Time Machine
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I've put this site together to document my interests and fun things I've seen or done throughout the years. This site is not so much a blog, but really just a place to put things that I'm interested in. A place to toot my own horn, if you will. As I have grown older I have realized that it would have been nice if I had documented some of the fun things I have done and places I have seen, so going forward I intend to do just that. |
What's new?
A Mount St Helens climb.
A second trip to the Gorge.
A kayaking class with the PWC.
A couple of hikes in the Gorge.
Mileage and Elevations are estimates.
Please hike responsibly and carry the ten essentials at all times while in the wilderness.
All maps on this site are for informational purposes only and are not to be relied upon.
2010
June 2010 12-13 Mount St. Helens with the PWC
11 Miles - 4500' Elevation Gain
I climbed Mount St. Helens with the Peninsula Wilderness Club this weekend. Forecasts for avalanche danger were high but the actual conditions were about as perfect as could be. Click here for the trip report.
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2010-05-05 Sunset on Cinco de Mayo from Seabeck
After Cinco de Mayo celebrations at my in-laws, I stopped at the town of Seabeck Washington and again at Big Beef Creek near Seabeck to try and capture this amazing sunset. When I stopped at Big Beef Creek, there was an eagle on the mud flats that I wanted to get a picture of, but I wasn't quick enough for him as he flew away when I pulled my car over. These pictures don't quite do the scene justice, but I hope you like them at any rate. The waterway is the Hood Canal and the mountain range in the distance is the Olympic Mountains.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-04-29 PWC Kayaking Class
This Peninsula Wilderness Club class was offered on the 28th
and 29th of April 2010. In attendance were Barbara, John, Sandy, Jim, Lydia,
Nancy, myself (Jay) and Tom Henning as instructor. Day one of the class
consisted of basics such as clothing familiarization, gear familiarization, and
pool instruction with self and assisted rescue techniques. Day two was a paddle
down at the Brownsville Marina and we learned how to turn in place, how to use
the rudder, and how to use different paddle techniques. I think everyone in the
class would agree that Tom did an outstanding job as our instructor and I'm sure
a few of us might be looking for some kayaks to purchase in the near future.
Thank you Tom!
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-04-24 Weldon Wagon Trail
3.6 miles - 1050' elevation gain
The second of 2 hikes I did in the Columbia River Gorge area
on Saturday the 24th of April 2010.
So at this point I decide to drive over to the little town of Husum, WA to try
to find the Weldon Wagon Trail. I ended up driving right to it. You have to
appreciate good directions. This little trail was once a wagon road that was
used to deliver goods to the town of Husom from the surrounding areas. The trail
crosses over the 315 acre White Salmon Oak NRCA which holds one of the last
remaining stands of Oregon White Oaks in Washington and represents a look at
what the landscape may have been like before settlers arrived. The trail is
uphill all the way if starting from Indian Cemetary Rd and is only a couple
miles to the top. I was lucky that the Balsamroot was in all its glory. About
halfway up I am walking and I look down to see a little snake laying on the
trail. I see no rattles so I figure it must be a gopher snake. The whole time I
am hiking, the wind is blowing and I could see rain coming in from across the
way. I even get rained on a little but nothing to be too excited about. I get up
to the top where the trail intersects with Sandborn Rd and there is a bunch of
rusty old farm equipment that I decide is worthy of some photos. After a couple
pictures I'm heading back down the hill towards my car and I realize that I
don't wish to stay at a campground or hike any more this weekend so I make the
decision to head back home. I did a whole lot of driving for these 2 little
short hikes, but even so, I still feel rejuvenated by getting outside for a bit.
Before long I am in my car and on my way home.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-04-24 Lyle Cherry Orchard
4 miles - 1100' Elevation Gain
The first of 2 hikes I did in the Gorge on this Saturday
I drove down to the Gorge on this Saturday to get a bunch of hikes in that I had not done. Originally a trip that I was sponsoring for my hiking club but turned into a solo trip when no one showed any interest in driving to the Gorge from the Kitsap Peninsula. When I arrived at the Gorge I intended on staying at a campground in Lyle Washington named the Wishbone Campground. Unfortunately when I arrived, the campground was still closed for the season. Why the campground has no web page or a message on their answering machine saying they are still closed for the season is beyond me, but its really my fault for not planning better. Since my campground was closed, I figured I would head out for my first hike and find a place to stay later. I went to the Cherry Orchard Trail at Lyle. The hike up was uneventful and very beautiful. Lots of Lupines and Balsamroot in bloom. I heard the ticks this year were pretty bad and I had my eye out for them on this trip. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Almost every step I took I could see ticks (or I imagined I saw ticks) hanging from the grass and flowers that were hanging over the trail. Very hard not to brush up against the little boogers. Gives me the creeps just thinking about them. I managed to get a couple shots of them using a macro filter (too cheap for a macro lens yet) that I think came out OK. (see 2010-04-24 Lyle Cherry Orchard set ) I hiked up to the top of the plateau and followed the trail through a neat section of oaks praying the ticks wouldn't rain down on me from the branches above and I soon came to an intersection. Not knowing which way to go I took a right and after an 8th of a mile or so I came to the orchard. Not much left of the orchard I'm afraid and I didn't get many pictures of the remaining trees there. I did try to get some panoramas of the view from the Orchard which turned out OK I guess. At this point I turned around and headed back down. On the way down I saw some of those neat little blue butterflies or moths that hang out around mud puddles and tried to get a good shot of them. I also saw another butterfly at the trailhead when I was done with this hike.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-04-10 Dungeness Spit
11 miles - 100' Elevation Gain
Having never seen the Dungeness Spit much less hike it, I decided to head out there after my son's T-ball game one Saturday afternoon for a quick stroll out to the lighthouse and back. The New Dungeness Lighthouse is actually said to be one of the oldest in the northwest. There was a sign that said there were free tours but I was about ten minutes too late for that so I settled for taking some pictures and eating a late lunch on the picnic tables outside. According to the lighthouse website, they have an association that one can join. With membership comes eligibility to be a lighthouse keeper, for a fee of course. But how cool would it be to stay at the end of the spit in a lighthouse for a week? http://www.newdungenesslighthouse.com/
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-03-27 Skills Practice at School Rock with the PWC
4 miles - 800' Elevation Gain
I joined the PWC in their skills practice at School Rock on Green Mountain. Skills practiced were belay, rappelling and rope/harness work. I was more in the photographer mode than the actual skills practice but I did get a couple of rappels in.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
Jim Morrison and Paul Dutky going over some rope work.
