Truckee -> Lake Tahoe -> Yosemite

heading east from lassen volcanic national park we were hoping for warmer weather around lake tahoe, but we found more snow and our new favorite mountain town: truckee!


truckee is a wonderful little mountain town with amazing people and awesome art studios.


we first wandered into drake and lulu's. a cheerful little space that had a lot of metal and cloth art. we inquired about a cheap place to stay, as it was snowing and the temperature was dropping. many great suggestions were given, including one offer to stay at a friend's recently converted studio apartment.


next, we headed next door to Riverside Studio to check out pottery and other fine art creations. we ended up spending the snowy evening sharing stories over bottles of wine with allana and amie. we extended the evening over dinner at trio, and took them up on their offer of the studio apartment. amie and blake were gracious hosts. we hope we can return the favor someday.


when we awoke, snow covered the ground. we were thankful for a roof overhead, and warm blankets. southboard to yosemite national park was our agenda for today, but not without checking out lake tahoe first.


the water was so blue. snow had started to cover the mountains surrounding the lake.


andrea and i decided that the west road of lake tahoe, at the time we were driving it, was one of the most beautiful drives we've been on. above is emerald bay.


when we stopped for photos andrea found this big-ass pine cone! she stole it.

andrea wanted her photo with her and this peak!



as we were leaving the lake tahoe area, we began to ascend up and over monitor pass. in the distance we saw a weather station...or fire tower, or military installment. we really didn't know what it was, but the road was rocky, winding, and long. as our traveling motto is "leave no rock unturned" we turned off the nicely paved road. further proof that you need four-wheel drive.

here's a sample of what we get into.

twenty minutes up the rock road and the gate was locked! can you believe it! nobody came down to meet us. i was happy not to get arrested. we walked a little ways up the road, but then decided whatever was at the top wasn't worth the walk.


we could see forever up here. i think we were above the weather.


it was quite peaceful up here. nobody but us and the mountain. after "wasting" enough time, we traversed back down the mountain side to head south to yosemite.

WA -> Lassen Volcanic National Park

this fall for vacation, we set off to california for some backpacking. a trisler vacation wouldn't be a trisler vaction if you headed straight to our destination; after all...our motto is 'the destination is the journey.'

our first stop was mt shasta city, which lies at the base of mt shasta in california. the town is filled with nice people, one of whom told us to venture down to the city park to drink some 'live' water out of the lava tubes.

we're not ones to pass up free water, so off we trotted. we had to wait in line to fill a bottle, as i think most town people get there drinking water from the city park. let me tell you, this water was alive!

andrea dipping her hands into the sweet, sweet nectar of the sacramento river headwaters.

after mt shasta, we headed down the road to lassen volcanic national park. lassen peak was the first volcanic eruption witnessed by man in the 'lower 48.' it's regrowth over the past one hundred years gives hope to the mt st helens area.

lassen peak.

lassen has a very interesting landscape. certain spots look like the moon with evergreen trees.


with the sudden temperature drop and snow, we only day-hiked one trail, bumpass hell. bumpass hell is not joke, just read the warning sign.

bumpass hell has a desolated beauty that we've never seen anywhere before.

matching down puffies are a must! :)

a mudpot with pyrite [fool's gold] .

on the hike out it really started snowing.

while sitting around a campsite in mid-twenty degree weather sounds appetizing somedays, today wasn't one of those. we thought we'd head to lake tahoe to try to warm up.

as we loss elevation, we found fall.

stay tuned for reports...

Kendall Katwalk

I love fall. And I love getting outside, breathing in the cool, crisp autumn air to see beautiful colors changing. Sarah, Townsend and I headed up to Kendall Katwalk to do just this.

Rocky terrain on the way up there.


Townsend peering over the ledge, looking down into the valley.


Sarah nearing the katwalk. ("Where is this thing!?")


