Below are the most recent 3 friends' journal entries.

Monday, November 2nd, 2009
canyonwren	9:26p	Oh, yes I just had an absolutely awesome weekend at Breitenbush hotsprings. Too bad I can't do this far more often! Between the rock pools, the sauna (OMG), the massage (my first Thai massage) and the food, I feel quite pampered. The massage was a little funny. I'd wanted a Swedish, but messages got crossed somehow. The masseuse was so excited that I wanted to try Thai that I didn't have the heart to let him down. He was all prepared for it, as well. (And it was 7 am, so I was fuzzy headed.) I really liked it! Definitely would do this again. (Comment on this)
canyonwren	9:23p	Clubbing Lara and 7 of 9 There were a bunch of pics, but I'm fond of this one. I can actually tell I've been hitting the gym. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
canyonwren	9:09p	Hiking Log: Paddy-Go-Easy With: Megan, who requested a tough hike to get her mind off her break-up. Mileage: about 7 Buttkicking Factor: ~3 out of 5 Megan doesn't get out to the Cascades often, living closer to the Olympics. She emailed me recently with a hiking request. I knew she'd done Mt. Si recently, of which I am politely disdainful. (Actually, I've recently decided Si, Little Si, Cougar, Tiger and Squak would all make fine winter hiking mountains, when I've been snowed out of the high country. I don't lay foot on them during normal hiking season, though. Too populated, too easy, too close to Seattle, too darned boring!) So I drove her 80 miles out of Seattle back to my favorite area, 30 miles or so past Roslyn into the Alpine Lakes region. The fun thing about Paddy-Go-Easy, other than it was one of the last two hikes in the Alpine Lakes region that I wanted to hit before the snow this year, was that it was supposed to be very difficult. One of the write-ups I have about it says that the people who named the trail must have had quite the sense of humor, to include the word "easy." That said, it's obviously end of hiking season for me, because Megan and I blazed up the trail without much difficulty. The joy about this hike, as opposed to Cathedral Pass (the next ridge over) is that this ridge has larches. It was a real treat to see these deciduous "evergreens" in fall color, which is something I haven't run into often. Sure, I see green larches all the time, but they're both high up and far out. Fall foliage is harder to see, with the snow and all. There was some snow. Vibram soles! We were talking steadily on the way down and managed to jump onto a closed-off portion of the trail. For a terrible moment, I thought we'd lost the actual trail in the snow a mile or so uphill. I'd also forgotten my map--it's sitting by my computer even now--AND my headlamp. I doubled back very quickly and was relieved to find the real trail only 2 minutes behind us. Phew! Thanks to trolleypup for the loan of his little Nikon! My point and shoot needed new batteries and I had very little interest in actually buying some for it. I'd rather put all the money toward a new DSLR. ( Two more pics ) (7 Comments |Comment on this)