Trail Community – The Solitude Trail

Playing Poohsticks on the Dose

The most wasted day is one in which we have not laughed. Sebastian Chamfort When I think back about hikes I have taken, trying to shake loose a few memories that might be worth sharing in these posts, I am reminded that it is not always the mountain vistas and the flower dotted alpine meadowsContinue reading “Playing Poohsticks on the Dose”

Growing Up in the Ring of Fire

The world is always ending somewhere. It just depends on whether it falls in your line of vision or not. Akweaka Emezi As I have written several times in these posts, I grew up with a view of Mt. Rainier from my bedroom window, and it never failed to delight, especially when the morning sunContinue reading “Growing Up in the Ring of Fire”

My Mountain Home

Readers of these posts will have figured out by now that I am not a big fan of crowding on our nation’s scenic trails. The title, The Solitude Trail, is a dead giveaway. I was dismayed then to drive across the North Cascades Highway a couple of weeks ago, which I wrote about in lastContinue reading “My Mountain Home”

Lost Trails

I was pleased last week when a reader recognized the trail I described in my tale of cold and warmth and knew it to be one that has been long abandoned. The Boundary Trail once spanned the width of the Pastayten Wilderness from Horseshoe Basin in the east all the way to Ross Lake. TheContinue reading “Lost Trails”

Still Hiking with Leah

Great things happen when women and mountains meet. William Blake In 2012 when I retired, my husband and I moved to Marrowstone Island, which is located just off the mainland of the Olympic Peninsula, connected by a bridge. Our home provided a view of Admiralty Inlet, Whidbey Island across the sound, and the Cascade Mountains,Continue reading “Still Hiking with Leah”

Ed and Bill

Whatever one finds in front of herself at the moment. . .is what the given situation is. That other thing, the so-called pristine landscape of a former time, is no longer available; and somehow a person must make peace with that. To go in search of what once was is to postpone the difficulty ofContinue reading “Ed and Bill”