As of yesterday she's been in the hospital for 3 weeks. Monday things came to a head and she had emergency surgery which was fucking terrifying. It went as well as it possibly could and everyone is cautiously optimistic.
I want to stop waking up in the middle of the night and worrying about her. I want to stop obsessively checking lab results. I just want my favorite human to be ok. 😢
Send hugs, cats, and good vibes.
Bonus! #footpathfriday
I haven't been in the mountains lately but can reflect on a really phenomenal season of hiking. I got to walk around 3 of our Cascade volcanoes and climb a 4th. I saw alpine meadows full of flowers and butterflies, bears, goats, pine marten, and a fisher. Mountain lakes, rushing streams, and roaring waterfalls. I heard glaciers cracking and popping.
Every year that I get to do this feels like winning the lottery. ❤️ 🗻 #pnw #hiking
#footbridgefriday? #footpathfriday #pnw #hiking
The bridge over the Elwha on the trail up to Dodger Point was put in originally (I guess) to allow access to the fire lookout that is no longer manned. It's a weirdly substantial piece of infrastructure surrounded by trails that don't see much use or upkeep anymore. In Olympic National Park.
She's alert and talking normally and drinking fluids today. That's a big improvement and tells you how sick she was.
I think I'm finally coming down off the adrenaline. I got a chance to take a little walk today and the moment I stepped under the trees I felt my body start to regulate again. Don't care what anyone says, I clearly had arboreal ancestors. Sunlight filtered through a green canopy and living soil beneath my feet is the best medicine.
/End
It's been a rough week. My wife has had symptoms for months that went undiagnosed, and therefore untreated, by her PCP. Last week they got worse and the timing made the docs suspect a disease that took another week to rule out, by which time it was a full emergency that had us in the ER and admitted to the hospital. Grateful that she is finally getting the right care and it's probably something we can treat and not permanent damage, which it might have been if it had gone on longer.
1/
Some more fall colors for this #footpathfriday?
A perhaps less familiar view of Tahoma, from Eagles Roost viewpoint on the Wonderland trail.
A good post looking at the data on risks of #hiking.
Being that falls are the #1 risk to hikers, I'm a little surprised that trekking poles don't warrant a mention. They are the main thing I recommend to everyone I take hiking. That extra point of contact (or two) has turned many a slip, trip, or stumble into a non-event, when it might have resulted in an unpleasant hike out or a SAR call.
https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/comments/1wm0d37/how_hikers_die_brain_dump_for_beginners/
#footpathfriday #pnw #hiking
Fall colors are in full swing!
#bookstodon and #birding folks. Is there a good book for learning about North American songbirds? Their songs, habits, lifecycles, etc? I feel like this is something I saw in a post in the last year...
By far my favorite weather is: long pants with sandals, a t shirt in the afternoon or if I'm working, and a rumpled, unbuttoned flannel thrown on in the evening. Sleeping with an extra blanket but the windows are still open.
Going to savor this as long as it lasts.
There's a path there alright but you might have to hunt for it. When I don't want to do my leg day workout at home, these are the kinds of pictures I look at. 😁
From a really incredible couple days in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness '24. This is the path between Tuck and Robin lakes. Strenuous hiking but so worth it.
This SAR operation was going on when I was in ONP over Labor Day weekend. The hiker and searchers left from the same trailhead I did. He was headed up into the mountains for a one night, off trail traverse. Very sad to hear this was the outcome. 😢
Spring of '24 I managed to catch the wildflowers on Silver Star in their prime. One of my favorite shots.
NPS maintains these two old homestead cabins inside the park. These were built and used by a few people who lived in this valley in the early 1900s. They made a living guiding cougar hunts and generally living off the land.
I like to imagine what it must have been like to live here, in the hollow of the land between mountains. Seeing the salmon return, collecting berries with the bears, hunting elk, defending a little garden from the squirrels. Taking a mule 10 miles or more into town.
Weather forecast was iffy but seemed best in the northwest part of the state so off we went. My newbies were a bit apprehensive about the distance, 9 miles is a lot of you're not hiking regularly. But they persevered, fueled by jolly ranchers, beautiful sights, and promise of chili for dinner.
Weather turned out nearly perfect except on Saturday a couple of us were out exploring while a T-storm rolled in. Hiked back to camp through thunder, lightning, and soaking rain and dove into it tents.
There's a Stellar's Jay out in the yard doing his best damn impression of a bald eagle and all I can say is, I admire your chutzpah little guy. Never change.
