Test post from Droid

Can it be done? One can only imagine the feeling of frustration that a budding blogger might feel trying to type some pithy words on a tiny keyboard.  Still recovering from a bellyful of beef at the Metropolitan Grill last night. Three generations of Wagoner men reminiscing on days and generations gone by. Everything from Dad's prohibition busting, country club-forming grandfather to Elon's escape from a Canadian boarding school.  Austin learned a lot about the family last night!

Seattle Sunset

Snapped this shot on the way to the Steelhead Diner a few weeks ago. The sun was just about to drop below the Olympic Mountains on a spectacular late fall evening.  We enjoyed a nice meal before heading to the Seattle Center for Part 2 of Book-Its adaptation of Cider House Rules. It was an engaging performance right down to the end, when the cast gave presents to the departing art director who was moving to bigger productions in NYC.

Lake Annette

Only three cars dotted the Annette Lake lot at 8:00 a.m.  The thermometer hovered just above freezing, marking the coolest night of the season.  Annette Lake is the last trail on the south side of I-90 west of Snoqualmie Pass and one of the few lakes on the south side of I-90. Until about 4 years ago, a bridge crossed Humpback Creek adjacent to the parking lot but a large storm washed it out.  Now, the trail starts with a short stretch on the west side of Humpback Creek before crossing over the water on a sturdy new bridge, with lots of clearance.

The trail winds up another 1/2 mile or so, crossing under two sets of powerlines before hitting the John Wayne Trail, a former railroad grade converted for use by bikers and hikers.  The Annette Lake trail continues up though an mixed conifer forest with almost no undergrowth giving the area an open airy feel.  Hugging the south side of the creek valley the trail was shaded all the way to the lake. In one spot, dead ferns were dusted with frost, indicating that winter is just around the corner.  The lake was abandoned when I arrived just after 9:30 and the trail crossing Humpback Creek at the outlet of the lake beckoned.

I hadn't tried to go this direction for years and it seemed that in prior years, the trail stopped at the creek.

Now, there are a pair of logs making a nice bridge, which provides access to 4 or 5 nice camping spots.


The trail ends at the last spot near the south end of the lake, which signaled time for me to return to the car.

I must have passed 40 people as I headed down, which made me glad to have gotten such an early start.

Trail details can be found here:

Rachel Lake- kinda

I intended to go to Rampart Lakes today but WSDOT had other plans.  About a mile east of the Snoqualmie Pass summit I noticed a trio of WSDOT trucks ahead on the shoulder of the road. Faster than a bunny, they pulled directly in front of me, blocked all three lanes of traffic. While my original plans were grinding to a halt in the name of road widening, a quick exit at Hyak opened other options.  I crossed under I-90 and continued east on the paved frontage road approaching the construction area. The road narrowed, turned to gravel and curved both up and to the north.  After passing the Lake Margret parking lot the road climbed to a pass at about 4,800 feet and while there were several spur roads, none obviously led to a trail.  The road dropped more than 1,500 feet heading toward Lake Kachess. Along the way, I spotted a road to the left and came across three men foraging for chanterelle mushrooms. I chatted with one who explained they picked the tan and white ones and left the "plastic ones with a hole in the center" alone. Although it seemed like good advice, I'll stick with the markets for my fungi unless I have an experienced guide. After driving a couple of miles further I spotted a familiar intersection and turned left toward the Rachel Lake parking area.

For the first time all year the parking lot at the trailhead was completely abandoned. It made sense considering how hard it was raining in Seattle but as luck would have it the skies were holding their water in abeyance, at least for the time being.  The trail was another matter and it must have been raining in the area quite recently.  There was a combination of small torrents flowing right down the trail and many muddy low spots that required nimble feet to have any hope of dry feet.  There were some great views of Box Canyon Creek blasting over boulders and under logs on the way up.

The trail follows Box Canyon Creek along a gentle grade for about two and one half miles before it crosses a side creek and heads steeply up a headwall to reach the lake.  Unfortunately, the creek was high and the stepping stones and rocks were awash with swift water.  I studied the crossing for several minutes weighing my options.  While I was reasonably confident I could make it across on the way up, I was concerned that the heavens might let loose a mighty downpour, which would make the return crossing more treacherous, especially in the late afternoon with failing light.  That, and the lack of company on the hike made the choice easy, if somewhat disappointing, and back to the car I headed.

I drove the same route on the return trip and explored a couple of the side roads near the top of the pass.  This proved nearly as risky as the creek ford.  One stretch of road was rutted at least 1 1/2 feet on a steep grade and it proved necessary to straddle the rut to keep from high-centering the Highlander.  I didn't relish the idea of hiking out if I got the vehicle stuck so I was glad to make it back to the main road safely.

For the traditional route to Rachel Lake, see:  Rachel Lake Trail Description

Foggy at the bottom and foggy at the top

Rattlesnake Ledge is one of the classically easy suburban hikes near Seattle. The trail is incredibly popular, even on a gloomy day like today.  A bank of low clouds hung tightly to the ground at the trailhead and didn't let up for a moment during the trek up.  The trail was in excellent shape following a gentle grade parallel to the shore of Rattlesnake Lake, which is low pending the onset of autumn rains. It was a bit surprising to see joggers on the way down the trail as I worked my way up but it is a testament to the easy access and smooth surface.

I made it to the top in about 50 minutes, spent 3 minutes catching my breathe and headed back to the car so I could rush to Bellevue for a haircut.  The trail has become especially popular with the middle-aged Asian crowd- I suspect a church connection but I don't know for sure.  The fog began to burn off once I dropped back down to lake, promising a pleasant remainder of the day and the possibility of another hike tomorrow.

Lake Olallie

I needed an easy hike last weekend so I selected the family-friendly Lake Talapus / Lake Olallie trail. The forest service road is longer than most of the easy access trailheads along I-90, which explains the easy access to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness; you drive most of the way there!  At 9:00 a.m. the parking lot was more full than not and a group of geo-cachers were happily chatting up their find. I laced my boots quickly to beat the mob and hit the trail. It was a gorgeous fall day in the Pac NW, about 60 degrees, crisp and clear.  I made a quick stop to snap a shot of the creek draining Lake Talapus, and discovered my batteries were dying fast.

It was kind of sad because the reflections in Lake Talapus were amazing. Unfortunately, I had time to snap my shot in a rush so the composition was even worse than usual.

Once the batteries were dead for good, I boogied up the trail to Lake Olalle.  Since I felt peppy, I went to the far end of the lake and looked for a camp spot I vaguely remembered from a hike several years ago.I recalled walking along in silence when the barking of a large dog from the camp site startled the hell out of me.  This time, I squished through the soggy ground at the inlet to the lake without seeing 2 square feet of dry ground suitable for a tent.  In any case, I found the unmaintained trail that heads steeply up until it intersects the Pratt Lake trail.  After a 10 minute climb I found the trail and looped down to the Talapus trail returning to the car.  It was a 3 hour loop, which was just right to loosen the limbs without getting too tired.  The parking lot was jammed full with cars on both sides of the approach road for one hundred yards, which is typical for a beautiful weekend day.

Trail info is here: Trail info for Talapus and Olallie