Here We Go Again

Another perfect Friday, and I took off for Mount Rainier (Tahoma) National Park, and the Burroughs Loop out of Sunrise, which I haven't done in quite a few years (definitely pre-covid) but blows my mind every time.

( Burroughs Mountain, with too many photos of The Mountain )

This last Friday, the weather did not lie, it cooperated! Sunny all the way!

( Lake Valhalla )

On Tuesday, I hiked to Crystal Lakes in Mount Tahoma/Rainier National Park. The lakes aren't very large, and they're quite shallow, but they're very pretty. I always enjoy this hike, which I last did three years ago.

( Crystal Lakes )

I hiked up to Annette Lake last Friday, before the holiday weekend crowds descended. Have I only been there once before? I think so. I only remember hiking it in snow one year and overlooking a frozen lake, a decade or more ago, so that was a completely different hike anyway. It was time to return!

( Annette Lake )

Two weeks ago, the local Lotus club decided anyone willing should turn up at the weekly Sunday unofficial car meet at Madrona Park. Caterhams are Lotuses by another name, so that included us. I didn't take many photos of the Lotuses, since we've seen most of them regularly at the All British Field Meet, but there were a couple of nice additions, plus the usual bizarre collection of people's pride and joys. (It's funny the cars that some people want to show off - pimped out Audis and VW Golfs just aren't special enough, sorry. I know you love them, but...)

( Cars under the cut )

I decided the best way to get the Burn Notice fic out of my brain is to write the bloody thing. It's only going to be short, so it won't take too long, though it does involve some research. I could skim over that stuff and ignore the detail, except once again I'm writing for a fandom stuffed with incredibly detail-oriented characters (and then there's me, yes, I'm detail-oriented too). So the fic is currently slightly under 2000 words and I have a bunch of open Firefox tabs.

All of this will be interrupted by the fact that it's Christmas in a few days, and I'm off on a diving trip on December 28th, so it won't get finished until mid-late January. Then I'll have to hope there's someone among my trusted people to beta a no-sex BDSM fic in a small fandom for a series that ended in 2013. Heh. (Yes, there'll be a readership of about 10 for this thing. Why am I fussing over the details again? Because I'm me, that's why.)

In other news, I was over in the mountains yesterday for the Cle Elum Christmas Bird Count. There was a foot of snow, with more falling through the morning, and it was cold. 12F to 18F through the day (-11 to -7C). It looked beautiful as always, but those conditions don't inspire the birds to be active, and the only places we found any numbers were at feeders or farms (also feeders, albeit unintentional ones). But as we said at the time, data of low numbers is still data.

( A few photos )

And still the sunshine rolls in! Wednesday's hike was Margaret Lake, another place I'd never been to. Definitely chilly in the mornings now, but it warms up nicely, and 11am is a really good time to arrive at the trailhead.

( Margaret Lake )

Monday was another beautiful day when summer hadn't left yet (though today it looks like it probably has). I'd been thinking of going to Source Lake, and then when I saw how perfect the forecast was, I thought, 'Nope, I want to go further!' So I picked Melakwa Lake, which is a close enough drive that I can spend more time on the trail.

And then I got half way there in the car and realised I forgot to take NSAIDs before I left. I wondered whether to switch back to Source Lake, and then I decided to carry on with the plan and turn back if anything started to ache too much.

( Melakwa Lake )

This week's hike was a slightly shorter one, because I had stuff to do in the afternoon. It should have been 4 miles round trip with 1000 feet of climb, but it ended up being more like 5 miles, because I missed the side turn to the lake from the main trail, and I went about another half mile before I was sure and reversed course. Anyway, this hike was a good find, because it's a shorter length and closer to home when I need a half day outing, plus it's not that high elevation, so it will be accessible for more than half the year.

( Lodge Lake )

This week's hike was a quick one and closer to home, because I had an appointment in the morning so couldn't set out until later. It was also the only overcast day of the week, which is what happens when you offer to work extra days to help cover for someone :-( So the pictures are less dramatic than the high mountains, and with mostly flat grey skies...

( A romp up a hill )