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Month: July 2021

Timpanogos East Peak Extravaganza

Timpanogos East Peak Extravaganza

Another birthday outing present to myself. This time I eschewed the main Timpanogos Summit and shwhacked my way up to East Peak – a seldom-visited spot on the east flank of the Timpanogos massif. Accessing it from the Aspen Grove trail was easy. Instead of going back the way I came, I descended southeast off the saddle below East Peak into the Stewart Falls drainage below Big Provo Hole and Cascade Cirque. If the descent down from the saddle hadn’t taken so long I would have gone up into one of those two. The “trail” down from there connects with the Stewart Falls trail but it is really overgrown. Maybe that’s good though. It deters people from heading up that way and keeps it remote and quiet for the few adventurers that do. Gotta get back up there soon.

The Prodigal Returns to Galbraith

The Prodigal Returns to Galbraith

A good portion of my teenage years in Bellingham were spent mountain biking on Galbraith Mountain. Back then it was a bit sketchy. You had to climb over some fences, ignore some “no trespassing” signs that others had assured you were put up by curmudgeons and weren’t valid, and regularly get lost in the labyrinth of trails up there. Now it is public land and VERY well-developed with signage and such. It’s nice to see it being managed and accessible, but I kind of miss the rough days of the 1990s. This was my first time riding up there in about a decade. I’ve run there a few times in recent years, but hadn’t ridden. I borrowed a cousin’s full-suspension. Ken, a childhood friend who shared most of those teenage adventures, joined in. Fantastic day.

Late Evening Hike, Chanterelle Trail

Late Evening Hike, Chanterelle Trail

When it stays light until 10:30 PM up in my hometown, you’d better take advantage and do some evening hikes. This was a new one for me. I never explored this area on the east side of Lake Whatcom when I was a kid. Just gorgeous.