These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I have been thinking a lot lately about my favorite places. I have learned that I am the type of person who likes to categorize - favorites, dislikes, pet peeves. When feeling lost in life, I believe those categories can help keep you grounded because they are something in yourself you can define. Especially the favorites, because they are the most fun.

Of course the home that I grew up in and my home now and my friends places are up there with my favorite places. But besides those, there are other places that are no longer simply locations, but memories, personifications, and significant to who I am as a person. Looking at photos of those places makes me happy to be who I am and happy to have lived my life. So I decided to share a few of those places with you Seattle Swift readers. And I want you readers to tell me some of your favorite places!

Santa Clara University in San Jose, California. My alma mater. And one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have fantastic memories of my English classes, amazing friends, stimulating intellectual conversations, the beautiful campus, and glorious California sun. I grew tremendously in my four years at Santa Clara. Below is the SCU Mission Church and the SCU Mission Gardens - a great spot for laying out in the afternoon sun with friends. Santa Clara has taken on the qualities of an oasis for me - a relief, refuge, haven, and delightful change. It looks like an oasis too, with palm trees and green grass and flowers galore.

This photo comes from the Wolf Creek Ridge trail, one of the trails in the Sun Mountain cross country ski system. Nearly every winter of my childhood and adolescence, my parents and I drove to Sun Mountain Lodge, near Winthrop, Washington, for three days of snow and cross country skiing. This place makes me love winter weather and helps me through dismal Seattle winters. I also learned to cross country ski here. Sun Mountain was one of the first places that helped me set measurable goals for myself. I decided each year I would attempt a more difficult trail to ski, until I reached the point I was skiing two hours uphill to come screaming back down the mountain.

And of course, Cannon Beach in Oregon. My family traveled to Cannon Beach nearly every summer of my living memory. For many of those years, my cousin traveled with us. So Cannon Beach means to me that close relationship with my cousin. Cannon Beach also means sand castle building, body surfing for hours in the frigid Pacific Ocean, exploring tide pools, riding fun cycles down the beach, sunsets, shopping in town, and sand between my toes and in my hair for days. I love everything about Cannon Beach and all the memories I have from there. Below is the castle I built with my dad summer of 2007.

Some other favorite places include: Lake Chelan, CYO Camp Gallagher, Seattle, and Mont Saint Michel in France.

So where are some of your favorite places? Where do you love that has shaped who you are?

Cascade Pass

I hiked the Cascade Pass trail, and part of the Sahale Arm trail, on Saturday, September 13 with my parents. After a rather dismal hike (or at least muddy) to Surprise Lake, I was excited that the weather was predicted to be low seventies and sunny skies, which was essential for a view hike. Cascade Pass is my first North Cascades hike, which means more driving but also more spectacular views.

After nearly three hours in the car and 23 miles on the narrow, winding Cascade River Road, we arrived at the Cascade Pass trail parking lot. Mt. Johannesburg towers over the parking lot, with its spiked peaks, glaciers, and lofty elevation of 8,200 feet. Throughout much of the hike we could hear the crashing and cracking of ice melting in the hot sun.
As you climb, you get a better view of the Cascade River Valley. Over these peaks some brave hikers scramble to Boston Basin.The Cascade Pass trail is 3.7 miles each way, with an elevation gain of 1,800 feet. You have to traverse 34 switchbacks (with views of Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, the Triplets, and the North Cascades on the way) before you near Cascade Pass. The trail levels out less than a mile from the Pass, where you emerge from the trees almost 1,800 feet closer to the peaks of Mt. Johannesburg.
You have to cross an impressive scree on the way to Cascade Pass. Not a place I'd like to be during avalanche season. I was smitten with the fall colors already emerging, and tried to capture them wherever possible.

