A pretty sunrise over Middle Velma Lake. There’s some smoke from forest fires burning somewhere far away, which adds more orange to the light.
The morning is spent walking south on the Pacific Crest Trail, climbing towards Dicks Pass. As Jan and Ben climb, they pass an uprooted tree. The roots contain a number of large rocks, which have been augmented by smaller rocks placed by hikers.
The view from Dicks Pass is somewhat obscured by smoke, but still (or more?) dramatic.
Jan and Ben stop for lunch at Gilmore Lake, then tramp the hot and dusty Glen Alpine trail the rest of the way back to camp. As they pass Baby Beach, Jan takes off his pack and dives into the lake to cool off.
At the camp’s mid-week Linen Bar, campers can exchange used sheets and towels for fresh ones. Liya’s friend Samantha offers us hot face towels.
At family Beach Day, kids that build a sandcastle will win a free milkshake at the camp soda fountain. Anya decides she wants a milkshake, and quickly builds Castle Smiley with some help from Jan, Liya, and Anya’s friend Erin.
Bree and her friend Georgia build a sandcastle too.
In the afternoon, Angela organizes a family sailboat trip. Liya and Bree join, but Anya doesn’t want to go out. We sail around for a bit on the lake. It’s fun, but as usual, it’s gusty, and the wind keeps clocking around to different directions. As we’re coming back in, we see Anya on the boat dock — wearing a life preserver. Her friend, Erin, is taking her sailing. To Erin’s credit, she takes Anya around the lake without capsizing.
It’s Anya’s turn to go backpacking! She’s not particularly into the idea, but the teen Suaves group is going on an overnight trip. Some of the kids left earlier in the week, and a couple kids decide not to go, leaving only Anya, Erin, and one boy who are brave enough to go. The group of three teens is led by four counselors.
Before heading out, Anya and the rest of us walk down to the lake to see something unusual: a truck from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that pulls into camp to restock the lake with Cutthroat Trout. The two workers hook a big hose to a tank full of 10,000 juvenile trout, then life a gate to let the fish shoot out the hose into the lake. Anya rescues some trout that end up on the dock.
Back on their way, Anya’s group drives to Emerald Bay, then hikes a short distance to Granite Lake. Anya says they have a fun afternoon and evening, but the night is very windy and very cold.
A happy (and slightly wet) camper.
If it’s Friday, it’s time for the breakfast omelette bar. Camp staffer Morgan helps Angela decide what to add to her omelette.
Fallen Leaf Lake
On the last full day of camp, two of the kids’ groups — Liya’s Midorees group and the younger Yahoos group — hold their annual Capture-the-Flag game. Here Liya’s guarding the chalk line separating her team’s territory from No (Wo)Man’s Land. Her team eventually wins, 2–0.
Bree and her friend Scarlett say goodbye to one of their Menehune group’s counselors.
Bree later chants for us the Menehune chant:
I Yell
I Yell
A big substantial yell
And when we yell, we really yell
And this is what we yell so well
A Mene — what?
A Mene — who?
A Menehune, we’re so loony
Baby in the high chair
Who put her there?
Ma, Pa, sis-boom-bah
Stand on your head
Stand on your feet
Menehunes can’t be beat
Yay, Menehunes!
In the afternoon, there’s a bread-making session. We roll out dough into cords that we braid into challah loaves. We get to taste them while they’re oven-hot. They’re simple but fantastic.
There’s enough time for one final boat ride. We’d wanted to go in a canoe, but today it’s really windy and cold — an early taste of Fall — so we take out a pedal-boat.
Bree warms up with Jan’s sweatshirt and a cup of hot cocoa.
The camp week ends with a slideshow and staff talent show. The latter always ends the same way: a slow-moving sketch that ends with water hurled at the campers. All the kids sitting in front squeal and climb over each other in an attempt to get away.
Time to say goodbye to camp and go home.
First day of school. Jan asks all three girls — especially Anya — to pose for a Back-to-School shot. Anya can’t bring herself to smile for the picture.
Sabriya settles into her new classroom. She’s starting 2nd grade today. Liya is starting 7th, and Anya’s starting 8th.
Jan makes a short trip to Amsterdam for a conference. Although it doesn’t start until Monday, he arrives on Saturday so he can play tourist. He starts by visiting a little bakery we’d gone to on our family trip there four years ago, followed by a visit to the design collection at the Stedelijk Museum.
Holland is great for biking — it’s flat, and has endless miles of bike paths. Jan rents a bike for the next two days. It’s an electric “pedal assist” bike, which turns out to be tons of fun. An online source had recommended a scenic route along the top of the Zuiderzee dike. Jan takes this as far as the small town of Marken.
From Marken, Jan catches a passenger ferry to the touristy fishing village of Volendam.
For lunch, Jan tries two local favorites: kibbeling (essentially fish and chips) and a hot cherry crepe. They’re both delicious.
Before his conference opens in the afternoon, Jan bikes to a coffeehouse in the center of Amsterdam to do some work. As he’s biking, the clouds open up, and rain pours down. Everyone out on the street gets soaking wet. At the coffeehouse, Jan slowly dries off and waits out the rain before heading back to the hotel and conference venue. Even in the rain, the city is beautiful.
At breakfast time, Bree’s reading a book while standing in the kitchen. Angela suggests that Bree take her bagel and book to the dining room. Bree, never taking her eyes from the book, brings the bagel to the dining room and sets it on the table. She continues reading while standing next to the table.
September Backpacking trip (trip #10 this year): High Divide Loop, Olympic National Park. Jan’s friend, John, joins him for a weekend of backpacking on the Olympic Peninsula. One nice thing about driving to the national park there is that the road passes by scenic Lake Crescent. Today it’s covered with small clouds.
Sol Duc falls. It’s rained recently (just this morning, but stopped as we began hiking), so the falls are running high.
The huckleberries are changing color, adding stripes of brilliant red to the green and yellow hills.
John pauses as we approach the High Divide ridge.
Friday’s night we camp at Lunch Lake in the Seven Lakes Basin. In the morning, the pond near our campsite is completely still.
As we hike along the High Divide ridge, we make a brief detour to the top of Bogachiel Peak.
We set up camp at Heart Lake, then continue on the High Divide trail toward Cat Peak. The weather clears up, and we get a nice view of Mount Olympus in the distance.
Trail selfie.
By the evening, it’s gotten quite cold. It gets down to 30 degrees overnight. Our bear-proof food canister is covered in frost, and our water bottles are half frozen. It’s c-c-cold until the sun finally comes down into the valley where our campsite is.
Patches of the dirt on the ground are covered with strange, hair-like ice crystals, perhaps 2 inches long. We have to look up the phenomenon when we get back home: it’s “needle ice”, formed when the ground is wet and warmer than freezing, but the air is below freezing.
Morning at Heart Lake.
The day warms up as we descend into the Sol Duc valley rainforest.
Near the end of the trail.