Random thoughts: Are you driving from Seattle on Day 1? Forks, and the NW coast of the Olympics, are far as shit -- 4.5 to 5 hours away. I might try to do either the Hoh or Second Beach rather than squeeze both in on the same day. Unless you plan on leaving at like 5-6 AM and maybe camping at one? Camping on the beach is really easy and tons of fun Second Beach is located just outside La Push, so potentially could drive to Forks on Day 1, explore the Hoh, then early on Day 2 do La Push/beaches. Cape Flattery is pretty cool, most NW location of Washington: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/cape-flattery I don't think it'll make a huge difference going north or south from La Push -- I'd mainly look for specific hikes along the beach to do. Some options: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/washington/ozette-triangle-trail?ref=result-card https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/washington/cape-alava-trail?ref=result-card https://www.alltrails.com/explore/t...i-to-ozette-river-beach-trail?ref=result-card https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/washington/third-beach-to-hoh-river?ref=result-card If you're going to camp and/or do a long day hike on the beach, be sure to look at tide charts -- sometimes during high tide you cannot cross. Hurricane Ridge is awesome, maybe one of the most famous hikes in the Olympics. Sequim and Port Angeles are cool little towns worth exploring, too Are yall staying in Port Angeles the whole time? Or in the Forks/La Push area for 2 nights and then to Port Angeles (I'd recommend the latter).
Also, if you're going on a weekend, it's going to be crowded as shit. This summer is the most crowded I've ever seen the trails, which isn't very surprising. I imagine it's less crowded during the week, though.
Went climbing this weekend outside of Leavenworth. I've done bouldering gyms, but never trad climbing outside. It was fun as shit, fingers are so sore and torn up. I lost my grip and fell once, but only dropped a few inches. We found 2 different routes, everyone went up 3-4x. Spoiler
I'm doing the latter and spending the last night either in Port Angeles or someplace between there and Gig Harbor. -Thursday-Hoh Rainforest, maybe Second Beach? -Friday-All Day along the coast -Saturday-Hurricane Ridge. I am expecting this to be packed. It is what it is. I probably won't get to the Hoh Rainforest until after lunch time. How long does it typically take to see most of that spot? I was hoping to get to the coast by sunset, but if I don't that's ok.
For the Hoh rainforest, it can be as long or short as you want. Obviously, the deeper you go the less crowded it gets. You can go 10-11 miles before encountering any gain -- but that'd be like 20 miles round trip. I'd recommend going at least 5-6 miles in to get away from the crowds/get more into the forest. I'd consider spending all of Day 1 at the Hoh, spending a good few hours there so you don't rush it. From the Hoh trailhead to second beach is about an hour drive, and Second beach is the same terrain/scenery as the other beaches. My rec: -Day 1 - arrive at Hoh after lunch, spend a 3-4-5 hours walking through there -Day 2 - wake up and do a beach/coast walk (ozette triangle, etc.) -Day 3 - Hurricane Ridge
Did some miles on each of these this week. So far I like the cushion and outsole of the Speedgoat much more. Toes feel a little restricted and the ball of my foot felt the edges. I’m pretty sure I have tailors bunions on both sides. In high school I stress fractured the outside metatarsal and the ortho told me the bones were just abnormally large. Anyway, whatever it actually is, cautioning and roomy toe boxes work well. Love the footshape of the Lone Peak. Very comfortable for. It seemed to do well when soaked. Outsole not as good. Also not a fan of the lesser cushioning. Coming from boots and heavy hikers, feel isn’t a big deal to me. I don’t need to feel the tree roots and I trust my footsteps enough. I go barefoot enough that I don’t think the zero drop will bother my muscles. Hasn’t so far. I think they both have a place. I think I can correct the Hoka issues with a wider width and/or lacing. I can probably correct the Altra comfort issues with an insole, but the outsole is what it is. At this point if I had to pick one I’d go Speedgoat. Both look hideous, so Ieaned into it with the most bright and obnoxious colors they had.
Just go full obnoxious when it comes to colors, the wilderness is one of the few times you can get away with it.