Mt. Johannesburg, Cascade Peak, and fall colors.
Cascade Pass is just around the corner!
As if the views could get any better, we finally reached Cascade Pass looking east towards the Stehekin Valley trail. Cascade Pass was used often by Native Americans as a coast-inland trade route. There was not much snow left this late in the season. We stopped for our lunch break at the Pass - there are a number of stone benches conveniently placed near the 5,393 elevation marker.Fall colors showing in mid-September. These steps climbed to the rather primitive outdoor toilet available at the Pass.The road to Stehekin. Stehekin is 31.9 miles from the Cascade Pass trailhead. It was fun see the other access point of the Stehekin Valley after the Chelan trip. Maybe next year I will backpack from Cascade Pass to Stehekin.
After lunch, we decided to climb part of the way to the Sahale Arm for a better view. The climb and views were both breathtaking. We gained about 700 feet in a little over half a mile, but we also saw views like this one.
Sahale Mountain, Sahale Arm, and Sahale Glacier. Many hikers passed us with crampons, ice axes, helmets, and other glacier crossing tools. Though I wished for more time to travel closer to Sahale Mountain, I didn't envy their trek across the glacier.Sahale Arm trail.Doubtful Lake, about 800 feet below.
Looking back toward Cascade Pass, we spied five mountain goats along the Ptarmigan Traverse trail on the south end of Cascade Pass with my binoculars. The sheer speed at which they moved along the rocky inclines was impressive. I was very excited to finally see mountain goats (since I didn't see any in Chelan), and also happy to use my binoculars! We could see hikers picking their way slowly across the Sahale Glacier as well.I had to crop off the top of Mt. Sahale, but I think this panorama gives an idea of how specular and expansive the views are.Looking toward Stehekin Valley. The strenuous climb was well worth it.

The trek back down to civilization. If you look in the far left of this photo, you can see mountains and a glacier. This photo shows the diversity of the last stretch of the trail near Cascade pass. I had a wonderful time hiking with both my parents. I have to give credit to my mom, who discovered shortly after beginning the hike back to the car, that her hiking boot sole remained attached to her boot only at the toe. She inventively used a zip lock bag from lunch to hold the boot together for the rest of the over three mile hike to the car.

All in all, the Cascade Pass trail was one incredible hike. This was my first real mountain hike - I felt so small yet powerful standing at 6,000 feet looking across miles of mountains and valleys. After such a hike, it feels strange to hear the roar of cars on pavement instead of ice and snow cascading down mountain sides. To smell exhaust fumes instead of crisp mountain air and heather. I am already eager for more hiking and look forward to taking another brief moment from the chaos of everyday city life.

Northwest Photos

These photos are just too good not to share. Seattle Times today has a "Pix From My Weekend" compilation with 99 photos sent to them by readers from around the Puget Sound and Washington coast region. There are some absolutely amazing photos. They really make me want to get a tripod and digital body for my Nikon SLR camera.

Surprise Lake

Over Labor Day weekend, I hiked the Surprise Lake Trail in the Alpine Lakes Region of the Washington Cascades. The Surprise Lake trail head begins a few miles past Skykomish on the way to Steven's Pass on Highway 2. The National Weather Service was predicting "unseasonably cool" weather in the mountains for Labor Day weekend, so we were prepared with warm clothes, hats, gloves, and rain coats. The trail is approximately 4.7 miles each way, with another 1 mile past Surprise Lake to a smaller Glacier Lake.

