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Oahu: Diamond Head

Rush — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:07:31 +0000

[svgallery name="hawaii-diamondHead"]

ONP: Mount Ellinor

Rush — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:13:38 +0000

If you are big on nature, or just enjoy a slight on top of the world feeling then this hike is definitely for you. The views from the peek are just fantastic and unbelievable. With the clouds scattered around us and the wind throwing them around the scenery was ever changing.

[svgallery name="Mount Ellinor - Sept 09"]

We did this hike back in September on Labour day. I do have to admit the hike up wasn’t the easiest i have been on, with 4.5 round trip and a total elevation gain of 2100 ft the climb is quite steep. Usually on these trails the beginning feels easily and it gradually gets harder, but this one as soon as we started the trail looked like a staircase the climbed through the woods. The switchbacks get shorter and more and more steep until about half way through the hike at which point you should be clearing the tree lines. That is when you truly appreciate the beauty of this climb. Once you get to peek above the trees you get to feast your eyes on a vast scenery of Washington state. The second part of the climb is fairly rocky but very well maintained. We were told that we would be greeted by mountain goats, but all I could find were quails (hence they are in the pix). One of the cool things we saw was when on the top, the clouds parted for a second and you could see a chunk of snow which I presume is permanently there just appeared out of nowhere.

Total trip time for Orsolya and I was about 3.5 hours. We got there late around 4 pm and started to climb. We managed to be back in the car around 7:30 as the sun was going down. If you are planning to do this trip bring some strong shoes. You need to go through some rocks so be prepared. Water is as usual very recommended since you might get winded fast. Take the first wooded part slower, its steep so don’t tier yourself out. Also have a sweater handy with you, on the top it gets cold. We hit heavy fog; a cloud was rolling through. Hiking poles might be a good idea too. They would definitely help with the climb up and down. If you are a photographer, be ready to take a ton of panoramics.

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Grove of the Patriarchs, Mount Rainier National Park

Rush — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:51:02 +0000

Suspended bridge, crystal clear waters, crisp air and 1000 some odd year old trees are the highlights of this very short hike. The trail is mostly flat and about 1.5 miles round trip, but it has so much to offer. We go there that day late and we were losing light so we didn’t get a chance to go through the whole loop, but what we saw was already amazing. We are planning on going back to the trail very soon.

For more details on the trail and directions check out the National Park Services website.

[svgallery name="Grove of the Patriachs - Aug 09"]

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ONP: Cape Alava

Rush — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:05:20 +0000

[svgallery name="ONP-Alava"]

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ONP: camping at Cape Alava

Rush — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:04:29 +0000

We just got back from a nice long weekend spent in the Olympic National Park. We arrived at Lake Ozette camp ground Friday afternoon in 2 cars completely stuffed with our packs. After filling up water, redistributing some weight from some packs to others (mostly to mine and Vinay’s) we set on a 4 mile hike down the Cape Alava trail down to the beach. The trail was one of the nicer ones I have seen in a while. The whole path was a very nice and sometimes bouncy boardwalk that led us through the woods all the way to the pacific beach. Once at the beach, we set up our tents and after having our food went immediately to bed.

The next day when we all woke up (some later than others, yeah OK fine, i was the last to wake up. Don’t tell me you thought otherwise) we realized that the fog had been so strong the night before that none of us realized there were a few other islands in front of us. On Saturday we went for a very nice hike along the the beach, sometimes sandy, sometimes rocky and watched the fog go inland and back to see.

One of the most amazing things that i think caught us all by surprise was how high and low the tide can get. On the first night the water was a few meters from our tents, but by the next morning the water had receded so much that you could pretty much walk to the nearby islands.

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Bridal Veil Falls

Rush — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:44:33 +0000

Last week a large group of us went camping at Money Creek Campgrounds. During the day everybody except me, Orsolya and Tahir went white water rafting. The three of us decided to go for a hike on one of the trails nearby. On the way there we passed by a few interesting places. On the road we could pull over and go down by the river and climb on the rocks overlooking the river. Also when passing near Index, there was a section of the road closed due to a river deciding that the road was a much nicer way to go as opposed to the usual rocky river bed. Here are the snaps from that trip. Enjoy!

[svgallery name="BridalVeil"]

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Vacation at Camano Island and Deception Pass

Rush — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:33:32 +0000

About a month ago Orsolya and I stayed at a little cute B&B at Camano Islands. The first day we ended up just going for a stroll on the rocky beach near the hotel. The second day was spent by going to WhidbeyIsland and taking in the sites there. On the way we stopped at Deception Pass National Park and snapped these few pix.

[svgallery name="DeceptionPass"]

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Things to keep in mind before you go hiking.

Rush — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:06:23 +0000

So last weekend a group of us went hiking. A few things we ran into – more like did – that I thought would be worth mentioning. Keep in mind I dont consider this survivol advice, but just things to remember to be safe and have a nice trip as opposed to having to find out if you have cell phone range to call for help or not. (Although I think Ahmed did know we had cell reception since he was twittering on his phone)

#1 BIG ASS STOP SIGN ON THE ROAD MEANS DON’T CROSS: DON’T CHALLENGE IT.

Valuable lesson learnt here is that Nissan Rogue is not a big enough SUV to be able to overcome washed out roads. I tried and the car proved to me its not going to go across, so lets leave it that. Next time you come across a road that there is a huge chunk missing out of it, although there are tire tracks around the crack, avoid and turn around and go home.

#2 WEAR PROPER GEAR: I KNOW ITS HOT IN THE CITY, BUT WEAR NICE PROPER HIKING APPAREL AND BRING SPARE SOCKS.

(I dont think i need to expalin this one)

#3 IF THERE IS SNOW ON THE GROUND, WATCH WHERE YOU STEP

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Franklin Falls – Denny creek

Rush — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:47:05 +0000

[svgallery name="FredrickFalls"]

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Poopoo point (Paragliding launch area)

Rush — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:12:07 +0000

While we were there some dude got stuck in a gust of wind and had a run-in with a tree, apparently it came out of nowhere – the wind, not the tree. But I am telling you he definitely showed that tree whose the boss. He was pretty pissed too, apparently its $300 just to get the shoot out of the tree to find out whether or not its ruined. The paragliding looks pretty fun and majestic and all, but i am WAY to chicken to try it. I will park my butt on the solid ground where a little gust of wind can’t move me.

[svgallery name="PouPouPoint"]

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