Rattlesnake Ledge - July 8th 2012

An Outstanding Day Hike...

Today, I headed out for a much needed delve into the wilderness. A friend of mine, Ben Shapiro, wanted to head out to Rattlesnake Ledge in South Bend, WA. All in all there were three of us who headed out, Ben Shapiro, Jesus Cantu, and myself. Late last night to agreed on going on the trip. I packed my backpack for a day hike. I didn't know much of the area when I agreed to go. We left early, around 7 AM, to beat the heat of the day. When we arrived I looked up at the ridge from the parking lot and was in awe of its size. It seemed much larger than what I expected and higher.

Rattlesnake Ledge from the parking lot.

 We reached the trailhead in a matter of minutes from the parking lot. The trail is incredibly well maintained. The trail is a decent climb, all three of us are in good shape and it was tiring. We started up around 8:30 and arrived and at the top of the ledge at about 9:45. The ledge itself offer amazing views of the surrounding area. We took some time on the ledge to rest before we decided to head for the Eastern Peak. The Altitude on the ledge was around 2100 feet. It was a steep rise from the parking lot below that lay at 900 feet. The eastern peak was another 2.4 miles up hill and was a rise to 3500 feet. We didn't know much about the peak but hoped it offered views comparable to the ones at Rattlesnake Ledge. It was early in the day so we decided to press on. The trail leading to the East Peak had FAR less traffic than the trails leading to Rattlesnake Ledge. We arrived at the Peak rather quickly. The trail leading up was more narrow than the earlier trails. When we arrived I was surprised that the views weren't that great. There was one sitting area that was occupied the entire time we spent at the Peak. There is an old radio tower located at the peak. We decided to climb the ladder leading up the tower to get better views for the camera. The structure is old and is easily 100 feet tall. You can only access the ladder as the top is locked. Jesus Cantu was the brave one that went up to check. I was to nervous to climb all the way up but went up far enough to see over the tree line. We decided ,after a nice rest, that we would head back down and stop at the ledge to get some more pictures since the sun was higher in the sky. We ran back down the trail quickly and cut our ascent time by nearly two thirds. We arrived back at the ledge and decided to look around. Jesus Cantu and I explored the cliff and surrounding areas to find a more direct path down that was “off the beaten path.” Most of the ledge was either an incredible drop or was to steep to attempt. Eventually we found an area that looked decent. Ben decided to take the trail since he had hurt his ankle earlier in the day and Cantu and I decided to take the more direct path. We headed back to the area we thought was manageable and started down. We went through what seemed to be an eroded trench where the melted water flowed during the spring. We descended extremely quickly since the side was steep in parts. Soon we broke into the forest treeline and found a “path” that led into the woods and back towards the lake. We climbed down and met the original trail trail when we were about 400 feet above the lake. We found another “path” at this point and quickly arrived at the lake. It took us roughly 20 minutes to descend the 1,200 feet to the lake from the ledge. We were worn out when we arrived and decided to take off our boots to give our feet a rest. We went into the lake to wash the sweat away and cool off. The water was amazingly cool after the long hike and it felt amazing. We got out after a few minutes and took some time to relax in the shade of a tree before departing. All in all the hike was nice and steady and offered an amazing spot to relax at after the hike.

View from the ledge.

Whats your favorite post-hike activity? Swimming, sun bathing, or maybe some napping with ice?

Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Learn. Explore. Survive.

Family Outing to Boulder River Trail

Waterfall at our campsite.

I recently visited Boulder River Trail  with my daughter, Elizabeth, and loving wife, Ashley. It was our first family outing and we planned to stay overnight at the end of the trail. We started pretty early on a Saturday morning and arrived on the trail with plenty of time to make it to the end. The drive in was a bit rough because the road was full of potholes. The trail is supposed to be good for small children.

 My daughter is two years old and had an alright time walking on the trail and she listened well. We had to pick her up in various spots but all in all she was able to walk easily. The elevation gain was more than I had expected in certain areas. We moved slowly on the way in so we could enjoy the wilderness and our trip together. We reached the first set of waterfalls that were just off the trail quickly. It was an amazing set of waterfalls that flowed right into Boulder River. Boulder River follows the trail most of the time. My wife was having a bit of trouble with the trail since she has a knee problem so we agreed that we would set up camp at the first available spot. I was extremely proud of how well she did with her knee and how well she did on her first time. The first camping area was about a mile in on the trail, so it could easily be reached with small children. The camping area is directly in front of the second waterfall, which is four times larger than the first waterfall. It was an amazing camping spot on the trail, one of the best ones I've seen in quite sometime. Once we set up camp and pitched the tent I attempted to make a fire. The area was saturated from earlier snow and intermittent rain in the week prior to our arrival. I tried my hardest and was unsuccessful at keeping a fire going. There just wasn't enough dry wood in the area. I put out the small batch of coals that had formed from my attempt. I made some food on my stove and went into the tent with my wife and daughter to eat. The sun was on its way down and it was going to set in a couple hours. My wife was already cold and I was having trouble keeping her and my daughter comfortable. It was their first time in the wilderness so it was understandable that they weren't used to the weather. My wife and I made the decision to leave before the sun set since she wasn't comfortable. Even though I really wanted to stay I had to do what was best for my family. I wasn't upset that we had to leave since I knew my wife had given it her best. It important to remember that you always have to do what is best for the team and you may not always reach your goal. Even though it didn't go as planned I still had an amazing trip with my family that I will always remember while I'm on future hikes. 

I hope everyone has the opportunity to get out with their family this year.

My daughter riding on my backpack on the way out.

Elizabeth and Ashley as we enter the trail.

Learn. Explore. Survive.

Tree Identification Guide

Pacific Northwest Tree Identification Guide

I've compiled information on trees within the Pacific Northwest and made it into an easy to read PDF file. You can use this in the field if you upload it to your phone, ipod, or ipad. Its covers over 20 trees in the Pacific North West area. Knowing these trees could help you in a survival situation. Feel free to share this with your friends. I hope it helps you during your adventures.

Download it here.

Learn. Explore. Survive.