The Ohana was running fast and cold:

Ford and Kirk in the shadows on the bridge over Laughingwater Creek:

Walker was awake and enjoying the ride – and kicking me good as we hiked:

Walker passed out not long after and missed Silver Falls:

Passed out and missing the best part of the hike:

Me and my boys:

Kirk ahead of me on the way back:

Just a nice few hours in the woods with all my men.

~Sarah

One of the bigger changes was an actual bridge over Ipsut Creek – in 2007 it was a log, planed on the top with a hand rail. The other thing I am now picking my brain about is did the old ranger station cabin get removed? I remember it being there in 2007, it had barely escaped the floods but I don’t remember seeing it this trip?

We went through the old car campground and headed up the Wonderland Trail (or also called the Carbon Glacier Trail) and took the side to Ipsut Falls. It had provided water to the car CG for many years. The old building that housed the pump-house that I had last seen in 2003 – with a tiny Ford hiking behind me – is nearly gone now with a couple trees through it (you can see the trail in the shadows to the left):

Ipsut Falls is a sweet treat to see. I can actually say that it is a worthwhile hike to just go there. My photo sadly does not show it well. The falls sit at the end of short gorge of sorts. It is shaded and about 10° cooler than 200 feet away on the WT. The waterfall takes a couple turns and drops around 60 feet in total. The other significance is that the creek is clear till here. Just s a few yards down a section of the glacial till full Carbon River jumped its channel at some point. It ripped through the WT and now dumps into the Ipsut. At the CG the creek runs milky in color, not clear like it did in 2007. Definitely worth the extra 1/5th of a mile or so to walk up there for water if one is camping at Ipsut (which has been a backcountry camp since 2007).

We got water – while it wasn’t as hot as this past week was (we had a mini heatwave last week where it topped 95° at our house. Yech. No like. Today it was 55° – more my idea of nice.) and headed up the WT. About a mile in you come to the end of the trail and a series of bridges built over a channel of the Carbon, 3 bridges in total. They cross the river twice and once over a snagged pile of trees. It is actually quite inventive of the rangers in “fixing” the issue. The river has eaten that section of trail clean off  the wall.

We went as far as the Northern Loop Junction. The trail on this side of the river is closed not far beyond, one of the after effects of the 2006 floods was the trail was wiped away clean. It was on the bottom of an unstable slope. Now to go to the Carbon Glacier you must cross the Carbon River on a couple channels (2 shown below), go through the island of trees and cross more. It varies by the year on how many crossings! Jared and I had not seen anyone until this point when a couple groups of young guys caught up to us.

Looking upriver:

Keen trail runners, OR low gaiters and a seat along one of the wildest rivers I love:

Heading back down – the trail varies from deep forest to many open (scoured) avy slopes that are full of thick vegetation – including enough blooming Cow-parsnips for the summer (I have never been a fan of the sickly sweet perfume they let off on hot days but I am sure many others love it…..)

Very low growing Cloudberry that caught my eye near the junction to Ipsut Falls. It would be very easy to not see it but what a loss to not see it!

The section where the Carbon sent a small channel through, near the junction with Ipsut Falls. It is now a massive tree graveyard. You can see the WT on the right.

Unalaska Bunchberry (Canadian Dogwood) flowering about 6 feet up on this cedar tree (An Alaska Yellow?):

As we came back through the Ipsut Creek campground what caught my eye was this food bag hanging from a bear pole. While the bear pole provided safety for the food….said picnic table being right under it didn’t bode well – all a bear would have had to do is step up on it and have a free snack with no sweating. Doh!

We stopped in the CG and had lunch and a break knowing we had another shy 5 miles to do.Jared had started rehydrating his lunch back at our turnaround – his mix of beans and chicken:

He made it into a sammie – since he found out he had no tortillas upon getting his pack ready:

My lunch was…well….different to say the least. I had some leftover commercial meals from the late spring presentations and wanted to clean them out. I grabbed one without quite reading it – it was the new Mary Janes Farm Tex Mex Organic Beef Casserole. I put my MSR Quick 1 Ti pot into service this trip with my Snowpeak Giga stove.

Upon opening it was a normal MJF meal with the addition of a very large plastic bag inside, I found that odd – considering that the company prides itself on more enviro choices.