6 mile hike to Comet Falls, tallest waterfall in Mt Rainier Nat Park. Freaking awesome. 380 ft Spoiler
Next weekend, 8/22-23: Overnight here - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/spider-meadow-trail 8/29-30: Overnight - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/tuck-and-robin-lakes 9/5-12: PCT Section J Let's fucking goooo
I’m sure you are all sick of my shoe yammering, but... After heading out for a few miles every night for the last week the Speedgoat blows the Lone Peak out of the water. For my feet and gait it outperformed in nearly area. Altra has the toebox, but I’ll take the little bit narrower shoe for all of the other things the Hoka does better. Grip, cushion, stability, heel slip, drying time, and overall foot condition all go Hoka for me. I wanted to like that lone peak, but it just ain’t it for me. I’ll find uses for it when I’m not trying to make miles, but it won’t be a long or technical hiker for me. Also really liking the injinji wool liners. Wearing them alone when it’s hot. Did one with them inside of a darn tough quarter and it also did well.
Also upgraded from cheap off-brand twist lock poles to Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork today. Tried some Leki carbon at my in-laws last week and they flexed too much for my liking. https://www.rei.com/product/147514/black-diamond-trail-ergo-cork-trekking-poles-pair
Week long hikes where I carry a lot of weight and go off trail/scramble I use boots. Also short 2 nighters when I take my kids because I'm carrying damn near everything. Salomon Quest 4D 3 GTX. Most everything else whether running or hiking, Salomon Speedcross 5 GTX. I run every other day and it's 5 miles of trails through a swamp. Very cool run, lots of bugs and snakes but no people. But it's got tons of roots. The Speedcross have a very knobby toe that catches them so I use Brooks Cascadias. Non GTX because I'm shin deep in water some places so I just wear wool socks and rely on the shoe to vent. GTX is hate or love. I still love. When backpacking I prefer a dry foot.
Work has been fucking miserable the past few weeks. Starting tomorrow night, over the next 22 days, I’m sleeping outside for 10.
All in all, it was great. Followed the recommendation for most part. We did not see a cloud the entire time. So weird, yet fortunate. -Day one was spent in Hoh Rainforest. Went along river for about 4 miles before turning around. The terrain is quite unique, but I felt like i would prefer it more in Spring after the thaw or even a bit of rain. -Day two-Went Along Rialto Beach. Can not recommend that area enough. Beach hiking is always a favorite of mine, even though quite demanding depending on surface. We went early, only ran into a couple camps, and felt like we had that part of the park entirely to our selves. Will definitely come back to beaches again. Got to head to a few islands typically not reachable because we got lucky with the tides. Just an awesome and unique area. So much better than Oregon Coast. Day three-Went into the Olympics. It was a nightmare and were stalled for one to one traffic at the gate. Got away from the crowds a coupe miles in. They are quite beautiful, but once again I felt like I would want to come back with more snowcaps and water. The area just seemed unusually dry. Plus the bugs were ferocious Thanks again for the recs. It certainly steered us in the right direction
Think I am going to try to take of advantage of the (likely) lack of college football this fall and take my almost 7 year old daughter camping/hiking a bit more regularly. We have done a couple of day hikes in NC this summer and she has naturally taken to these little adventures. Obviously will start off car camping for the most part, Carolinas and Virginia, I imagine, for the next year or 2 and expand our footprint as she becomes more comfortable; assuming she takes to it long term of course. My wife will also participate for most of our trips, I am sure. Clearly, keeping it simple with a 7 year old is the way to go, equipment-wise. We’ve got a cheap-ish family tent that we used this summer for camping out in the back yard that I’ll probably keep using until the need for a better one arises. Besides sleeping bags/pads and a stove, any other super basic necessities I would need to procure before going off on our first long weekend? Any other folks itt with advice for camping with kids? I grew up camping regularly with my grandfather, did NOLES one summer in high school, and hiked/camped a good bit after college when I moved to Tahoe. But I haven’t really done anything in the past 15 years or so, so I am kind of starting over myself. But the basic knowledge is there, I think.
Maybe some chairs if you don’t think there will be natural seating. Fishing gear if you’re into that. Don’t do a Tom Haverford. ETA: Knife and a small saw or hatchet or presplit firewood.
