2022 Hikes

Writing this blog is one of my year-end traditions, and I do it primarily because I like to see the progression of the seasons through the photos. Sometimes travel throws off that progression, but not this year, because a June trip to Norway fit in nicely. I did one more hike than last year, but my total mileage and elevation gain were 131 miles and 33,000 feet lower this year. A little disappointing, but I guess it’s about the quality, not quantity.

Here are the hikes, with new hikes marked with an *. All hikes are in Washington unless otherwise noted.

Mt. Si Old Trail – The new year started off with a bluebird day and lots of white fluffy snow at the top. Lots of folks out enjoying the day.

Ebey’s Landing – This was a good hike to do when the mountain passes were closed from too much snow, although after doing this one a couple times, I don’t understand why the hiking book authors love this one so much.

Deception Pass Headlands – There’s a decent amount of scenic exploration around this park, including opportunities for seal sightings.

Howard Miller Steelhead Park – I drove out this way in hopes of seeing a bunch of bald eagles up close like I did a year prior, but other than a few far-off sightings, I didn’t have any luck.

West Tiger Four Summit Loop – This is a great winter workout hike, although the traverse between the summits is a lot less pleasant now that the area has been clearcut.

Excelsior Peak – This hike is beautiful in the snow and gives you a nice view of the Canadian border peaks.

Bessemer Mountain* – The views from the top are pretty, but it’s a long slog up a logging road to get up there. Extra bonus for an eagle soaring above us as we neared the top.

Teanaway Butte via Jungle Creek* – This is another one that involves a long slog to get great views at the top. There was also a bit of make-your-own-adventure route-finding to get up there.

Marten Creek – I was hoping to make it to the lake, but no clear trail through the snow put an end to that.

Rex Derr Trail* – A nice multi-use (hiking, skiing, mountain biking) trail system in Pearrygin Lake State Park in Winthrop.

Steliko Lookout – I snagged a last-minute reservation and was treated to a working heater, a beautiful sunrise, and one incredible story in the guest book about a guy who was trapped there for days during the big January snowstorm. He was eventually rescued by the rangers.

Sugarloaf-Whistle Lake-Mt. Erie Loop – I did this for the first time last year, and it’s now part of my winter rotation. Nice trail system with lots of options, and Mt. Erie seems to be a reliable place to see eagles.

Poo Poo Poo via High School Trail* – I enjoyed taking the long way to Poo Poo Point. So much quieter than the standard route.

High School-West Tiger 3-Tradition Loop* – I put together this new (to me) loop to get some miles in but avoid the bulk of the Tiger Mountain clearcut.

Garfield Ledges – The first time I did this hike it was pouring rain and I couldn’t see anything. This time it was perfect.

Stegosaurus Butte – Another quiet and somewhat rough trail off the Middle Fork Snoqualmie.

Middle Tiger Mountain* – The summit (pictured) was a bit anticlimactic.

Gnome Trail* – This short but sweet hike had been on my list and did not disappoint. So. Many. Gnomes.

Kendall Peak Lakes – I didn’t get much snowshoeing in this year, but glad I was able to get here – one of my faves on a nice day.

Lyle Cherry Orchard – Despite the sign at the start warning of poison oak, ticks and rattlesnakes, I really like this hike.

Memaloose Hills – I hit this a week or two too soon for peak flowers, but it was still nice.

Tom McCall Point – One of my favorite Gorge hikes, even though I was way to0 early for peak flowers on this one too.

Hard Stone Trail* – While in Oregon for my annual Gorge visit, I drove down to Cottonwood Canyon to hike a new-to-me area. Nice scenery and very few people.

Pinnacles Trail* – In addition to the scenery, this trail also had a solar-powered USB charging station.

Crawford Oaks – The one Gorge hike where I hit the flowers just right this year.

Dirty Harry’s Balcony and Museum – I like a hike where I can see old artifacts, especially when it’s too cloudy for any views.

Umtanum Ridge – This hike never disappoints for expansive views and solitude.

Chelan Butte* – I got fogged in near the top, which was unfortunate because I think the views would have been great.

Icicle Ridge – I saw a mini-rainbow from the top and huge mega bright rainbows as I was driving back from the hike.

