• 2024 travel,  Travel

    Guatemala 11/5-17/2024

    Day 1 11/5/2024 I cannot believe it but I started out at work.  Well, I can believe it, do not want to waste vacation time when I only get 2 weeks to start off.  Made it home about 1 pm and we were out the door on the way to Seattle at 1:45. We parked the Audi at the normal AJAX parking lot, they have been easy and great shuttle service for the last few years.  At the airport we had to go through the extra passport step but, no hiccups whatsoever.  Honestly, my major concern was flight grounding due to the election.  I have a cousin in LA where…

  • 2024 summits,  Summits

    Stiletto Peak Lookout 10/25/2024

    10/25/2024 10.2 miles 3900 ft We were looking for a hike that was about 3500-4000 feet of gain.  I really wanted to try and find some larches if they were still larching around.  Ross had suggested Stiletto Peak earlier in the week and I got my heart set on it, as I do.  There was the idea of possibly trying to scramble the peak but we were going to have to see how it looked when we got up there, I had not read too many reports some saying class 3. Luckily, he was agreeable and we set off about 6:45 AM and got to the Bridge Creek Trailhead off…

  • 2024 summits,  Summits

    Driveway Butte 9/13/2024

    Driveway Butte 9/13/2024 9.0 miles 3100 ft Picked this one to do on our way to Winthrop for a Hart’s Pass birding weekend.  Hart’s Pass area has a tiny bit of Whatcom County still on the eastern side of the Cascades so it still counts for my Whatcom County list! This trail was nice because it was right off HWY 20 starting by the Klipchuck Campground, we were the only ones in the parking lot.  Starting off on trail 481 and then take a right on the Driveway Butte Trail, there is a sign that says 4 miles to the top. Right away we were excited about the new birds…