April Showers bring...

Alpental
04.14.06
It’s raining in Seattle when Peter picks me up. I’m glad he’s driving because the driving rains make the visibility on I-90 difficult. Peter mentions that his sister who lives in Utah thinks we are crazy for skiing in this piss poor pissing conditions. We meet up with Tim just after 10:30 at the bottom of the quad lift. It’s teacher ski day, the last weekday of our spring break!

The rains turn to wet snow half way up the quad. So we seek the snow and ride chair 2 to the top. We see boarders cut some slides. Visibility is low: fog and snow. We drop into Edelweiss bowl. We each take turns turning ass over teakettle. The snow is manky, deep, and grabby. I’m riding the skis low and long and it’s tough work.

Second run we head back up chair 2 and go the long way down. This is only my second time ever on Upper International. It’s one year and one day to the day I first descended this route. This time, no pow, but still deep snow. Another tele-skier reminds me to breath. I do. It is not nearly as bad as we all thought, but still tough going. Lower Nash is debris field. Some chunks of snow are taller than my shins. I nail one with my chest. I watch Peter take a power eleven approach and he bails, bounces, and lands back on his skis.

We pull in for lunch and a break. We are soaked. After lunch we wiggle into wet jackets and head back for a few more. We decide to stay low, traverse the cat track a bit and drop into one of the side lines. Snow is fairly good and we make another go. The second time through, I’m doing a beautiful ballet move, right ski so high in the air that when I land, I take the tail of the right ski in my left thigh. A nice ski length scratch and bruise. Time to call it a day. We head to the cars and chuckle at the day!

Bundy and Mazama Ridge

Check out the post on TAY for this Rainier trip

Mt. Catherine

Please check the TAY post on Mt. Catherine

Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge

02.24.06
JT, JLB, and I head out on a phenology mission. JT and I studied botany in college and the last time I came to the Gorge with her, her daughter was just 19 months old, saying, "Touch. Touch mama” from the baby backpack. Today JLB runs along the trail on her own "thenology" mission. She's clearly out to study something, even if we are not sure what the -ology is. On that earlier trip I had predicted that JLB would be speaking botanical Latin by the age of 5. At breakfast this morning she proves me right and speaks our mission quite clearly: "Sisyrinchium" (Sysrinchium douglasii var. douglasii)

There in the moist moss we spot a few fuchsia colored heads. Most specimens are in the vegetative state. Long thing leaves clearly of the monocot world. I count 6 petals and not 3 bold yellow stamens that confirm the iris family. JLB tip toes on rocks and finds a few "fat leaves" that her mom tells her are flower buds.

After feeling fuzzy pussy willows and Verbascum thapsis JLB conducts an unprompted experiment. "I'm exploring nature," she says with hands in her overall pockets. "I'm exploring which rocks make a big splash and which rocks make a small splash." I can't stop taking photographs. When we leave the creek bed, we head up the trail to gain the ridge, the Columbia River behind us, rolling on. After seeing tracks in the mud, we practiced walking quietly through the woods so that we might see this animal. I asked JLB about the habitat and colors and characteristics of this creature. Like a 4 year old, she gestured as she told of the fuzzy animal that moved carefully all around this place. But like a careful scientist moments later she exclaimed, "Wait! I have an idea! We can look at its poop. Then we can see what it eats, or if it's fresh, where it has been."

Just before turning away from the creek back to the car I hear, "Wait! Close your eyes. Listen. Take a deep breath." Our young nature lover reminds me to soak it all in.

Mt. Tabor, Portland, Oregon

JT leads me to her favorite urban hike. Into this fabulous city park we climb the gravely path, that gives way to moss and pine needled dirt. From the top, a broad view of the Rose City and a forested feel. The sound of smiles and wind whistling through tall douglas firs. We've got time before picking JLB up from preschool so we run stairs along the resevoir. A great workout!

Eastside sunshine and snow

On Saturday I drove to Leavenworth. The views were stunning and reminded me how lucky I am to live in the great PNW. Stunning I tell you. The weather has been particularly cold. I was bundled in my down jacket driving over the pass and pondering the ponderosa's on the way down the other side. I arrived at Sleeping Lady Lodge Saturday late morning. After checking in I walked the snowshoe track along the Icicle River Trail. Hard snow made no need for snowshoes. Then I joined friends and the wedding love birds to the Icicle Creek Winery. By fireside and sunset we sipped a fine collection of wines and toured the cellar.

Sunday, Thisbe and I rented x-country skis and got into the groove of the track on the Icicle River Trail. Being down hill skiiers, we both zoomed along the track hoping to go fast. That's a challenge when the trail is dead flat. Skate skiers zoomed along so Thisbe tried to skate along the groomed area. Woah! Clearly, our x-c classic skis are not meant for skating as they have no metal edge. We admired the sunshine, the pinecones, and the state fish hatchery that resembled a "large shuffleboard court". After a tour around the 8 km course, Thisbe noted that to do it again would leave her in no shape for a wedding; plus we found it a bit boring.


So we hit the hot tub and then headed into town to see KB get beautified. A lovely weekend with lots of snow, stars, and sunshine. Oh, and love. Best wishes KB and GUS.

Sunrise Sunset

I ride through this morning's chilly temperatures, avoiding a pocket of black ice, and cross the Montlake Bridge to see the early glow of sunrise reflect in the waters of the cut. In an oranging sky, the caucophany of crows circle above me. As I gain the hill on 29th, the Olympics shine their snow in the first light of day. Rainier looms South through the second story bathroom window where I change out of bike clothes into cold jeans. All day students explore the laws of physics. After department meetings our principal leads a small crew of teachers to the roof. We can see for miles and miles and miles. Clear Cascades. I drink the sun. I can taste the snow. A patch on Mt. Si looks like the state of Louisiana. The light is shifting lower in the West when I change back into my bike clothes. I push off down 29th to the mirror of morning. An orange glow of the Olympics. By the time I reach the bridge the Cascades have cooled down. Stars twinkle above the driveway.

It is that time of the year when I catch the sun and silhouettes on both mountain ranges. The views are simply stunning and I see it without a windsheild.