Sage Hills Horse Lake Loop* – There are lots of different trails to explore in this area. I was able to miss a lot of the crowds by choosing this route, although I think I also missed some of the best wildflower patches.

Enchanted Valley – My first backpacking trip and bear sightings of the year. I can see why the bears like the valley so much – the scenery is incredible!

Chelan Lakeshore Trail – My second backpacking trip and bear sighting of the year. I also saw grouse, rattlesnakes, hummingbirds and deer. Finished it off with four pastries at the Stehekin Bakery.

Cashmere Canyons Loop* – This is a new trail system that I did a quick visit to last year but finally did a proper hike this year. Nice for wildflowers and wildlife.

Icicle Ridge via 4^th of July Creek – I wanted to see my favorite Tweedy Lewisa flowers before leaving for vacation and was happy to see several clumps of them.

Lyngstuva (Norway)* – What I thought would just be a nice evening stroll to a lighthouse turned into a surprise visit to an old shipwreck site. The lighthouse cabin could be used as primitive lodging, similar to our fire lookouts here.

Rorneshytta (Norway)* – A hike to two typical Norwegian skier/hiker huts with expansive views of fjords and glaciers, with many sheep sightings along the way on a warm and sunny day. What more could I ask for?

Blue Lake (Norway)* – This has to be the most popular hike in the Lyngen Alps, and I can see why. This lake reminded me of the alpine lakes in Washington, but the mostly flat and rocky approach to it was quite different from the forested climbs here.

Romestinden (Norway)* – I was hoping to get to the top so I could have full view of the fjord, but I lost the trail and it got crazy steep. It was still a really nice hike where I only saw two other people over several hours.

Lyngendalen (Norway)* – Glaciers and sheep. Lots of both on the Lyngen Peninsula.

Steindalsbreen Glacier (Norway)* – More glaciers and sheep!

Sukkertoppen (Norway)* – Frist hike on the island of Senja ended up ultimately being my favorite. Such cool evening views. I skipped the steep chain climb to the summit.

Barden (Norway)* – This was the first of many HOT hikes on Senja. I didn’t think I’d experiencing consecutive 80-degree days north of the Arctic Circle, but when there’s a heat wave and the sun never sets, that’s what you get.

Hussfjellet (Norway)* – This is one of the “locals” hikes on Senja, and it was pretty sweet. I’m pretty sure the peak is the same mountain that’s used in the ads for Bravo’s “Below Deck Adventure” set (further south) in Norway.

Riven (Norway)* – I wasn’t planning to do this one, but it was a foggy morning and I knew I wouldn’t see anything on any of the view hikes on my list.

Hesten (Norway)* – A photo of the view of Segla Mountain from the top of Hesten was what inspired my entire Norway trip. As it turned out, the view was fully fogged in when I arrived at the base of the final push to the summit. I waited until the view partially cleared, but I never did see the full view or go to the summit.

Keipen (Norway)* – By this point in my trip I was getting sort of jaded by green mountains and fjord views, but seeing a huge herd of reindeer on this hike got me fired up all over again.

Anderatnet Lake (Norway)* – The weather forecast for my last full hiking day was for thunder and lightning (neither of which materialized), so I stuck to lower elevations. This national park had nice firepits along the trail, fully stocked with firewood.

Bandera Mountain – This year was a beargrass super bloom, and this was the perfect hike for it.

Annette Lake – Unfortunately I didn’t spot the bear in the avalanche chute.

Lake Ingalls – My annual “take-a-day-off-work-to-beat-the-crowds” trip here. The lake was in a perfect half-melted state. Saw only one goat, however.

Coldwater Peak – I love this hike so much, and this day was just perfect for it. The snow was melted, the flowers were blooming, and it was sunny but not too hot.

Horseshoe Basin* – This hike in the Pasayten had been on my list for awhile, but I thought it was just okay, especially for a 6+ hour drive each way. My opinion may have been impacted by the fact I injured myself on the first night and headed home a day early.

Armstrong Mountain* – The cool thing about this hike is that it has two US/Canada border markers at the top.

Spray Park – Lingering snow meant not a lot of flowers yet, but their absence was made up for by an abundance of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

Tolmie Peak* – Crazy that this is the first Mt. Rainier fire lookout I’ve hiked to. It’s a good one!

