Fall Hikes

Taking advantage of the nice fall weather, Amy and I hiked to Ingalls Lake on October 3. It was chilly, but no rain! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the larches were just starting to turn. I love larches, but last year I missed them turning. It was great to have a taste of them at Ingalls Lake. It also inspired me to search out new larch hikes for the following weekend!

During the next week, I did my research. Altough it was a long drive, Amy and I decided that we would head to the north cascades in search of larches. After all, larch season only comes once a year, and only for a short time. So, it was worth it to us to drive 3.5 hours each way to catch them.

We started early on October 10 so that we could drive to the east side of the north cascades and do our 7 mile loop before it got dark. We did it, and even had time to hike to Rainy Lake with plenty of time to spare. Another fabulous weather day, but it was COLD!! As we drove through North Cascades National Park on highway 20, the thermometer in my car dropped to 29 degrees. This was at 10 am!! We saw frozen waterfalls on our way.

The loop was amazing. Lots of larches, lakes of gorgeous colors, and high passes. In some cases, the larches seemed to be at their peak, but on others, they were not quite there. The hike made me want to come back again the following weekend, but alas, I had other plans. I was cutting wood at Scottish Lakes High Camp, which happened to be in the vicinity of another larch haven. Despite thoughts of spending another night at Scottish Lakes and hiking to Larch Lake on Monday, I just couldn't do it. Work and the weather forecast got in the way. Unfortunately, the larches will have to wait until next year.

Spider Meadows

The weekend of September 11-13, the Crack o' nooners took a long planned backpack to Spider Meadows in eastern Washington. We had a strong showing of new and old crew members, with a total of 13 of us enjoying some fabulous weather. The newest was Evan, who experienced his first ever backpack at the age of a bit over14 months. He was great.

Amy and I had hoped to leave Monroe around 3 on Friday afternoon to get to the trailhead at about 6. Our original plan involved hiking up to the valley that night, possibly with headlamps. Plans changed, however, and we decided to camp at the trailhead instead. It was a wise move. Unfortunately, we were unable to make the second part of that plan work -- we missed hooking up with Chris and Sherell. Nevertheless, Amy and I had a nice evening. We got our fire started and had a great dinner of chips and salsa, instant mashed potatoes and black beans with cheese and salsa, and, of course, copious quantities of wine.

The next morning, despite a bit of protest from Amy, we got up early and hiked the 5 plus miles to Spider Meadows in less than 3 hours. We were there by 10. This was Amy's first backpacking adventure, and she did great!

Shortly after we arrived at Crack o' Noon headquarters, we set off on a day hike to Spider Gap. We trekked across the open meadow, then headed up a steep trail to the toe of Spider Glacier. The glacier seemed to be more of a snowfield than a glacier. We traipsed up the glacier, which was a LONG, chilly slog, and then eventually, after a few false summits, came to the gap. What an amazing view of Lyman lakes and the surrounding terrain. Mark and I continued past the gap for more views and adventure. We went about a half mile further and checked out the old mining debris and views of Lyman glacier before heading back to camp. Great day.

Back in camp, we enjoyed potluck dinner and wine and margaritas by the fire. We also enjoyed a fine starry sky, complete with shooting stars. The next morning, we hiked back out, grazing on blueberries as we descended back to our cars.

Amsterdam

I left Africa early in the morning on September 1. Instead of flying directly home, I decided to break up the flight between legs. I landed in Amsterdam about 4 pm on September 1, and flew out at 10 am the next morning. Although it seemed like a great idea at first, I started to have second thoughts that morning. What if I couldn't check my bags all the way through. I really didn't want to have to lug a 50 pound duffel bag around the city. What if my flight was late? Was about 12 hours in the city a stupid idea? I just wanted to get home and see everyone and unpack.

When I arrived at the Nairobi airport, one hurdle was overcome. Yes, I could check my bags all the way through to Seattle, so I was able to carry on everything I needed for Amsterdam in my backpack. And, when I arrived in Amsterdam, the train station was right at the airport, so getting downtown would be easy. My spirits lifted.

