The Cascadians

09/04/2026

9-3-26 Pleasant Valley South. Fourteen Cascadians split into 2 groups: one went 5 miles and the other went 6. It felt good to be in a cool, moist forest, walking on a non-dusty trail for a change, following the American River with evidence the salmon have been running upstream. Maybe the rains calmed the wildfires.

09/01/2026

There were 18 of us that drove up to Suncadia Lodge to hike 5 1/2 miles along the northwest side of the Cle Elum river which also included going down and back up the 21 flights of stairs. Unfortunately, there was more smoke in the air than we anticipated, but eventually a breeze came up and we started seeing blue skies again. It was a fun reward to enjoy sitting outside afterward in the clearer skies to enjoy some lunch, coffee drinks and even ice cream at the new Suncadia Social.

08/28/2026

Golf4Fun=another fun day at Fisher:)

08/28/2026

8-27-26 Five Cascadians hiked to Shriner Peak Lookout. As they headed towards Chinook Pass in their car they spotted a black bear feeding on berries right next to the highway. The bear was so busy eating berries he hardly paid any attention to the humans gawking at him about thirty feet away. As they headed up and over Chinook Pass they were engulfed in swirling clouds of mist and temperatures dropped. It was a cool 60 degrees at the trailhead, which is great for a strenuous hike involving 3,400 feet of elevation gain. The lookout was closed but the shutters were open allowing them to peer inside. Mt. Adams and many other mountains were visible from the lookout, but Rainier was clouded in. While at the summit, they met two ham radio operators who were part of a mountain top communication exercise. They were communicating with other ham radio operators as far away as Europe.

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

8-25-26 Today was a fascinating walk through history for 36 Cascadians: history of the Bumping River Dam, Jack( first tender of the dam) and Kitty Nelson, their Bumping Lake Lodge, and “The Sanctuary” of old growth trees, all shared by Susan Summit Cyr, author of Tanum and current resident of the Bumping Lake Lodge. Her passion for the history surrounding her home shone through her words. Her book Tanum is a must read. See details for purchase in the picture captions.

08/21/2026

8-20-26 The hike to Red Top Lookout today was one of the 2026 Waterfall/Lookout Challenges for the Cascadians. It was fun to see the lookout manned by a volunteer, a program that reopened in 2024 after closing in 2020 due to Covid. The volunteer welcomed us into the tower, kindly answered questions, and told us her husband is a firefighter on the Three Queens Fire to the west. The group headed to the agate fields from the tower before looping back on the lower trail back to the cars.

08/19/2026

8-18-26. Three did the hike to Shoe Lk. There was smoke in the distance, but we still enjoyed beautiful views. The company was great too. A bit under 15 miles, a bit over 2,500 ft.

08/18/2026

Six Cascadians plus four visiting family members completed the hike to Silver Falls in MRNP.
The group hiked south to the Falls from the Stevens Canyon Road.
After returning to the parking lot they hiked north on the Eastside trail to the bridge over Olallie Creek where they viewed another waterfall and enjoyed lunch near the creek.
Most of the trail was shaded making for a pleasant day.