We stopped for a quick lunch break, which turned into a longer lunch break, since I looked around me and saw this:
and:
Brooke says I wear everyone out. Sorry, guys.


We made it to the Katwalk! Townsend told me it's rude to take a dog on a katwalk. So he calls it the DOGwalk.


Kendall Kat/Dogwalk is a thin section of trail on the PCT that was blasted off to skirt around this large mountain.


Red Mountain, located in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.


It was a great 11 mile hike filled with great colors and spectacular views.

sam quinn...the squirrel.

i walked out the door the other day to find our dog in a quite, marvelous point. then i looked up and saw what he was pointing at...


sam quinn the squirrel!
[named after this sam quinn. i thought it was fitting.]

townsend held his point, and held his point, and held his point until he was shaking.

i called, 'get it!' and off towno tore after sam quinn and his walnuts.

sam dropped his walnuts. i would have done the same.

sam got away this time. it's been fun watching, as this has gone on for weeks!

American Lake Backpack

there are only so many hikes and backpacks you can do inside of the national parks with a dog. truly, most national parks have a "six feet from car rule" for dogs. that is, dogs are allowed anywhere a car is allowed with an additional six feet for a leash. being dog owners, we would like to continue to visit our beloved parks with townsend.

there are loop holes. you can have dogs on the pacific crest trail [pct]...which runs through mt rainier national park!

we set off from chinook pass on the pct to american lake. here townsend is bending the law.


along the hike out were millions of nature's candy! these blueberries were delicious!
it was great hiking, picking and eating!


brooke got tired of losing most of his harvest to townsend, so he made towno pick his own. we had little black bear cub-ish dog scouring the landscape for the treats!


this trail was very reminiscent of the smokey mountains.


getting a late start gets you into camp late. grandpa's words of wisdom!


it was a little eerie hiking into camp around night fall. a light fog covered the terrain.


good morning sunshine! our dog yawns more then anything we've ever seen.


we walked down to the lake to fix a nice warm breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate.


andrea sips hot cocoa, townsend takes a nap. hey wait, didn't you just wake up!?


taking in the stunning views!


townsend wanted a brisk little wade to wake up. he doesn't swim, unless he falls in, he just wades.


american lake.


mt tahoma from the east.


stopping on the way back for townsend to get a drink and wade. the entire hike was filled with these gorgeous alpine lakes.


this is what townsend did about every 100 feet on the hike back. he'd turn back as if to say, "guys, i'm real tired." and then he would lay down.


it was a long way up to the saddle, especially when you're stopping every fifty feet to pick a handful of blueberries!
hiking down from the saddle on the way out.


although townsend acted exhausted for the entire hike out, when we reached the end of the trail he did what any teenager would have done. he jumped up on top of the retaining wall, turned, and stuck out his tongue.

teenagers.

Monkey

this is my best friend Monkey.
Hi Monkey!

-towno

my first triathlon

It's my goal that every year I try something new. So this year I took part in the Danskin Triathlon here in Seattle, at Genesee Park. I was one of 5300 women (wow, I know. let's just say there was a lot of estrogen present.)
This was kind of a big deal because...well...I'm terrified of drowning. So what better way to get over my fear than to sign up for a triathlon with 100+ other women around me kicking and scratching their way to the end? Brilliant, Andrea.

The line up of bikes.


Getting ready for my swim of 1/2 mile.


There were waves of 30-40 women every 3 minutes. This is my wave getting ready to dive into Lake Washington.


And the race begins!


Finishing up the swim. I'm out there...somewhere.
And no, I did not drown.


I met up with my friend, Jenn, at the end of the swim. Here we are dorking around during our transition to bikes.


Then I was off on my bike for 12 miles, across the I-90 bridge to Mercer Island and back.


The last leg was to run a 5K (3.1 miles) around to Seward Park and back to the finish line.

I finished in just under 2 hours. haha.


Jenn and I...our first tri! We had a blast and look forward to doing others together next year.