Attack of the Grasshoppers

Harry's Ridge, 8/16/08, 7 miles, 1000 elevation

Summer (in the eyes of most of the nation) arrived this weekend. I, on the other hand, had been enjoying the cooler temps of the typical northwest summer. But as the temps rose this past week, my ability to function as a normal human being decreased. I'm a Seattle girl - I don't like hot - and anything above 80 is hot. The temps at Mt St Helens were in the mid-90s.

But I wanted to go on this CHS hike, my buddy Steve raved about the beauty on Coldwater Peak. So I packed extra liquids and a couple of neck-coolers and my ventilated sun hat and met the rest of the group at Johnston Ridge. By the time we traversed Devil's Elbow, my body was feeling the heat, and without any shade I knew it would only get worse. Michael noticed it before I did, it's a good thing he watches me closely in hot weather and cold. He's saved my temps on more than one occasion when I thought I was doing fine. While standing in a small grove of willows trying to rest in whatever shade we could get, he had me drink some electrolytes and put on a neck -cooler. It helped for a little while.

Again we were in the direct sun, climbing up a small hill that I just had no ability to climb. Each footstep was harder to make until I had to rest on a bridge while the others in the group continued on. I drank more after the urge to vomit subsided and then followed the group up the hill. But still, each step was a task my body wouldn't cooperate committing. We finally found shade beneath a tree for lunch as the group ate lunch on the ridge above Spirit Lake with Mt St Helens looking on and Mt Adams a hill on the horizon.

After a discussion with Steve, Michael & I said good-bye to the rest of the group. Continuing on, for me, would prove harmful if not deadly. We watched them as they rapidly ascended the next hill - a steeper, more barren climb. I wanted so much to continue on, but knew in reality that with this heat there was no way I could. Michael & I turned back to wait for them at the trail-head. As the day wore on and the temperature increased, I could feel my body try to shut down. Frequent rests to suck down more liquid and allow my body to readjust along with the sheer determination to power through to the car are the only things that got me there.

The rest of the group came out about an hour or so after we made it out. They never did reach Coldwater Peak - they all voted to leave the hike for a day with a more mellow disposition. And where does the title come from you ask? On our way back, each step sent a cloud of grasshoppers leaping through the air. Michael at one point said, "It is really telling of a place where the only living creatures are a plague of locusts."

In the Clouds, Naturally

Eunice Lake, 8/10/08, 5.5 miles, 500 Elevation

My first official trip as hike leader for the naturalist class. Luckily it was a short hike and I had a co-leader.

My small band of naturalist students met me at Lake Mowich where, in the midst of August, snow was still piled up next to the road and snow banks still lined the shoreline. But our way through the woods was snow free if a little cold. Being naturalists, we stopped often along the way to examine this plant or discuss that one. However, with the winter still clinging to Mt Rainier the plants weren't as plentiful as I had hoped.

We came back into the snow and entered low-lying clouds at the lake, but that wasn't going to deter us from a casual lunch. And for my first official trip, it went rather well.

Sweat and Flowers

Marmot Pass, 8/2/08, 10.5 miles, 3500 elevation

Is that yet another variety of Paintbrush? How many had I seen by now? I was looking down at a pale pink Indian Paintbrush in the meadows below Marmot Pass. Already I had spotted a Common Paintbrush and Scarlett Paintbrush and possibly another one or two. And that wasn't counting the myriad other wildflowers along the trek up to Marmot Pass. Along the way there were Twinflowers, Tiger Lilies, Red Columbine, Fireweed, False Solomon's Seal, Penstemon, Nootka Roses - the list goes on and on. But it was the variety of Paintbrushes that stood out on this trip.

It's a long hill to climb to Marmot Pass and even on this chilled and cloudy summer day, we were all sweating to make the top. The forest gave us glimpses of the chaos nature can bring when thrashed with a storm. As we quickly climbed through the forest along the Quilcene River, deadfall littered each bank and the forest floor. Flowers peeked out from around stumps and greenery. As the way became steeper, the forest started opening up to grander views topped by low hanging clouds. I could only imagine the splendor we'd have seen if the sky had been clear - the view was beautiful as it was.

We came across a meadow filled with color, followed by another one and another. Soon we reached the meadow below the pass filled with pinks and yellows - all I wanted to do was stop and spend an hour or more shooting. But the color didn't stop there. All along the final climb to the pass were more varieties of flowers and more colors until we reached our destination looking to the interior of the Olympic Mountains. The clouds thinned a bit and the views for lunch makes me want to return, again and again.