We had arrived in Squamish for a week of fun in the sun and mountains. For our first hike we chose the Stawamus Chief which was just a short 5 minute drive from the house we were renting in town. This is one of THE hikes to do when in Squamish and we were excited to see the views of the surrounding mountains that this hike promised. We had gotten to the trailhead just before 7:00am and were the first car in the lot. This hike is notoriously popular and we had decided that our 5:30am cheerful alarm that goes off every…
Oberg Loop
A fellow hiker on the Superior Hiking Trail Facebook Group recommended this hike to us and we were glad we listened and went on this scenic, short trail. At only 2.6 miles and situated between Tofte and Lutsen this made a great day hike for us on a recent trip to the North Shore. When we arrived at the trailhead it was lunchtime so we decided to have a picnic in the parking lot before hitting the trail. This was made easy by the SPACE Trailer we had rented for the weekend. The parking lot was massive! It was only half full…
Bean and Bear Lakes Superior Hiking Trail
We were enjoying a weekend of camping on the North Shore of Minnesota and hiked on one of Minnesota’s most iconic trails, The Superior Hiking Trail (SHT). The SHT is 296 miles long going from Duluth, MN to the Canadian border. The section we planned on hiking is touted as one of the more challenging sections of the SHT because of the undulating trail but also one of the most beautiful sections because of the views you see as you climb up three ridges. The trail is also known as the Twin Lakes Trail. At 6.8 miles long with 1600 feet…
Fish Lake Trail
We have been back living in Excelsior, Minnesota for about a month now and have been busy getting settled in our newly purchased home as well as making up for lost time with family and friends. When an April day had temperatures in the 70s and the forecast was calling for sun we couldn’t resist spending the day outside! We drove about an hour from our home to Bobby’s childhood home, a beautiful dome that his parents built in the 70s nestled amongst the trees and a wetland. Bobby spent the morning helping his dad cut firewood while Jack and I…
Beckler Peak
Bobby and I have decided it’s time to move our family back to our roots in Minnesota where Jack can grow up surrounded by the family that loves and misses him so dearly. With only two weekends left in Washington we’re choosing our hikes carefully. It had been 16 months since my last peak when Bobby and I began discussing where we should go for our hike this past weekend. I used to be able to hike 20 mile days. Since having Jack anything over 5 miles sounds like a marathon and anything with over 1500 feet of elevation gain…
Teneriffe Falls
The weather in Seattle was unusually warm and sunny for January so Bobby and I decided to join the majority of the population and head for the mountains for a day of fun in the sun! We headed out early in the hopes of beating the rush since we were planning on hiking to Teneriffe Falls which is very popular and the parking is notoriously bad. We left home just after 8:00 a.m. after having fed Jack his morning oatmeal and fruit for breakfast (yes our little hiker is already eating solid foods!). We arrived at the trailhead around 9:00 a.m.…
Granite Mountain
Disclaimer: We turned back before reaching the lookout atop Granite Mountain. If you want to read a story of success and sunny blue skies then check out our Granite Mountain post from last October. It just so happens to feature one of my favorite photographs. If you want to read a story about some friends having a good time in the mountains on a day where the weather forecast called for a winter storm warning then read on. I spent Friday and Saturday on Mt Baker’s Heliotrope Ridge and when I got home I found texts on my phone from my…
Annette Lake
This was the weekend I overcame a lot of fears on our hike. Usually I really enjoy hiking with a group of friends, but hiking with a baby sets a whole new pace and there are a lot of variables that could alter your plans at any moment. The one other time we had ventured off with a group Jack had an enormous blowout in the parking lot of the trailhead, delaying our departure for about 30 minutes. I decided it was time to get over my fear and we invited some friends to join us for a hike. Bobby…
Blue Lake
I awoke early on Saturday morning and decided to wake Bobby up with those seven little words every man wants to hear, “Where do you want to hike today?” He shot up like he’d been awake for hours and immediately started planning where we should go. The day was to dawn bright, sunny, clear, and not too cold. A rare November day that would be picture perfectly beautiful. The North Cascades highway was still open, according to WSDOT, “Avalanches typically close the highway between late November and mid December. Reopening in the spring is usually accomplished by early May.” We both feel that the North Cascades…
Merritt Lake
Every year a group of our outdoorsy friends gather for a “Multi-Sport Weekend” in September when the crowds have thinned and the weather has cooled. In the past we have done some dirtbag camping, finding a large enough campsite at a roadside pull-off and roughing it. Now, as we are getting older and babies are being born, we find a cabin centrally located amongst numerous possible activities is far more desirable. This year we headed east on Highway 2 and found a cabin that was large enough to fit 12 adults and 2 babies. It was about 20 minutes west…