On the western edge of the Central Cascade mountain range is Heybrook Lookout Trail #1070. It traverses through a second-growth forest that leads to a seven flight observation deck overlooking many nearby peaks, a close town, and more. The 900-foot elevation gain, just over a mile in length, had us catching our breath more than a few times on the way up. The views from the top on a sunny and clear day made the hike well worth it.
Read MoreWe are Stacy and Brandon of Pacific North Wanderers. We are transplants to the Pacific Northwest, from Florida and Colorado respectively. The bug to explore has been in both of us since childhood. Adulthood, however, provides many more opportunities to roam. The PNW is an amazing combination of oceanfront, ancient forests, mountains, gorges and high plain deserts. As people who love to explore, this place is an absolute paradise.
Read MoreAdded to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, Astoria Column is a 125-foot tall tower overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River. Settled atop the highest point in town, Coxcomb Hill at 600-feet above sea level, the views from here are amazing.
Read MoreWe arrived at the campground around 12:15. The day was rain-free with peek-a-boo sunshine. The temperature was mid 40’s and little to no breeze. We started up Mima Falls Trail East.
Read MoreThis Stonehenge is a curiosity, kind of in the middle of nowhere. This memorial sits atop a windswept hill overlooking the mighty Columbia River. We found out about it while looking up information on area campgrounds.
Read MoreThis past week has been pretty cold here in the Pacific Northwest. With the temperatures in the 40s most of the days, and at times below freezing, we weren’t much motivated to get any real hiking done. Well, that, and it’s also been rainy. Instead, what we did manage to do was go out and explore two nearby state parks that we’ve had on our list for some time now.
Read MoreThe Mud Mountain Dam was completed in 1948 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the time, it was the highest rock and earth-filled dam in the world. It’s used for flood control in the lower White and Puyallup River valleys.
Read MoreAs we started our 3 hour drive towards the state’s most south western point, where the Columbia River opens to the Pacific Ocean, we were getting hammered by the rain. The closer we got, the harder it came down. We planned on setting up our tent and camping for one night. Thank goodness we opted for only the one night instead of two like we originally planned. We still knew this single, wet, windy, and stormy night would be pretty uncomfortable.
Read MoreIt was 9:31 A.M. when we parked, according to the Jeep it was 37 degrees out, and there was a drizzle of rain. The forecast called for heavier showers around 2–3 P.M., so we hoped to be back before then. A quick potty break, then off we went. We reached the lake at 12:40 P.M., it was now around 32 degrees with snow just above the lake. Our time here would be brief.
Read MoreTolmie Peak Trail is an easy-to-moderate hike starting from Mowich Lake and ending at the Tolmie Peak Lookout tower. The round trip distance is about 6.5 miles and it took us approximately 1.5 hours to reach the top and about an hour to get back. We went in late June and the weather was in the low 70s, dry, and cloudy. The parking lot was full and a long portion of parking on the road was also full. We came across 15–20 other hikers along the route and at the peak there were about 10 other hikers.
Read More15 steel ponies. Each life-size. Posing in a galloping fashion. Bronze and rustic in color. The herd appears to be stampeding toward a cliff. All of this on a ridge high above the Columbia River Gorge.
You’re looking at Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies, a public art sculpture in central Washington, along eastbound I-90 near the city of Vantage. David Govedare, the creator of this piece, worked on the project from 1989–1990. Though the work looks amazing as is, it’s still unfinished, due to a lack of funding.
Read MoreThe 848-foot monolith, Beacon Rock, is located along the north side of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Washington’s Beacon Rock State Park. Discovered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on October 31, 1805, and sold for $1 a little over a century later, this rock was almost destroyed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers with plans to use its material for the jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Lucky for all of us, it still stands today.
Read MoreOn August 25, 2016, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) will turn 100 years old! It has begun holding celebrations throughout the country while building up to its centennial. Here in the state of Washington the NPS has teamed up with Visit Rainier, the official Mt. Rainier tourism organization, to create a centennial GeoTour. It consists of four series, each series having 25 geocaches. This year long GeoTour is a celebration of the park’s birthday which explores a total of 100 geocaches in and around Mt. Rainier National Park.
Read MoreThe day was filled with clouds and drizzle, with the temperatures in the high 40s. It was an early afternoon in early October when we set out. No snow falling, or already accumulated on the ground. There was plenty of wind howling through the trees. Views of Mt. Rainier were hidden behind the clouds. Spray Falls made up for that in a huge way.
Read MoreShi Shi Beach is one of those hidden gems that most people are unaware exists. It’s located in the upper northwest portion of the Olympic peninsula. It consists of a 2.5 mile coast line with tide pools, archipelagos, caves, sea stacks, wildlife, perfect sunsets, pristine stargazing, and more. The journey there is a long one as it’s roughly a 4–5 hour drive by car from the Seattle/Tacoma area. Once at the trailhead it’s about an hour hike to the beach and then another hour or so walk to the south end of the beach to the Point of the Arches. It’s all worth it as this is the best wandering experience we’ve had so far!
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