For Becky of Winchester’s Lines & Squares-day 12
…and Alive and Trekking’s Which Way Photo Challenge. Hiking this trail is a challenge, but finding a nice view along the way it is not.
Skyline trail
Tag Archives: Which Way Photo Challenge
Magic Mountain
Better than any ride at Disneyland! The lupines along this portion of the trail were amazing.
These are some photos of the upper (higher elevation) portion of the lakes loop trail starting at Paradise. We had a misty but bright morning the day we hiked the loop.
I think I can’t, but then I do
One of the more breathtaking (and, for me, breathless) loop trails that I hike at Mount Rainier is to go up Golden Gate trail to the skyline trail to Panorama Point.
Skyline Trail is well named.
The lower skyline trail is permanently closed, except for those adept with ice axes. So up one goes even farther.
There is a spot on the Upper Skyline Trail that has much better views than Panorama Point does:
But Panorama Point has a potty (as well as crowds of the many folk who hike directly to and from it starting at the visitor center.
I never go into this hike thinking I will make it, I give myself permission before I start to just go as far as I can and enjoy the beauty that I see, but I always do.
If you ever get a chance to go to Paradise, this is a great loop since many do not go beyond the there and back to Panorama Point, so you have less crowded trails. By hiking up Golden Gate in the morning you get shade for the steepest uphill. When you get above the tree line there is usually a nice breeze for the (not entirely insignificant) remainder of the uphill. There is some scree scramble but not too bad. If it helps you to gauge: I hike in hiking shoes (not boots), carry a mono-pod/hiking stick and don’t have exceptionally good balance. I am a bit nervous, but have never had a problem.
Which way to the Apricots?
Last Sunday we took an outing to get apricots in Eastern Washington. An almost annual trek. Almost because time goes so quickly that I miss the brief period when you can get them some years.
Our little trip took us through a lot of the landscapes of Washington State. From an island in Puget Sound, through the Cascade mountains to areas of Eastern Washington that are both fertile and arid. All beautiful, but each with its own personality.
Even though it was only a day trip the summer heat led us to leave the dogs at dad’s so they could have a day on the beach instead of a hot car ride. He lives on an island.
Rainy Day Walk-about in Guilin
No matter how I try, I can’t seem to be systematic about publishing photos. These are from my May trip to Guilin, in China, during their rainy season. The last full day we were there we wandered around the lakes in the middle of town in the rain. We were wet through and through, but we didn’t want to waste any time in that lovely city.
Some other posts from that trip are: Rainy Season on the Li River, Which Way to the Karst?, Sun and Moon Illuminated and Illuminating, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 1, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 2, Misty Vistas.
Which way to the Karst?
I continue to try and work with photos taken on my recent trip to China. Here are a few more from our Li River Cruise Trip.
Around in London
A few pictures from our few hours in London last summer for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge.
Is the road going forward? or back?
I’ve been working with old photos lately. Here are some ways from a visit to Masai Mara National Park in Kenya in 2012.
Posted for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge
A wall that connected
One thing that fascinated me when I researched about the Great Wall of China is that it was used more for communication than for separation. In the days before cell phones, messages could be sent quickly over long distances along the wall using smoke, flares and flags.
These are photos from the reconstructed area called Mutianyu. It is less crowded than Badaling, which is more easily accessed from Beijing. As I mentioned we had a private driver to our hotel as part of Wild Great Wall’s self-guided tour so we did not have to figure out how to get back to the city.
Comparing from the photos I posted last week, Which Way. You can see that the reconstruction and maintenance are a monumental endeavor. The wall is along the crest of the hills and the area is not accessed by roads, the materials are heavy and there is a lot of territory to cover.
Traveling this section there are a lot of stairs, steep and uneven in many places.
For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge
Which Way-Weifang
Peony garden at Shihu Yuan.
Keyhole gates at Shihu Yuan.
Avenue to a temple decorated for Qing Ming Festival.
Walkway at Yangjiabu Folk Village.
A few pictures of ways in Weifang, Shandong Province, China, for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge.
