Author Archives: Rick Freeman

Mount Teneriffe, August 2014

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Mount Teneriffe
Date: August 22, 2013
Difficulty: 8 out of 10
Distance: 11 miles / 17.7 Kilometers roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,840 feet / 1170 meters
Time: 5 to 6 hours
Location: Exit 32, I-90 Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass
Trail Conditions: Dry
Hiking With: Rick Massie

I was looking for a tough hike and Mount Teneriffe fulfilled the mission. Rick Massie and I took the Kamikaze Falls route and then followed the ridgeline to the summit. This is not an easy hike for anyone…you either hike the 11 mile route we did or the lengthy 14 mile logging road both coming out with 3,800 feet elevation gain.

It took 3 hours to make it to the summit, but as always it was well worth it. We got to enjoy the summit and the 360 degree views by ourselves. We descended via the logging road and ended our day at Local…a West Seattle neighborhood tavern in Seattle.

Granite Mountain Hike, August 2014

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Granite Mountain
Date: August 1, 2014
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 8.6 miles / 13.8 Kilometers roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,800 feet / 1,158 meters
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 47, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to the top
Hiking With: Rick Massie

The last time Rick Massie and I hiked up Granite was in extreme cold windy weather in November. This hike was just the opposite with plenty of sunshine and warm weather; on the descent you welcomed the shady areas because the sun was getting a little too warm.

We finished the hike with a cold pint of Mac & Jacks and a hot cup of Jambalaya soup at the North Bend Bar & Grill.

Denny Creek Hike, July 2014

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Denny Creek Trail
Date: July 24, 2014
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 9 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,300 ft
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: I-90 exit 47
Users Group: Hikers & Leashed Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Wet to the top
Hiking with: Jim Darmiento, Rick Massie and the wonder dog Macho.

Jim Darmiento, Rick Massie and I had this hiked planned for a couple of weeks and usually the full month of July is sunny and warm. Somehow we picked the only rain day in July; it was raining when we started and was still raining when we finished…we were truly soaked by the time we got back to Jim’s pick-up.

To remove the chill from our bones we headed to North Bend Bar & Grille for a warm bowl of Jambalaya.

Colorado Trip, July 2014

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The last time Linna and I hiked in Colorado was two years ago during my birthday week where I summited Colorado’s highest peak Mt. Elbert. This trip we flew an early morning flight from Seattle to Denver via Alaska Airlines. Once we landed we still had a 4 ½ hour drive from the Denver airport to Crested Butte…this can be a little tiring after a while driving two lane highways behind large trucks and RV’s.

This year we met up again in Crested Butte with basically the same group of friends but with a few more people this time. Our group rented a huge house in the Mt. Crested Butte area overlooking mountains and the Crested Butte village.

We spent four relaxing days enjoying fabulous homemade Chinese food, local hiking and the mountain scenery. Our first group hike was off of CR734 on Augusta Mountain with an elevation gain of 3,000 feet. This was supposed to be an easy hike but we took a different route and ended up adding more adventure to this hike with a river crossing and some rock scrambling.

Our second hiking day was the opposite, it was supposed to be the longer hike up to West Maroon Pass but was pretty much a photo shoot of beautiful wildflowers on West Maroon Valley. An easier hike was totally cool with me especially with the first few days consisting of flying, driving and hiking.
The four day trip ended up with a stupid move on my part by leaving our car keys in the vacation rental house…our car was parked at the SeaTac airport; I called a good friend of mine Mike Curry for a ride home.

Bandera Mountain Hike, July 2014

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Bandera Mountain
Date: July 4, 2014
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,400 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 45, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to the top
Hiking With: Mike Curry, Rick Massie, Jim Powell and my dog Macho.

I didn’t hike Bandera at all last year, but for some reason I have already hit the top of this hike three times this year. What I like about this hike it gives you a mile of warm up on easy grade going into a moderate grade and then onto a thigh pounding son-of-bitch ending with magnificent views with the bonus of Mt. Rainier in your face.

Mike Curry, Rick Massie and Jim Powell joined me on a beautiful July 4th holiday. We started on the trail around 8:00 a.m. and made it to the top less than two hours. For some reason this hike is becoming a lot like Mt. Si…voluminous of people on weekends and holidays. Totally recommend starting before 8:00 a.m. on weekends or you will be parking along the dusty road.

