Tag Archives: Rick Massie

Winthrop Ski Trip, January 2012

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Jim Darmiento, Rick Massie, my wife and I planned a trip to Winthrop, Washington for some cross-country skiing. Much of Washington didn’t have the normal snow fall for this time of year and our ski trip wasn’t looking good. This all changed a couple days before our departure from Seattle, we received a major snowstorm that hit the whole state. Luckily Jim drove his F-250 4-wheel drive truck over with 500 pounds of sandbags in back. After two mountain passes and numerous white-outs we made it to our cabin after 4 hours of driving.

Since our cabin was just across the river from Winthrop, we had dinner in the small village our first night at the Old School House Brewery www.oldschoolhousebrewery.com. This place is a local favorite and also attracts all the tourist too. The second night was Chinese hotpot that Linna Wei put together, after our first day of skiing nearly ten miles, spicy hotpot was the answer. Before we went out the second day, Linna and I cooked up some fluffy pancakes and thick bacon. We headed right out after breakfast and skied nine miles. After another great day out in the winter wonderland, Linna and I headed back to the cabin for a nap and other activities. For dinner, we headed back into Wintrop and hit the Old School House Brewery again, this time there were two guys playing music, Tim Snider and Redwood Son www.bit.ly/z2E4TP. I didn’t record this video, but found it on You Tube and it was the night we were there…I remember the lady dancing in front of us.

Sunday, was pack up and head back to Seattle. Since it was still snowing and the passes would be nasty, we decided to drive one pass via Stevens Pass versus Blewett and Snoqualmie. It was slow going over Stevens, but as we descended….snow become rain and then we just had wet roads home. After unpacking and taking a quick shower, Linna and I ended our evening at the Paramount Theater seeing David Garrett www.david-garrett.com.

Gold Creek Snowshoe, January 2012

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Gold Creek
Date: January 15, 2012
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet
Time: 3 to 4 hours
Location: Exit 54, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Snowpark Pass
Trail Conditions: Fresh Snow
Hiking With: Jim Darmiento, Rick Massie & Macho

After a few weeks without any new snow in the mountains, it started to dump fresh snow and continued all day. I just flew back from San Francisco the night before, but….with the new snow, I wanted to finish the weekend off with a trip to the mountains. I met up with Jim Darmiento and Rick Massie at Starbucks in North Bend, Washington. Our plans was to snowshoe Source Lake near Alpental Ski Resort, but….because the new snow, every skier/snowboarder was out and there was no parking to be had at the trailhead. So we headed off to Cold Creek snowpark which was only a couple of more miles down the road.

This snowpark (really just a side road to park) requires a permit that you can buy for $50 for the year or a daily permit at $20. The trail itself is pretty much a service road, but…it’s still has elevation, beauty and it’s very serene. We stopped for lunch and boiled up some water for coffee and pouch Teriyaki Beef & Rice that we all shared. We ended the day at North Bend Bar & Grille for a couple of cold beers and hot food.

Mailbox Peak Hike, January 2012

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Mailbox Peak
Date: January 7, 2012
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass (new for this hike)
Trail Conditions: Damp to Packed Snow (only on top)
Hiking With: Rick Massie and my dog Macho

I was due for a brutal hike and Mailbox Peak was the fix. I asked Rick Massie to join me on this steep but short hike. We met up at Starbucks in North Bend, Washington and got started at 10:00 a.m. at the trailhead. There was only 6 cars in the parking lot, which meant there wasn’t a lot of people on the hike today….as it should be! The trail was good up to the opening, where it became packed snow. I was happy to see an inch or two on top of the ice, if not…it would have been difficult. Right before the opening, we put on our gators and mini-spikes. We made good time to the peak where it was cloudy, but no wind. We spent 15 minutes changing out our wet clothes and munching down some food.

The descent was the usual beating of the legs and knees and we both agreed, it’s almost easier to hike up than coming down. Rick Massie had a date later that day, so we had to make the stop at North Bend Bar & Grill short.

China Trip, October 2011

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I had a direct flight to Beijing from Seattle which landed around 10:00 p.m. I have been staying at the Beijing Hilton Capital near the airport for the past few trips, so…..since the hotel is near by, I was checked in by 10:30 p.m. The next day I was off to Shanghai to meet up with a few friends.

A few of us went to Xitang, one of many watertowns near Shanghai; this was about 1 ½ hour drive from Shanghai. I am told that Xitang has less tourist people than other watertowns, if that is the case….I wouldn’t want to visit the other watertowns. Of course, I was visiting on a Saturday and I highly recommend visiting any watertown or tourist attraction in China during the midweek. The waterways were actually very cool, but….once the sun set it was even better. The waterways were lined with lighted red lanterns, it made for beautiful photos.