Enchantments – Doing this on a weekday no longer means no crowds (the parking lot was already overflowing at 5:30 am), but I still love doing this hike. I did it twice this year – once in August and once for larches in late September. The goats did a nice job of posing. I even saw bears here for the first time – we both startled each other.

Spider Glacier Camp – My legs weren’t too happy with me doing this the day after the Enchantments, but it was sort of on the way home, and it’s really a spectacular hike.

Sahale Arm – I was so happy to score a backpacking permit for one of my favorite day hike destinations. It was such a treat to get to spend so much time there enjoying the view, all the resident goats, and the most scenic toilet in the state.

Swamp Lake (OR)* – This is in a lesser-traveled corner of the Wallowa Mountains in northeast Oregon. It normally lives up to its name and is very buggy, but I lucked out. Sunrise was beautiful.

Maxwell Lake (OR) – One of the few reasonable distance day hikes in the area. Most hikes there are long enough to justify or require a backpack trip.

Hobo Lake (OR)* – There were three lakes on this hike, and my favorite was the first – Laverty Lake.

Skyline Loop – I love it when the marmots pose for me. The flowers this year either weren’t that great, or I missed the window.

Snow & Bench Lakes – Bench Lake has a much more reliable reflection of Mt. Rainier than Reflection Lake (go figure!) with none of the crowds. It’s a short hike from the road.

Banshee Peak* – I got a last-minute camping permit for Summerland at Mt. Rainier and hoped to use that as a jumping off point for a hike toward Indian Bar through one of my favorite sections of the Wonderland Trail. Unfortunately fog foiled that plan, so we checked out this new-to-us peak.

Fremont Lookout* – Continuing my tour of Mt. Rainier fire lookouts, the fog also foiled this hike. But before that, we came across the large Sunrise herd of goats – I’d never seen so many all at once!

Granite Lakes – First “fall” hike where I started to see the beginning of some fall colors.

Park Butte – It had been awhile since I’d done this hike, and I forgot how great the in-your-face views of Mt. Baker are.

Rampart Lakes/Ridge – This was a perfect fall day for this hike – sunny and warm with lots of fall color at the lakes. I hiked up the ridge above the lakes for the first time and soaked in the views.

Lake Valhalla/Mt. McCausland – Wildfires made Highway 2 hikes challenging this fall, so I was glad to catch a good day for this one. It didn’t get the same online love it had the past couple years, so it was unexpectedly and pleasantly uncrowded.

Snow Lake – I did this one on a sunny and warm fall Sunday, so I knew it would be crowded – I counted almost 600 people on the trail as I headed down! The big bonus was seeing a bear near the tarn between Snow and Gem Lakes. You can see it in the shade in the center right of the photo.

Copper Glance Lake* – I wanted to try some new larch hikes this year. Lots of nice color ringing the lake.

Scatter Lake* – Another new larch hike for me. Very nice larch groves along the way and at the lake.

Maple Pass/Lewis Lake – I told myself if cars weren’t already parked along the road as I drove past on my way home from Winthrop, I’d stop and do this hike. Weekends are crazy crowded, so it was a luxury to be able to do it on a Monday.

Peggy’s Pond* – I got sucked in by a photo of fall colors at the lake that I saw online, and I’m glad I did. It was so pretty and peaceful there on another one of our unseasonably warm October weekends.

Heather Lake – I picked this one because I needed something quick. I didn’t expect the awesome fall colors on a moody morning.

Marten Lake – I picked this one because I wanted something without crowds. I didn’t expect the awesome fall colors on a sunny morning.

Little Si – I passed a machete-wielding hiker on my way down. Nothing to see here.

Mt. Si via Mt. Teneriffe Trail – There was enough fresh snow to make things pretty, but not enough to make the hiking difficult or treacherous.

Rattlesnake Ledge – Did this as a quick hike before the Thanksgiving feast.

Wallace Falls – On my way up I ran into this guy who wanted to tell me all about how you can see an eagle-shaped rock at the first falls overlook. I *think* this is what he was describing? Maybe I needed to be in more of a zen space to see it.

West Tiger 3 – Sloppy snow most of the trail, a windy clear cut at the top, and this short scenic stretch in between.

Franklin Falls – I took my birthday off work so I was able to do this hike without the usual winter crowds. Some fresh snow fell the night before, so everything was really pretty and peaceful first thing in the morning.