Siouxon Creek Ladies Backpacking Loveliness

Mom- I got another manager to cover my on call so that I could head out early on a Saturday with my favorite hiking partner on a backpacking trip with lady friends from the neighborhood in one of my favorite forests- Siouxon Creek!

Amy-My friend, Lucy came with me. We had fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy- Our obligatory selfie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy- A big break stump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy- The bridge over a raging waterfall. 

Mom- We came to the first beautiful waterfall.

Amy- I climbed down onto the rocks- another break spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy- This tree had amazing petrified wood vines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom- This is usually my turn around spot with kids but today it was a fantastic camping spot!

Amy- I went exploring a lot.

Mom- I let Amy play at camp with her friend and took off for some hiking with my women friends.

Mom- The creek crossing was much easier than anticipated and we got to enjoy this waterfall on the other side nice and close.

Mom- We soaked it in and filtered some water.

Mom- On the other side there were many more campers and we hiked to another "hidden" waterfall.

Mom- In all the times I have hiked this with kids I can't believe I have not pressed on to see these falls. This is definitely the icing on the cake of this trail.

Amy- Me and Lucy played spies for a while. We did well.

Amy- It was super fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom- Back at camp I took some time to read and enjoy the waterfall.

Mom- The evening was cozy and restful and in the morning I again enjoyed gazing at the waterfall before the short trek back to the car.

Amy- Lucy and I walked along a big log.

Mom- Backpacking is the best and I was glad to be out with my favorite hiking partner and our new friends!

Suspension Bridge, Three Story Ladder, Stream crossings, and Cave- Lava Canyon Magical Day

Amy: Me, Mom,Dad,And Analise Went To Lava Canyon south of Mt. St. Helens This Time. Yes,You Heard Right,Dad Went To Lava Canyon Too.(Hee Hee Hee) We Started At 11:00 And Ended At 2:30.

 Amy- This Is A Picture Of Analise Hiking With Dad.

Amy-This Is The Suspension Bridge That We Crossed. I Was Scared Of It's Rocking.

 Amy- This Is Me Before The Suspension Bridge.

Amy- This Is A Pretty Cool Twisty Turny Waterfall. 

Amy- Mom And I Made It Past This. In Case Your Wondering, That Black Thing Is Made To Help People Get Across The Waterfall.

 Amy- That's Me Over There!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy- The Three Story Ladder Is So Far Down. It Doesn't Look That Far Down, But It Is That Far Down.

Mel- I was so happy to be in this beautiful place near Mt. St. Helens on a sunny day with an 8 year old ready for some hard core adventure.

 Gil and Analise continued on the relatively safe loop and we continued through streams, down 3 story ladder down to the bottom of the canyon.

 Mel- This is the trail flooded with water. We continued past the point we were trying to find but were excited to be having this adventure together.

 Mel- We found a big mushroom.

 Mel- I am not sure if this was petrified but looks like a tree that "survived" the blast.

 Mel- We continued deeper into the canyon.

 Mel- We ended up hiking 5 miles with very wet feet but happy hearts.

 Mel- We enjoyed this beautiful view of snow covered Mt. St. Helens.

 Mel- I really enjoyed this adventurous hike with my 8 year old wonder. We took a minute to take a selfie before climbing out of the canyon to meet back up with the rest of the family.

 Mel- On our way up, we enjoyed the rushing water and took good care with each step on the trail.

 Mel- After we finished our climb out, we took some time to eat and headed to the Ape Cave

Mel- Though we had wet feet, we convinced Amy to explore the cave because her sister still had a lot more energy. Amy said she was glad she took the time to explore the cave.

Mel- We did not get pictures of the cave, but enjoyed the darkness and exploring little holes in the side of the rock.

Mel- Analise said she "loved Saturdays". She was glad to see us when we came out of the canyon and enjoyed our cave time as well. I am grateful to Gil for supporting this adventure and was glad for the time all of us had together!

Siouxon Creek Grounded Old Growth Breath

We took the long drive through farmland into Washington to one of my favorite trails, Siouxon Creek.

It was mid October 2015 and the first really rainy day of fall. I braved the potholed filled road and thought it was so worth the drive as soon as I stepped into this beautiful old growth forest.

We saw lots of mushrooms and moss along the way.

The big trees made me feel at home and like I was in a sacred place.

We continued through the forest toward the creek.

Much of this forest feels like the Olympics and many other special Washington forests.

Analise was not so sure about the rain at first because she was tired and cold.

This forest is incredibly resilient despite the dry year.

The moss was lovely along the trail.

There were a few big leaves interspersed with the evergreen trees.

The creek raged below.

I love this "nurse stump" that another tree had wrapped around.

We had a yummy lunch at the waterfall.

On the way back, Analise had made peace with the rain and was determined to walk through every mudpuddle with her new boots.

I am glad to enjoy the fullness of fall in this lovely place with my girls.