Birthday retreat – A visit to Orcas

I sure turned a year older this birthday, but it was different from all my previous ones! The first one post my wedding, the first one away from India and my whole family and friends circle, more so, the first one with Nikhil around! 🙂 He’s someone who feels birthdays are overrated and doesn’t get much excited. But knowing that I consider this a special day, and the fact that it was my first one away from home, he made sure this one feels special to me. Right from planning a wonderful three day vacation to a surprise video with wishes from all my close friends and family, from booking a relaxing time at a spa to taking me on a gorgeous hike, he filled my day with intricately thought-out elements that certainly made it perfect!

We visited Orcas and San Juan Islands, to north of Seattle. The Airbnb place was like ‘Love at first sight’! 😀 I instantly became a fan of that home and it deserves special mention. Named ‘Eagle Ridge Guesthouse’, it was located in a quiet private neighborhood on Orcas a few miles away from the town of Eastsound. It was artistic with all the adorable collections that filled every nook and corner. As the hosts Jodi and Daniel rightly called it, it was a “Thin Place”, a place of energy and purity! The whole idea was that the guests spend time together away from their usual technology driven time. They had nice books to read, paints and sketch books, chess, playing cards, ‘know-each-other’ cards (one of them probably custom-made by Jodi) to name a few.

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The exterior of the house flaunted a lush green garden. Another highlight was the hot-tub – well placed amidst the tall green trees around, with the vacation home in the background, giving that panoramic view as far as the eyes could see! There was also a huge patio adjacent to it from where we watched the sunset. The experience was mystical and magical – we saw it all : the misty evening, the clear-view morning, the colorful sunset, the glittering night sky, the cloud covered bay with mountains doing a sneak-peek! Nikhil had surprised me with this selection 🙂

The video snippets from friends and family was endearing too. I was so overwhelmed seeing the people whom I love wishing me and sharing their special messages that I felt blessed to have them all in my life!

This birthday was probably my best till date! 🙂 Something I would cherish for a long long time 🙂

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Places Visited :

• Orcas Island – Mt.Constitution, Turtleback Mountain, Eastsound, Crescent Beach
• San Juan Island – Lime Kiln State Park, South Beach, McMillin Mausoleum
• Ferry Rides between islands

 

Hike to Trappers peak

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Seeing the Picket range of North Cascades national park from up close was in my bucket list since long and I didn’t want to miss the chance now, especially due to the snow in early winter. I expected to see the range dressed with snow and I got exactly that on a perfect blue bird day for October.

I got up at 5:20 AM even though I had only 4 hours of sleep due to previous night’s potluck. We carpooled from Lake Stevens and reached the trailhead by 9 AM and I was glad that I could get some sleep en route. I decided not to carry ice axe which I thought was a bad idea initially. We started hiking at 9:30 AM and first 2 miles of the trail ascended only a bit after which it was steep all the way till the summit. Snow appeared after a mile from there and it was around 11:45 AM by the time we reached the intersection for Thornton lake and Trappers peak. There was lot of snow, we were discussing our options and fortunately we saw 2 hikers descending from the peak’s direction. They had camped the previous night and had made all the way up-to peak and back without an ice axe. They mentioned that there were boot paths all the way which encouraged at-least me. Most of us decided to give a try and started our ascent.

The first part was a class 3 scramble after which we could see Picket range and many snow capped mountains around. I carried on and 2 ladies who were ahead of me asked me if I would want to lead. It was funny that in-spite of not carrying an ice axe, I chose to lead the group. The boot marks on snow were super helpful and I followed them diligently. There were few sketchy sections and especially one narrow ridge path.

After a while it was just a fellow hiker and myself who were quite a way ahead. I mustered the courage to carry on remembering what the 2 other hikers had mentioned. We reached the peak by 1 PM on what I would describe as a perfect day for October. With clear blue skies we had a 360 deg panoramic views and there was hardly any wind. The snow enriched the beauty and I was so glad to be there. The picket range was just across the valley and truly lived up-to its fame of having many pointy peaks.

