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It's May and cruising plans are being formed.  Discussions are underway about when and where to go.  I wonder where T&J want to go?

Even delivery trips can be fun

Saturday morning dawned early and we made our way north to catch the 9:30 boat to Friday Harbor. For once we made it on time – no last minute heroics needed because we cut it too close.




After about an hour on the car deck with Rex, we arrived in Friday Harbor. Quick provisioning trip to Kings, fired up the boat and we pulled out of the Harbor. Unfortunately it was flat calm which precluded sailing.

Jodi enjoyed the scenery and Rex settled in for his long nap. Rex now knows the boat and has become very comfortable. On sunny days at the dock the foredeck is his spot. He can keep tabs on the coming and goings in the harbor while napping. Underway he’s in the cockpit, usually making good use of a pillow.

The trip to Sidney was uneventful. We caught the last of the ebb through Spieden channel and picked up about a knot and a half once we cleared Limestone Point. The trip across the straits was equally uneventful. No Orcas, no playful Dall’s porpoises, just a few Bald Eagles.



.Clearing customs was a snap and our assigned slip involved spinning the boat in a tight space and backing in. Which was when I noticed the bow thruster wasn’t working. Fortunately there was no wind and no current and the maneuver was pretty smooth.



I like Tsehum harbor. Van Isle Marina has an incredible spectrum of boats. Everything from Mega Yachts being worked on at Philbrooks boat yard to 20 foot funky wooden sailboats. And everything in-between. Pleasure, commercial, liveaboard, remote owners, it’s all here. The home ports range from Yukon Alaska to Reno, NV – all over the west boat owners keep there boats here and Philbrooks maintains them.

Philbrooks was the reason our boat is here. Over the next week the boat will get hauled, the bottom will be re-painted, new zincs installed, and our old style through hull fittings will be replaced with more modern ones less likely to fail. The old through hull fittings are a disaster waiting to happen. If one fails, the boat would likely sink and at 30 years old, we’ve been living on borrowed time.



After wandering the dock looking at boats, we headed up the dock to have an excellent dinner at the Restaurant at the head of the pier. It was crowded and happily noisy and the only spot for us was at the bar. The sunset was wonderful.

Sunday morning was blowing – the front had moved in overnight. We tidied up the boat, strapped on our packs, and took a 40 minute walk into Sidney and caught the noon (and only) ferry from Sidney back to Anacortes. Again on the car deck for about 3 hours (Rex, you owe me), I was able to get a bit of a nap. When you are prepared for it, spending time on the car deck isn’t bad. Armed with a full assortment of First Ascent gear, it’s warm.



Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

Little Si Hike and Climb

To celebrate the 47th anniversary of Jim Whitaker's Everest summit, the company sponsored a hike up Little Si -- and a rock climbing session on the nearby wall.  Jodi took the opportunity to reacquaint herself with a sport she hasn't done in a few years while I hiked to the top.  I was going to kid her saying "there's an easier way to get to the top", but I don't think that's the point.

Anyway, it was a great day for both hiking and climbing -- except for the rain which is pretty obvious in this picture

Test post from bb.

Glorious Day for a Hike

Today we went up and over Tiger Mountain. Unlike yesterday, when we ran into fog, snow, sleet, rain, and tons of mud, today was beautiful. We started at the Tradition Plateau trail head and went up the normal West Tiger 3 route. Crowded, as usual, with what looked to be like a church service near the top. Ran into some others from work at the West Tiger 3 summit. Rather than simply turn around, we took the seldom used trail to get to West Tiger 2 summit, then back tracked and dropped down the Seattle view trail, then traversed on the West Tiger Railroad Grade trail and hit the 'poo poo point' launching site for the paragliders. Saw only 2 people along that portion of the trail.

Wild flowers are out. Saw many Trilliums.





Watching the paragliders take off is amazing. After sitting in the sun, high above Issaquah, observing the activity, we descended down the crowded trail to the landing site. All and all a great trip up and over Tiger Mountain. Hiked about 7 miles in total.
Today Tiger was really two mountains. On the ends, crowded with all types of people. But in the middle, peaceful and remote with quiet beauty.

Training Hurts

This week started with a run, but 2 hikes and a mountain bike outing over the course of 4 days hurt my legs.

