This is my newest daylily! Planted 2 years ago but struggled a bit last year and never produced any type of bloom. Finally! It seems like I find any nook and cranny to plant a new daylily – not obsessed with them but just am amazed at all the colors and varieties.
When I lived in Lockport, IL, there was a daylily farm close by and once I visited I realized that there was so much more than the boring Stella D’Oro variety (small, short, goldish/yellow) that is used in just about every commercial landscaping application.
Mount Adams is the second tallest peak in Washington State and it was the last on my list to complete of the 5 Washington State Volcanos. Strict advice was given by Dad last July as he informed me that, “Your Mother and I do not want you to climb Mt. Adams alone.” OK, followed his advice and enlisted the folks at Alpine Ascents.
We had to meet one day prior to the start of the climb to do a gear check at their office so I headed up to the Seattle/Bellevue area for the 7th or 8th trip so far this year and stopped by to see Mom for about 1/2 of a day. As the Fourth of July Holiday was in 2 days, I picked up some patriotic flowers to place by the wall at St. Andrews. Mom went to church a couple days later and noticed that the only thing left was one white flower and a pile of stems. Apparently the red, white and blue carnations are a favorite of the local bunny population!
I stayed at the historic Marqueen Hotel in downtown Seattle. It had a great history and the room was huge as it used to be an apartment – reminded me a bit of one of the apartments I lived in while attending WSU.
Only thing disappointing about this room was the fact that another building had been built right next to it so the only view was a mural painted on the other building!
Gear check at the Alpine Ascents office was nothing special. They used to prepare gourmet meals on these trips but once the pandemic hit and they had to change how the group interacted, it all ended up being freeze-dried meals. Yuck. At the gear check we got to meet the rest of the team. After the gear check we were all responsible for being down in the White Salmon area the next morning for the drive to the trailhead.
Unbeknownst to any of the team, a wildfire had started early afternoon on a hillside about 2 – 3 miles from White Salmon, and my hotel! Had to make a creative detour jumping off WA Hwy 14 down to OR Hwy 84 at the Bridge of the Gods and then beck over to WA Hwy 14 via the Hood River Bridge. Grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to bed.
View of the fire from the Oregon side on Hwy 84.View of the Tunnel 5 Fire as I walked under the Hood River Bridge.Mt. Hood from in front of the Inn of the White Salmon.
The next morning we all met in White Salmon and caravanned to the trailhead. Air quality index in White Salmon was 171 so it was good to get out of there!
First view of Mt. Adams. The trail, in essence follows the ridgeline from right to left to the summit in the middle.Mt. Hood in the distance.Guide JP and fellow climbers Sarah and Ericka (my tentmate.)What a crappy job.
We ended up driving the last few miles to the trailhead behind the portapotty pumper. Unfortunately it broke down about 1/2 mile from the parking lot. A lot of anxiety as the cars started backing up behind our group. The air brake had apparently locked up when the truck went over a big bump in the road. Luckily it was a relatively quick fix!
Pep talk at the trailhead … and yes, if you know your mountain climbing etiquette, the guy with the black pack did pretty much everything wrong – caps on trekking poles the entire climb, ice axe stowed improperly, etc. But the guides corrected him eventually. It was his first actual mountain climb and he was pretty wiped out on summit day but made it!
A couple of short stretches of snow early on – not bad enough to pull out the crampons yet.As we took a break we heard a lot of yelling and swearing from a woman who was not having fun. Apparently she was not able to find the correct path to a glissade route and once she found the glissade route she came spinning down the mountain like a throwing star. Luckily the glissade was not sure steep down this low and she was able to stop and her husband/partner then helped her the rest of the way. All I could think was, “Boy, that is going to be a long drive home!”
We got a pretty late start (in my book) but made good progress towards camp. The normal camp if you are doing Mt. Adams as a 2 day adventure is at what is called the “Lunch Counter” it is approximately 3,000′ and 4 miles from the trailhead. We stopped about 800′ short of the Lunch Counter as the guides wanted us to be able to get rid of our heavy packs earlier to set us up for a successful summit bid the following morning.
