Robinson Creek Trail- Mazama Washington

As we headed up the Methow bright and early, one hiker sleeping, we voted to change hiking trails. Originally we were going to hike Eureka Creek, a trail we have hiked before but not in the fall. So just a little farther up the dirt road we pulled into the Robinson Creek Trail Head. Oops I forgot it was the last weekend of high country buck hunt. Less than a handful of rigs in the parking lot, one horse trailer. We figured we would be fine, one hiker wearing orange. Not to far up the trail, four fully loaded hunters passed by us, not knowing where the Pasayten Wilderness boundary started I wasn't to sure how far we wanted to hike. Very polite folks, probably wondering why these crazy hikers were heading towards legal hunting area. The trail is obviously used by plenty of horses, some areas are fairly narrow at trail level and the weeds and brush get a little thick about waist high and very close to the trail. The trail is horse belly level maintained here and there. 2 Fairly good washout areas from all the rain. The trail has 2 very nice heavy bridges, built for lots of weight. Nice spots to just stand and admire the creek and views. A Few interesting mountain glimpse that make you want to go farther and check out more of the trail. We will leave that for another time when we have promise of good weather. As soon as we crossed into the Pasayten Wilderness the rain started and some fog rolled in. Every now and then the clouds would break up and we would catch a glimpse of some blue sky. The fall color wasn't the best, the large amounts of rain kinda ruined some of the color and maybe just a tad early for this area. Lots of berries red and purple a few white. Beauty Creek Falls which is at the 2nd bridge was a pretty site, I can imagine in the spring it would be even more spectacular. From here I couldn't convince my hiking partners to continue farther up the trail, so we meandered our way back to the truck, ate lunch in the parking lot. By this time the rain had moved on and the temperatures were lovely. Back down the Methow for a Blue Star Coffee and home for a nap. It was a lovely short hike even in the rain, I am not a rainy day hiker but this day turned into a great day with only a few damp spots.

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Cutthroat Trail.......Snowshoeing North Cascades Highway

I have a confession to make, I have been having some winter blues. Not sure if they can be officially called winter blues due to we have had little to no winter. I have been very impatiently waiting for the snow to arrive, it comes, blows through, makes the ground white, then its gone. The last few days we have been sitting at temperatures in the 40's. What is up with winter. One thing I can say for sure is I am very thankful for the few trips we made up highway 20 before the silver star gate was closed. Our trip to Cutthroat Trail was back in November, when we had visions of winter coming to the valley very soon. The snow was nice and fluffy and deep. Pleasant day to get out and enjoy it, one of those days where your not sure if the clouds where going to allow the blue sky to show it self or not. We parked right off the highway with a couple of other cars and Snowshoed up the road to the trail head. Wasn't very long and more hikers, cross country skiers, and furry

The Places We Can Go

Life goes on, things change, storms of life come and go. One thing that always remains the same is the feeling and quiet peace I feel from being in the mountains. This was a spur of the moment overnight trip. It was so needed and such a beautiful time. Left the house around 2:30 PM, traffic was so slow heading up Hwy 20, lots of folks heading out of Mazama. Arrived at the trail head a few minutes before 4 PM, and we were off down the trail in a few minutes. Three quarters of a mile down the trail a bee or some kind of flying ant decided to bite my nieces eye lid, talk about hysteria for a moment. I was pretty sure our trip was over, but we were able to move on with a very cold creek soaked multipurpose face mask. The sun was sinking fast and the wind was howling by the time we reached the top. Made some quick decisions on the best place to park the tents, and we set up camp. It was truly an incredible evening, hiked around a bit and watched the sun slip behind the mountains.

Carlton Complex Wildfire, Pateros Washington

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I spent last weekend moving my animals back home to a mostly burnt out barn yard. We had a small patch of trees and garden space that escaped the fire, which was where my dog pens were located. So they were able to return to a fairly normal life. The horse pen was kind of a hit and miss burnt area, since there wasn't a whole lot of vegetetaion in it the fences took most of the heat. The metal panels got a nice rusty color to them, with some serious scorch marks. Besides my horse having red smudge colored marks on his nose from the fencing he seems to be adjusting to his return home. We have found temporary living close by so it has made taking care of my animals easier, and a stress off of where we be this winter. The town is slowly getting the debris removed and homesteads cleaned up. Lots of piles of rubble and cut down trees piled up in the city lot areas. I understand that Okanogan County and the Confederated Tribes Of the Co

Lost In The Right Direction

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