a north cascades autumn
notes from real life + hiking trails from recently
Lately I feel like about 80% of my travel or adventure plans are a failure to launch. At the end of September we were going to head out for an overnight in the San Juans— a gale swept through the area and we called it. We headed out to backpack Hannegan Pass and got rained out. Last week we were home in Minnesota and supposed to head up the shore to visit our friends and do some hiking, but Andy got sick.
This week, what was supposed to be a long weekend in Rainier followed by meeting up with some paddlers in the Strait of Juan de Fuca fell through when I got sick.
I think I’m sort of just living in the aftermath of the summer— working consecutive 18 hour, 3-day shifts in the wilderness for a few months straight does a number on your body, and mine is still recovering. When I don’t have to camp in less than ideal conditions (pouring rain on a mountain, or punching through 3-4 ft waves to get to a campsite) I don’t want to right now. I did that all summer.
Somehow it’s been less than a month since the last overnight sea kayaking trip I guided. That feels kind of impossible.
I’ve found myself binge scrolling through other girls’ Instagrams in the evening, frustrated that my trips have fallen through, annoyed that I couldn’t pull it together because I’m sure she always does. (How does her hair look like that after a hike? She probably did more miles than me too.)
Sometimes it feels like everyone around me is doing everything, all the time, and I am standing still.
I know that, of course, isn’t true. For all the girls I watch on social media thinking they are doing so much better than I am, there’s probably someone, somewhere doing the same thing with my social media. From the outside it probably looks like I am doing everything all the time too.
For me, the solution is logging off more. I use my professional account pretty much exclusively for work. Other than that, I’m pretty much off social media. It makes me feel gross— either inadequate, or angry about something, or just plain physically ill, like it gives me a headache. It feels silly sometimes to get that wrapped in something that only exists on a screen.
notes from my real, tangible life:
some of the places I’ve hiked lately with trail links and their stories✨
Hannegan Pass
Andy and I set out to backpack Hannegan Pass the last week of September and made it about four miles in (almost all the way), before the drizzle turned to a downpour. We stopped hiking and looked at each other, and up at the few remaining switchbacks up to the saddle and our campsite beyond.
“So we could keep hiking, and set up camp in the rain. Or…” I began. The rain wasn’t forecasted to let up until mid-afternoon the next day. Sitting in a wet tent in the rain in the dark didn’t hold a ton of appeal.
We hiked back out the same day, and grabbed burgers on the way home. Honestly, it was awesome. Best burger I’ve ever had, and such a relief to take a hot shower and curl up in front of the TV.
Excelsior Pass & Peak
It’s been a while since I’ve solo hiked. Maybe that’s not technically true— I’d often go for a solo walk on Jones or Stuart Island while guiding to take a few moments to myself, and I suppose I went on a few solo hikes on San Juan Island over the summer, but it’s been a while since I went on a long, difficult solo hike in an area I was unfamiliar with.
I am unfamiliar with the mountains. I know it’s temporary and I’m a quick learner, and soon I’ll understand more about them, but now they feel especially foreign. I think part of that is I am fluent in big water and ocean— I understand the tides and currents and weather patterns, and so I have a concept of just how much I don’t know about the mountains because I know how much there is to know.
Solo hiking Excelsior Peak felt like a big deal to me, which I know probably sounds a little silly. I’ve tackled 70 day sea kayak expeditions, and solo guided all summer, and am in general an extremely competent outdoors-person. Solo hiking somewhere new always feels intimidating still.
I picked Excelsior Peak because I went on a Saturday and knew it would be crowded other places, and this hike wouldn’t be as a result of the 4,000 feet of elevation in four miles. It wasn’t crowded, and it was a miserable, great workout and it felt incredible to stand on a peak by myself, and I got blisters for the first time in years.
Up at Excelsior Peak wearing a sweater I knit. I’ll be updating my handknits shop October 20th at 10am PST, and the shop will be up & running through the winter!
Chain Lakes Loop
We headed out to Chain Lakes Loop just a few days ago. This hike is easily one of the prettiest in the area, super heavily trafficked, and easy to get to. I’d been putting it off for those reasons actually— I tend to gravitate towards less popular places.
It’s a beautiful trail, and I wish I had checked it out sooner. All of the trails up at the end of Mount Baker Highway are pretty incredible, and I’m lucky to be so close.
The past few weeks, I’ve been shooting a lot of photos in full daylight conditions. I wanted to have a set of edits that worked well for these conditions, had an “autumn” feel to them, and were compatible with photos shot on anything from my iPhone 8, video, to photos shot on my Canon. The result is the Dusty Pink Preset— this is actually a bundle of four very similar presets that enhance soft pinks and purples and work especially well on fall photos shot in full sun.
Versions included are Dusty Pink base preset, Dusty Pink Darken (darkens in addition to base edits), Dusty Pink Lighten (lightens in addition to base edits), and Dusty Pink Vintage (adds grain and more dramatic edit).
Mt. Rainier National Park
My Mt. Rainier visit included me on the side of a mountain road dry-heaving into a paper bag, which is probably the most classic of experiences to have in a National Park.
Despite feeling terrible, Mt. Rainier was pretty beautiful. I wish I’d been in a condition to appreciate it a little more. Next time, hopefully.
That was Friday. We headed back home pretty much right after these photos were taken. I was expecting to spend Saturday and Sunday exploring— instead I spent them inside and catching up on work. To be totally honest, that’s kind of what needed to happen.
Other links, updates, and more to read:
Last week I wrote about how the backcountry and living abroad has ruined the way I perceive American culture permanently, which is a very pretentious thing to say but nonetheless true
I’ve gotten a lot of questions on gear I use and would recommend— here’s the master list of the outdoor gear I use, and who I would/wouldn’t recommend it for.
New photo editing preset “Dusty Pink” is live! This pack comes with four variations of the same preset compatible with both Lightroom and Lightroom mobile and a User Guide including info on how to instal. Most of the photos in this post were edited with this preset.
I have a new batch of handknit Selbu mittens hitting my shop at 10am PST on the 20th! I’ll also have hats, neck gaiters, and a few misc items including two wool rescue sweaters (damaged sweaters I’ve found at thrift stores and repaired, selling at a more budget-friendly price than a handknit wool sweater).
Looking for a winter wonderland vacation this winter? Check out the 17 Best Winter Travel Destinations in the Midwest