Backcountry Babble: Day Hiking Goat Rocks & Mount Adams Wilderness Areas

Monday, August 6, 2012

Day Hiking Goat Rocks & Mount Adams Wilderness Areas

Not sure if you got the skinny, but I'm working on my new book- a day hiking guide to be published by Mountaineers Books (early 2014) which will feature 100 hikes from the South Cascades, such as Goat Rocks, Mt. Adams, Packwood, Yakima, etc. I'm so excited to be part of the legacy day hiking series and hope everyone will get a kick out of following my footsteps to these beautiful, uncrowded, hilltops.

This summer has been a busy one; so many trails and such little time between snow melt and snow fall. Since I've been a hikin' fool, I figured I'd try to update the blog with photos and anecdotes. You can join me in a virtual world of adventure mixed with achy feet, up with a twist of heavy pack. One could write a book on writing a book- there is never a dull moment! Enjoy and happy trails.

This weeks trail highs and lows:

Sitting by the shores of Deep Lake, feeding ants to a small friendly brook trout
Having a tire pressure gage show up as "low" in the middle of nowhere (handling it like a champ, uh-hem...)
Getting a creepy feeling then realizing I was being watched by a young doe (who was probably feeling the same)
Struggling to prevent a toe blister after mis-stepping into a small brook
Sitting on the warm summit of Juniper Peak with three fantastic friends from home
Finding comfort in the presence of my four familiar neighbors, Mt. Adams, Mt Hood, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, on almost every trail
Finding meadow camas!
Eating fresh mango on a rocky outcropping
Forgetting I had "The Friendship Song" by Carbon Leaf on my iPod and singing at window-cracking volumes with the truck as my only critic.
Hearing a loud "BANG," then stopping, heart pounding and realizing that yes, if a tree falls in the forest...it makes a sound. I was around to hear it.