 1 Nice attempt - first of many- at a family selfie for Dave who is traveling at the moment. Look what Sam is doing? Awesome, right?! |
 2 Me finding out Sam has decided to hike in shoes with the soles almost falling off, and WITHOUT socks on a 53 degree day with 30% chance of rain!!! |
 3 Refocus on the beauty of the trail, mom...foooo-cus! |
 4 They called this the "mini forest" - they liked the rocks, like a mini Mt. Constitution, Ben said. |
 5 These rocks seem to have fallen from the ledges you'll see later. Sam says there's calcite in the rocks. He's testing them. |
 6 They look like huge lumps of cookie dough to me - or hard pan. Big masses of hard pan. You can see little rocks caught up in the big ones. |
 7 We're at the top now. This isn't a long hike, but it's a good workout climbing at better than a 20% grade most of the way. New family record - 2.3 miles and 1300 ft gain in 50 minutes. We went out further to the ledges so we could check out the views. |
 8 Ledge indeed. I would have gone further but didn't want to leave the kids without a mother on this hike. So...turned back. |
 9 Looking out to the north. Probably a great view on a more clear day. |
 10 It was rainy - just spitting - most of the hike, which is great for the plants. It stopped just in time for us to enjoy the views and some food. |
 11 That is looking out to Mt. Townsend, the big hulking mountain in the foreground. If you look dead in the center of the photo I think you'll see a saddle. I think (THINK) that is Marmot Pass based on its general direction and is right where I'd expect it to be. It's so interesting seeing old friends from different angles. We did Marmot Pass on Sept. 19 I think if you look back in the Sept. photos. That was a longie but goodie! |
 12 Hmmm...thanks for taking this shot of your thumb, Sam?! |
 13 Trying to get a picture to send to Dave. Sam hates having pictures TAKEN, and hates TAKING them. So helpful! |
 14 |
 15 Nice! |
 16 Ok - i'm doing it myself! I'm just thrilled to be up there, about to to fire up the jet boil and make some hot chocolate. We also brought apples,a big brownie and Snickers. Yum! |
 17 Summit shenanigans are always fun. I especially like it when there's little view because the kids are fascinating under those circumstances. ;) |
 18 Looking out to the...think think think...northeast. These clouds were rolling by fast. Pretty cool. |
 19 Our tiny camp perched on the ledge. |
 20 The orange indicates it's getting nice and warm in there. |
 21 Yum! |
 22 Like the fistful of goodness? |
 23 I loved these! I haven't seen them before. Fitting... |
 24 Which am I when hungry???? |
 25 A video showing the views from the ledges. |
 26 More nonsense trying to get all three of us in one shot with veyr cold hands! |
 27 Sam's mouth filling the entire opening! |
 28 |
 29 |
 30 More Sam photos... |
 31 Heading back. Ben is saying that a piece of wood looks like a wolf head. Quite right. It did. |
 32 I have a picture from Labor Day two years ago in this precise place... |
 33 |
 34 Mt T again |
 35 The sun wants to come out! |
 36 The drive up to this hike is actually pretty in its own right, especially with fall colors, birch copses, and windy roads. |
 37 Are you enjoying the ride? |
 38 |
 39 Lunch at Logger's Landing - yum. Wolfed that RIGHT down. |
 40 What could be better than dirty hiking pants and hot tea sitting on a boulder in the sun? |
 41 "Ice cream cone of JUSTICE!" Don't ask. I have NO IDEA where that came from! |
 42 Saying Fair Winds and Following Seas to Matt in Poulsbo before he heads off to Afghanistan. You can actually see where we were right above the little chimney on this garage, in the middle of the photo. That's Mt. T, then lower to the right is Mt. Zion. |