#mshnvm

20170724 ~ Windy Ridge Road, MSHNVM

It was time to return to Loowit. With summer getting into full swing, I was anxious to explore Windy Ridge Rd, which I had worked my way up to the end of on my last hike, where I explored the Pumice Plain and Sasquatch Steps, having ascended the toe of Windy Ridge along the access road/trail to a height where I thought the winds might very well blow me off the mountain. The weather was as…

20170518 – Eruption Day with Loowit, MSHNVM

8:32 AM. I take a moment. The silence washes over me. It is but a mere ghost of the 300-mph stone wind that scoured this cliff exactly 37 years ago. It is a strong silence, not at all diminished by the call of birds among the slide alder precariously clinging to cracks in the 1000′ foot tall cliffs stretching above and below me. Nevertheless, it is an insignificant silence. I think about the…

20170507 – JRO Bike-n-Hike, MSHNVM

The weather was promising, my bike was crying out for some attention, and I needed a day of solitude.  And a great long bomb down a mountain road! I spent the day very slowly riding up the Spirit Lake Highway (SR504). It is not well named, as it does not go to Spirit Lake – no road does.  It is a lovely road, however. Well placed within it’s amazing landscape, it could have been designed by…

20170416 ~ South Coldwater Ridge Trail & Sediment Retention Dam

This day was cold and windy, snow still capping the ridges, the sky dim, even though the clouds were not thick.  I hiked up the South Coldwater Ridge trail, parking at The Hummocks and walking to the trail head. The trail climbs up the ridgeline, with a few switchbacks to gain elevation. Mostly, though, it runs along and near the ridgeline, offering awesome views to Coldwater Lake in one…