We could see 3 lakes nestled in the mountains and numerous features around. Soon rest of the group caught up and we had lunch while Jim was hurrying people to start heading back. The descent was uneventful except crossing those narrow sections and we made it to the trailhead by 4:50 PM. I was fortunate to make it back safe without an ice axe. The snow was just right to be passable without danger. I would strongly recommend carrying one in winter. My phone measured the distance to be 11 miles with 3800 feet as elevation gain. Surprisingly, I was not that tired for that stats. I would mark this hike as one of my bests.

Activity Overview
Photos and Videos

My first bungee jump

I had a hunch that Bungee would be more terrifying than skydiving(tandem) and I was so right that I chose to do a second jump on the same day even though I had torn my lip during the first one. Being an adrenaline junkie, I loved the freefall, the kind of which I hadn’t experienced ever before, not during wing walking and not during sky diving.

Sai, Divya and I drove on a beautiful sunny day to reach the private Bungee bridge which boasted to be the highest jump site in the United States! The bridge towered over a majestic class “V” river in the middle of a beautiful emerald green forest in south of Mt. St. Helen’s, Washington. Divya was unsure about the jump, so only Sai and I had booked a 12:30 PM slot. We met the jumpmasters on the bridge and got ready in the harnesses for our turns. They gave an intro and safety tips to have a safe jump by when my mind was already contemplating the thrill I would have in sometime. We were still clicking pictures and all of a sudden Sai got called for the jump, he stood on the ledge and at the count of 3-2-1, made his first jump with a loud shout. I asked him how did he not hesitate once on the ledge and he mentioned that there was no time to think since the jumpmasters started the count immediately once he was in position. I saw many people jump, some returnees and some first timers. The look on their face, the excitement and shouts were enjoyable and I was anxious for my turn. My turn came pretty late and they had replaced the ropes a jump before mine. Nervous on many fronts, I got myself tied to the carabiners, crossed the bridge and faced the river standing on a tiny ledge with a clear view of the abyss. I had made my mind to just make the dive and not hesitate and get done with it. As a safety measure, I was told to reach out so that I go away from the bridge before plunging. At the count of 3-2-1, I dived.
First 1-3 seconds:
I remember looking straight down during which my internals started signaling danger of the free-fall. Adrenaline shot up and I shouted as usual. These couple of seconds were one of the most thrilling experiences I have had in my life. Roller coasters in six flags come close but I think it still falls short compared to this vertical fall.
Next few seconds:
The ropes came into action, controlled my fall and I banged my face hard to the rope-wrapper which tore my lip. I could sense it immediately and was worried about my facial structure. For the next few seconds I judged the extent of the bruise and felt some blood while I was bouncing around due to the momentum. I then ignored to enjoy the place I was in – hanging on a rope above the river amidst thick green forest.
After several seconds:
There was an option for a second jump and I decided to go for it since I wanted to experience free-fall again without the worry of being hurt. When I got close to the crew after I got pulled up, I was trying to cover my bruise since I didn’t want them to stop me from having another jump. They didn’t notice I guess, they readied for my next jump.
I stood facing them and at the count, dove again to fall on my back and felt a similar thrill. This time I thoroughly enjoyed the complete fall and multiple bounces. I attached the carabiner to the chest harness instead of waist which was uncomfortable while coming up but other than it was a good jump.

Once on the bridge I shared the (blood)y news to Divya and that was the dealbreaker for her and she chose not to jump. I took some pictures and felt I dislocated my front tooth which I realized later that it wasn’t the case (after going through my teeth pictures from before). My jaw felt a bit loose while having dinner later that night but it didn’t trouble me post that. I looked at my videos to figure out what wrong I had done but it looked like I had made a perfect dive. Body was flat to the ground initially then head went down and I did a complete flip to come on the other side and hit the ropes. This would have been a perfect jump if I was tied only on the legs but here the ropes were tied to my waist and chest. Nonetheless, people had jumped in various angles and maybe I was just unlucky. Anyway, that hadn’t spoiled my mood a lot. I had completely enjoyed the jump and wouldn’t mind doing again. I watched my second jump video and apparently, I had given a weird shout which was super funny. It was a memorable experience overall.

