|

August Update

ByMatt

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.

Moscow Mountain from Kamiak Butte
Moscow Mountain from Kamiak Butte.

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.

The view from the summit of Grandmother Mountain.
The view from the summit of Grandmother Mountain.

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.

Similar Posts

  • White Pine Loop & Bomber Too

    Last week, Clara and I had a day to ourselves, so we had a little adventure on a nearby trail. The white pine loop is a 3-mile hike from the White Pine campground off of Idaho Rt. 6. A one-mile (one-way) out and back spur takes us to the site of a WWII bomber crash site with some pieces of the wreckage still littered throughout the woods. But rather than write a lengthy post with a few photos, I’ve decided to try a video series that I’m calling Adventures with Clara to highlight just how adventurous she is.   [map style=”width: auto;…

  • Photos

    Mount Adams Summit Originally uploaded by mineral2. Well, I’m finished scanning 5 of 6 rolls from the fall. It sounds pitiful, but there are lots of great shots. Last Fall I shot off 9 rolls between Alabama and North Carolina. In the spring, I topped that with 13 rolls including the hike in Virginia. Add 2 more over the summer and the 6 from the fall and I’m up to 21 for 2006. Actually, I finished off number 22 yesterday, but I probably won’t have a chance to scan that in for a while. Look for a White Mountains gallery…

  • |

    A President’s Weekend in McCall

    I can’t believe February is almost over an I haven’t made any posts yet. I’ve been plugging along with classes and research and laying fairly low for financial reasons. I’m not skiing this year, which helps out in keeping my costs down. I have been snowshoeing more this winter than in the past, and that’s helping to keep me in shape, but it’s not quite as often as I’d like. In part, it’s due to time constraints, and in part it’s due to the weird weather we’ve been having this winter. We’ve had less snow than in winters past, and…

  • Snowshoeing Moose Creek

    Last week, winter returned to the Palouse. We got about six inches of snow in Deary, most of which was still around over the weekend. On Sunday, I joined a group of students and post-docs for a snowshoeing trip to Moose Creek. Although it was a foggy and overcast day, we had a great time. I’m always amazed at how much more snow Moose Creek gets, despite its close proximity to home. I estimate the snow was about a foot deep, which is plenty for snowshoeing. We ended up hiking just under 2 miles in before turning around and heading…

  • The Garden of 2013

    Because I was laid up and out of commission for much of the spring, I wasn’t able to work on expanding our garden much this year. Last year, I built a third 4×8 foot box and a 2×4 foot box which were meant to be tiered for planting small annual herbs in large quantities. I never got that box filled with dirt, so that will have to wait until next year. In the mean time, we’ve planted our usual array of crops in the two 4×8 foot boxes with limited success. Erin had bought some tomato plants in April, and…

  • Latah County Fair

    Clara loves animals. At home, she loves to pet the dogs and the cats. She tries to pet the chickens and gets all excited when we catch one and bring it over to her. She loves saying hi to the goats and touching the horses. So we brought her to the Latah County Fair where she could look at and touch a whole host of other animals that we don’t have on our property. But rather than write about this, I thought I’d change things up and record this account on video.