multiple times, yet always set it down. It’s now the first thing on my list for my next trip to REI. I rinsed as much as I could with the water I had, and continued the remaining 4 miles down the mountain.

  Lesson learned.

  

  Scraped knees aside this was a lovely way to spend the day. Four solid hours in the beauty of nature fills me with enough gusto to power through the week ahead.

  

  

  Until next time mountain trails, I’ll be prepared with band aids, antiseptic wipes, and a tourniquet. Just kidding on that last one, let’s hope I never need one of those.

  Q: Have you taken any trail tumbles?

  

  | 60 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Mount Townsend, PNW

• Safety First

  Posted at 8:17 AM by Brittany, on July 20, 2015

  I very much enjoy going on solo adventures. Being in control of what I do, and when I do it has an allure to it that just can’t be beat. That being said, there are some adventures I end up deciding need to be done in pairs.

  

  For example, I went for a walk in the woods last week and couldn’t shake the heebie jeebie feeling I had. The Blair Witch meets Micheal Meyers heebies.

  

  This trail was new to me, and despite my desires to explore I was sucker punched with creepy vibes. Plus, at the entrance to the trail there was a cooler with “free cookies.” Any location giving free cookies can’t be trusted…cookies are too valuable.

  

  This seems very, “come here little girl.”

  I spent 45 minutes walking the trail and that was more than enough for me.

  I saw some graffiti at the beginning of the trail was cool, though it did add to the creepy vibes. The heart above and this panda below were my favorite. I snapped some pics, moved my legs, and hightailed my fanny outta there.

  

  I want to go back and finish the last little bit, but next time I’ll bring a friend. 😉

  After leaving the woods, I lived up to my nickname of “Grandma B” and wandered some antique shops. I needed a soothing activity to balance out my adrenaline. I sound so dramatic.

  

  

  Followed by a walk by the water.

  

  A walk by an abandoned looking, yet fully lived in house with an odd rustic charm.

  

  And a walk around the world.

  

  Ah yes, my adrenaline balance had been restored.

  Q: Do you like exploring the wilderness alone? I need a dog.

  

  | 61 Comments Tagged Antique, Explore, PNW, Woods

• Summer in the PNW

  Posted at 7:18 AM by Brittany, on July 16, 2015

  During the summer months, Starbucks likes to reserve Friday’s for themed attire. 90% of the time I want nothing to do with this high school nonsense because I am 80 years old and have no soul, but last week I was all about “Aloha Friday.”

  

  Mainly because this vibrant blue shirt is the most comfortable thing to wear second to my own skin. When it’s hot outside, black clothing raises the temperature at least 5 degrees, even when you’re inside. When it’s hot outside, I want to be somewhere cool.

  

  

  I’ve become that person that enjoys my days off more than I enjoy my days at work. This is normal for most, but I don’t want it to become a normal for me. I want to thrive in my workplace just as much as I do when I’m off exploring the mountains.

  

  On one of my days off last weekend I escaped to another town to spend the day with one of my closest childhood friends. I figured spending all my time with animals can’t be healthy, so once in a while I surround myself with my own kind.

  I’ve now met my human interaction quota for the month.

  

  Any restaurant that says “EAT” on the side has to be good.

  It was a perfect PNW summer day. We walked around a street festival, ate some food, and walked to the Ballard Locks. I had never been to the locks, and it was fun to play tourist in my own area. Plus the weather was perfect for wandering.

  

  Basically what this place does is keep the salt water of the Puget Sound, and the fresh water of Lake Washington separate from each other. It’s a spot for boats to cross over from the sound to the lakes in an efficient and safe way. Quite unique if you ask me.

  

  The big boats go in this spot.

  I would love to find a vocation that ties my passion for exploration together with my passion for food. I do love coffee, and don’t plan to leave my spot at Starbucks, but my mind wheels have definitely started turning.

  Oh the adventures of life. 🙂

  Q: Do you live for the weekend, or do you enjoy spending your time at work? I’ll blame the summer for my desires to be out exploring!

  

  | 47 Comments Tagged Explore, PNW, Starbucks, Washington

• Annette Lake

  Posted at 6:58 AM by Brittany, on July 2, 2015

  To beat the heat this past weekend I broke out of my comfort zone and embarked on a new solo hike. I hadn’t been to an alpine lake in nearly a year, and with temps in the 90’s I figured there would be a few other hikers there.

  No other hikers makes me nervous for animal encounters.

  

  I headed to Annette Lake, and the trail was more popular than I anticipated. Thankfully I arrived early enough to snag a parking spot and beat the latecomers.

  
  

  I only had to pass people a few times, leaving me alone with my thoughts the majority of the 7.5 mile round trip adventure. I adore solo hikes.

