07 May 2005
Snow Covered Mountain 1, Guy Day 0
| Our original intent this Guy Day was to tackle the Hoh River Trail in the Olympics - 17.5 miles each way, with the last four being more or less straight up. But dire warnings about deep snow requiring crampons and ice axes scared us off. (We'll try it this summer when all we need are a good pair of hiking boots.) We weren't about to give up on hiking, however, and opted to try the Sole Duc River Trail (also in the Olympics) instead. |
| This was our plan: hike to the Sole Duc Falls and then up to Deer Lake (four miles), up to and across the High Divide Ridge (another six and a half miles), back down the ridge to the Sole Duc River Trail (three and a half miles), and then follow the river back to our starting point (five more miles). Total elevation gain: 3000 feet. |
| We made it to Deer Lake no sweat: |
| And was with us the rest of the way: |
| The snow was beautiful but it did make for slow going. It didn't keep us from enjoying our surroundings, though, including this little gray jay that begged for food. (None was forthcoming from *our* packs however!) And of course the awesome views: |
| All the way up we kept saying "We should have a view to the other side once we get there", but of course we never did. By the time we reached the point where the last photo was taken (which point you can see in the Deer Lake panorama - it's about three-fourths of the way from the right edge of the topmost saddle) it was late enough that we thought we had better head back down. Although we didn't make our original goal we had hiked seven miles (the last three through thigh-deep-snow-that-thankfully-most-of-the-time-was-compacted-enough-we-didn't-actually-fall-through-that-far) so we were pretty happy. Not to mention the incredible day and even better views! |
| Funnily enough, going back down took only half as long as going up did! |
02 May 2005
There Goes The Neighborhood
Somehow or other Michael has managed to weasel his way on to the Microsoft Careers website! Yes, his shiny mug is now posted for all the world to see.
After you get tired of staring at him, visit the main profiles site to peruse the other profiles.
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