I brought up a quart of homemade chicken rice soup that my wife Linna made that I warmed up on my trusty MSR stove/pan. After a nice lunch, rest and photo-ops it was time to descend and weave through the masses of people heading up. We ended with a cold pitcher of Mac & Jacks at Sure Shot Tavern in North Bend, Washington; this wasn’t our normal watering hole…North Bend Bar & Grill was closed due to the July 4th holiday.

Shanghai Trip, June 2014

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This was my third trip to Shanghai this year and traveling in the raining season worked out just fine for this Northwest Seattle boy. It rained every day I was there which created horrible traffic but also provided clean fresh air.

If you looking for huge views and a hotspot for a cocktail with friends or guests, you will need to check out Cloud Nine near the Bund. You will need to step on 3 different elevators to reach the 87th floor in the Jin Mao Tower, this sky lounge will give you a 360-degree view of Shanghai from one of the highest points in the city. After a cocktail was dinner at Mr. & Mrs. Bund with friends enjoying the French cuisine from Chef Paul Pairet.

Mount Ellinor Hike, June 2014

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Mount Ellinor
Date: June 6, 2014
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 6.2 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,200 feet
Time: 3 to 4 hours
Location: Near Hoodsport, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Snow-Pack
Hiking With: Jim Darmiento & Macho the dog wonder.

This is a short but fairly steep hike with 360 degree views, unfortunately the summit was socked in so we stopped short and had a quick lunch. As we were putting our backpacks on and getting ready for our descent, along came a huge ass mountain goat on the trail.

Two years ago an older gentleman was killed by a mountain goat on this very mountain so this was in my head during the ascent. As we were approaching the summit, three young men was descending and they stated they saw a lot of goats and mentioned they were not afraid either. After hearing that…I was being cautious. So when my friend Jim Darmiento bellowed out the word “GOAT”, that was all I needed…I quickly grabbed my poles and jumped on the snowy slope and glissaded to a safe distance. Mr. Mountain Goat had a baby goat with him and when we looked back up the slope he was proudly staring down at us.

We finished the day at Jim’s cabin on Lake Panther where we cooled off with a nice swim and a few beers around the campfire.

Bandera Mountain Hike, June 2014

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Bandera Mountain
Date: June 1, 2014
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 7.6 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,400 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 45, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to the top
Hiking With: Mike Curry, Linna Freeman and Macho the Dog Wonder

What a beautiful day to hike Bandera with a bunch of friends.

Mount St Helens Hike, May 2014

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Mount St Helens
Date: May 28, 2014
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 10.8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 5,700 feet
Time: 8 to 10 hours
Location: Near Cougar, Washington
Users Group: Hikers Only
Permits: Permit Fee Required (100 per day)
Trail Conditions: Damp to Snow Pack
Hiking With: Dr. Robert McElroy & Dr. Adrian Hillyer

Dr. Robert McElroy was kindly nice enough to ask me to join him and Dr. Adrian Hillyer to climb Mount St. Helen in the middle of the week. Since I have never attempted to summit this mountain, I said to myself….”oh hell yes!”. Our climbing permit was for Wednesday so we drove down to Cougar, Washington on Tuesday afternoon and pitched our tents at Marble Mountain Snow Park just South of the base of Mount St. Helens. I jumped into my sleeping bag at 8:45 p.m. with my earplugs in and was fast asleep with a little help from one Advil PM.

We woke at 3:00 a.m. and the first thing I did was boil water for tea and for my Mountain House freeze dried beef stroganoff. After packing up the tents and everything else back in the car we took off on the Worm Flows Route in a light rain. The first couple of miles were fairly easy with mild elevation gain. As soon as we hit the snow the elevation became steeper and the heart rate and breathing increased. At times you were digging in with your toes heading straight up.

After 5 hours of grueling fun we made it to the crater rim with no visibility. As we were gearing up for the descent we had a couple of minutes of a sunbreak and were able to see the new dome…totally cool. We tried to glissade as mush as possible but the snow was getting softer later in the day, it still helped quite a bit and we made it back to the car in 3 hours.

Mt. Washington Hike, May 2014

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Mt. Washington
Date: May 24, 2014
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 9 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,200 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 38 near North Bend, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Damp at the top
Hiking With: Mike Curry, Linna Freeman & Macho the dog wonder.

My wife Linna organized this Mt. Washington hike with a few of her friends. Anytime you have a large group it takes a while to get everyone on top and some of them haven’t hiked in a while so it took a good 3 hours to summit.

This was a fun group and I was able to burn over 3,700 calories for the day! We finished the day off with a few cold beers.