View of Mt. St. Helens to the west from our campsite.Our camp looking up to the false summit (Pikers Peak.)From our camp looking up to the ridge where the traditional camp is – the “Lunch Counter.”
With a 4:00am start we hoped to make the summit – another 3,000′ in 4 – 6 hours. Then we would come back, relax a bit, pick up camp and then head down for a total of 9,000 ‘ elevation gain/loss.
Hakeem – one of the three clients that were attempting Mt. Adams a second time. He and his wife were turned back last year with 40 mph winds and sleet at the top of Piker’s Peak.Sun is just starting to come up. Looking up from first break area towards the top of the false summit.“Sun cups” on almost the entire summit day made for a very slow and deliberate pace. These were frozen solid when we started out in the morning and very awkward to try and set a consistent pace.Break area at the top of Piker’s Peak. we will cross a saddle and a large snowfield and then head up the second snow covered gulley from the right to the true summit – about an hour from here.Looking down from the last steep snowfield down to Piker’s Peak.Yay, made it! A 5 hour summit climb was right in the middle of what were thought it would take.Different summit shot with Mt. Rainier in the background.The team waiting for the last 2 to arrive.Heading down and the amazing glissade chutes – saved hours and many miles on the knee joints!Oops, still has the cap on one of his poles!
A couple last looks at the mountain. Super fun climb and luckily my lack of training didn’t affect me too much, although for a couple of days my calves and quads basically told me I had to walk down stairs sideways!
Note thatt these next few blog posts are going to be a bit out of order. Still trying to get the photos from the Port Hardy fishing trip pulled together so, even though that trip was several weeks ago, I am going to add in the Mt. Adams ones first.
I named this post after what I should have been doing to prepare for Mt. Adams, truth be told, I only put on a pack twice before climbing Mt. Adams. Just lazy, I guess – I think a total of 8 miles over these two hikes. Oh well! Here are a few photos of the flowers just starting to pop during those hikes.
The stuffed monkey hanging from the tree was probably one of the creepiest things I have ever seen hiking!
I ended up stopping short on the second hike – only 1.5 miles in because I saw a deer feeding on the trail. I decided that his meal was worth more than me disturbing him and getting a few more miles under my belt.
The roses on the yard look amazing this year. Obviously fans of all the moisture and cool weather we have had this spring.
These two roses are really unique in their color. They are also extremely resilient. The neighbor oversprayed herbicide one year and, by all appearances they were dead. But they have been slowly coming back.
Other varied flowers include Japanese Iris, Peonies and Lewis’ Mock Orange.
Two garden plots up and running and New Ulm rhubarb.
… On his new mountain bike. Second time out he got a little squirrelly on a down hill, grabbed the front brake by mistake and over the bars he went. Crappy way to end a perfectly beautiful day. 😵 I told him he needs to get this out of his system before September when we plan to bike the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park.
Dad would have been 87 yesterday, a few “things” came up that precluded me posting this on his actual birthday … I am sure that he would have understood … It seemed like everyone remembered Dad yesterday in their own special way – I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies in his honor and lucky me, Joel is out of town … Life’s uncertain, eat dessert first! Here are a few memories that are special to me.
Dad “summited” Highpoints #46 (PA), #48 (WV) and #49 (DE) with me in 2017:
In going through some of his files recently, I see now where I got my sense of humor … these are all articles that he saved and thought were newsworthy. Little did he know that these are now the fodder for “reality” TV!
Since late December when Dad got really sick, this is the first posting … it has been awhile. Lots of things happened since December 22, 2022, but not a lot of motivation to put finger to screen (or pen to paper as many may remember!)
Anyways, as I should be training for an upcoming climb of Mt. Adams, Joel and I took a hike near our house – in about 1600′ of elevation gain we went from blooming flowers to 8′ of lingering snow. A beautiful day and only ran into one person on the trail.
