156 – Backpacking Goat Rocks Wilderness – Back to Berry Patch & on to Mount Rainier National Park

This was the last day in our backpacking trip into the Goat Rocks Wilderness, so after coffee and breakfast we packed up our camp there in the Jordan Basin to begin our hike back. The weather was spectacular and the views absolutely incredible. It was such a wonderful trail with views of not one, but three major mountains as we worked...

155 – Goat Lake

Backpacking back into the Goat Rocks Wilderness to set up camp in the Jordan Basin the day after fleeing for a night to dry out in the town of Packwood, WA (go here -https://60before60.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/59-backpacking-goat-rocks-wilderness-berry-patch-to-jordan-basin/  - to read about that), we awoke to sunny skies. Mother earth had managed to absorb a majority of the four to six inches of precipitation that...

154 – Backpacking Goat Rocks Wilderness – Berry Patch to Jordan Basin

Who heads back into the wilderness a day after being chased out by severe rain, hail and flooding (see Hike #58 - Rain, Hail, Floods - the Packwood Dryout)? We do! Here we are, at the trailhead for the Goat Ridge Trail, ready to hike back into the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Having originally planned this backpacking trip...

153 – Backpacking Goat Rocks Wilderness – Rain, Hail, Floods – The Packwood Dryout

Checking the weather forecast as we gathered our camping gear and filled our backpacks before leaving home, we knew rain was inevitable. We embraced the first snow of the season last year when we backpacked the Heather-Maple Pass Loop - Hike #76 - Heather Pass - Setting Up Camp. We did not let a day of steady rain dampen...

152 – Pacific Crest Trail – Cispus Basin to Cispus Pass

I feel a sense of admiration for thru hikers each time we intersect with and/or follow a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) when we are out hiking. They travel the entire length of the PCT, all the way from the California-Mexico border, head north through the states of California and Oregon, and on through Washington until they reach...

151 – Backpacking Goat Rocks Wilderness – Snowgrass Flats

It seemed that we had been looking forward to our Goat Rocks Wilderness trip all summer long, and finally (finally!) our September vacation time was upon us. Limited only to what we could carry in our backpacks, packing for a week long trip deep into the wilderness takes a little more planning than for a one or two night...

150 – Ptarmigan Ridge

This was truly a bonus hike! We wanted to hike to Ptarmigan Ridge last year, but snows came early, then melted away, and our schedules allowed us but one more day of high country hiking. We chose to hike to Lake Ann that day (go here - Hike #83 - Lake Ann - to read about that hike). That...

140 – Backpacking Lake Chelan – On to Stehekin

This was the final day of our Lake Chelan backpacking trip, the day we finally reached the remote town of Stehekin. We were scheduled to catch the ferry back to the original starting point of this journey. To read more about this entire backpacking trip, see -Hike #44 - Backpacking Lake Chelan - Moore Point...

139 – Backpacking Lake Chelan – Moore Point to Flick Creek

The best description for this day of hiking is, quite simply, WET. It rained all day. In spite of good rain gear - rain pants, gortex coats, rain hats, rain covers for our backpacks, extra waterproofing added to our boots, it rained almost all day, and we got soaked. Our tent got wet. Our sleeping...