August Update

I just realized that August has come and gone and I have yet to write about anything that happened during this month. It’s not as though I haven’t done anything. In fact, I was quite busy every weekend. So, let’s see, what happened in August?

It got really hot. In fact, it got so hot, that doing things became unpleasant. Nevertheless, we took Clara out to Elk River to beat the heat. At first, she didn’t like sitting in the cool water, but by the end, I got her to tolerate it.

We also took Clara up to Kamiak Butte. I’ve always been up on Kamiak Butte in the spring when the Palouse is still green and the wildflowers are at their best. It’s quite different to see the land in late summer. This was also Erin’s first time on Kamiak Butte as well.

I finally brought some graduate students up to Grandmother Mountain. It rained on us a little bit, but not as much as when I was up in July with my mother. Rain at Freezeout seems to be a theme this year. We had a great hike and everyone was amazed at the views up there. That’s also when I discovered that the huckleberries were ripe and it was a good year for the berries.

So the next week, this past weekend, Erin and I brought some friends up to Freezeout to collect huckleberries. On Saturday, we brought home 1 liter of berries between the two of us. Again, we ran into a bit of rain. We had such a great time that we actually went back up again on Monday with some more friends and brought back two more liters. Since we still have berries left from last year’s harvest, we’re pretty well stocked for a while. But don’t worry, we’ll get more next year.

While we’ve been pretty busy, I haven’t given the camera much action. But that should change. I’ve got some exciting trips lined up for September, starting with a hike to Oregon Butte in Washington’s Blue Mountains coming up this weekend, and the return of the annual Wallowas Weekend backpacking trip next weekend. I’ve got to get my hiking in. It’s been a pretty inactive summer, and the season soon coming to a close. I am looking forward to snowshoeing this winter.