The beef was in the plastic bag, which being plastic was covered in the dry sauce mix. So after flicking off as much as I could back into the bag I opened up the bag…only to find that the beef was…..JERKY! It wasn’t that it was bad but frankly I had envisioned ground beef, not jerky. It is from eyeballing it about 2 Tablespoons of meat in a diced/shred size. For $13.50 (yes, I paid that much) the bulk of the meal is pasta and lentils with a few vegetables and a little beef. You would do better to buy the vegetarian Chili Mac and stop at a sketchy truck stop on the way to the trailhead and buy a container of jerky snuff (it looks like a plastic tub of chew but holds finely shredded jerky). For about a $1 you would get 2-3 times the meat. OK, OK….it isn’t organic but I like meat these days and mini portions don’t do it for me!

With the meat added:

It is an easy meal to make, just add in 1 cup boiling water and let sit. I have found that MJF meals do best if you can give the pasta ones an extra 5 minutes sitting time and be put in a cozy it will be less soupy. The flavor/texture wasn’t bad and it made a nice lighter lunch (easy to digest while hiking on) but yes, it did need more meat

Jared munching on one of his bars that he made from one of my recipes, Cran-Mac Caramel Bars:

Salmon berries just coming into ripeness:

On the way back the wind was blowing up valley, towards Rainier. It was very nice. In the sections on the river it kept us very cool. In the deep forest, well not so much.

It is always odd no matter how many times I hike this trail to be able to see the road across a gaping maw of river and know that it used to be there:

A last look upriver before we headed into the forest for good:

The GPS showed a shy 15.40 miles. It isn’t horribly hard elevation wise (you only gain about 500 feet to the campground) but the road part does do one’s feet in by the end.

~Sarah

With Western Washington still in the throes of freaking winter our options for hiking have been well noted as being minimal. On Saturday Kirk and I took the boys out for an easy local hike on the Green to Cedar River Trail. Perfect weather for walking – cold and overcast. On Sunday I wanted to try out the new front carrier that we had picked up for Walker, Kelty Kangaroo Infant Carrier which is a discontinued model, but still sold new on Amazon.

I have talked recently about my frustrations with getting a carrier that Walker would like. He howls almost instantly when put in carriers. And more so, I needed a carrier designed for hiking, not for “baby wearing” which most slings, packs and wraps are. I happened upon a mention of the Kangaroo online when I remembered about the Kelty Wallaby Infant Carrier. The Wallaby is a good pack as well but for hiking the Kangaroo is hands down a fantastic design. It is too bad that Kelty discontinued  them and is now only making carriers for older babies (back carriers). The new pack came about 2 weeks ago and after a couple local test runs I felt secure enough in using it on a real trail so off to the mountains we went. We crossed one mountain pass to get to the trailhead and it was a balmy 44° outside. As we headed to the pass we drove into the clouds. At the first trailhead it was 45° and misting. Perfect summer weather, no? We didn’t do any big trails nor anything remote but we did get out and have a great hike – and the new pack passed with flying colors. The back support was comfy for me, Walker was happy in his well padded cockpit style seat. He was fascinated by the trees and spent much of the hike wide awake looking around.

We visited the Box Canyon area, which yes, is a tourist spot but a worthy break on a rainy day. The Wonderland Trail is most of the short loop trail. It is an are full of glacial scoured rock. Just seeing the rocks is worth pulling off the road.

The Muddy Fork of the Cowlitz River cuts through a very deep canyon. Half way you cross the river on a bridge. The river is 115 feet below you.

A web in the rain:

Photo © Kirk Kirkconnell.

The loop takes you back to the road where you cross the river on the car bridge, well over 130 feet above the water. There is also a tunnel a few feet away on the road that is neat to walk through. It brought back memories of doing the Wonderland in 2004. We camped our first night at Nickel Creek, short .8 of a mile past Box Canyon (also a nice way to extend a very short hike). There was a large raven loitering around the parking lot. I have a love for them and really enjoyed watching it.

We headed back downhill to Ohanapecosh and found parking for the Eastside Trail and Grove of the Patriarchs trail (check out the dayhiking page on the Rainier website as well).

