I recently spent 9 days in Eastern Washington, visiting some mountain ranges well beyond the familiar realm of the Cascades.  I visited 30 mountaintops including many which still have lookout towers atop them, like Moses Mountain (pictured).  The weather was terrific for the most part, and I became very familiar with an entire region of the state which had been unknown to me previously.  I have to say that there aren't really an abundance of great hikes over there, but definitely a few that are very nice.  It's really just hilly country, lots of forests, and scattered small towns.  Still, places like Mt. Bonaparte, Abercrombie Mountain, Moses Mountain, Mount Rogers, Molybdenite Mountain, Sullivan Lake and Mount Spokane were memorable. 

Today, my friends Hal and Diane Watrous flew to San Diego.  From there, they were to board three different buses, which would eventually deliver them to near the small town of Campo, on the US/Mexican border.  The signifigance of that:  It's the southern end of the Pacific Crest Trail. 

Their goal is simple.  In about 5-6 months, they hope to reach the NORTHERN end of the PCT, at the Washington/BC border in Manning Park.  It is a 2,600-mile hike.  Think about that.  A two thousand, six hundred mile hike!

They have been planning this for a long time.  Diane, who is the postmaster (post-mistress?) of the Southworth, WA post office, is taking a leave of abscence.  Hal is semi-retired.  They met through the Mountaineers, shared their love of the outdoors, and were married last summer (I was their best man!). 

They will begin their hike in Southern California with about a seven-day load of supplies.  This has to last them for the first 76 miles, at which point the trail passes a small village to which they have sent the first of their 22 re-supply packages.  The logistical planning for this enterprise is very complex and detailed, especially if you don't want to have to lose valuble time tracking down food and other gear that you need for the trail ahead.

If all goes well, and if they can maintain an average of about 16-18 miles a day, they could finish the trail by the end of September.

They plan to post periodic reports on a web page, so we can all track their progress.  To read more about Hal & Diane and their journey, go to

www.trailjournals.com/StampLady

Alpine Andy's Wilderness Potty Rating System

It may be an outhouse, or a pit toilet, or a porta-potty, or a privvy, or a honey bucket, or merely a glorified hole in the ground.  As we all know, one of the joys(?) of venturing out beyond the world of flush toilets is the chance to use these marvels of low-tech plumbing (or would that be NO-tech plumbing).

But not all backwoods bathrooms are created equal.  Now, to help you gauge the quality of your primitive waste elimination experience, I present the following 5-star scale.

* * *  - a  3-star facility :  This is your standard outhouse.   It's not spotless, it's not odorless, it's not glamorous, but everything is intact, the door shuts, and there is TP.

* * * * - a  4-star facility : This is a very good loo.  A well-maintained porta-potty is in this category.  A fairly new or exceptionally clean pit toilet can also reach this level.  The TP is well stocked, the smell is virtually absent, and your overall restroom experience is reasonably pleasant.

* * * * * - 5-STARS :  Everything that a 4-star has, AND there's a (drumroll please) Hand Sanitizer Dispenser (and it's not empty)!

* *  - a  2-star facility :  Hold your breath and don't touch anything, but if you can't hold it for very long, you will use this one.  TP is unlikely, the vandals may have been there, and the litterbugs have definitely been there.   However, most men don't mind using these a bit.

*  - a  1-star facility (although "facility" may be too kind a word)  :   Almost full.  Some people missed.  If there's TP, it's waterlogged.   Sometimes no door, sometimes no walls either.  You will smell it long before you reach it.  If you can't hold it for very long, you will use the woods behind this facility.   Most men will use this, but will come out saying, "Whew, that was ripe."

( 0 )   a  0-star facility :  Has all the amenities(?) of a 1-star facility, with the added drama that the seat may or may not collapse during delivery.

Here's to enjoying your next flushless restroom experience...

I just love snowshoeing in the late season.  It seems that a lot of people lose enthusiasm once the calendar says "spring," but late March and April are the best times to be out snowshoeing, to me.

We had an absolutely wonderful evening Saturday for the Skyline Lake Moonlight trip (see photo page for more pictures).  Unfortunately, there were SIX empty seats on the van.  Cancellations.  People losing interest in the snow?  Too bad.

I've got three snowshoe trips left.  Tuesday we're going to Glacier Creek Road by Baker.  The forecast looks great, and I'm really excited for that one.  Should be some great views of the north side of Baker.  We've got FOUR empty seats on that one.  It was full, with a wait list until recently.  People losing interest in the snow?  Too bad again.

Next Saturday we're doing Mowich Lake near Rainier.  That's one side of the park that's accessible, and with the rising snowline, it works out great right now to drive in fairly close, then still have plenty of snow up at the lake.  I'm really looking forward to that one too.  I'm glad to see that one is still full.

The final snowshoe is April 15 to Artist Point at Heather Meadows.  I've had bad luck with weather and haven't gotten to Artist Point in a while, so I'm hopeful for that one.  Again, the trip was once very full, but I think a spot or two have opened up.

If you can, get those snowshoes out one more time.  It's some of the best snowshoeing of the year.  And we haven't even mentioned how great the downhill sliding is on spring snow!

While we have been lamenting the temporary loss of our beloved Mount Rainier National Park, our neighbors up north have also seen devastating storm damage to one of their signature parks.  Stanley Park in Vancouver was ravaged by storms in December & January which left, by some estimates, about 10,000 downed or damaged trees in their wake.  Major restoration work has already been done, and more is planned, including repairs to the popular seawall trail that we have enjoyed on Parks trips in the past.

We are still going to the park this May, in case you wondered.  Although significant trail closures are and will continue to be in effect, we will still be able to enjoy the park.  I suspect it will be quite awe-inspiring to see the "new" park, with all of the changes that the storms brought.

For information about the damage and restoration effort, here is an excellent web page: http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/restoration/faq.htm

To see more photos of some of the storm damage, go to www.seestanleypark.com