Tom Unger
Sea Kayaking
Successful
Upper Big Quilcene Trail was snowier then I expected.
Early snowfall made us the only visitors to Hurricane Hill on this 12.2 mile, 5500’ gain winter scramble. Clouds parted on the summit ridge affording stunning views.
Great conditioner, short drive, plenty of snow, but no views today.
Final race of the CYC Edmonds Halloween Series. A solid performance with a solid crew.
Trip cancelled to changing weather conditions. Will be rescheduled.
Classic Fall scramble. Carried snowshoes, ice ax, rope etc., but snow melt/freeze made route slower and friendly starting 5300'. Scramble conditions from ridge to Lookout Tower (6800') and true Peak (6900'). Virtually no avy risk 1.5+ mile traverse from ascent valley to Tower.
A successful scramble on a beautiful day despite an awkward amount of snow in places.
Oct. 28, 2017. No significant snow encountered, beyond patches here and there. One student earned a third summit (Rock) for his graduation summit. Co-leader's name noted in the roster notes, although the trip was not originally set up as a co-led trip. We used the Commonwealth Basin TH and road to approach the peak on a beautiful sunny clear Fall day. Left parking lot at 8:00 am; returned by 3:15 pm, with a couple of extended breaks (~15 minutes each) and lunch on the summit of ~45 minutes or so. This pleasant peak might not ordinarily count for a scramble summit in summer/fall (snow-free) conditions, since it can be done as trail/way-trail all the way. The way-trail is steep, narrow, and loose in places, however, so an argument could be made either way for scramble credit. Since our student needed a third (Rock) summit to obtain graduation credit, we deliberately veered off the way-trail on the western face and ascended via the southwest spur, spending ample time on steep rock, mixed solid and loose, for good rock scrambling experience and informal loose rock instruction.
Great day out climbing at Vantage: Sunshine Wall classics and easy sport routes at the Feathers
Weather consolation conditioner (14 miles/4000’) and cross country navigation practice with the beautiful forests and lakes of Moran State Park on Orcas Island.
Seven blowdowns across the trail could all be either stepped over or walked around. New footbridges have eliminated formerly muddy stretches of the trail.
Scrambled Pt 6549, southeast of Earl Peak, in fall conditions.
The route had much more snow than expected and we did not go as far as we had planned, but the trip was still a success.
This urban adventure was a lovely one. The timing was perfect, i.e., 6:00 pm-8:00 pm for the city of Seattle's traffic was not as busy. The walk, which included quite a number of steps, was well paced, we saw interesting sights and being in the evening, many beautiful lights. It was a great walk, thank you Peter.
Winter is here - and more is coming!