Walker and I heading up the Eastside Trail:

I hadn’t been on the Eastside Trail in a few years. The last time I was there we had done a one way downhill walk from Chinook Pass to Ohana – in the rain, in fall. A gorgeous hike though if one gets the chance. I had been out to the Grove but neither had Kirk or Ford. In the flood of 2006 the wide fixed suspension bridge had been wasted and twisted. It had been a great bridge – it didn’t bounce at all. The new bridge is well built but is a bouncer. Walking across it isn’t bad as you are pretty low to the water and the Ohanapecosh River is a pretty clear one to look down at (it doesn’t have a lot of glacial till in it, so it isn’t cloudy).

Photo © Kirk Kirkconnell.

The island you walk out to has recovered nicely as well from the flood. The Grove is a very popular hike but is worth waiting for your turn to walk the bridge. The highlight being the two trees that are over a 1,000 years old:

Ford in front of them:

Photo © Kirk Kirkconnell.

Checking out the big trees:

Photo © Kirk Kirkconnell.

Walker was very much enjoying the ride and drifted off about here:

Photo © Kirk Kirkconnell.

It was a nice hike and it helped us feel comfortable using the new pack.

~Sarah

I was rolling light and used my not-so-great 3 MP cell phone camera – ooh….the grainy photos! Ooh the purple hue!

We started at Cedar River Trail Park and caught a side trail up to a trestle over the river. This section was interesting, you are in the middle of a city surrounded by one side of either chain link fence or concrete walls, the other by the Hwy below. But in that they had planted wild roses that were thick in growth and blocked most of the highway view. The smell was fantastic.

Walker was happy as usual in the BOB and we zipped along.

The first couple miles were exposed, no shade and a straight line.

How far till home? Only 10 miles? Hey, why not keep going till we hit the ‘Claw?

The trail has sections that go under the highway or major roads and are done in cloverleaf style. The first one curved under the highway and was a chilly shaded respite where the swollen river raged by. The next one you curved under a tunnel and popped out into a forested section:

As we left the city behind us the views of the Cedar River opened up. The river stayed near most of the way.

One section was well below the highway, fully forested and with the river below. It was very tranquil and I saw almost no one. This section I could happily do again.

The last two or so miles are on an elevated section, above the road. It is similar to walking on a dike.

A look at the river as we passed over the last trestle in the section we were on.

My entertainment was this man below with his acoustic guitar…..

It was a good fast 9 mile “hike” (is it hiking on pavement?) and a nice morning with Walker. For now, my kit seems to be pretty well dialed in on what I carry and how we use it. I get him out every couple miles, spread out a blanket and let him have a good stretching, then back for more walking. It is different but definitely rewarding!

~Sarah

We drove up I-90 to Exit #38 to Olallie State Park and started from there to get up to the trail (there is both a road and a trail you can take, we took the road as it is a bit more graded). We headed East and enjoyed the many trestle bridges that span high above the creeks far below. With the snow up high finally melting and the rain I mentioned, the creeks were all running high and fast, so very much worth the walk. If any of you remember I had a brilliant idea a year ago to walk the trail from top to bottom – this March my toe nails finally looked good once again (I didn’t lose any but came close to it and heavily bruised them due to poor footwear choice). The section I took the family on is the best part IMO. It has views, is more quiet and the trestles are fun.

Walker snoozed through much of the hike/stroll and was quite content in his BOB jogger as usual. Life is rough when you have servants to push you around…..

At REI we had picked up a JJ Cole body support liner recently that we dropped into the stroller. He loves the thing. It was an odd find, they had 2 of them, marked down 50% but not on the website or anything. It does though work wonderfully, is reversible (micro fleece and microfiber) and keeps then snug and happy. Mr. Snoozy Pants sleeping…

The trestle over Change Creek:

Hard to see, but it is a tree root that has grown through the rock, the tree is above considerably and quite healthy:

Looking down from the trestle at Hall Creek (or Hull, which is on the bridge. Who knows which is right?):

Kirk and Ford ahead of me:

Coming back on a trestle, there are rock climbers out climbing:

We did a couple miles and Walker was getting fussy (he was hungry) so we headed back. When we got to the turn off for our trailhead Kirk encouraged me to take Ford and keep walking, going West to Rattlesnake Lake and the end of the trail. After a quick nappy change for the wee one, I kissed Walker goodbye – and to be good for Dad – and they took off for the truck, while Ford and I kept going.