Also, what are your food goals? Are you using skillets to fry up bacon and eggs? Hot dogs on a stick and s’mores? Or just some snacks and a one-pot stove to boil up some oatmeal? Whichever it is, I recommend keeping the options limited. Leave the condiments and as many pots, pans, plates, cups, and utensils behind. I do the same with road trips. I used to pack all kinds of snacks and stuff for sandwiches, etc. Now I realize 2/3 went unused or was a hassle.
In my mind it was more of a skillet/hot dogs on a stick/hamburger steak in aluminum foil type food situation, at least initially. Agreed that simple is the way to go.
Ray McKigney definitely need a good water filter (rather than just hauling in gallon jugs) -- and drinking freshly pumped water is delicious. This is what I have, can't recommend enough: https://www.rei.com/product/116363/katadyn-hiker-pro-clear-microfilter Also, I may be in the minority, but I actually enjoy the dehydrated meals--they've come a long way. Maybe not initially, but if you want to expand into backpacking beyond car camping, you'll need to bring in dehydrated food + stove. Deck of cards/something to keep the kid entertained when you can't use iphones/electronics. I have a pair of waterproof playing cards that never come out of pack.
As much as I've explored WA, this weekend was one of the prettiest places I've been. Spider Meadows, 8 miles in (16 roundtrip), only about 2,000 ft of gain, not hard at all. The hike is all through the woods, just OK, and then it opens up into a tremendous alpine meadow: Spoiler Hiked in Saturday, woke up early Sunday and hiked to the base of that reddish/brown mountain with the snowfield at the base of it. 2,000 ft over 3.5 miles, amazing views of the valley (but turned Sunday into like a 15-mile day): Spoiler Also, experimented with time lapse/night vision with my gopro for the first time in the backcountry. The stars were OUT. The video turned out a little grainier than I wanted after editing/youtube, but this is pretty cool. Going to keep trying and get it better: North Cascades Nat Park next weekend, PCT Section J the following weekend
The bear was a fun experience, the boar worried me for a couple minutes. Pics from the trip. We hiked to campsite 47, Enloe Creek and stayed there a night. Then we drove to Newfound Gap and hiked down to Kephart Shelter for the night. Then up to Charles Bunion, over Kephart and back to the car. Spoiler Enloe Creek You can see our hammocks on top of the boulders Kephart EDIT: I can't tell if any are showing up, so you might have to use your imagination.
Man Andrew luck really looks like he slimmed down with that trimmed beard in retirement. Great looking pics.
Got my partner and PTO locked in. Wives are on board with us going. Bearvault is in the mail (hard to find in stock lately). All that’s left is train hard and hope to hit a JMT permit for next summer.
Did Navaho Pass and Peak this weekend. Hiked in 7 miles and 3,500 ft on Saturday, woke up Sunday and hiked another 1.5 miles and about 1,500 ft. East side of the Cascades, so was much dryer, almost desert-ey. T'was awesome Spoiler Leave for Section J on Saturday
Really? I feel like it’s a good bit. Pretty much 3 meals/day + snacks Doing 10-12 miles/day, all up and down. I dont think it will be terribly strenuous, but more spending 7 days straight in the backcountry.
You know your body, but you’re going to be at a major calorie deficit: https://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-hiking/ Not a huge deal for a shorter trip, but I’d be careful over 7 days. Might want to throw in some olive oil, which can add a lot of calories to all your dinners without much weight.
You can easily burn 4K+ calories a day backpacking. Obviously lots of variables, weather, pack weight, elevation gain, water sources. But more food is more weight. But agree that you'll be on a decent deficit. If that's normal for you and you have no issues then great.
Starkist has bagged bbq chicken that I had last time and it’s actually pretty good. That and instant mashed potatoes together were a lot of calories for not much weight.
And if there's one name to trust when it comes to chicken it's starkist, the chicken of the sea experts. Seriously is it in the pouches like their tuna?
I’ve taken the tuna before. Probably be taking the tuna in two weeks too. Shit so dry but can’t argue with the lightweight, minimal space and amount of protein
Fucking pumped. With all water, food, and a handful of big IPAs it’s about 51 lbs Will get lighter every day
Grabbed the Osprey Atmos AG 65 for $200 on sale at REI. Almost immediately sold off my 2015 Deuter ACT Lite 65+10 to offset the cost, so all in I’ll have $110 in the $270 pack. The extra comfort is worth the extra 12-16 oz to me. I don’t see myself in a UL pack in the near future.