Pratt Lake
Date: November 3, 2012
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 12 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,300 feet (3,100 ft. total gain)
Time: 4 to 6 hours
Location: Exit 47, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Wet Only, No Snow
Hiking With: Linna Freeman & our dog Macho
Mt. Washington
Date: October 21, 2012
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: Damp to lightly packed snow on top.
Hiking With: Ben Baker, Linna Freeman, Patricia Chou, Garth Heuchert & my dog Macho
Trail started of wet and eventually we were tromping in snow; it was about a foot deep by the time we reached the summit. Linna cooked up some homemade tomato soup that I warmed up with my MSR stove for everyone at the top. After the hike the group had dinner at one of our favorite Korean restaurants.
This was my third and last trip to China this year and again I found myself flying the old worn Boeing 767 direct flight to Beijing. I truly believe in direct flights from Seattle, so I don’t have much choice from Delta when it comes to flying direct to China. The last few international flights I have flown I have been fortunate enough to get upgraded to first class; this makes a huge difference when you are on an 11 hour flight. Leaving customs with my one piece of luggage and heading out to the taxi line I got that familiar sniff of Beijing’s nasty polluted air.
Delta has one of the latest time-slots for landing at the Beijing Capital Airport, which usually lands around 11:00 p.m., but coming in late does have advantages…a short taxi line and considerable less traffic. The taxi line was maybe a 5 minute wait and when it was my turn, the airport taxi porter pointed me towards an unofficial taxi or a non-metered taxi. I quickly bellowed out bullshit and a few other 4 letter words; he got the message that I was only driving off in an official metered taxi! I am not your usual blue-eyed tourist and I wasn’t about to let these local yokels scam me. China is on a national holiday and if I was actually leaving the airport during the day, it would have taken me at least one hour to my downtown hotel, but…at 11:30 p.m. it was only a 15 minute cab ride.
The next day started off with a huge buffet breakfast and an hour workout at in the hotel gym. I was very surprised when I walked out for the first time to catch a taxi to the 798 Art District, the sky was actually blue and air smelled clean. When in Beijing, one must visit the 798 Art District www.798district.com. Linna (my beautiful wife) flew in on the same flight I did but just a day later; I took a taxi to meet her coming out of customs.
Since I had business in Xuzhou, Wuxi and Wujiang the following week we were off to Shanghai. After landing we started our day at the Yuyuan Market area for a little shopping, it’s part of the beautiful Yu Garden. I picked up two oil paintings and one of the paintings was a fake Van Gough, cheesy in a way…but vogue in my world. Linna picked up a bunch of silk scarfs for herself and for gifts. For all the times we have been in Shanghai Linna and I haven’t been up to the Pearl Tower together. The last time I was up in the Tower was 2003, during the SARS outbreak; they had heat monitors that you had to go walk through.
We finished the day off at a restaurant on the Bund with views to die for called New Heights, which is part of Three on the Bund restaurants www.threeonthebund.com It has a gorgeous terrace overlooking the river and the Pudong District. The food didn’t match the view though, it reminded me of a local restaurant in Seattle, Salty’s…great view but the food can be a hit or miss. The next night we had the opposite dining experience; food to die for and the view only so so. Lost Heaven www.lostheaven.com.cn is located in the Bund area and specializes in Yunnan dishes that are incredible. The dark, rich décor and romantic spotlighting provided the perfect atmosphere for a wonderful dinner; after dinner we headed to their cozy outdoor lounge for a nightcap.
Our last day in the Shanghai area was spent mainly in Wujiang, a city due west. After my business meeting we found ourselves exploring Tong Li; this beautiful water town is about an hour train ride due west of Shanghai.
The last full day was spent back in Beijing visiting Linna’s good friend Rebecca Liu. We had dinner at 1949, one of the best places to eat Beijing Duck.
Turtlehead Peak
Date: September 27, 2011
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,000 ft.
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Location: Red Rock Canyon, 30 Minutes West of Las Vegas
Users Group: Hikers Only
Permits: $7.00 Park Fee
Trail Conditions: Dry all the way to the summit.
Hiking with: Myself
By the time I started around 11:30 a.m. the temperature was in the mid 80’s and eventually warmed up to the low 90’s. The trail was empty and only saw 6 people on the trail all day. I was up and back in 2 1/2 hours and burned over 1,600 calories.
Mount Dickerman
Date: September 22, 2012
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 8.6 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,875 Feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near Verlot, Washington (Mountain Loop Highway)
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass
Trail Conditions: Dry all the way to the summit.
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Garth Heuchert, Patricia Chow, Ben Baker & Macho the dog wonder.
