Marie Creek

Ahhh, no house sitter this weekend, and no working vehicle until last night. My camping plans were foiled. The poor Festiva needs new front brakes. Evidently one of the calipers is stuck in "stop the car" mode. And the Blazer was having a wheel issue but that is now fixed so Walter and I went to Marie Creek today for a hike. Two weekends ago on a day that was too damn hot for hiking we went and found the trailhead. Today it was just a bit less than too damn hot for hiking. A trail description for Marie Creek can be found in Best Hikes with Dogs Inland Northwest. The trailhead is like 15 miles from Cd'A.

When we got there again today the trailhead parking lot was full of horse trailers. The trail is maintained by the Panhandle Backcountry Horsemen but we only saw 7 horsewomen on the trail. That was pretty cool. Walter and I always stand off to the lower side of the trail and make sure they all know we are there. The trail is really great, but I do not advise hiking it on a really hot summer afternoon. Morning or evening would be great, not 1:00pm. The first mile and a half or so is pretty hot as the trail climbs up and over a ridge to the creek valley and has minimal shade is spots. I actually got a wee bit too hot and did not have a normal cool down once we got into the shady valley. Can anyone say heat exhaustion? I was probably heading in that direction.

Walter and I walked along the creek for about another mile and a half, through a really cool meadow and along the edge of basalt slopes. We walked almost to Skitwash Creek. There are several nice camping spots on the edges of the first meadow. Unfortunately one of them has a lot of junk that was hauled in by horses and not taken back out (a huge foot locker and a big-ass tent). We also saw this really weird metal pyramid thing made out of fence posts that had fencing on it. It did not look to be over anything special, such as a rare orchid or anything and I don't think anyone was growing pole beans in the meadow. Really weird. If anyone knows what it could be let me know. It comes up to about my chin.

Even though the trail parallels the creek, it is not really within contact of it for most of the hike. There is a great spot before the trail heads back up over the ridge to the trailhead that is perfect for getting wet. I soaked myself and got Walter wet, then we found a shady spot in the breeze and had a bit of a rest and some snacks. While we were resting there were two hawks doing battle in the air above us. It was so weird. I heard them making noise and thought that maybe we were too close to the nest but as I watched I realized they were fighting each other. Maybe they were mating and it was some violent hawk mating ritual, but it seems a bit early for that sort of thing to be happening. It was really wild to watch and incredibly loud.

We took our time heading back up over the ridge to the trailhead. The trail from the ridgetop to the creek is the hottest part with very little shade. By the time we got back to the trailhead I was pretty darn tired and had a pounding headache. Aside from the women on the horses we did not see anyone else on the trail. There were some folks at the trailhead when we got there but that was it. In all we walked about 6-7 miles. The ridge is really the only hilly part. There is some undulation along the creek portion but not much. The meadow area looks like a most excellent place to spend the night. There is a camp spot at the other end that was really clean and it look nice. It is actually in the trees rather than in the meadow.

I am not sure what the next few weeks looks like. This coming weekend I will be replacing the brakes on the Festiva. I have been told the front are easier than the back and I have successfully replaced the back brakes before. Maybe we will get in some fun on Sunday. I am really liking this no homework thing in the evening!!!!!

Pictures from top to bottom: Wally in the water; looking down into the Marie Creek valley from the ridge above; three trail shots; the meadow;

the goofy pyramid thing (note the flowers around it...they covered the meadow).

It's all about Harry...well, and Walter, too.

This past weekend I read the latest and last Harry Potter book. OOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!! The Agony!!!!!!!!!! No, I shall not spoil it for anyone. I ordered a copy from Amazon to be delivered on Saturday but, not trusting the "man" I went to Fred Meyer at 6:45am Saturday morning (they open at 7) and waited in line with all the other middle aged women who were there to get their copy. It was too damn funny. Then when some children had the audacity to show up, we made sure they could not cut in line. Of course the most adorable UPS woman showed up at 9am with my Amazon copy. Oh well.

