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Tag Archives: hike

A Fine Day for a Hike

The girls and I. How many times do I start one of these posts with that phrase? Well, once again, the girls and I had a lovely hike under blue skies. Wildflowers were starting to fade and water was scarce where I expect to see it most of the summer. This is the case everywhere right now. Fire season is upon us and our skies are smoky. We wish for rain but so far, nothing measurable.

As for the green hat, Willow found it. She took a hard right off the trail and went about 30 meters and ran back with it. She had smelled it and was so proud and happy to find it! She played with it and tossed it in the air and did no damage to it despite how it looks. I got it away from her and I need to get it to a lost and found. Later she found a folding saw that was rusted shut.

We attempted an old fashioned selfie with the camera’s timer but I think we will need to try it again, maybe with a remote instead. Willow has little patience for staying while I fiddle with things. The girls were super happy to find the last snow field and rolled and played in it for quite a while.

Cute Animals and Wildflowers Too

The girls and I had a nice hike on the Pacific Crest Trail recently. We started out watching and listening to pikas on a talus slope. Willow and I watched from the trail while Sky looked for a shady spot. She’s seen them before! On the way back I stopped to search for a pair of ground squirrels who were whistling back and forth. And LOTS of wildflowers. It may have been the peak of the season since the snow melted early and everything is drying out quickly. There were no little streams and only the smallest of snow patches for the girls to cool their bellies and feet. I think the helicopter was looking for wildfires since we’ve had a fair amount of thunderstorms recently. It was a nice day in the mountains.

Hiking Season

The snow melted quickly in the mountains (sadly) so the girls and I are starting to get out on the trails. It’s Willow’s first hiking season and she is enjoying all the new sights and smells. Willow is ten months old. She is a big water drinker so I need to remember to bring extra dog water when there are no streams to cross. Wildflowers are coming along and the conifers are putting on lots of new growth. Few snow patches remain and when they find them, the dogs get to roll and cool their bellies.

One More Fall Hike

This is my favorite trail, I’m pretty sure. I can return to it multiple times during a hiking season. It does have the very worst road though. It’s a place where the sub alpine larches are enchanting in their early summer greens and amazing when they turn golden in the fall. Pikas are frequently heard and sometimes seen while crossing the talus slopes. Earlier in the year marmots let loose with piercing calls to frighten even the bravest dogs and people too. Now they are underground. The pikas continue to harvest greens to dry in their ‘hay’ piles and then store under the rocks for the long cold winter soon to come.

At the trailhead, the wildfire smoke was thick – we could taste it as well as smell it. But we’d driven all the way so we headed out and gradually, there was less of it but it was always present. While I am not quite ready for winter to set in, it’s the only thing that will quell the wildfires burning in the mountains throughout the northwest.

A Few Pollinators

Mostly butterflies from a mountain hike yesterday in the midday sun. It seems that there are not enough wildflowers for everyone who wants one.