On Wednesday, a friend from work and I went up Mount Si after work. We set a good pace and made it to the top in an hour and forty minutes. Better than my usual 2 hours. We found 3 inches of snow at the top and I had one of the best PB&J sandwiches ever at the top. We ran down the first two miles when 2 things happened at about the same time. First my legs began to fail, but mercifully we ran out of light at roughly the same time. The fellow I was hiking / running with was roughly half my age, so I emphasized the wisdom of walking in the failing light.

On Thursday, I led a group of about 30 up Rattlesnake ledge. The group consisted of folks from all over the US and many were from the Midwest where mountains are few and far between. Some had never hiked before. For many of us, Rattlesnake is a crowded, uninteresting trail with a good view at the end. There are plenty of other places to get a view as good or better with far fewer people.

But that whole equation changes when you've got some new folks to hike with who have never been to the Northwest, never hiked, and never been 'on a mountain'. Under that scenario, Rattlesnake becomes a fairly challenging hike with a great 'ta da' moment at the top. When we got on the ledge, everyone 'oooed' and 'ahhhd' at the view and one was moved to say it was a 'once in a lifetime' experience. Experiencing the hike through their lens was great. Rewarding and satisfying.

While I started out deliberately slow, like any unfamiliar hike, some had mind games going on near the top. 'When are we going to GET there?' was a thought just beneath the surface for some. About 100 yards from the top, another hiker was coming down, saw our group, and knew exactly what to say -- You're almost HALF WAY THERE'. The wind went totally out of the sails for many and it perfectly set up the final few steps to the summit.

After a merciful rest on Friday, (rest for the body, work still taxed the mind), Saturday morning dawned rainy with a daunting task. Let me first say why we're doing this. We set a challenge for ourselves to achieve our own version of 'Summit to Sound, the first Descent'. I'll explain in a later post exactly what we're tying to do, but the challenge involves a relay race from the summit of tiger mountain to below the surface of Puget Sound. The first leg of the race is for Mountain bikes who will link with hikers and start the relay.

So on this morning I met another friend from work who mountain bikes. I have a mountain bike, but I don't use it. I have used it only sporadically since I got it some 15 years ago. My buddy's bike is brand new. He humbly said it was last year's model, but his bike has disc brakes. And very cool shock absorbers. A suspension on a bike! Who knew? My bike has a cool red bag on the back. While there's no bell on the handle bars, it does have that cool red bag. My buddy looked at my bike and smiled. I think he was thinking 'where are the training wheels'.

Any way, we set out in the rain and immediately gained elevation. Then the wind started. And the rain turned to snow. Great. We did make to the top, but there was no view owing to the fog. What took roughly 40 minutes to climb took 7 minutes to descent. 7 terrifying minutes. Back to those shock absorbers. My buddy took the bumps and break neck speed and made it look easy. Every bump transmitted through my body and rattled my brain as I flew down the mountain with brakes that seemed reluctant to hold their end of the bargain.

We traversed the mountain to our planned hand off point to the hikers. 2 hours 45 minutes to snag the peak and get to the meeting point. Exactly one hour -- full of some more terrifying moments -- to get back. Cool. Incredibly muddy from head to foot, but cool.

Back to the Middle Fork

We couldn't stay away. After several hikes in the past several weeks up both Big and Little Si, Rattlesnake Ledge and several walks along the Preston Snoqualme Rail Trail, we went back to the Middle Fork. Today's jaunt was a near 12 mile stroll to the old growth trees.

The flowers are beginning to bloom. Skunk Cabbage and Trilliums were out with the ever present moss carpeting the forest floor. This is a classic Northwest trail and it is green. Everywhere green. Green climbs up the trees in the form of moss and ferns. Green drips from the trees. Green at your feet and a green canopy above.

We did find the '9 hour' tree, just shy of 9 hour creek (fed, of course, by 9 hour lake). It's an old growth tree in the middle of a bunch of 'normal' trees. We were looking for it and on the way saw a number of other 'big' trees -- not old growth, but trees slightly bigger than the rest. Could that be it? What about that one? That one looks like it could be....then we saw it. There was no mistake, it is a giant among the surrounding trees. Once you see it, it's clearly different from the rest.

After about 6 miles we came into several old growth trees. Huge. Magnificient. Not a bad way to spend a day. 12 miles round trip. Couch feels good.