Seemingly endless days, crystal-clear alpine lakes, and golden sunsets, it’s finally summer in Washington! I know technically it has been summer for well over a month, but winter holds on in the mountains of Washington. Snow clings to the slopes and ice lingers in alpine lakes well into July some years. I usually try to wait until the end of July to go on backpacking trips with alpine lakes for a destination.
Read MoreIn May, Alex and I attempted to climb Ruth Mountain with the goal to camp on the summit and ski off the following morning. However, if you’ve read my previous blog post you will know that due to snowy navigation difficulties, we did not make it to the summit to camp. We were eventually successful in summiting the following morning, however, we were stuck in a total whiteout. The inclement weather made for a disappointing summit experience and I returned home with a feeling of unfinished business.
Read MoreDeep within Olympic National Park, surrounded by the verdant Hoh Rainforest and a winding network of rivers, lies the park’s crown jewel: Mount Olympus. At 7,980’, this peak is the tallest on the Olympic Peninsula and offers a birdseye view of the park. However, getting to the summit is no walk in the park, the trek requires 19 miles of hiking before visitors even glance a view of their lofty objective.
Read MoreOn January 17, Alex and I headed to Olympic National Forest to venture out on our first backpacking trip of 2021. We hadn’t been backpacking since early September and were eager to spend a night under the stars again. We didn’t plan on going so long between trips, in fact, this 4.5 month stretch might be the longest we’ve gone without backpacking since we started backpacking in 2015! However, poor weather conditions, moving to a new home, and other personal obligations piled up and our trips kept getting postponed and cancelled.
Read MoreLabor Day weekend is usually one of my favorite weekends to head out into the depths of the backcountry. The snow has long since melted, the days are still long and warm, and the bugs usually have declined to manageable levels. While 2020 may have put a damper on many trips, we were still going to make the most of our Labor Day. We planned to complete a four day trip in the Glacier Peak Wilderness that we have been dreaming of doing for years—the Spider Gap - Buck Creek Loop.
Read MoreIn August 2018, Alex and I visited the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and backpacked to the impossibly blue Jade Lake. Unfortunately, during our time in the area, smoke from nearby wildfires blew in overnight and completely shrouded all of the mountains in a dense haze. The views were still beautiful, but we knew that we would have to return one day to see the area without its cloak of smoke.
Read MoreIn 2017 I visited Wrangell-St. Elias for the first time and was blown away by the scenery. The snowy peaks, lush tundra, and stunning glaciers seemed to imprint on me during my time in the park and the trip was cemented as one of the best backcountry trips I have ever been on. I wanted others to have that same transformative experience, so in early 2020 I teamed up with St. Elias Alpine Guides (SEAG) to put together a 5 day Women’s Backpacking trip through the park’s backcountry.
Read MoreOn May 22, after nearly two months of being closed, Olympic National Forest officially opened their trailheads back up to visitors. Alex and I hadn’t left the few mile radius outside our apartment since early March and were looking forward to finally heading to the mountains again.
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