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Been busy getting my weekend hikes in so that I have a chance of keeping up with the crew heading to the Bighorn Crags in a couple months.

Today started with a brisk jog, then hiked the Plateau Trail, and finished off with a stroll thru the beaver marsh in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

View from part of the trail, then my hiking partner and I dodging rain drops towards the end.


A snapper for @scatman


Earlier in the month I spent part of a day on a longer loop hike, also in CVNP. Put together a video of the experience if anyone is interested in that.


Nice snapper!
 
I did a crazy test hike in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes NP: from Hilina Pali to Kaʻaha Point.
It was the first serious backcountry hike after I rolled my ankle and tore one of the ligaments. But my ankle brace was great.
a bit over 8 miles, but I had to climb down a 1,600-ft cliff and later had to go back up again.
The trail was just lava, and in many spots it was so overgrown that you could not even see it.
It was hot, whipping 30mph wind, no shade, no trees.
Every once in a while, I have to do some grueling hikes like these.

I havenʻt finished all the pictures yet; here are just a few.

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view from the Pali (cliff) about 1/3 down, I have to go down all the way to the coastline

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Much of the switchbacks are loose Aʻa lava, itʻs almost like scree, but more loose

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my final destination: Kaʻaha Point

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Halfway down

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I found a tree!!

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The cliff I just climbed down

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Tough to see any evidence of a trail

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I made it

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old lava tube

Tough hike, no shade, and almost 2,000 ft elevation gain, 1,500 ft alone in a bit more than a mile
 
I completed a three and a quarter mile walk this morning through Memory Grove as a warmup to Mount Olympus tomorrow, with a few nice wildflowers along the way.

Astro coming to say high on 8th Avenue
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A bumble on 8th
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A moth on 8th
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And a swallowtail on 8th
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Another cat on 8th whose name I do not know, but he was friendly
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Heading north up A Street before dropping down into Memory Grove
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Beginning of the trail
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Heading north
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Yellows salsify
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Taper-tip onion
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Wild rose
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Nasty spurge
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Common yarrow
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Lewis Flax
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Mustard
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Yours truly
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Balkan toadflax
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Storksbill
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A ladybug on some dyers woad
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On the road up Memory Grove
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The mouth of City Creek Canyon
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Looping back around to home with Memory Grove below and Ensign Peak in the distance
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And a house sparrow keeping me company back on 9th Ave.
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Memorial Day meant a short haul to get out of the heat. My daughter is still recovering from pneumonia, and I really just wanted to try out the new backpacking chair and a single hammock. Plus, just get outside. I had intended a short overnighter, but it did not happen, so a few hours just chilling was the next best thing.

The old Olympus were the footwear this time. They are on their last threads. You cannot see Olympus from here, but the ridge is all part of the same mountain.
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Some of the new gear. My daughter also just got the purple dayhiking backpack. She wanted something more for her summer girls trip that is coming soon.
The backpacking chair is fine. I am not sure I am a chair convert yet, so I am glad it was mostly paid for by birthday gift cards, a discount, some REI earnings and such.
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My daughter overtook the hammock. I killed one little biting fly, but otherwise there were only bees and butterflies. It proved one of those mythical days before the mosquitoes hatch. Perfect temps, nice little breeze, off and on clouds with monsoon building just off the horizon.
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The road and crowds were all below and going up the opposite canyon. I sat on the edge and got some Vitamin D watching dozens or maybe over a hundred people make their way. Madness.
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The destination canyon clogged with people:
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A nice little twin mahogany guards a turn on the way back down.
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Later, as we visited some cemeteries, the monsoon threatened and the wind picked up.
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I had a nice hike in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, where I did a 10.7-mile out-and-back along the crater rim.
This was a great test hike to see how the ankle is holding up on longer hikes, and I was pleased that it worked out well. I had 1,600 ft elevation gain, which was negligible.
Now Iʻm exited for some longer hikes, and hopefully, pretty soon, I can add more miles on lava again.

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Both vents actively degassing

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On Friday, May 22, we had a magnitude 6.0 earthquake and the whole flank of the cinder cone slumped down

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Pouring rain in Salt Lake this morning so I did my usual 3.25 mile walk through Memory Grove.

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Clouds on Ensign

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Thistle

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Snails galore!

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Where's my leash? :)

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Yellow sweet clover

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Alfalfa

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Wild roses

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Curled dock

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Wild pea

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Nipple Wort. Sounds like a medical condition.

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Clouds off Ensign now

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The guy in the orange is participating in the 50 mile Salt Lake Foothill Trail Run. He is approaching an aid station set up for the
race. Good on ya!

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Back on 10th Ave. Watch out for the Basset Hound! :D
 
Pouring rain in Salt Lake this morning so I did my usual 3.25 mile walk through Memory Grove.

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Clouds on Ensign

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Thistle

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Snails galore!

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Where's my leash? :)

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Yellow sweet clover

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Alfalfa

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Wild roses

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Curled dock

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Wild pea

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Nipple Wort. Sounds like a medical condition.

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Clouds off Ensign now

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The guy in the orange is participating in the 50 mile Salt Lake Foothill Trail Run. He is approaching an aid station set up for the
race. Good on ya!