Of course, things weren't quite as easy as I hoped. I managed to get on the wrong train, but didn't realize this until the city receeded and we started passing small country villages along the way. After about a half our of village travel, I realized my mistake and was able to get on a train going the other direction. Minor glitch, but I did get a nice tour of the canals and old village buildings and farms.
I arrived at Central Station and began to head towards my hostel. Not a long walk, but it was quite lovely. Canals are everywhere in the city, and the old buildings are incredible. My route took me through the fringes of the red light district and past the many "coffeehouses" I had heard so much about. After a bit of hunting for my hostel, I finally found it. Took a quick shower and began to explore. I was determined to see as much of the city as I could in my 12 hours.
That night, I wandered around the streets, checked out various squares, and gazed at the canals. Stopped along the way at an outdoor canalside cafe for a beer. I walked around the red light district and grabbed some street food. Later, I stopped at a pub and watched some football. Then, back to the red light district. As it was later on in the evening, the action had picked up considerably. I had heard much about this area, but nothing prepared me for the reality of it. It was quite tasteful, with beautiful, young, scantily clad women showing their wares in identical windows all up and down the streets and alleys. A canal ran right through the middle of the main scene. Sixteenth century cathedrals were just across the street from the alley windows. Each window had red flourescent lights running all around them. Occasionally, the window would be empty and the light off.
As you can imagine, the people watching here was amazing. Most folks was strolling by, gaping at what they saw. I saw couples my parents age wandering and looking, as well as numerous other folks. I also saw shoppers. Some were young, college age kids, others looked like grandfathers. Completely surreal.

After my big night out, back to the hostel for some sleep. The next morning, I woke early to get my last exploration in. It was still dark, and it was actually raining a bit as I started to wander. I really wanted to see the Anne Frank house before I left, and I had to be on the train no later than 8 to make my flight, so I was walking through the streets about 6 am. Deserted, but quite beautiful.

Although I got a bit lost, I had fun exploring, and did eventually find the house. Unfortunately, the museum wasn't open that early in the morning, but it was still quite an experience to be there. After that, a quick walk back to the hostel to get my bag, and then my last stroll through the red light district on the way to the train station and my flight home. I was back in Seattle around noon after leaving Amsterdam at 10:30 am. The next morning, I was back at work with about 200 brand new cases to plow through.

Masai Mara Safari

On Friday, August 28, after spending a night at the Milimani backpackers hostel in Nairobi, Sherell and I woke up early to catch the first flight to Fig Tree Camp in Masai Mara National Park. We were spending 3 nights at Fig Tree Camp as part of our fly in safari. Along with our lodging and flights, our package included 2 game drives a day, all meals, and air strip transfers.

Masaai Mara National Park borders the Serengeti, lying just north of it across the border in Kenya. It is much smaller than the Serengeti, and it is a big component of the annual migration. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeast and zebras cross the Mara river in search of better grasslands between July and September. The river crossings can be treacherous, as crocodiles lie in wait. We were hoping to catch this part of the migration, but unfortunately, we didn't see any wildebeast river crossings. We did see other aspects of the migration, however. We saw thousands of wildebeast everywhere. Some were walking, patiently plodding one behind the other in a never ending line. Others were dead -- killed by lions, then scavenged by hyenas and vultures.
From the moment we arrived at the camp, we loved it. If you ever visit the park, we highly recommend it. Sherell and I shared a luxurious tent which overlooked the river (which was pretty much dry when we were there. This tent really wasn't like any other tent I had stayed it. The bathroom was actually a solid building which opened up into the tent. we had real beds with mosquito nets, furniture, floor to ceiling windows, and our wonderful deck. The bathroom was big and comfy, complete with open shower, double sink, toilet, and bidet. I don't think the bidet was actually used, but it was a nice touch.

From our deck, you could look up towards the savannah, and we were able to see some wildlife. We also saw the local Masai people herding their goats through the dry riverbed. At night, Sherell and I would sit out on the deck and play scrabble. In Zanzibar, I had downloaded a scrabble app onto my phone, and we played scrabble nonstop throughout the trip. We would also drink wine and listen to the sounds of the savannah and watch the wildlife. Our evening wildlife consisted of mosquitoes, lots of bats, and on our last night, mysterious rustling in the bushes across the river that sounded like several very large animals. We found out the next day that there were two buffalo that had come over the river directly across from our cabin and were drinking in it right below the row of cabins.

Another of our night sounds was the sound of the Masai cattle returning to the village at night. Bells of all pitches, some that almost sounded like windchimes, the cattle lowing, and dog yipping. So amazing and peaceful, like African zen.

In addition to the cabins, Fig Tree Camp also had a large reception/bar/dining area. This area was roofed, but opened up to the outside all around. There was seating by the river under a big fig tree, and also in the back under smaller trees. There was also a crazy treetop seating area up a few ladders in the branches of another huge tree. As we learned, while in that area, you need to hold onto whatever food or food looking items you may have brought with you. Fig Tree camp has monkeys, and the monkeys in this tree obviously were used to humans and stealing anything not nailed down from the humans.
As in most safari camps, Fig Tree camp had a buffet for all the meals. Our daily routine was to get up at 6, grab coffee and coffee cake, load up into the jeep, safari from 7-9, breakfast, relax or safari, late lunch, relax by pool, another safari from 4-6, tent, shower, sit on deck, dinner around 8, read, bed. Yes, relaxing was rough, but someone had to do it.

