Wednesday, June 11, 2008

ABC Wednesday-U

U was hard for me. The other day I said to my hubby, "I know what I will do for U. Upsit Creek." Somehow that didn't ring right, and I remembered that it is Ipsut Creek.

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So I realized that I would fall back on two Us that are always available.

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The first of these is Under.

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It is exciting to watch to see what is under things around you as you hike at Mt. Rainier, or anywhere.

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Like these mushrooms growing under a bit of grass along the Rampart Ridge trail in August last year.


Or the Ohanapecosh River rushing under this footbridge. You really have to watch what's under your feet here.
And sometimes you have to hike under a leaning tree, such as this one that was on the Grove of the Patriarchs trail last November.
Early last July we did a bit of shoveling on a bridge near Shadow Lake...

...to reveal that in this particular spot under the snow was the bridge. There was concern that hikers not knowing exactly where the bridge was were crossing where the only thing under a crust of snow each side of it was the creek.


U is also for UP.
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When in the Old Growth Forest at Ohanapecosh it's not hard to find a reason to look up.

Here on the Frying Pan Creek trail last October we hiked a long way up.

The fog was hovering over this peak (from looking at the map, I think it is Eagle Peak) near Cougar Rock Campground the other day. It would be quite a hike to go up that. There is a trail that goes up around the other side of it. On the map it shows a lot of switchbacks to get up there, and it doesn't go to the top.
Here we were looking up toward Little Tahoma Peak. I found the elevation of that since I featured it last week for T. It is 11138 feet (3395 m) and considered on its own would be the third highest in Washington.
But the ultimate Up is the mountain itself. Mt. Rainier. At 14,410 feet, it is only about 80 feet short of California's Mt. Whitney, which is the highest in the 48 contiguous states. (Alaska has several that are higher.)
So would you climb up that mountain? Many do. Some ten thousand a year attempt and about half complete the climb. When I was much younger, I didn't even consider it as my fear of heights would have paralyzed me. Now, that fear of heights does not bother me as much, but at my age, I think I will stay where I can look up.
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Once, while hiking as National Park Volunteers, we visited on the trail with a couple who told us their story of climbing the peak 36 years earlier along with their two oldest children. After we parted, by the time we put the arithmetic together to decide that they must now be well into their seventies, we looked after them and saw that they were far out of sight up the trail.
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So there you are. Don't forget to look under and up.

33 comments:

Lilli & Nevada said...

Katney
these are great photos, one day i am making a trip up there

ArneA said...

Excellent choice. Great photos and a possibility to join the bridge builders at RuneE.

Anonymous said...

A great sequence which makes my paltry offering look positively Understated.

Texas Travelers said...

Great series of photos that don't show up in the standard Mt. Rainier brochures and coffee table books.

I don't remember where I shot my photo. It's a great mountain and very photogenic.

I assume you do volunteer work there.

This was a great post and I really enjoyed the tour and pictures,
Troy

Paulie said...

That footbridge over that rushing water looks scary! You found lots of good ups and unders!

Reader Wil said...

I enjoyed seeing your beautiful U- word photos. I wouldn't go over that bridge for a million, but it's a very beautiful bridge and it was a great job to make it snowfree.

Daryl said...

Clever!

Those mushrooms look like golf balls

:-Daryl

Dina said...

Hey Katney, for not knowing what U words to use you sure came up with an uplifting post! What adventures you have in that beautiful country.

Neva said...

HI Katney....some very great "U"s! I was in an old growth forest in Michigan a few weeks ago.....awesome trees! and that bridge you uncovered was a very good thing! Imagine not knowing you were over the water and falling in....now there would be an understatement!
Mine is here.

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

another up and under!

nonizamboni said...

Great post and even better advice!
Lovely photographs too.
Happy Wednesday!

ellen b. said...

I'm with you and I'll be looking up and enjoying Rainier. Loved all these photos Katney. Under that one foot bridge with that water at such a rush might paralyze me from crossing :0)
Enjoy the rest of your week. I hear the weather is suppose to be brightening up...

kjpweb said...

Well that was a fun "U". Up and under with great pics! Nicely done!
Cheers, Klaus

Louis la Vache said...

"LoUis" would have been Upset if he had missed yoUr "U" post with all its Unders and Ups!

Kyanite said...

Hi Katney!

Terrific tour.
My sort of walking territory.

I was away Monday with no Internet connection, so thats why no Odd Shot entry this week.
Normal service now resummed!

Take care
Blue

Anonymous said...

Yes! You need to have balance on that bridge.....
So many fine photos today, love them!

Michele said...

So pretty. Your photos never cease to amaze me... I really luv that bridge... awesome!
http://chunkymountains.blogspot.com/

Dragonstar said...

I love your mix-up over the name - just the sort of thing I'd do! You came up with a great post though, in spite of that. The scenery is stupendous.
LOL @ Daryl's comment - I thought of golf-balls too!

Anonymous said...

What a nice U post. I love the pictures. It would be neat to walk on that footbridge.

Leslie: said...

What a fantastic and interesting post for two such inocuous words - under and up. Love your photos and all the little stories that went with each. I'm like you, I think, in that I'll be happy looking up rather than climbing up. :D

Kim said...

Beautiful photos. I had some trouble with U too, but I only managed to find one photo, great job!

Pernille said...

U was very hard for me too;)

You have wonderful photos. I love them all. And a wonderful U-post:)

Rena said...

Wonderful u post! Makes me itch to get out there and hike.

Cath said...

Wonderful U post Katney! I am forever amazed at the tall trees and you can barely see the top of them looking UP from the ground. The mountains are impressive, and if fitter, I would love a go at them. But I know my limits now. ;0) Love the bridge too - thoughtful of you to expose it to unknowing hikers and walkers.

I'm only doing part time work - having to rest in between. I am tired, but ok. Will probably blog about it Saturday as I am on now 2 days in a row. Thanks for checking in. And for sharing some of the most magnificent scenery in the whole world.

Unknown said...

These are wonderful photos and excellent choices for U!

me ann my camera said...

I think you attacked U with a real UPswing and included a great many beautiful pictures!

Thanks for having visited mine.
ann at Varying Seasons

Barbara said...

I wouldn't want to climb a mountain as I don't like heights either, you have some wonderful photos here for U.

Alan said...

Lots of Up and Under to digest. I saw a show on National Geographic years ago following a group climbing Mt. Rainier and I got the crazy notion in my head that it would be fun to do that someday... but now I remember that a mountain in Florida is only 300 feet high, not 14,000 feet, and I would probably pass out from the low oxygen levels once I got past around 7,000 feet, which is, of course, higher than any of our East Coast mountains in the Appalachains. :)

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

Rune and I acted independently - I didn't know what I was going to post for U until I was going through old photo archives for something else and came across them and immediately thought - just the thing. I certainly thought of Rune when posting pics of Ulriken but didn't know he was doing the same until Wed morning. I wasn't surprised though.

Liz Hinds said...

Is that you shovelling in snow in short sleeves? (Try saying that fast!)

It is a very beautiful part of the world. But I definitely would not walk over that footbridge!

Nydia said...

With an almost five-year-old little boy, I am always reminded to look under and up many things! LOL Lucas loves discovering little things, and you have the same spirits! That's wonderful. I love to see how energetic you are in your hikings. And your photos this Wednesday are just beautiful.
isses from Nydia.

Kjersti said...

I love your u-Post. The photos are great!

Profile Not Available said...

Excellent U's! I especially liked the mushrooms! They were fascinating!