The trail begins under power lines that you can hear hissing and crackling. After a short time, however, you enter dense forest. The air was a crisp 50 degrees and fog lingered among the cedar trees along the trail. After a short distance, the trail converges with Surprise Creek and then parallels the creek for about a mile. At one point, you have to use a fallen tree as a bridge to cross the creek.
The entire length of the trail is green and lush. We also encountered a number of large house-size boulders on the climb to Surprise Lake. Many of these even had trees growing out of the top of them.At about two and half miles along the trail begins steep switchbacks and more difficult climbing. Much of the upper trail is rocky and requires careful stepping and concentration. Also about this time on our hike the precipitation started to turn from a fine mist to real big ol' fat rain, so we stopped to put on our raincoats. We were optimistic that the rain would clear and we'd see some mountain views - but unfortunately the rain only increased in intensity over the rest of the day. We met some backpackers on their way down who said that it snowed overnight at Surprise Lake - on August 31!
After a difficult climb, we reached Surprise Lake just in time for lunch. Surprise Lake is a long lake, so we were only able to see one end. The water was clean and clear - no algae, life, or fish growing in the frigid alpine lake. I was a little disappointed since the fog was pretty much socked in and we couldn't tell if there were any mountain views around the lake. It was a nippy 38 degrees at the lake, so we ate our lunch quickly before getting on the move again. We decided to hike the extra one mile to Glacier Lake, which turned out to be a great decision. After gaining a little elevation, the Glacier Lake trail traverses a boulder field with even larger boulders than the lowland area of the hike. We stopped for a few photos then scrambled down the steep hillside for a view of Glacier Lake. Still raining, we stopped only for a moment, took a few photos, saw a number of pikas, then set off on the journey back the car. The jaunt to Glacier Lake was my favorite part of the hike.
A true mountaineer braving the cold and rain at Glacier Lake.
The hike back down turned out to be tremendously more difficult than the hike up. With the continuous rain and quite a few Labor Day weekend hikers, the trail was muddy and slippery. My summer hiking boots weren't particularly well-suited for the wet and muddy trail, but we took our time and each of us only slipped once (quite a feat considering the condition of the trail). With the extra distance to Glacier Lake, we hiked 10 and half miles in all and were feeling a bit weary by the end of the hike.

Though the weather wasn't great, I'm glad I finally made it on the Surprise Lake hike and pushed myself to do a more difficult trail. Next up: Cascade Pass!

Lake Chelan Vacation

I spent the week of August 18 in Chelan, Washington with three friends. We stayed Saturday to Saturday and had a great time, though the trip turned out to be a little different than we had planned.

Our first two days in Chelan were hot and calm. We spent Sunday on the water, intertubing, floating, swimming, and going off a neighbor's 10-foot water slide (yipee!). I discovered that I remember how to dive, and practiced the Michael Phelps dolphin underwater swim. On Sunday, we found a water thermometer hanging off a neighbor's dock - it read 72 degrees. Not bad for chilly Lake Chelan - it felt great on a 95 degree day. We also discovered that across and up the lake a bit from our cabin was a smooth rock hanging about 20 to 25 feet over the water. Teens were jumping off the rock in hoards, and the water was incredibly deep at that spot, so we decided we would make it back to jump before our vacation was over. Sunday night we went to Slide Waters, the small water park in Chelan. I felt like a kid again zooming down water slides.

Monday started off warm, but the wind picked up in the afternoon. We rented a wake board but with the wind and our inexperience, no one got the chance to really try it out. By the evening, a thundershower rolled through Chelan, and we felt a little down because it kept us out of the water.

Tuesday we went wine tasting with Lakeside Limousine Tours. We had a blast - and felt very cool being driven to wineries in a limo. Many of the wineries in the Chelan area have some of the best views of the lake and delicious food. Some of the wineries we visited include: Tildio Winery, Benson Vineyards, Nefarious Cellars, and Vin du Lac. Vin du Lac tasting was outdoors under a trellis with gorgeous views of the lake.

Wednesday the weather didn't look great, so we decided to take the Lady of the Lake ferry to Stehekin, the northern most point and source of Lake Chelan. When we arrived in Stehekin, it was pouring down rain, so we hopped on the Rainbow Falls tour (school) bus. After the tour, we bought sweatshirts to stay warm, explored downtown Stehekin, marveled at the car graveyard with license plate tabs dating all the way back to 1991 (that I saw), and enjoyed the views and remoteness of the tiny town. After three hours, we caught the Lady of the Lake ferry back to Fields Point Landing.

