I'm drinking a 3/4 sweet soy salted caramel hot chocolate. Yes, I am one of THOSE Starbucks customers.
Sadly, I think hiking season has come to an end. Snow camping anyone?
In the past 72 hours I have slept a total of 32 hours. My bed time is 8pm and yes I am aware that five year olds stay up later than I do.
If you think you've had a bad day, wait until you hear about Butter's day. Due to a fight induced puncture wound, he got his face shaved and drained by the vet. We call him Zombie Kitty
What can I say about this hike except that it was unforgettable (see what I did there).
Not because of spectacular views.
Not because of hardcore game faces.
Sweaty much?
Not because of killer trail-mix (Candy corn is a must!).
Sorry about the giant thumb blocking the candy corn goodness
Not because of picturesque lunch spots.
And not because of the awkwardly creepy photos.
Mike said, "look like you are having a good time." All I heard was, "look awkwardly creepy."
It was unforgettable because we didn't make it to the top. About five miles in, Mike's hip was hurting so bad that he needed to turn around. We were really bummed. How disappointing to come all this way and not make it to the top. Sometimes Mike and I forget that hiking is not only about the destination, but it is also about the journey. This trip was a really good reminder that we have physical limitations and that nature is still fabulous, even if you don't make it to the top.
When I sit down to write a blog post, I channel inspiration through song. I will youtube a song that I have been crushing on and play it on repeat. Here is my newest love and the my current inspiration source.
Press play and continue reading!
I am now officially married to an old man. If you know me, you know that this is a good thing. I am always drooling over older men. Salt and pepper?? Yes please!
To celebrate the big three one, I surprised Mike with Starbucks in bed, a bottle of Petron tequilla, and golf lessons. I am such a dream wife.
Practicing his skills at the driving range
The icing on the cake was a hike to Twin Lakes. We have been talking about this hike for months. We really wanted to make it a hiking/camping trip, but we found ourselves without a dog/cat sitter, so we figured we would just go round trip in a day.
A little internet research led us to believe we were looking at a 16 mile hike. This was not going to be a casual stroll, but we figured, "Hey! We are hardcore, we can handle this!"
We parked the car on the Mountain Loop Highway (about 26 miles from Granite Falls) and started the first part of our trek...a four mile (or so we thought, 5.5 in reality) walk down a washed out road to Monte Cristo (an abandoned mining town)
The bridge was washed out so we crossed via log
Old school car bridge (above); Arriving at the town! (below left) Some of the old buildings (below right)
We stopped for our first lunch of the day, and a ranger asked us how far we were planning on hiking. "We are going all the way to Twin Lakes today" we said. "Oh, [long pause] that is a long hike" he said. We both shrugged and carried on, what do rangers know anyways...
We left the town and headed towards Poodle Dog Pass. Great views, great trail, and great times!
We stopped for our second lunch (the best part of hiking is all the food you get to eat). We taped up our blistering heels and checked out the map. At Poodle Dog pass the trail splits and you can hike half a mile to Silver Lake (picture above) or 2.7 miles to Twin Lakes. We had made it this far! There was no turning back! The trail was difficult...boulders, cliffs, loud chipmunks...but the view from Twin Peaks Ridge made it all worth it.
At the ridge we checked the GPS, we had already gone 9.5 miles and it was still another 0.7 miles down to the lakes! Um...if my math is correct we would be looking at 19 miles total if we turned back at the ridge. We would have to dip our toes in the lake another time. We ate our third lunch, cried over our aching feet, aching bones, aching muscles and then ate our fourth lunch.
We hauled ass back to Poodle Dog Pass and collapsed in heap of sore feet and stink. The flies were swarming, we were out of water and we still had 7.5 miles to go.
We stopped at a stream, about a mile from Monte Cristo and filled up the water bottles.
This was one of my favorite parts of the day...just sitting by the stream, purifying water and finding comfort in the fact that were both physically miserable but still having an amazing adventure.
The sun was starting to set at we passed through Monte Cristo, so we strapped on our head lamps and made our way through the woods back to the car. I was pretty sure that wolves were going to jump out and eat me. I have watched Beauty and the Beast enough to know that they come out a night, snarling and howling.
We made it back to the car at 8:30 pm - 11 hours, 19 miles and 3500 feet of elevation gain. Our toes were numb, heels were skinless, hip bones were bruised, and muscles and joints were sore. We lost the ability to climb or descend stairs gracefully and we walked like a pair of 90 year olds. I like older men...but not that old.
To say the least, it was an amazing adventure, I can't wait until our next one.
Our August travel plans included a teeny tiny road trip to Twisp to visit Mike's mom. We packed the car with Monster Rehab energy drinks, sunscreen and wine and headed over the mountains.
We stopped in Winthrop and had lunch at Schoolhouse brewery. Perfect lunch location! We got a table under the shade of a tree next to the river, and started sampling the beer menu. Apparently, there is three beer maximum because we were promptly brought our check after ordering the third. Weak. So, we snapped some photos and moved on.
Tina and Mike
We decided to "hike" to a waterfall. After a 20 minute drive and a 3 minute walk up a paved path we arrived at our waterfall.
Mike decided to go for summit.
Work that booty
I stick to the important things...like practicing my glamor shots in front of boulders.
The weather was HOT that weekend! To stay cool, we sat in the garden (with the sprinklers on) and sipped on margaritas. That night we laid on the side of the road and watched the meteor shower. So cool, the stars were so bright! As soon as a meteor would streak across the sky we would all hoot with excitement. Only one car drove by, and my immediate response was "they are probably going to murder us". My next thought was, "no, they probably think we are going to murder them, because who in their right mind lays on the side of the road".
Unfortunately it was a short trip and we had to head home the next day. We took a quick dip in the river, stopped for lunch at Sun Mountain Lodge (I so want to vacation there), and headed back to 'the coast'.
Here is a huge shout-out to my five year old "hardcore in training" nephew, Grandin!
Mike and I went hiking (shocker) on Sunday with Dan (brother-in-law), Mel (his kick ass GF), Michael, Bentley, Allison, and Grandin (four of the five kids). We drove out to Baring and hiked 1.3 miles to Lake Dorothy.
The trail was great! Boardwalks, bridges, stairs, trees-a-plenty and sun. Little Grandin made that trail his bitch. He powered up it, never complaining, and even wearing a pack for part of it. He even fashioned himself an ice axe (a stick bent in half) so he could be just like his Uncle Mike.
When we got to the lake we spent the afternoon swimming, catching bugs, and eating food.
Catching small fish in a sandwich bag
Swimming to the rock
Grandin didn't disappoint and managed to add a touch of awkwardness to the adventure.
While lunching we heard water hitting a rock...we turned around to find Grandin peeing uphill on a rock.
"What are you doing?!?!"
"I'm making a pee waterfall. I like pee waterfalls."
The kid is honest. But seriously...who doesn't enjoy a good pee waterfall.
This hiking trip also reassured me and Mike that we could have kids someday and still enjoy our awkwardly hardcore life.