Boundary trail hike at Mt St Helens

Mt St Helens, with it’s unique sideways explosion exposes the crater on the North side and the observatory built opposite to that provides an excellent view. Wildflower season gave another reason to visit and given the sunny forecast on Saturday, we planned the outing. Sai, Divya and I drove to Johnson Ridge Observatory in the late afternoon. I felt the drive very refreshing since it was the first time I took that road and the barren surroundings exposed more of the nature. We could see the majestic mountain en-route. I had climbed it late winter during which it was covered in snow most of the places, but in the midst of the summer, snow had melted exposing the rocky surface. We reached the observatory at 5 and went in to see a short movie. I don’t want to spoil the surprise here, all I can tell is to go and watch that 17 minute short movie. We then took the Boundary trail for a short hike.

Trail being in the north side of the mountain, gave uninterrupted views of the mountain, crater and the barren surroundings to the south and many peaks in the north. Wildflowers were in full bloom and we saw multiple flowers in varied shapes and colors. I was excited to the capture them especially with the mighty mountain behind.

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The observatory and the trail gave many photo opportunities and I did not shy having couple photos.

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We hiked for around 2 miles and reached a spot from where we could see the blue Spirit lake. Since it was getting late, we decided to return but I made a mental note to come back to explore more of the region. I thoroughly enjoyed the pleasant hike. We also caught a breathtaking view of the sunset while returning to the interstate.

It was a relaxing evening amidst the nature with the giant and the lilies.

Activity overview

Hike to Rock mountain

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A broken side view mirror and itching skin were the result of this week’s adventure but in return I was treated with an amazing slope of wildflowers and 360 deg view from the summit. It had been a while since I hiked with Mark and he usually posts the one with fantastic views. Mark had mentioned that the last stretch of road to trailhead is narrow due to the overgrown bushes and since I already had a big scratch on my car’s door, I didn’t mind few extras. We exited the Highway 2 to a forest road after Steven’s pass towards Snowy creek trailhead. The first couple of miles was fine but the real test started after that. The bushes were so overgrown that we couldn’t pass without the branches brushing both sides of the car.

I made 2 mistakes here – (1) I did not close the side mirrors and (2) Was over-speeding for those conditions. Soon I hit a thick branch and the passenger side mirror bolted towards the window and cracked. I then corrected both my mistakes and continued with the rest of the journey without any major mishaps. There were only 3 cars from our group on the trailhead and we started hiking.

Another mistake I had made was not to wear a full sleeved t shirt. I should have expected some bushwhacking and the summer bugs. A fellow hiker cracked a joke saying that we were breaking the trail in a summer (Usually we break trails in the snow). Soon the bugs started troubling and it was annoying. We reached a meadow from where we could see the ridge-line and treeless mountain slopes. I used the bug spray from there on but I guess it was too late. The bugs had already made their marks on my hands. We came above the tree-line after a steep ascent and things were all pleasant from there on. We could see the surrounding mountains and numerous yellow/purple/red/white flowers on the slope.

Many switchbacks took us to the ridge and after passing on a short section of snow, we reached the summit. The clouds were intermittent and were above us which provided interesting shadows on the surrounding mountains. The view itself was fantastic with Glacier peak, Mt Pugh and many others in the vicinity. We spent good amount of time having lunch and started our descent. We saw couple of other hikers on our way down and that was it. Even though it was quite warm, I wore sweatshirt to save myself from the bugs. We could see the downpour at a distance, the cloud cover got thicker and there was a drizzle when we reached the trailhead. I duct-taped the side mirror glass and the exposed internals. In the morning, I had observed that the side mirror’s protective black cover had fallen en-route and made it a note to pick up on the return. I was less hopeful that we would find it but we ended up picking two car’s side mirror caps of which one was mine. All in all it was a good summer hike with some learnings. My skin itched for few days and I treated it with ice and moisturizer regularly.

Activity Overview

Photos and videos

Tips:

1. Close the side view mirrors and drive slowly on a narrow road.
2. Wear full sleeves t shirts and use bug sprays on overgrown trails.
3. Ice provides a fantastic soothing for itches.