The next day, a co-worker (Rick Massie) of mine and a few other friends rented some bikes during the afternoon, I wasn’t for sure how I was going to handle the traffic, but….we actually had a blast peddling along in traffic. Rick and I both agreed that a couple of lightweight road bikes would be entertaining cruising through traffic. I flew back to Beijing and stayed at the Hilton Capital again, about a ½ mile from terminal three. This Hilton is the newest of Beijing Hilton’s and it’s wonderful, I highly recommend this place. It has a 25 meter pool and it was always empty when I was there. I had a couple of issues coming back in a taxi at night, the taxi driver will take you to the terminal instead of the hotel. Since the hotel is new, when you hand-over your hilton like business card with the address, they assume the airport.

Linna and I like to hit around the shuttlecock in the backyard during the summer and I have been wanting new rackets and shuttlecocks for sometime now. So, I did a little shopping and purchased two new bad-ass badminton rackets (Weierfu) at the North Star shopping center. When it comes to shuttlecocks, there are so many varieties to chose from. I myself love speed, so I purchased the “fastest” variety I could find; Aerosensa 40 made by Yonex.

After shopping, Rick Massie (he was also in Beijing with me) and I checked out the Birdsnest and Cube. I have visited this place maybe 5 times now, but…I have to admit, it was disappointing this time due to the heavy smog. Beijing is well known for its smog, but todays index was hitting the highest level according to the US Embassy’s website; ranging from 320 to 350. It was hazardous, which is not a good thing. It was supposed to be a full sunny day, but due to the smog, the sun was barely visible; it gave you a weird feeling.

Mt. Teneriffe Hike, July 2011

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Mt. Teneriffe
Date: July 22, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 11 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,838 ft.
Time: 5 to 6 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: None Required
Trail Conditions: Started off dry, but mostly wet.
Hiking with: Rick Massie & my dog Macho

I met up with Rick Massie at Starbucks in North Bend, Washington and we decided on Mt. Teneriffe for our Friday hike, it’s the next peak over from Mt. Si. I went into work for a few hours today so our trailhead start didn’t happen until 9:15 a.m. We took the Kamikaze Falls route up and the 5 1/2 mile service road down. After 2 1/2 hours of steepness with a few breaks on the way up, we hit the summit with clouds surrounding us. I was really hoping that the clouds would have moved on by the time we reached the 4,530 foot summit, but no such luck.

We took the service road down and it seemed it would never end (as always). After the long trek down, we changed into some dry clothes and stopped into North Bend Bar & Grill for a well deserved cold beer.

Granite Mountain Hike, July 2011

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Granite Mountain
Date: July 1, 2011
Difficulty: 7 out of 10
Distance: 8 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 47, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: WTA Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Dry to Heavy Packed Snow (only on top)
Hiking With: Rick Massie & my dog Macho

I haven’t hiked Granite Mountain since last year with Doctor Robert McElroy and I was overdue. I met up with Rick Massie at Starbucks in North Bend on a beautiful Friday morning. After a Starbuck’s egg sandwich and an americano to wash it down we headed to the trailhead. We got started around 9:15 a.m., not an early start…but we both had all day to finish this hike.

The trail was pretty much dry until we broke out into the open and started to hit a few patches of snow. Soon, it was all snow and very deep snow at that. The pond was completely covered with 2 to 4 feet of snow yet….on July 1st! Snowshoes or crampons were not needed, but….we did put on our boot traction devices. We took the snow-ridge along the rocks, very stable and no post-holeing. The summit was filled with sun and fantastic views. After getting down, changing into dry clean clothes, we headed to North Bend Bar & Grill.

Mailbox Peak Hike, March 2011

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Mailbox Peak
Date: March 6, 2011
Difficulty: 9 out of 10
Distance: 5 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 4,000
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near North Bend, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: No Permits Required
Trail Conditions: Muddy to Packed Snow
Hiking With: Rick Massie

I wasn’t for sure if was going to hike this morning as I lay in bed, so I didn’t plan where I was going or talked to anyone to go with me.  The weather looked decent, so I decided to rally and send out a text to any friends that might want to hike up the steep Mailbox Peak with me.  Only one friend found time this moring and decided to join me on this death march.  I met Rick Massie at the Starbucks in North Bend and we took one car to the trailhead.  As we pulled up, there were no parking spots available and so we had to park along the road.  When I first started hiking Mailbox about 10 years ago, you would only see one or two cars at the trailhead; the word must have gotten out about the 360 view and the challenging trail it offers.

We started with gators due to the snow and slowly made our way to the top.  I had brought my crampons, but left them in the car….that was stupid, I could have used them the the first mile.  Rick was struggling after the 1/2 mile mark, he did a leg work out in the gym the day before…that was stupid.  After a snack and sun break on top, we headed back in the deep snow.  Instead of staying on the pack snow trail, we leaned back and slowing descended straight down the mountain.  This was a life savor for my knees, I couldn’t tell I even hiked the next day.