Oh, did I mention that we had our own personal waiter, Henry, who took care of us the entire trip. And, we had a steward who made up our room during the day, and then when we were on our evening safari, would fix up our tent for the evening. Close all the curtains, take our mosquito nets down, switch the day bedlinens for the nighttime down quilt, and turn the lights on for us. Wow, I need one of these in my own house!

For our game drives we were hooked up with 4 other people in our landcruiser. Frank and Elaine were from Ireland, and Judy and Andreas were from Germany. We got along great, and we also had a good driver. Our first game drive was the afternoon of our arrival. Not long into our game drive, we saw a pride of lions on a freshly killed wildebeast. Not sure how long before we arrived the animal was killed, but when we got there, one female was working on it and the others were lazing around up above the riverbank. 3 cubs were around. 2 ended up on the kill, the third was running around on top of the riverbank playing with a part of the wildebeast's leg. Reminded me of my own cat, but on a slightly larger scale. After staring at the lions for a long time, we roamed around to another section of the park, where we just missed a leopard come out of a tree and head into the bush. We then had to hightail it back to camp. I didn't realize you could drive so fast over the dirt roads of the park, but we did. The park closes at sunset, and sunset on the equator comes fast. We were a bit late, but the sunset from the park was fantastic!

On our second day, instead of the normal 2 hour morning game drive, we took a much longer drive and brought "breakfast to go" with us. We went far into the park where we saw lots of wildebeast and zebra, but no river crossings. Early in the drive, we were lucky enough to spot a leopard walking in the low brush. We were one of a whole huge group of something like 15 safari vehicles jockeying for a glimpse of the elusing leopard. I think we probably spend about 1/2 hour chasing the leopard before we got a quick look at him as he crossed the road between a few of the vehicles and disappeared in the brush on the other side.
A bit after the leopard encounter, we found a mother and a year old cub sitting on a termite mound surveying the landscape. We watched them for awhile, then headed to one of the high view points in the park above the Mara river. Saw hippos in the river, but no wildebeast. We had a bit of a funny hippo moment when someone in our safari vehicle blew his nose and caused a bit of a hippo stampede down below.
On the way back, we had another encounter with the cheetahs. They had moved away a significant distance from where we had first seen them, and they had just killed a large impala. Both were absolutely exhausted. When we got there, mom was trying to drag the cheetah, and baby was panting under one of the safari vehicles. Mom soon joined them, and there they stayed. I wonder how long that land cruiser had to stay there. The people in the car couldn't even see the cheetahs under it.
We also saw a group of 3 heyenas devouring a wildebeast. I could hear the bones breaking from their powerful jaws. Two of the heyena were tearing the carcas to shreds as another skulked around in the background trying to get a bite. A bit further back, the vultures lurked, just waiting.
Over the course of the safari, we saw a lot of elephants. Even though we saw so many, they still were incredible to watch. They are so big, and look so slow when they walk, but they are incredibly powerful and dangerous. A few times, they came towards our landcruiser. It would not be too difficult for something that big to turn us over. Our driver had a very healthy respect for the elephants. We could hear them chomping on the vegetation, and we watched them protect their young. We saw tiny elephants that may have just been weeks old, and on our last day, we saw an absolutely enormous bull elephant. He was at least 1 1/2 times as big as all the other elephants we saw, and he was obviously in charge. A whole caravan of elephants walked across the road in front of us. It took over 5 minutes for all of them to pass. Unbelievable. There must have been close to 50 of them.
We saw giraffes of all sorts. We saw dark giraffes and light giraffes -- different species. We saw baby giraffes -- the one in this picture was very young. We saw sleeping giraffes -- they look like construction cranes with their legs folded beneath their bodies and heads straight up in the air.
We saw buffalo, which are the most dangerous animal on the savanna because of their unpredictablity. We saw lots of lions, most of them lazing around in the sun trying to avoid flies. We saw several leopards, but none really clearly. On our last day, we found several leopards hiding in the bush near a dead cow. At first, we just saw one, but then, we realized that she had cubs with her. Unfortunately, we didn't see much of her, but she was tantalizingly close.We also witnessed some fantastic sunsets. Every night was different. On a few nights, we could see rain in the distance, and the clouds enhanced the scene. We even got a few drops of rain through the open roof of our land cruiser. The only thing missing from the safari was the rhino. No rhino in any of the parks. The rhino is the most elusive of the big 5 (the other of which areo lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard). I guess I'll just have to go back!