The Mountain Loop Highway connects the towns of Granite Falls, Verlot and Darrington, Washington. It is paved for 34 miles from Granite Falls to Barlow Pass (2349′) where the highway becomes unpaved for 13 miles and then paved again for the remaining 9 miles to Darrington. Portions of the unpaved section were closed for several years due to flood damage, the Mountain Loop officially reopened on June 25, 2008.
The 360 view on top of Dickerman is to die for and the forecast called for party sunny skies which was good enough for us. As you can tell from the pictures the forecast was wrong, the weather was like soup on top and there was no view to be had. Linna threw out a proclamation that we must come back to capture the beautiful views that Dickerman has to offer. For more details on the Mt. Dickerman hike click here bit.ly/OSSuyI.
Mount Pilchuck
Date: September 1, 2012
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 5.4 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,200 Feet
Time: 3 to 4 hours
Location: Near Verlot, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass
Trail Conditions: Dry all the way to the look-out tower.
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Mike & Michelle Curry
Denny Creek Trail to Melakwa Lake
Date: August 12, 2012
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 9 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,300 Feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass
Trail Conditions: Dry all the way to the Melakwa Lake.
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Cathrine Howe, Beatrice He, Andreas Wieberneit and Macho the wonderdog.
It was a sunny day with temperatures in the eighties, so by the time we got to the trailhead we had to park along the road due to the amount of people; I figured there would be many on a warm sunny Saturday. After the 4 1/2 mile hike up to lake I was more than ready for that body numbing experience! Yes, the water was ball shrinking freezing, maybe 36 to 40 degrees. After a nine mile hike on a hot day meant for a cold beer at the North Bend Bar & Grill.
Iron Horse Bike Trail
Date: August 3, 2012
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 40 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 32, I-90
Users Group: Hikers, Horses & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry
Hiking With: Rick Massie & Jim Darmiento
Our destination was the Snoqualmie Tunnel under the Snoqualmie Pass, so we had 20 miles uphill and 20 easier miles downhill on the ride back. You can actually take this trail all the way to Idaho. Within three miles from our start I had a flat tire; Jim was caring spare tubes so I was back riding in 10 minutes.
We had a casual ride up to the tunnel and stopped to have a snack before we entered the dark, damp, cool tunnel. I took my helmet off and put my headlamp on and turned on my light as I entered the darkness, but for some reason it was still very dark to me. I actually stopped and looked at my headlamp to make sure it was working…it was, so I put it back on my head and started off again. Same thing…couldn’t see, so I stopped again, but this time I found the problem…I still had my sunglasses on!
On the way back down to the starting trailhead, Jim completely blew out his back tire, not the tube but his sidewall on his tire. He was close to exit 47, so Rick and I quickly cruised back to Jim’s truck to drive back to pick up Jim at exit 47. We ended our day at our usual spot, North Bend Bar and Grill.
Granite Mountain
Date: July 27, 2012
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,800 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 47, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to the top.
Hiking With: Rick Massie
Rick came by the house around 6:00 a.m. and loaded his gear into my car, but when I started the car up to take off…my 10 year old 530i decided he was tired. My battery was dead so I quickly got out the charger and started the beast up. We started at the trailhead around 7:15 a.m. and made it to the top in a couple of hours. The trail was dry to the top, but the normal summer route was still packed with snow. We took the boulder field all the way to the look-out tower.
After the hike, we met up with an ex-worker, Jenny Gregg at Duke’s on Lake Union for lunch and a cold beer.
A visit to Tokyo in July is not recommended unless you are looking for a wet drenching experience. Not only was the temperature in the high 80’s, the humidity was horrendous; my shirt would get soaked by just standing around. I was staying at Tokyo Hilton in the Shinjuku neighborhood which is part of Tokyo. Shinjuko is one of the 23 city wards of Tokyo, but the name commonly refers to just the large entertainment, business and shopping area around Shinjuku Train Station; it’s the world’s busiest railway station, handling more than two million passengers every day.
The next day I went to Sagamihara for a meeting and later I met up with Norikazu Toyama, Yasuyuki Fukuhara, Chiho Ishine and my good friend Ryo Saito for dinner. We had great food, “few†drinks and a bunch of laughs. We all made a pack to climb Mt. Fuji next year; we will see if it really happens. By the time I got on the train at 11:00 p.m. I was spent; it was a combination of jet-lag, staying out to late the night before and the extreme heat. I was snoozing on the train ride back, napping on the train is typical and I was fitting right in!
My last full day I was off to Nagano by express train for another meeting. I have never been so far northwest of Tokyo before. The landscape was beautiful with numerous mountains and thick forestation.
