Dean and I took a new (to us) route up (and down) Rattlesnake Ledge this morning, covering a little less than four miles and over 1100 vertical feet gain in about an hour and 45 minutes. After heading up the main trail for around half a mile, we cut up (and I mean UP) to the right and followed a narrow and infrequent boot track until we hit some gravelly ledges. Once on the rock, it was a quick scramble up to the ledge where the sun was already over the tops of the Snoqualmie Pass summits. We spent some time exploring the large cave-like crack in the rock, which led out to a lower, more exposed ledge. The rock at the end of the ledge was climbable, so we did our best to create a more interesting exit for ourselves. It only took us about twenty minutes or so to make it back down, so we ended up doing a little more exploring of older trails before heading home to families and breakfasts.
Enjoy.
Quickly Now, Ascend! on Vimeo
Last minute preparations
pretty dang cold
bluebird skies
quick mostly flat hike up
big ol’ snow patch
flattened trees
lotsa’ wildflowers
keep going
through the canyon
dogleg right
wolf tracks
bugs in the horseshoe print
the meadow
Just checked out the new Patagonia site. Not sure how long it’s been looking like this, but I know it had been a long time coming. Nice to see some attention’s been given to the site, and I’m groovin’ on all the little UI tweaks and tricks. I’ll have to pick up a couple of these posters soon, and hopefully one of these bad boys from Point Blanks, which is run by Chouinard’s son Fletcher.
I’ve been a Patagonia fan-boy for years and years, hoarding catalogs and making photo collages from their contents. Their stuff has always been pretty pricey, which has led many to label them “Pata-Gucci”… However, I still own every article of clothing I’ve purchased from them over the last 20 years (that I haven’t outgrown), so I’m pretty confident in saying I’ve pulled my money’s worth from them. You mostly get what you pay for when it comes to outdoor gear, (there are exceptions, yadda, yadda…) but anyway, I just thought it was worth noting the upgraded site.
Dean and Seth
Nice late fall foliage
steep steep steep
new boots – ouch
It was just the fact that we’d been living for so long in the valley, surrounded by all these hills and I had yet to take advantage of them that got me started. I’d picked up the new map of the area and had read a little here and there about a certain Mt. Teneriffe, so for some reason I got it into my head I had to get out and hustle up it. I remember sitting at a party over at J’s place the night before and making up my mind, and starting to put together a pack list in my head. The route I’d read about had one ascending up the first part of the main trail, and then instead of continuing over seven miles to the top, simply going up the southwest ridge and cutting the mileage in almost half. Totally possible, I thought to myself… Things were packed quickly that night, and the next morning I was up at 4:30 with my bike in the back of the Acura.
At the trailhead, headlamp in place, pack on, ready, steady, go…
The logging road wasn’t too bad. It had been a long time since I’d been on a bike, so it took a second or two to really ease into the saddle, but before long I was at the end of the road and ready to start walking it. Throwing the bike into the brush, I start up, still in the pitch dark with my little double-LED headlamp leading on. I could hear the water, but still wasn’t sure I was on the right path. In the darkness it took a little more effort than normal to stay on the trail, as every little jog and spur seemed to have major footpath potential. The trail was narrow and led up, audibly paralleling the creek, until some major windfall blocked my progress. Huge douglas firs had fallen, maybe as recently as the week before, and the smell of fresh evergreen boughs was still in the air. With my little light, I simply had no way of figuring out where I was supposed to go. It being my first solo outing in such a long time, I decided not to push my luck and headed back down. The bike ride down was fun, as I outrode my light nearly all the way down, just for the thrill. It was dissapointing to not have made it very far, but after having made this first little step into taking charge of my mornings and “shaking the wickedness out” – it made it very easy to do it again, and again, and again…
