Hiking Tiger Mountain – 1/29
by Wendell Beitzel on Jan.30, 2011, under Hiking
Renee and I along with some friends went over to Tiger Mountain to go hiking on Saturday. We had not checked out what trails would be good to go on, so we were kind of winging it when we looked at the trail map at the trail head. Tiger Mountain, for those who do not know, has around 80 miles of trails available. It was raining pretty good when we started, so we were expecting it to be one of those days!
We arrived at what we thought was the High Point Trail-head, and after looking at the trail map, decided that we wanted to head over to Poo Poo Point, taking the TMT (Tiger Mountain Trail) most of the way. We neglected to check how far it was going to be though. As we got started we realized that the trail was very waterlogged and was difficult in places due to the large amounts of standing water and mud. As we arrived at the first trail split there was a notice that part of the TMT was closed due to a bridge being out. We decided that it couldn’t be that bad and forged on ahead. The trail along the way was much steeper than we had thought it would be, and often found ourselves needing to walk along the sides of the trail to avoid standing water. Arriving at the bridge that was out we chose to pick our way across the river rather than try to cross the rickety looking bridge. It appeared that the bridge and many trees had been washed out by a flood sometime in the last several years.
As a side note, Renee, Scott, and myself had just recently purchased new hiking boots that were supposed to be waterproof. I have had similar types of hiking boots in the past that have never seemed to hold up to that claim, so I was really not expecting much. Throughout this hike these boots were consistently drenched in mud, splashed with water, and even underwater while we waded in the stream. Not once did my feet get even damp. They are the Keen Targhee II Mid Hiking Boots
We had been out for about 2 hours and were starting to get tired when we saw a sign for Poo Poo Point that said we still had 4.5 miles to go. Since we were not sure if it would take the same amount of time to get back, or how far we had come, we decided to turn back. We took a different trail out of the park and ended up about a mile away from where we had parked the car.
This was much more of a workout hike than it was a scenic hike, and as such I was not able to take many pictures. The few that I did take can be found HERE. Please feel free to check out my other hiking photos from around Washington HERE. Check our hike GPS track out at EveryTrail
Hiking in Washington…I’m Addicted!!
by Wendell Beitzel on Jan.16, 2011, under Photo Blog, Public
~Aldous Huxley
This is a quote that I completely agree with. There is something about the experience of being out on a trail in the woods that is a spiritual experience. I don’t even believe that you have to be “religious” to have these types of experiences. Whether or not you believe in God, being out in nature allows you to realize that you are but a small part of something so much greater.
Over the last several weeks my girlfriend, Renee, and I have started doing some hiking around the western Washington area. We have done easy hikes, and medium hikes, trying to work our way up to longer and harder ones. After living in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle area, specifically) for the last 4 years you would think I would have gone hiking before. For whatever reason the bug had just not previously bitten me. Consider me now addicted! Here are the hikes we have done in the last several weeks.
Carkeek Park – 1.1m
Cougar Mountain – 3.03m
Lunds Gulch – 2.75m
Twin Falls – 2.67m
Wallace Falls – 4.2m
Throughout our hikes I have been able to capture some of the most amazing scenery that I have ever seen.
If you would like to check out more pictures, or to order prints check out the full gallery of hiking shots at http://photos.wendellbeitzel.com/Sports/HikingWashington
Each week I find myself looking forward to the weekend when we try to find somewhere new to go. There are many websites and resources for discovering hiking opportunities, and networking with other enthusiasts.
Washington Trails Association – Has a directory of hikes, articles about safety, seasonal hikes, and trail reviews.
Pacific Northwest Hikes – This is a great site for keeping a log of the hikes you have been on. You can upload photos of your hike, and search for hikes based on many different criteria. All of the hikes that we have done so far have been logged on this site. It makes it easy to see your progress and see what hikes others have done recently.
Hiking is an amazing way to get out and get some exercise, see beautiful scenery, and spend time with friends and family or quiet alone time. The best part? We live in the best place in the United States to be able to go hiking! So get out there, wear out some shoes, see some sights, get wet, and most of all, be safe and have fun!
Review of “World War Z” by Max Brooks
by Wendell Beitzel on Dec.06, 2010, under Books, Public
Time for another book review! I have never read any of Max Brooks, so this was a new experience from the start. I had heard this book recommended on numerous podcasts that I listen to, so I decided to pick it up.
Publisher’s Summary
The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.
Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.
Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”
Review
This is one of the first fiction books that I have read that is written from the real life author’s point of view. Max Brooks does an amazing job at capturing the triumphs and failures of humanity throughout these interviews. He jumps back and forth between the actual interview ( describing things the person he is interviewing is doing) and the story that that is being told through that interview. Brooks really brings to life (no pun intended) the stories that can so easily get lost in a war where the participants number in the millions. He allows us to remember that at the heart of it all the story of humanity can be told, not through numbers and statistics, but through the stories of just a handful of those millions. I found World War Z to be an enjoyable, albeit at times heart wrenching, tale of war, loss, and survival.
Verdict: 8/10
