Life Lessons: Picking Beautiful Berries on Mt. Catherine

I told my daughter about my most recent hike to Blanca Lake. When I mentioned all the ripe bushes bursting with blueberries and huckleberries, she wanted to see for herself. As an experienced mountaineering coach, I knew taking someone on an eight-mile hike with 3300 feet of elevation gain as a first outing would not …

Disappointment Becomes Gratitude at Beautiful Blanca Lake

My birthday hike to Blanca Lake was not without its challenges. It is a worthwhile objective and has a ton of things going for it, including: Spectacular scenery to make the effort well worth a hiker’s time A butt-kicking 3300-foot elevation gain in just under four miles; and Ripe wild berries in late summer Few …

Hiking on the PCT Leads to Questioning Should

I recently hiked a portion of Washington’s Pacific Crest Trail called the Kendall Katwalk near Snoqualmie Pass. Most of my exploration over the past two years has been within an hour’s drive of Seattle along the I-90 corridor. By adding Kendall Katwalk, I had an opportunity to observe a cross-section of the hiking community I …

Finding Empowerment on the Wallace Lake Loop Trail

In May 2020, when the state of Washington’s governor Jay Inslee reopened public hiking trails, my options were to hike alone with my dog Ajax, or hike with him and one person. Lucky for me, Ajax is a wonderful hiking partner, and the two of us have done dozens of hikes together during the past …

Muggy and Buggy: Is Granite Mountain the Right Path?

Hikes and Trips: August 1, 2021 While hiking up Granite Mountain early on the first of August, 2021, I pondered publishing my first blog post and what it meant to reach such a monumental goal. I also mulled over Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken, and how we choose our various paths in life. …