March 14-22 2010 Kauai Trip
Spent the week (and my birthday!) in Kauai with family. Lots of R&R, boogie boardin' hiking' and ATVing. Had a blast. This was my third trip to the Garden Isle. Kauai is probably the only place in the world that I feel homesick for other than home. Of course if I lived there and had to work it would probably spoil the magic, but one can dream!
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-03-06 Mount Townsend
8 miles - 3000' Elevation Gain
Having not been out on many trips this winter and just recovering from a nasty cold the week before, I headed up the Mount Townsend trail with Jim, Don, Ronda and Robbin. I only mention the cold and my lack of going on many trips because I must be seriously out of shape. I was dragging on this trip when usually I feel stronger on these short climbs. At any rate, after meeting up at the park and ride, and Jim graciously driving us to the trail head, we headed up the trail. We did not hit snow until around 4000 feet or maybe a little higher. Once in the snow we all donned traction in the form of Microspikes or Yaktrax and continued on. At around 5000' we took a snack break and I headed up a little higher to try to set up to take some pictures as the others headed up. I think I mostly succeeded in getting a few good shots with my new camera but I regret not having a polarizing filter yet. You can see how blown out the sky looks in a few of the shots.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-02-20 Fort Worden with Hayden
Couple miles running around on the beach with my little buddy - 0' elevation gain.
This was my wife's birthday and she celebrated by going scrapbooking with her friends. I had just purchased a new camera and wanted to try it out, plus I had not been out with my son for a while. This wasn't really a hike but we had fun nonetheless playing around on the beach and checking out the old fort.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-01-16 Elbo Creek Trail
5 Miles - 2000' Elevation Gain
After a week of heavy rains and a on a day with a questionable forecast for more showers, I hiked up the Elbo Creek Trail with a few members of the Kitsap Climbers Group. The Elbo Creek trailhead (that's how Elbo is spelled on the map) starts near the Mt Walker Trail but is on the other side of Hwy 101 and begins a little ways up a logging rd. See map and you will get a good idea. When going up the logging road called Buck Mountain Rd you will see a big pile of garbage on the right. Immediately across from the garbage pile is the trailhead. The trailhead is not signed so it might be hard to spot unless you see the garbage pile. About half way up the trail we had to cross a land slide with about 12 down trees. Near the top of the trail is a new section that is still under construction. We followed the flagged route but got a little lost and ended up bushwhacking a ways. We eventually found our way and made it to the road that goes up to Buck Mountain. We turned around at this point and headed back to the car 2000 feet below. If you attempt this trail, especially the upper new route, I would highly suggest taking a GPS to keep track of where you are going.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2010-01-10 Panorama Point and Mazama Ridge Snowshoe
7 miles ? - 2000' Elevation Gain
For my first hike of the year, I headed out with a few members of the Kitsap Climbers Group (Cheryl, Robbin and Dave) and we snowshoed up to Panorama Point from Paradise at Mount Rainier. The snow was firm in most places and not too icy. I tried going up in my microspikes but after postholing a few times, we all switched over to snowshoes. After Panorama point we kept going up and traversed over and came down via Mazama Ridge and walked the Paradise Valley Road back to the parking lot at the Paradise visitors center. I was surprised how little snow there was on the drive up to Paradise. The ground was bare at Longmire and the snow along side the road at Paradise was not as deep as I expected. All in all it was a good trip. What I will take away from this trip is the subtle grays, golds and silvers of the clouds and the neat lenticular clouds above Adams and St Helens. Oh yeah, this was my first snowshoe hike as well.
Click the picture below to see the whole set.
2009
2009 in Review!
For the rest of 2009, see the 2009 time machine page.
2008
2008 in review!
An assortment of pictures from my journeys in 2008. Please use time machine for the rest of the 2008 adventures.
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Email me at jaythom1athotmaildotcom
Social Networks
My Favorite Links
Henry Shires' Pacific Crest Trail Hike
Map Resources
Use of these maps are for research purposes only. Do not rely on any of these maps for wilderness or off trail travel. 15 minute or better yet, 7.5 minute Topo maps should be used if serious wilderness travel is being considered.
Free Washington State Topo Maps
Trails Co-op (formerly Redtrails Trail Maps)
North Cascades National Park Map
Mount Rainier National Park Map
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Vicinity Map
Mount Saint Helens Nation Volcanic Monument Map
Hand Drawn Goat Rocks Wilderness Trail Map
Other Non-Hiking Related Links
Hyperspin Front end for arcade machines
BYOAC (Build Your Own Arcade Controls)
Check out my homemade Arcade Cabinet and my son's Mini PacMan Arcade Cabinet