While out with Walker I admit I am lazy. I pack everything I can cram onto and under the jogger. It is easier to push than to carry it on my back. Good thing I had my new “purse” with me. A couple weeks ago I saw the Nikole mini backpack at REI, an urban yet outdoorsy backpack/purse in the travel section.The funny thing is it worked perfectly for a 5 mile trail section, where all I needed was a water bottle (it has an expandable water bottle pocket), a couple bars, my camera, etc.

The miles went by quickly. Ford and I were running 2 GPS units to see which was more accurate (more to come on that later!) and knowing Kirk was waiting for us kept our MPH up. Don’t think I have walked that fast in a long, long time.

Ford ahead of me near the end:

I need to get him running shoes. The kid is built for trail running and can blast me. It was a nice hike, both parts of it. I realzied that I hadn’t crossed the 6 mile mark in a long time, since last summer. My last longer hikes were in my first trimester with Walker. So an 8 mile hike was a great feeling!

Kirk and Walker were waiting for us at the end, with the lunch I had made last night, a rice salad and agave chocolate pudding. Delish!

~Sarah

Kirk and I headed up I-90 to Talapus/Olallie Lakes Trail which is close in but still in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Easy to get to and a quicker hike to avoid the potential afternoon rain promised. We got there early and managed to avoid most of the masses – going up.

I wore a hiking skirt this trip. I think I may like it, we will see with more miles.

The trail goes quickly and is mostly in open forest on the way up:

The trail walks up the outlet creek which was rushing nicely:

We reached Talapus Lake and decided to keep going on. After all, if you get a rare kid free hike you might as well enjoy it!

Around 3600 feet we were on near solid snow. Someone (me) realized that her newer trail runners are not Goretex lined (which I had forgotten but I did buy them that way on purpose – much cooler in hot weather). I decided that my feet were getting good and chilly so called it a day. We were not too far away from the upper lake but oh well.

The streams were pouring like crazy, with there being still a couple feet of snow it will be this way for awhile. If it wasn’t snow, it was shoe sucking mud.

We headed back down to Talapus Lake:

On the way down it was a steady line of people heading up. Going early is indeed worth it.

As we got into the car it started to sprinkle. We timed it right!

It was a nice hike, nothing spectacular but as always being outside felt good. Nice scenery and an easy trail – a perfect hiking date!

~Sarah

As much as I wax on about my love for the Bob Revolution jogger stroller, back in the dark ages choices were pretty limited. I bought Ford his first jogger when he was a couple months old. It was heavy, bulky and pretty straight forward (no shocks for example) but the freedom it gave us to hike was fantastic:

We often hiked at a local trail system that was bike friendly. Ford would have been 2 – 3 at the time I am guessing.

In the summer of 2002 when Ford was 4 1/2 we spent from spring to fall hiking 2-3 days a week. Ford had reached this glorious stage where he could do long miles and so off we went. From the Olympic Mountains to the North Cascades in Washington State we explored.

Us at Cascade Pass in NCNP early that summer:

A year before I had taught hiking classes for women and this was an outing in the Olympic Mountains (I am in the middle):

It was a fun thing to do and I met a lot of great ladies through it.

~Sarah

I picked doing the last section of the Preston Snoqualmie Trail which is in the King County Parks Department. The trail itself connects to downtown Issaquah now, allowing people to bike or walk there all the way from Seattle now. As is, the best section is the last couple miles for sheer scenic views. There is even dirt hiking paths that go over the ridge to connect to even more trails. So while not wilderness you won’t grow bored as you head East on I-90 out of Seattle. The whole trail is paved making this trail for the most part fully accessible for everyone – and perfect for jogging strollers.

The trail quickly goes into the woods and while you do pass houses in the start they are rural and blend in. Everything was blooming and growing – from Salmon Berries to Stinging Nettle, Devils Club to Dicentra flowers in pink. Even blue flowers that I should have taken a photo of. Plenty of coyote scat around and warnings about bears waking up for the season. I have a soft spot for these trails on the edge of suburbia.

