Words about science and hiking
It rained a good deal of last night but was not windy or cold, so not so bad. My route left Pushawalla Canyon and its hiking corridor and headed west cross country along the face of the Little San Bernardino mountains. Although rain threatened early, the skies began to clear and the weather was fine Read More …
Another cloudy night last night. I was hoping for some good stargazing on this trip but it is not to be. At least it hasn’t been as cold the last couple of nights. But warmer nights have their downsides. I was pestered by some buzzing insects much of the night, which may or may not have Read More …
I covered a lot of ground today. But that is because the first 10 miles were on the CRHT, which was smooth and sloping gently downhill. Also I was down to a couple of liters of water, making my pack a much more reasonable weight. Easy to walk fast under those conditions, to get into Read More …
I was a bit slow getting up and out of my cold and soggy camp this morning. It’s remarkable just how wet it got, heavy dewfall is not something one often encounters in the desert. Especially when the ground is dry. It must have been the clear skies and subsequent rapid drop in temperature that Read More …
The dwindling daylight of winter got me thinking about hiking the desert again: somewhere warm, or at least warm enough that I could light out on a trail and stretch my legs and not have to strap anything on my feet in order to move across the landscape. Not that backcountry skiing is so bad, Read More …
The canyon country of western Colorado is greatly underappreciated as a backcountry destination. It has basically the same geology and topography as the red rock country of Utah, but without the Moab-centered crowds of hikers, campers and off-roaders. It’s also a good deal closer to Boulder. I’ve long had Rattlesnake Canyon on my radar. It Read More …
It was hard to sleep last night as it was uncomfortably warm. The low altitude (around 2000 feet) has something to do with this, but I suspect that another “heat dome” has moved in to plague the Pacific Northwest again. A half mile or so of walking brought me to the bottom of the gorge Read More …
A mostly uneventful hike through forest toward the Columbia Gorge. There were occasional views of Mt Hood behind me, and Mt Adams in Washington to the north. But mostly it was just tedious walking through an undistinguished forest. So, in true hiker fashion, I complained about it even though it was not difficult or in Read More …
A day of lounging around the Timberline Lodge was not enough to restore my ankle and knee to full health. But they were better. My ankle hurt only when extended. I just had to walk more slowly and not push off on it. My knee was sore but not that sore. Liberal doses of diclofenac Read More …
Just about any account of hiking the PCT waxes ecstatic in its description of the breakfast buffet at the Timberline Lodge. Calorie-deprived hikers who have been living on ramen and instant oatmeal gorge themselves on unlimited amounts of 5-star breakfast food for a very reasonable price, at a location that is just a couple hundred Read More …