It took me about 12 hours of straight reading to get through the book. Now I am reading it over slowly. What does this have to do with Travels with Walter? Well, Walter got to sleep on the couch while I was reading. And this also means that since we have not been out hiking or adventuring in a while we are going to hit the trail this weekend. Walter is quite excited about it because it involves camping and camping involves him being able to chew his obscene bone. Until after the weekend.....

Hot Dogs

Today I took Walter and his mother Ruby out for a little adventure. It was really too hot to do much hiking so our goal was just to mess around in the mountains for a bit. I drove over to Idaho and we checked out the trailhead for Marie Creek. There were some people on horses and Ruby started barking at them so we did not even get out of the car. Sometimes she is a total drama queen.

Then I headed to the other side of I-90 and drove around Beauty Bay and into the hills. I wanted to see if I could find the Mt. Coeur d' Alene picnic area and see how close I could get to the top of the mountain in the car. My old trail guide says there are views from the summit and where the old lookout is, but I am thinking the forest has reclaimed the views. We saw plenty on the road up to the picnic area, but none on the trail. There is about a half mile trail from the picnic area to the lookout. I was expecting a lookout on stilts way up in the air but what I found was a shack on the ground that the forest is also reclaiming. I guess at one point in the not too distant past there were no trees there and the view was all open. It was a nice little stroll though, but it was really too hot to be out hiking. The temp this week has been over 100 or in the high 90's. I am not sure what it was today but I was drenched and the dogs were panting like crazy. Basically it was really fucking hot.

I have been on the Caribou Ridge portion of the trail that connects to the picnic area from the other side of the road, but I never made it all the way to the top. I was darn close to the picnic area but turned around because it was getting dark. We were also having a lot of fires and the smoke was pretty bad. The Caribou Ridge trail starts at the Beauty Bay Campground that I have a post of from June of 2006.

I thought that the top of the mountain would have a nice beautiful view of the lake and surrounding area but it was too grown over to see anything. I was quite dissapointed in that even though I had only walked about a half mile to to the top. I think that if I would have bushed whacked I could have found some views but it was too hot and sticky to get myself in the thick of leaves and branches.

So after finding the top of the mountain and the lookout cabin that only looked into the nearest bush, we turned around and headed back to the car. The drive down from the mountain is long and dusty but we stopped to take some photos and dick around some more.

I am not sure what the next few weeks holds. The new Harry Potter book is coming out on the 21st and there goes that weekend and the heat and fire danger sort of dictate what we do. Until the next mountain...

PS I think Voldemort is really a euphamism for Dick Cheney. I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Republicans for Voldemort." Like, no shit.

Pictures from top to bottom: Walter and his Mama Ruby at the trailhead (Walter is in the back and Ruby is in the front...yeah, she is grey and he is black...and we just found out this week that Walter's daddy died at the age of 13 from cancer...I am really sad about it.; the trail that heads up from the picnic area; a spot along the trail; the lookout cabin on the top of the mountain; a nice view from the road on the way down of Wolf Lodge Bay; looking towards Cd'A and Hagadon's Erections...errr...I mean...resorts...

Paddling the Spokanes'

I had a some fun this past weekend paddling with a couple of friends (Michelle and Sparky). We started out with a plan to paddle Bonnie Lake but changed our minds because of the drive and the heat. Instead we went to the Spokane River and paddled above Upriver Dam. There is a post of this little trip from last July as well. We paddled up to the islands and swam around then paddled back to the put-in area. Then we went to said friend's house, had some lunch, and were shuttled to the Little Spokane River put-in by St. George's by SOMEONE NAMED CAROL WHO IS REALLY WONDERFUL!!!!

The Little Spokane River is one of only a few rivers in the country that are not completely open to navigation. The river was ruled as non-navigable many years back and the land owners on the river actually own the river (as if you could really own a river). Of course, since people are able to paddle the river in both the upper and lower areas, it is navigable. Luckily some smart folks started buying up "the river" in the lower reaches and turned it into a natural area. Unfortunately, the upper river...some 50 or more miles...is privately owned and the land owners are pretty fussy. In many areas they have put wires across the river and boat puncturing obstacles under the water. It is really too bad because the river is just too cool. The natural area section that is open to paddling is about the last seven miles before it empties into the Spokane River above Long Lake. There is a trail that goes along the river and one that heads up into the hills above it for a sort of loop hike (though the river portion of the trail is not open to dogs...sorry Walter!). There are also some cool pictographs at the aptly named Painted Rocks area. Here is a link to the official website: http://www.riversidestatepark.org/little_spokane.htm