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Back on 10th Ave. Watch out for the Basset Hound! :D
What a day for a trail race! Love the wildflower photos. Good to see good rainfall down there. Same weather up here for the weekend.
 
.65 inches at my house today!

I worked many a rainy, cold, Ogden Marathon as a EMT. A lot of borderline hypothermia.
 
I needed to do a quick hike this past Saturday because I was headed to Roosters in Ogden for Beer Night. Of course, my go to for a quick hike is the Avenues Twin Peaks. Although it is a short hike, it turned out to be an interesting one.

Saturday was a hot day here is Salt Lake, and I struggled a bit on this one. I just didn't seem to have the energy, but slogged along anyway. I chose to go straight up the ridge of the south twin, and then headed over to the north twin before coming down off the west side and looping back around to complete a lollipop loop.

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Started off on The Tomahawk Trail

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Yellow salsify. The wildflowers turned out to be better than I expected for this low in the foothills this time of year.

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You can see the south twin peak just slightly up from center of the image

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Dyers Woad - the seeds are a deep purple color

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Rounding the corner to get a full view of the south twin

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Switchback up ahead in the trail

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Balkan Toadflax

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View back down Spring Gulch

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Two vultures circled above contemplating picking Scatman's bones clean. I may be struggling, but today is not the day gentleman!

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Grand Collomia

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Heading straight up the ridge of the south twin

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View of the northwestern foothills

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Still climbing

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Lichen covered rock along the ridge

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Some vetch on the limestone

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Getting close to the top

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Paintbrush

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Prickly Pear

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@Rockskipper . For some reason I had Bo Diddley's "Let Me Pass" song stuck in my head. :) Explain that please.

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(L-R) Burro Peak, Grandview Peak, and Black Mountain

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Horned Lizard on the summit

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Sego Lilies were plentiful just of the north side of the summit of the south twin

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Lewis Flax

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A bee on the thistle

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Looking back at the south twin on my way up the north twin

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Field Bindweed


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Buckwheat

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Lupine

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Wasatch Beartongue

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Geranium

While coming off the south twin, I heard some ticking sounds coming from a grove of scrub oak. At first, I thought it might be a
rattlesnake. I wondered if it was, why was it rattling at me when I was so far away?

Coming off the north summit, I heard the noise(s) again and this time I went to investigate and to my surprise I found hundreds of
cicadas on the scrub oak and maple trees. They were all over the place. Pretty cool!
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Cicada heaven!

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Common Yarrow

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Western Dock

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American Vetch

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My backup camera for this hike - Canon PowerShot S70

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Yellow Salsify gone to seed

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Heading home

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At the center of the image is a crow that is just hovering. There were actually two crows that weren't moving. The wind was
blowing really hard on Saturday and these two were just enjoying hovering in the wind. I watched for a few minutes and at one
point a small bird dive bombed one of the crows which stopped both from hovering. As I continued down the trail, a small hawk
started to go after one of the crows, and soon the second crow came to the aid of the first crow. I was fascinated by it all.

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The various colors of grasses along the trail was neat

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More of the Dyer's Woad as they have gone to seed making neat patterns along hillside below the trail

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Alfalfa

Got home in time to shower and shave, change clothes then head out for the train station.

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Frontrunner to Ogden

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Ensign Peak from the train

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Mount Ogden from the train

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Historic 25th Street in Ogden

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Arriving at Roosters

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Oh, you know I'm there! August 1st, Logan, Utah.

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The Beer Night's gang this month

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Three blackened salmon tacos, black beans and rice for dinner.

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Washed down with an Iron Rooster Imperial Stout. Just a wonderful stout, second only to the
Terminator Stout from Portland, OR.

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Dessert on the train ride back to Salt Lake.



The End.
 
Coming off the north summit, I heard the noise(s) again and this time I went to investigate and to my surprise I found hundreds of
cicadas on the scrub oak and maple trees. They were all over the place. Pretty cool!
Cicadas are so fun! Glad you got to enjoy them.
 
Coming off the north summit, I heard the noise(s) again and this time I went to investigate and to my surprise I found hundreds of
cicadas on the scrub oak and maple trees. They were all over the place.
I've heard Cicadas are edible.

Did you harvest any for use on future backcountry expeditions? Think of the cost savings compared to Mountain House! I can see the legs/wings stuck between your teeth already. :)
 
Oh, you know I'm there! August 1st, Logan, Utah .......... only if you drive fast, you'll be in Idaho
 
I've heard Cicadas are edible.

Did you harvest any for use on future backcountry expeditions? Think of the cost savings compared to Mountain House! I can see the legs/wings stuck between your teeth already. :)

Low in fat and high in protein! To hell with Mountain House! How much weight will they add to my pack?
 
Oh, you know I'm there! August 1st, Logan, Utah .......... only if you drive fast, you'll be in Idaho

I'll be multitasking on the 1st Bob! :D

I guess I'll just have to sing a ukulele song on the first for everybody in the Frank Church. Unfortunately, the only one I know is Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." Oh, you guys are in for a treat! :thumbsup: Maybe I can get @Rockskipper to accompany me and we can duet a slight variation with "Tiptoe Through the Cicadas and Circus Peanuts." We might become famous! Skipper and Scat on tour! I can see it now.
 
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