A wild drive and a beautiful hike off the beaten path

We wanted an "off the beaten path adventure, so we headed up toward Whatum Lake south of Hood River in the gorge. 

It was a beautiful sunny spring day.  As we headed up the 3 mile forest service road past the crowd, we started to notice snow patches.











The car we were driving was a Ford Mercury Sedan, not exactly the vehicle for adventures.  We had just gotten a tire fixed and I was hoping we would make it through the large rocks and potholes.











 Unfortunately, just before the trailhead, the snow became deeper and we had to very carefully, turn the car around on the forest service road.  When we were safely turned around, we hiked the last bit of road to the trailhead.











The beginning of the trail opened up our view of the area.  We were hiking over large rocks and snow patches.  We enjoyed the short climb to the top of Indian Mountain.











At the top, the view was incredible and we enjoyed gazing at Mt. Hood and playing on the rocks.











It was a great feeling to be in a beautiful high place and know that no one had been here yet this year.











We took our time breathing the fresh mountain air and feeling on top of the world.











Analise, my now almost two year old, did a lot of hiking and "rock hopping" on the way down.  She insisted on finding the biggest rocks to carry along the way.











When we got back to the car both girls were very tired and even too tired to stop for dinner or a treat.











It was a good, wildernessish type of tired.  Sarah even got out of the car to remove small boulders from the forest service road to help preserve our undercarriage since it took a bit of a beating on the way up.











I can't think of anywhere I would rather be than soaking in a mountain view on top of another mountain with my two girls and their "Aunt" Sarah.











It was worth driving and hiking through some snow to beat the mosquitos and be the first ones to such a beautiful place.

The Beautiful and Broken

It was a sunny winter day.  We left Analise with her daddy and headed up to beautiful White River on the East side of Mt. Hood.

Amy got to try her snowshoes for the second time.   We also brought the sled.  The plan was to snowshoe while we had good energy and then hit the sledding hills on the way back.

The day started with some sun and clouds.  The snow was sparkling and almost perfect for playing in!  The weather was pretty warm with no wind.  We got warmed up quickly and began shedding layers.

We trekked past the sledding crowds and quickly entered snow paradise!

Amy enjoyed blazing her own trails through the deep snow.

We enjoyed the view, being together, and not having a grumpy baby with us.

 

The river and untouched snow were breathtaking!

Amy had great endurance and we kept at it toward the mountain view.

When we got close, there were no clouds at all and Mt. Hood stood before us in all it's beauty.

Some other snowshoers were having a race.  We cheered them on but are not up to running on snowshoes!

Amy likes posing with her mouth open.  I was proud of her for snowshoeing about 4 miles total today.

We decided to try to take the "high road" but could not quite make it up, so we slid back down the hill.

By the time we got back to sledding hills, Amy was too tired for sledding and I decided she deserved a ride down the trail for the last little piece.

Amy and I made it back to the parking lot first and were being careful watching for cars.  Unfortunately, we did not see the black ice behind our Subaru.  We both slipped, and I landed hard on my right palm with all my weight.  I almost passed out  but Amy encouraged me to "be brave".  The two hour ride to urgent care with snow on my wrist was excruciating.  When we got the x-rays they showed a complex fracture in my arm/ wrist.  They had to set the bone and I ended up with a splint.  The doctor says "No restrictions on hiking.  Just avoid ice!"  The bone was set perfectly back in place and if it doesn't move I should not need surgery.  I think this is the end of this year's very short snowshoeing adventure season, but our baby hates snow, so I'm sure we will find other great winter adventures.

  

Timberline wanderings

Last winter, when there was snow, we did quite a few snow adventures.  Analise was just four months old.  Sarah, Analise, and I went on a harder core snowshoe adventure without Amy since she had been boycotting snow.









The snow was really blowing but we bundled up a baby and headed out to explore.









There was quite a bit of bushwacking as we cut through the ski area.









The snow covered trees were amazing.









Since there was not much visibility, we did not wander too far but just made a big loop.









The lodge was quite covered in snow and we really enjoyed exploring and watching the skiers and snowboarders.









Analise stayed nice in warm in her homemade custom fleece Baby Bjorn cover made by her crafty Nana.









Warm and cozy, she slept through this little adventure.









We headed home after a day well spent in the snow.

Returning to Mt. Rainier

 The girls and I took a drive up to meet our friends The McCarty's on an August day.  Analise was almost one.  I always feel like I am coming home when I come to Mt. Rainier.







We took a beautiful and challenging hike up to a high mountain waterfall and meadow.







The kids found a natural rock slide and had some fun.







The creek was raging.







The kiddos and moms spent a lot of time hiking together.  Amy really enjoys hiking with Carolee especially.  They like telling stories together.  Janelle likes to hide gummy bears which Amy also enjoys.







I enjoyed listening to the glacier fed creek.







It was August but there was still this patch of snow in a shady spot.







I enjoyed hanging out at the waterfall.







Analise slept for quite awhile on my back and seemed to enjoy herself also.







The high waterfall was beautiful.







We continued up to a high meadow for some stunning mountain views.







Mike continued on a long loop and the rest of us made the long trek back down the trail.







The kids did a great job, especially considering we were climbing at altitude.  This hike was app. 8 miles RT.  This was Amy's new record!







When we got back to camp, Analise was dubbed "The Queen of Dirt".







The trip was made complete by a morning trip up to Paradise to take in the amazing mountain view.