Day in La Conner

Mary Jo and John took a day to themselves and drove up to a quaint town on the water about an hour-and-a-half north of Bellevue: La Conner. The town itself has a series of shops, art galleries, and restaurants right on the water, and we had lunch at one. We also walked along the beach for a bit and then sat at another gorgeous beach and read for a while. It was a bright, sunny day and not too hot out - a very relaxing and wonderful Saturday afternoon.

Henry & John Backpack near Mount Baker

On a steamy Saturday in late July, Henry and John went backpacking near Mount Baker in the northern reaches of Washington. 

We drove up on Saturday morning, about a three-hour drive, the last forty-five minutes of which was down an unpaved forest road up into the mountains. We parked at the trailhead, loaded our packs on our backs, and started up the trail. 

After about three miles, and two hours, we reached Excelsior Pass, which crested to a beautiful view of Mt. Baker, Mount Shuskan, and lots of other mountains. We followed the ridge for another mile or so, and camped at the top of a knob with an amazing view all around. We were about four miles north of the summit of Mount Baker, and two miles south of the Canadian border.

We setup our tents, cooked dinner, and swatted away countless bugs who were, unfortunately, all around, preventing us from enjoying it as much as we could. It got quite chilly overnight, and in the morning we packed up and hiked back down the mountain. All in all a great outdoors adventure!

At the trailhead

Walking by an alpine lake

Hiking through a slope of wildflowers

Our campsite

Mount Baker in evening light

Our campsite was on the knob on the right

Sunset from our campsite

Joseph Completes the San Francisco Marathon !

On Sunday, July 24, Joseph completed his first marathon, a hilly course in San Francisco! He started at 5:40am, and was done just after 9am. Mary Jo and John were able to follow on an app for the race.

Joseph crossing the Golden Gate Bridge around 8 miles in to the race

Running through Golden Gate Park, close to his apartment

Final stretch!

Mega-Hike to Pete Lake and Beyond!

On Saturday, Henry and Dad took what wound up being one of their longest hikes in recent memory, a 15-mile hike to Pete Lake and beyond.

The Pete Lake trail is a somewhat obscure hike east of the Pass north of Roslyn. It was about an hour-forty-five minute drive to the trailhead, and then a relatively flat hike to the lake, which is a big backpacking destination, so most of the other hikers were toting large packs. (We also saw a few horses on the trail, as it's a somewhat popular horseback-riding destination.)

The trail was well-maintained, with several shallow streams to be forded. And the lake was beautiful, with snow-capped mountains beyond it. We made very good time to the lake, so decided to go on beyond it, on to a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail, which goes from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. We wound up hiking to a nice clearing with some waterfalls coming down that was stunning!

Hike to Talapus and Olallie Lakes

On Sunday, July 17, Henry and Dad took a hike on the near-side of the pass out I-90 to a pair of alpine lakes, Talapus and Olallie. The trail was fairly crowded, but it was a very nice hike as both lakes were nestled in the mountains and were beautiful!