Iron Mountain 16 June 2012

I wanted to get an early start to the season on Iron Mountain.  The snow had recently melted and could still be found in patches in the meadows near Cone Peak.  It was heavy the entire last bit of the trail up to the top of Iron Mtn.  Crossed it anyway.  The trilliums were out in full force, blanketing the forest floor.  Saw two other couples on this hike.

Cone Peak

Destination - Iron Mountain

Fairy slipper

Mt Jefferson

The three Sisters

Mt Washington

This is the difficult snow...I forgot to take any other photos because of concentrating.

a giant moss covered rock

nurse log

the meadows at Cone Peak

Iron Mtn and Cone Peak

Silver Falls Stat Park 5 May 2012

Silver Falls is a good standby if the conditions are iffy.  The entire trail was open after being closed because of flooding.  The hike focused on wildflowers.

Henline Lookout and Falls 13 April 2012

This was the first true hike of 2012.  Jean and I did not make it around the north side of the mountain, however.  The snow became deeper than we wanted to maneuver.  We did a little 2 mi out and back trip to Henline Falls to round out the day.

Washington Hike: Deception Pass State Park 29 December 2011

Cheryl and I hiked at Deception Pass State Park in Washington on a cloudy, but not rainy, December day.  It was a long trek to the trailhead from Bainbridge Island as we had to include a ferry crossing from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island.  The hike was beautiful but not entirely quiet because the navy planes at the Whidbey Island Naval Base make lots of noise.  We enjoyed our day on the beautiful coast.

 Cascades looking east from the ferry at Pt Townsend

 The area near the Deception Pass bridge

 We hiked around the upper most point in the photo

 Deception Pass bridge

 You can see the San Juan Islands in the distance

 a gigantic salal forest!

 Deception Island

 a madrone

 Looking back to Whidbey Island North Beach

 a twisty madrone

 a lumpy madrone

 a bumpy, pealing madrone

Cheryl on the Bowman Bay beach