The trail ends as you come around a bend. There is an overlook in the trees, shaded nicely, of Snoqualmie Falls (not very visible in the photo sadly) with a couple benches and even a garbage can. The old rail bed does continue – it went downhill from there down to the Snoqualmie River. For now though, that section is off limits. The view of the falls is always nice though it gets hard to see in spring due to the trees leafing. You can see the Salish Lodge above the falls as well.

Heading back, right before the end of the trail they have added a picnic table in the open area (I am guessing this was a turning area back in the day as it is a perfect circle?). The table is dandy for sitting and enjoying the sun and the grass perfect for kids to play on. We stopped and had a break, Walker was hungry.

Kirk and Ford ahead of me, Kirk pushing Walker along. I enjoyed the walk back and had a pleasant time looking at the I-90 peaks still snow capped above North Bend and East to Snoqualmie Pass.

On the way back I heard sounds above and looked up. Two hawks were soaring above me and not far away I could see a large nest. That was quite neat to see.

A lot of green everywhere:

~Sarah

So it has changed how we hike for the next couple months – or until he is a bit older and happier with the front pack.We are working on it daily. Overall I think the issue is he gets bored staring at my shirt where as in the jogger he has the world to see.

But that is OK – we have so many rail to trails here in Western Washington that we won’t grow bored anytime soon. In all seriousness we live in an area where RTT’s are everywhere. Some are paved, others like the short but always enjoyable Green To Cedar Rivers trail is hard packed. We walk on this one often as it is very bike friendly, hence jogger stroller friendly. It is a pretty trail, follows a lake and spends much of the miles under a canopy of trees.

It is close by so I toss the kids in the truck and still feel like I got out. Sure, it isn’t this:

(Which is OK becuase that gorgeous field of flowers is still buried under 10 to 15 feet of snow!)

So we enjoy the green canopy, the birds and a couple 100 squirrels along with many others out enjoying a blue sky warm morning:

Walker was happy as usual, rocking gently along in his ride (the BOB Revolution jogger should be nominated for “Best Invention For Active Parents” – it is such a wonderful tool) :

I am re-learning so much about having a little one and loving it every bit. Even figuring out how to change diapers on the side of the trail and how to feed him while out. I am grateful that he loves the outdoors as much as his big brother and is happy to have lunch at home or surrounded by wild roses.

I am grateful I live in an area where I can stay active and still take my children with me – on trails that while are not wilderness are by all means still pretty. In a couple more weeks he will be old enough to take on other bike friendly trails that are bumpier so I am looking forward to that!

~Sarah

This is the entrance to the Carbon River side, the end of the road and the start of the near 5 mile road/trail walk along the river and through the rain forest. Rainier decided to allow bikes when they closed the road so yay for jogger strollers.

If you are a long time reader you know how much I love being in the Carbon area. It isn’t what people think of as “Rainier” overall – no views, deep forest but most of all a quiet soothing feeling interrupted by birds and squirrels and the cleanest air that tastes incredible as you breathe. I have said it many times that I am a fan of the Park Service closing the road (for now it appears to be permanent) and turning the flood damaged road into a multi use trail. I never enjoyed the drive when the road was still there – it was always deeply rutted from seasonal floods (the road is lower than the river in some areas! and has many feeder streams coming off the ridges that flank the road). It is a gorgeous hike that every year since the fall of 2006 is attracting more and more hikers (and bikers) to come enjoy it. Still, the crowds are low compared to hikes closer to Seattle (darn).

Another thing that makes this such a worthy hike is the trees – they are the trees people dream of seeing. You just don’t see them on the way to the park due to the many clearcuts

Walker and I in front of a tree that had once fallen over the old road:

We went out a couple miles (maybe 2 or so) and then headed back. We didn’t want to overdo it for Walker.

The washouts of course are always the thing that get visitors – they walk the road and think “why is this closed?” and then they hit the washouts, one after another. Now 3+ years into it, the washouts look like gorgeous groomed trail.

One of Ford’s favorite places to visit, the pools from the creek in one washout. You got water and rocks, what more do you need?

I carried Walker back a mile or so because you know, I wanted to It let me walk in the trees and talk to him.

We tucked him back into the BOB Jogger for the last bit, snuggly wrapped up – even though sunny it was still chilly.

~Sarah