Sourdough Gap

On September 9th we hiked to Sourdough Gap on the East side of Mt Rainier. We had hiked to Sheep Lake on a previous hike but thought we had better train a little more before trying to reach Sourdough. This time we only paused at Sheep Lake long enough to get a couple of pictures

and headed out for the pass, another 1.4 miles up the trail and quite a bit higher, as attested to by the photo I took of the same lake near the top of our hike.

The trail beyond Sheep Lake offers views of rugged country, the trail itself is never too steep, just a steady climb to the top.  It taxed the three older members of the group but didn’t seem to slow Kylan down at all.

Unfortunately, the smoke from wildfires on the east side prevented us from seeing as far as advertised in some hiking guides, but we got a good view of the PCT as it headed down and then back up a distant ridge to the North. 

Surprisingly, we encountered twelve or thirteen PCT hikers near Sourdough Gap, and all but two were women, most apparently hiking alone. I was both amazed and impressed at that. This young woman was one of the first we met and talked to.  She used the rest to call her boyfriend and let him know where she was on her trek.

 Despite all the years I’ve hiked portions of the PCT, I had only met one other hiker who was attempting to complete the entire trail in a single year. I was also surprised that most of the hikers were hiking solo; I’ve only backpacked by myself one or two times.  

Even more amazing was how light their packs looked; gear has changed radically since I started hiking and backpacking.  Of course, my first backpack was made of wood and canvas and was extremely uncomfortable, nearly as uncomfortable as the cement-like boots that they told me I needed to wear if I was carrying a pack.

If I was sixty years younger,  I would be sorely tempted to hike the PCT from Mexico to Canada.  Since that’s not going to happen, I’ll keep hiking short stretches of the PCT and enjoying the 

beautiful scenery, like this Fall foliage.

It’s What I do

It’s been over a month since we returned from Colorado, and I am a little surprised at how far behind I am in posting entries.  I’d like to say that’s simply the result of being too busy, but, unfortunately, that’s not the reason.  I blame much of the delay on writer’s block; I have a feeling I want to convey, but, more and more often, I can’t translate that feeling into words.  It takes time to process pictures and adjust them to my satisfaction, but all too often I end up with pictures on the page for days before I can find the words to go with them.  

Lately, my priorities have begun to change.  As I near 80, my number one priority has become staying in shape.  So, given the choice between spending a day hiking in Mt. Rainier or The Olympics or working on a blog entry, the mountains will win out any day there’s sunshine and temperatures above 40 degrees. If we’re not hiking in the mountains and it’s a sunny day, I’ll often spend most of the day birding. 

Birding Theler Wetlands regularly isn’t as exciting as visiting Malheur, Bear River, or the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, but it feels like “home” and keeps me in touch with seasonal changes.  I like seeing the changes in vegetation and observing how different birds occupy the refuge at different times of the year. 

I know it’s Fall when shorebirds like this Western Sandpiper forage among the reeds along the creek.

It’s early Fall, though because the Western Tanager, 

American Goldfinch, 

and Osprey

haven’t left yet.

If we could count on everyday sunshine, I would probably be out birding every day without blogging at all. This is the Pacific Northwest, though, and you would be foolish to count on sunshine three-fourths of the year.  When there are only short breaks in the clouds, I try to take a walk, anything from a half-hour to an hour and a half.  On days when it’s impossible to get outside, I lift weights or practice Tai Chi. Exercise has replaced blogging as a required part of every day. 

Finally, let’s face it, I’ve been putting this blog out regularly (though less regularly than I used to, that’s for sure) for twenty years now and I find it difficult to maintain the enthusiasm I did at the beginning. I probably keep at it because it forces me to try to improve my photographs — and maintain my writing skills while allowing me to think that I still have a purpose in my life.

Bear River Grebes

Although I discovered  Bear RiverMigratoryBird Refuge while searching for American Avocets, I fell in love with it because of the grebes that breed there.  My favorite shots from there are shots of grebes carrying chicks on their back.  Of course, I knew we’d be too late to see that this year, but we still managed to see several young grebes with their parents off in the distance

or occasionally closer, but always partially hidden.

Luckily, even without chicks, Western Grebes

and Clark’s Grebes

are beautiful.

Picture from Bob in Australia

Bob tried to post this photo in the comments on the previous post; I tried to approve the comment and the picture still wouldn’t show up. In the process, I even managed to lose the original comment, but it is such a great picture that I wanted to post it anyhow.

It’s amazing how varied birds are in different regions. About the time you think you know all the Grebes, you discover there are different varieties in different countries.