After a couple dismal snow winters recently, we have been enjoying lots of snowshoeing around our house and at Ogden Nordic the last few weeks. I think this is the first year I bought a season’s pass to Ogden Nordic in November. The ski resorts are surely happy, as well! (I seem to be losing the battle with WordPress today as it is not allowing me to put captions on the photos. Maybe too many people are home for the Holidays updating their blogs at the same time.)
Not the most exciting blog topic but last week we had our windows replaced. The old dark metal windows with dark integrated grids were replaced with frames that were white on the inside and dark outside (to match the exterior.) Crazy long lead time as we ordered these in June and the installers anticipated a 14 – 16 week lead time. That turned into at 20 week lead time which, of course, had them installing on the coldest day of this Fall and the week when Joel was in MN.
The crew at one time was 8 guys and they installed all the windows in one day and the sliding glass doors the next.
So far, couldn’t be happier – double-paned windows filled with Argon gas for better insulation, treated with a low UV film to block some of the sunlight – the white color inside instantly brightened up the house and they seem to block a lot of noise, as well. Got a $1/sq. ft. incentive from the power company so that helped a little.
A bit of pre-work involved that Joel helped with – removing all the large blinds and moving furniture. Only one injury – me. Ouch! Cats never seem too inclined to help!
An opportunity arose for two newer employees of WRCNU to attend a Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation Course in Los Alamos, NM. I volunteered to be the “designated driver.”
After picking up the rental car we left town on Thursday morning, went through Monument Valley stopping at the visitor center, and stayed the first night in Window Rock, AZ. The following morning we had a special, “behind-the-scenes” tour of the Navajo Nation Zoo where we visited three former patients at WRCNU.
Jennifer and Stephanie taking in Monument Valley.Luckily Jennifer had a decent camera! Ogden the Sandhill Crane is the closest crane to the photo and one of our former patients.Stephanie feeding Jack the coyote.Tribal Eagle Aviary where an injured Golden Eagle from WRCNU resides.
From Window Rock we headed to Los Alamos with a stop at the Tsankawi section of Bandelier National Monument located twelve miles from the main section of the park. At Tsankawi you take a 1.5 mile walk along a mesa, viewing cavates, petroglyphs and the Ancestral Pueblo village of Tsankawi. Ladders are a required part of this trail. It was a great quick hike and a welcome break from sitting in the car!
Cholla cactusThe trail is a loop around the top of a mesa with great views all around.Some of the petroglyphs on the trail.
The next two days Stephanie and Jennifer were in class so I was able to find several great hikes in Bandelier National Monument. Although there are a total of 70 miles of trails, I barely scratched the surface at about eight total miles!
Bandelier National Monument is a 33,677-acre United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Most of the pueblo structures date to two eras, dating between 1150 and 1600 AD.
The monument is 50 square miles of the Pajarito Plateau, on the slopes of the Jemez volcanic field in the Jemez Mountains. Over 70% of the monument is wilderness, with over one mile of elevation change, from about 5,000 feet along the Rio Grande to over 10,000 feet at the peak of Cerro Grande on the rim of the Valles Caldera, providing for a wide range of life zones and wildlife habitats. The monument protects Ancestral Pueblo archeological sites, a diverse and scenic landscape, and the country’s largest National Park Service Civilian Conservation Corps National Landmark District.
Welcoming party at the front gate of the monumentThe Long House – described as a sort of apartment complex!Baby ChollaAlbert’s SquirrelLooking down from the Frey Trail.
A few random shots from the trip …
Grilled Cactus in Mole Sauce with Ricotta and gold leaf – different but yummy!Looking out the hotel windowA couple of the displays from the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos – everything you wanted to know about the Atomic Bomb under one roof!Last night in Pagosa Springs, CO.
Joel and Alison's Excellent Adventures 