Sometimes We Try to Kill Mommie Dearest: Beacon Rock State Park and Oregon Miscellany

Hiked: March 3, 3019 Mileage: 2 miles Elevation: Up Sometimes a hike just doesn’t go the way you hope. Sometimes your dogs just try to kill you. Hi, I’m Jenna, human Mom to Aggie and Charlotte (and please shoot me if I ever use the word “humom.”) We all know dogs have hearts of gold […]

When you say Winter, we say CAMPING: Twin Harbors State Park

Visited: Feb 6-8, 2019 The gods of weather blessed us with a break between weird winter storms, granting sunshine and (relatively) temperate weather for a birthday camping trip. Shout out to my Mom: When she asked where I wanted to go for my birthday and I said camping, she didn’t bat an eye. We arrived […]

A Communion with Horses: Nisqually State Park

Hiked: Feb 21, 2019 Mileage: 4.5 miles Elevation Gain: 37 floors When we want a quick jaunt and don’t want to drive too far, we go out to Nisqually State Park. Nestled in a valley just off Mountain Highway not far from Elbe and Alder Lake, Nisqually State Park is a mix of deciduous […]

You Promised Me Snow: Little Ranger Peak

Hiked: Jan 15, 2019 Miles: 9.6 Elevation Gain: 2200 feet A slight misconception as I took to the trail to ascend Little Ranger Peak on a cool, intermittently sunny day. My normally trusty Best Hikes with Dogs: Western Washington book mistakenly lists the round trip mileage at 6 miles. But the WTA description has the total miles […]

Shaving Cream Lake on the Columbia River Gorge

Gillette Lake and Greenleaf Creek Hiked: Jan. 4, 2019 Miles: 8 Elev. Gain: 850 feetsies A little blue marble dropped in a valley on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, Lake Gillette (aka Shaving Cream Lake, aka Speaking Out About Toxic Masculinity Lake…see what I did there, topical!) is a pristine little jewel […]

The Melodious Sounds of I-5: Paradise Point State Park

Hiked: Jan. 2, 2019 Miles: 3? Elevation Gain: Not really Do you like your nature with a side helping of freeway noise? Do you want to enjoy the serenity of strolling alongside a peaceful river coupled with the anxiety-inducing rumble of I-5 traffic literally over your head? Okay, so we can’t always have it all, […]

Noble Knob – The Burned Forest

Hiked: 8-23-17 and 8-27-18 Mileage: Miles, I don’t know. El. Gain: Some This is the story of a fire, before and after. Last year in late summer, a devastating fire swept through the Norse Peak wilderness. It began on August 11th, and while on August 23, I saw no signs of it on my hike […]

Union Creek Falls and Suntop

Hiked 10-22-18 Miles: 4ish Elevation: a bit I was looking for something a little light since I was recovering from both a cold and a shoulder injury (and Aggie was in fine and dandy good health) so I aimed for a couple of short, easy hikes with big payoffs. First of all, let me thank […]

Snowgrass Flats – Goat Rocks Wilderness

Hiked: 10-18-18 Length: 11.6 mi. El. Gain: 1600-2000 ft. Talk about a lucky, late fall hike. With the sun shining, we slogged up 15 miles of decent but slow forest road. This was after I declared I didn’t feel like driving far up any forest road and definitely not hiking too far. After considering High […]