Mt. Hamilton Hike

Zuzu and I hiked up mighty the Mt. Hamilton, which is conveniently located near Beacon Rock in the Columbia Gorge. It's a great hike. Everybody brings their dog. It's a blast.

Duncan Falls is very early on the trail up to the summit. Feel the thunder.

Wildflower along the trail. Want to know what it is? Call the freakin' Sierra Club.

If this isn't determination, I don't know what is. Zuzu is undaunted by the crumbling basalt cliffs that form the false summit on the way to true nirvana.

Mighty Mt. Hamilton off in the distance. Our goal is in sight.

Priest Lake Paddle Trip

A couple more that oddly didn't make it to my gallery travelogue last fall. These are of Priest Lake in North Idaho, not far from the Canadian border. These two pictures happened right after a close encounter with a young black bear about a mile upstream on the canal that connects upper and lower Priest lakes together. This trip was the second expedition I had to take in order to tick this one off in the tour guide. I had been there two weeks earlier and got caught in the Mother of All Thunderstorms. We barely made it to shore before the the lightning started hammering everything around us. All you could do is sit in the truck and enjoy the show.Travelling in the Idaho backcountry always seems to bring adventure. I like that.

Mt. Spokane XC Ski Area

Thought I'd update my vacation thread. This is about mid-way up on Mt. Spokane Cross-Country ski area - which is probably one of the coolest trail systems short of the Colorado Rockies. There are several huts with wood-fed stoves and plenty of wood. The trails are immacualtely groomed. And humanity, being it's lazy ol' self sticks to the lowlands. So, the more you climb, the less people there are. Grind your way up around the back side of the mountain and you pretty much will have the place to yourself. This little trip nearly got me busted by the cops. In the Fascist Republic of Washington, dogs are Verboten on virtually all state land. Mr. Ranger lost all interest in writing a ticket after seeing a trunk with a dog and hunting vest with shotgun shells all over the place. If parking permits are going to cost $42, I'll bring my pet giraffe if I feel like it.