• British Columbia (and nearby),  Hiking & Scrambling,  Trip Reports,  Western USA

    Tomyhoi Peak: and Yellow Aster Butte too!

    Some things are different in the US. The cars are bigger, the people are fatter,  and the trails are much wider. We still had fresh memories of our eight day traverse on Vancouver Island where we seldom saw a trail, people, or any sign of humans at all. So we actually enjoyed the wide trails and excellent signage – no need to wonder if we’ll manage to drive up this rough gravel road to the trailhead, whether we are at the trailhead and where this particular trail goes. This was our first trip in years to the North Cascades, and we were dumbfounded by the beauty of the mountains and…

  • British Columbia (and nearby),  Cycling & Cycle Touring,  Food,  Hot Springs,  Trip Reports,  Western USA

    Washington Desert: Desert Cycling, Taco Wagons and Hot Springs

    Last weekend was the Remembrance Day long weekend, and we went on a three day trip to Washington state, taking our bikes with us. The idea was to cross the Cascades and spend time in the real desert on the other side of the mountains. We waited “only” two hours at the border and continued driving south. At some stage I started feeling that the steering wheel was vibrating. We stopped at a rest area and discovered that one of our tires was flat, and much worse than that – torn. I don’t know if it tore initially, or if I drove too long on a flat and it tore…

  • British Columbia (and nearby),  Hiking & Scrambling,  Trip Reports,  Western USA

    Washington Desert: Spring Hiking in The Desert

    Last weekend was Easter, which means a double long weekend (four days). With all the snow and mountains around us we couldn’t help it – we desired the desert. I guess Beer Sheva did something to us. So we took our red car on its first road trip – down to the USA! But it turned out that if you are going to nasty America it means you have to be punished with two hours waiting at the border. I guess it was only because of the long weekend. On the way to the border we started to feel funny. What is that weird feeling? and then we realized –…