Conrad Meadows Backpacking Trip

Rachel, Marc, Tiffany, Kurt, Katie, Koree
Heading out on our adventure

Katie and Kurt, backpackers extraordinaire!

Katie, Tiff and Rachel surrounded by wildflowers

Lucky shot!

Conrad Basin

The girls!

Just one of the dozens of wildflower pictures I took.

There was even some snow fields to cross!

Footloose and fancy free!

Kurt, who suggested we take the trip in the first place. Thanks!

Marc and I could not resist a quick dip. Rachel followed, but felt a bit betrayed by the way Marc and I made it seem less freezing then it was! :) It felt so great!!! Appropriately the lake is called Cold Lake.

The crew

My sweetie

Rachel, wonder woman!

Our campsite, Wow!

Secret waterfalls

After a dip in the falls

Another shot I could't resist sharing

Late afternoon hike

Just beautiful

Tiffany, always ready for fun

So glad to have you all in my life!

Meanwhile, Lucy spent a long weekend with Grammy Pam and Grampy Dave. Thanks!!!

Over Labor Day weekend, my parents came up to Portland and Marc and I got to go on a backpacking trip with some good friends. It was our first trip away without Lucy. We love our little Lucy, but a trip of this nature would have been impossible with her.

We headed to the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Washington State, where our friends Tiffany, Rachel, Kurt and Katie joined us. We hiked about 11 miles, of which the last 1 1/2 miles was steep climbing. Oy! It was challenging, with full packs, but totally worth it as our destination, Conrad Meadows, was really quite beautiful. A glacially formed basin, it was a lot like Glacier NP. The wildflowers were peaking, and there was an incredible diversity of blooms.  There were peaks all around, and clear water creeks. The weather was perfect, and we were pretty much the only people out there.  On our full day there we kept a base camp and explored the basin without the heavy packs. Wow! It is hard to describe how truly amazing and special this are is. 

Marc and I have always felt so lucky to have so many wonderful friends, and our group for this trip was great. We love to go to shows with this crew, and it was fun to do something different. Katie and Kurt are inspiring as this was probably their 7th or 8th backpacking trip of the season.  Rachel is my old friend from Humboldt, who came to Portland and has continued to spread her passion for living an adventurous, active life. Tiffany is great as she is always up for a good time, but also always available for a good chat about life (as are all of these friends!). I love you all and am grateful that we got to get away together. 

Thanks to Mom and Dad for giving us the opportunity to escape, relax, sleep in and enjoy some adult time. :)  We love you!