Hi Grinch,
Hope you had a merry one in the outdoors. Years ago a friend and I decided to be grinches and went on a three-day backpack up the Elwha. It was a rainy weekend (typical December weather) and we made camp at Elkhorn. Day hiked further. The first night it was spooky because we saw a circle of red eyes peering at us from the (closed) rangers cabin. Then we saw their shapes -- racoons, of course!! I remember how beautiful the trail was in winter, the subdued colors, the peace, and no one else there at all. Our trip had a bad ending -- I got food poisoning from pizza in Port Angeles on our way back to Seattle. All in all a memorable trip and a philosophical one in which we solved all the great problems of the universe as we hiked through the somber beauty of the Elwha. I'd be willing to bet you'll come back refreshed. A belated Merry Christmas to you , Grinch, and to everyone (whether at home, on the slopes, or on the lonesome trail).
Pine marten
stay together, learn the flowers, go light - from Turtle Island, Gary Snyder
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stay together, learn the flowers, go light - from Turtle Island, Gary Snyder
The downside of tradition is the commitment that goes along with it.
When the shelter at Lower Tuscohatchie (forgive me if I'm misspelling it) was still there and in decent shape, I always thought it would be nice to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas there. BPJ and I used to go up there once a year in the winter.
It was fun, but a littl crazy. We didn't know everything we should have about avalanche safety--didn't give it any thought at all, really. We'd hike up to Olallie (we used both the Granit Mt. and Talapus trailheads over the years) and then cut straight up and over the plateau east of Pratt and then drop into Lower Tuscohatchie. We also tried going in via Pratt one year, but the traverse accross the steep slope into the Pratt River Valley between Pratt and Lower Tuscohatchie can be scary in the winter. The last time we did it, the cabin was gone. Fortunately, BPJ had a tent . . .
That shelter was really very Nice. It had a closing wooden window, bunk beds, and a fireplace. I was sorry to see it go...
I had previously posted a picture of it in the History section. Here it is or was:
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