Person A

Diamond Lake Yesterday I went on a day hike along Polallie Ridge, which separates the Waptus River and Cooper River valleys in central Washington. The goal was to reach the site of an old fire lookout just shy of Waptus Pass and then try to summit Cone Mountain. I'd noticed Cone's formidable eastern face while backpacking to Waptus Lake. After examining a map of the area post-trip I noticed that the western side of the mountain wasn't even a face at all, it was a flat expanse filling the space between the summit block and Polallie Ridge. Although satellite imagery [...]

Mount Jerry Garcia from the south shore of Waptus Lake Last weekend I went on a two-nighter to Waptus Lake. Nestled within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Waptus Lake offers incredible views of Summit Chief and Bears Breast Mountains as well as access to the PCT. The relatively flat 9-mile hike in follows the Waptus River on and off and sports a number of small creek crossings to keep things interesting. The horse ford Unfortunately the foot bridge at the end has been washed out so access to the main campground is via a horse ford where moderately-paced water currently sits [...]

This week's adventure was a day trip to French Cabin Mountain North, located near the northwestern corner of Cle Elum Lake. The forecast called for rain so I was eager to try out my new rain wrap. Recent trip reports indicated that there was a swift water crossing at the very start so I was excited to give that a go as well (I don't really do many water crossings). Goals Test out creek crossing using DexShell waterproof socks ✅ (they were awesome)Test out Enlightened Equipment rain wrap in extended heavy rain ❌ (barely got sprinkled on) The water crossing [...]

Third time's a charm. After two previous attempts both ended in turnarounds due to snow I finally got enough sense to bring a pair of snowshoes with me. The final turn into the northern bowl at just above 4,000 feet was the end of bare ground but this time I was able to float over places where previously I was postholing. On the way up I encountered a few interesting people, one told me about a giant white "spirit turkey" that he'd seen a few weeks earlier down in the clearcut where I'd parked my car. Unfortunately searching for spirit [...]

Ancient Lakes and the neighboring Babcock Bench along the Columbia River Gorge are among my favorite places to backpack. The arid openness yields views for miles and the ground is crisscrossed with hiking trails and old jeep tracks. On previous trips I'd often thought about how great it would be to be able to quickly scoot around the landscape on a bike. With state lands re-opening on Tuesday I took the day off to put my idea to the test. My bike is a ye olde Trek DS 8.3. It's a hybrid bike which means that it's not a great [...]