The thing I like best about the Little Spokane is that even though there are lots of people on it at any given time, there are many moments of solitude. The river meanders quite a bit and give the impression of solitude. When we got there a big group of loud folks were getting on the river so we pulled over and waited for them to go past. One chick was doing that really loud girl scream and it was driving us nuts. We ran into another group of folks having a picnic on the river and then a pack of drunk old men who were searching desperately trying to revive their oats. They wanted my friend Michelle to roll her boat and then paddle back to them. Why do they think that we think they are sexy with their beer bellies and bald spots and lack of social skills????? Anyway, we had a good laugh at them at least. We did take the opportunity (or at least Sparky and I did) of getting in the water. It was nice and cold. I introduced Sparky to the three times rule (you have to get into the water three times total) and told her about the time I had to break up the ice along the Kettle River so I could get in (she now knows that I am nuts).

It was a great day and a fun time hanging out with Michelle, Sparky, and Carol (THE REALLY WONDERFUL PERSON WHO SHUTTLED US AROUND AND MADE US YUMMY SANDWICHES). I am ready to go again whenever you guys are!!!!

PS The picture was "borrowed" from someone else because I forgot to take my camera with me. The entire river pretty much looks just like this with varying degrees of current.

Adventures in Independence

Wally and I were hoping to get out and get a hike in today (July 4th) but aside from a small stroll around the hood we have been occupied with other endeavors. Yes, I dove back into the world of home improvement. I just spent five hour installing a ceiling fan in my kitchen. It only took two trips to Home Depot. The problem with having a 120 year old house is that nothing is square or even and a lot of the modern widgets that are available in the home improvement stores do not fit houses that have actual timber framing. But, with some improvising and using my left brain I was able to complete the task with minimal leftover parts and a small amount of blood loss. And I only have to make one small repair on the drywall.

This evening I am having dinner with friends and maybe watching the fireworks downtown. My internship is going great and I am not feeling so overwhelmed this week (this is only my second week).

However, this past weekend Walter and I were able to get up to Mt. Spokane for the day and put in around 8 miles. Yeah, I was darn tired when it was over with. We parked at the parking lot on the hairpin turn and walked 6 miles on a pretty gentle uphill grade to the back of Mt. Kit Carson and Day Mountain to the saddle and big trail junction between Kit Carson and the Mt. Spokane peak. Wow, that was quite a walk and we did it in three hours. It would have taken us much longer if we could have stopped and had a nice little picnic but the three times we stopped for a rest the bees and horse flies started biting. A horse fly bit me through my shirt and I think Walter got stung in the mouth. So we just sort of had our lunch while we were walking.

I have only been on parts of the Loop road and even though it is a road (but closed to motorized vehicles) I highly suggest it for a hike. It is a bit sunny in places and on the back of Day Mountain there is a small bit of forest that is owned (and wrecked) by a timber company. But, with raping of the forest comes some great views of the surrounding mountians. After we got to the big trail junction we took trail 110 down to the trailhead parking lot. That portion of the trail is only about two miles. There are several streams that intersect the trail and I was so hot that every time we came to one (the trail crosses one of them several times because of the switchbacks) I drenched myself. Walter just

stands there and looks at me like I am crazy. On the whole route we only saw one other person and that was when we were coming down 110.

Pretty soon (maybe even this weekend) Walter and I are going to start back on our 50x50 hikes. I have a lot of catching up to do and now that Nancy is back I have someone to look after the dogs on the weekends.

The first picture is of course the new ceiling fan and then some random shots of hiking on Mt. Spokane. The ones with the view of the mountains in the background are of the Cabinet Mountains, Selkirks, and the Bitterroots way in the distance and the one that looks like a bulldozer attacked the hillside is where a bulldozer apparently attacked the hillside in the logging area. And one of the cute little mile markers along the Loop road.