Thursday was still windy and cool, so we stayed mostly out of the water and barbecued, played games, and relaxed. It was refreshing to be away from a computer and television. Friday rolled around and we woke to calm waters so we motored the boat to downtown Chelan for a hearty breakfast. The clouds burned off by noon and we made the decision to spend the entire damn day on the water, for better or worse.

We headed first to the jumping rock. Our boat captain stayed behind to take photos of the rest of us daredevils. We swam to shore, climbed the rocky terrain, and prepared to face certain death. Just kidding! But that's what I felt like. Heart racing and nervous as heck, it took me a long time to muster the courage to jump, though I did finally take a measly step off those rocks and plunged into the water. It was so much fun - I'm glad I did it. We spent the rest of the day boating, swimming, and intertubing. The day was incredible and we stayed on the water until the sun dipped behind the hills.

Saturday came and we were sad to have to leave our oasis so soon, especially since it was hot and the water calm. On our way home, we stopped outside of Leavenworth to float down the Wenatchee River - something the four of us have down for three years in a row. We had a blast and enjoyed resting on a sandy spit along the river, though it was bittersweet since it meant our vacation was over.

I love Lake Chelan. I am a bit sad to not have our vacation to look forward to anymore, but the memories and photos will help me get through the dreary Seattle winter. Until next year, Lake Chelan!

Moonrise over Lake Chelan our first night on vacation.

Stehekin Landing and Lodge

Rainbow Falls in Stehekin - 312 feet of cascading waterA view of the beginning of Lake Chelan and the North Cascades shrouded in clouds.We saw bighorn sheep on the ferry back to Chelan. There is so much more wildlife in Chelan than Seattle - we saw the bighorn sheep, fish, bats, frogs, lizards, and a variety of squirrels. Looking north on Lake Chelan from the Lady of the Lake ferry.
Cruising.Tubing buddies.Panorama from the cabin deck. Looking north from our cabin deck.Sunset and floaties.

And to prove I actually jumped. Hopefully you can't see the grimace on my face. And I look like a total dork because I'm trying to keep my arms at my side and toes pointed to avoid slapping the water uncomfortably. Yay for conquering fears.

Puget Sound Cruise

I was fortunate enough to spend Sunday, August 10th out on the Puget Sound on a 42 foot boat belonging to a friend's work associate. We left from Salmon Bay on the Magnolia side, traveled through the Hiram Chittenden Locks across Puget Sound around the west side of Bainbridge Island then into Liberty Bay, where we docked in Poulsbo, Washington. This was the first time I have been on a private yacht (that I can recall at least), the first time I have been through the Locks on a boat, and my first time in Poulsbo. Quite a day for firsts!

The Locks are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I discovered like many government operations - efficiency is not one of their primary duties. It took us about two hours each way to get through the Locks. Not that I'm complaining! Despite some ominous-looking clouds, the weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset. There was hardly a breath of wind all day. I'll take calm waters over bright blue skies for cruising on the Sound.

I love water and water reflections - so there was a lot of photographic opportunity. I took tons of photos, here are some of my favorites:

NOAA research vessel Miller Freeman. We waited in the locks with this ship. Seems like NOAA is everywhere I go! I waved to the cranky-looking man on the bow. He waved back, totally unaware that I worked for NOAA for seven long years, maybe even edited his writing or research.

Poulsbo Marina. There were a bunch of harbor seals hanging out on the log booms.

Summertime and the livin's easy.

A three hour tour...

Railroad trestle from the opposite direction - heading back to the Locks.

Can you see the great blue heron? Some rude family on a Zodiak motored right up to it, then chased it as it flew away. While waiting for the Locks, we fed the seagulls Doritos and red vines. One of the boat passengers balked at us for feeding them unhealthy food. Considering seagulls eat garbage, I think chips are probably OK.

Here's a progression of sunset shots - you can see we waited for the Locks a while. But the sunset was beautiful! I love the color in the final photo.