  

  Once I reached the lake I noticed a handful of campers. As I sat and ate my food I daydreamt about overnight hiking and waking up with the sun.

  Sipping my coffee with a view like this needs to happen soon.

  

  

  

  This trail has a great canopy cover making for a comfortable hike despite the heat. The elevation gain was a mere 1400 ft, but I definitely got sweaty. One of these times I will jump into a lake, I’ll be doing plenty more lake hikes this summer.

  

  

  My fuel of choice during the hike was a scone and some berries, and post hike I wolfed down some potatoes and veggies courtesy of Whole Foods. I haven’t been craving sweets much lately, and I think it’s because I’ve upped my protein intake (naturopath’s orders), but then I stumbled across something I couldn’t pass by.

  This old school VW travels around Seattle selling vegan ice cream sandwiches with unique flavor combinations. I’d heard about it, I’d seen photos of it, but just like a mystical unicorn I had never actually seen it myself.

  Then I drove by it and knew I had to stop.

  

  My heart was set on the snicker doodle cookie with coffee ice cream sandwich, but I was too late and there was only one option left. This would never have been my first choice, but trying something new was fun and it was delicious.

  It was a successful Saturday indeed.

  

  Q: What’s your favorite solo adventure?

  

  | 62 Comments Tagged Annette Lake, Hike, Ice Cream, PNW, Solo Hike, Vegan

• Walk the Katwalk

  Posted at 7:46 AM by Brittany, on August 29, 2014

  On Wednesday I walked the Katwalk, not to be confused with the catwalk, you won’t find me strutting my stuff on one of those anytime soon. The Kendall Katwalk is a man made narrow pathway that was blasted out of a steep sloped rock face. Sounds pretty wild right?

  

  I strut my stuff on the katwalk, katwalk.

  

  Fellow hikers on the katwalk to the right.

  The blasted path was meant to allow the Pacific Crest Trail to continue north towards Canada (it starts down at the border of Mexico.) I long to thru-hike this trail someday, but in the meantime it was fun to bite off a chunk of it. I managed 15 miles round trip, which is like a penny into a dollar for the overall trail. Not much, but it’s a start!

  

  The trail leading to the Katwalk was lovely, as all Washington trails are.

  

  

  

  I took note of a cluster of berries, determined to discover what they were.

  

  These tiny plumcot looking berries are called “False Lily of the Valley Berries.” Interesting.

  While the trail itself was nice, the Alpine Lakes I discovered stole my heart once again.

  

  

  

  

  Be still my heart.

  It’s a good thing I had to open at work the next morning, because every fiber in my body told me to keep going. I hope to soon return to this section of the PCT and hike the 75 miles from Snoqualmie pass to Stevens pass. At 15 miles a day it could be done in 5 days.

  Ohhh how I wanderlust for backpacking. If anyone wants to join me I’m accepting applications.

  Q: Would you ever hike for multiple weeks (or days) at a time? 

  

  | 51 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Kendall Katwalk, PNW

• An Alpine Lake Stole My Heart

  Posted at 8:03 AM by Brittany, on August 21, 2014

  All of the hikes I’ve done lately have been similar. I start at the bottom, and I go to the peak – very straight forward. Or “up” forward?

  

  When I got a text from my friend about doing an Alpine Lake hike I knew it was time I checked one of these off my list, and man am I glad I did. Lake hikes are a bit different because instead of going from bottom to top, there’s lots of winding and up and down and up and down.

  

  An Alpine Lake is considered any lake or reservoir at a high altitude. Alpine lakes are usually clearer than lakes at lower elevations due to the colder water which decreases the amount of algae and moss growth in the water. Often these lakes are surrounded by varieties of pine trees, aspens, and other high altitude trees.

  My first Alpine Lake hike was to Snow Lake, and then I carried on to Gem Lake. Two birds with one stone, because why not? Ten miles total with an ending elevation of 4857 ft.

  It was the perfect balance of a climb.

  

  My compadre was a better man than I, and actually jumped crawled into both lakes. Me? Not so much, I observed just in case a wild animal came. Someone had to take care of the serious stuff.

  

  One thing on this hike that really captured my interest was this.

  

  There are camp spots all throughout these mountains, so someone built totally legit wooden toilets around them. Lucky for me, because my bladder is the size of a peanut.

  What can I say, I am easily amused.

  

  Forget a pool, I want an Alpine Lake in my backyard. With cookies, always with cookies.

  

  

  I’ll be back to uphill climbing this week, but these lakes will soon see my face again.

  For more Snow Lake photos click here.

  Q: Do you prefer long and gradual hikes, or shorter and steeper climbs? Definitely both, depending on my mood. It’s all about the balance! 

  

  | 46 Comments Tagged Alpine Lake, Gem Lake, Hike, PNW, Snow Lake

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