Boy haven’t updated my website in ages. It seems like my summer was so busy - and now Tobin’s back to school (this is his EIGHTH year teaching).
Anyways, on Friday night (Aug 29), we headed up to Anacortes as Tobin’s brother and new wife (Peter and Lisa) were visiting his parents (they spent Monday night with us in the midst of their road trip). Asher (Tobin’s brother), his girlfriend (Kristen), and Laura (Tobin’s sister) were also there. Tobin’s dad BBQed up some amazing wild Salmon (yum - my fave), then we went for a walk down to the marina. (The pic at left is from that little walk.) We eventually ended up back at the house playing card games and eating dessert. At one point the game got quite animated as all the Springs boys sounded off with their best Star Wars impersonations (Asher had a Star Wars deck or two).
Saturday we decided to stick around for a bit (Tobin’s first day of school was coming up and he had originally planned on getting home first thing so he could work in his classroom). At around 9 or so we headed off to a muffin shop and ate some muffins (yum), then headed off to the North Cascades via Hwy 20.
On the way up to the pass, we stopped by this little stand and Tobin’s parents bought some blueberries. I snapped some pictures in their flower garden (right). Very lovely.
At one point up to the pass, we made a stop at a ranger’s station and got information about the hike we were going to do. Continuing up the pass, we stopped at Lake Diablo and I shot some pictures. The lake is amazing - it could be the most beautiful lake in Washington. Seriously.
Continuing on, we made it in to the trailhead for Easy Pass Trail. We parked the cars and started off… Initially, the hike was relatively easy - strolling through the trees over some boardwalks and across a few foot bridges… But then that wore off and it was easy no more! The trail was about three miles long, and gained about 3K feet. Wow.
From the North Cascades National Parks Service website:
Many believe the Easy Pass and Fisher Basin area to be one of the most superb places in the North Cascades. Extensive meadows are crowned by glacial peaks. The short, steep trail to the pass is anything but “easy.” The views, however, are your reward: panoramic vistas of Fisher Basin and Mounts Logan, Fisher, and Arriva.
That sums it up pretty well. The views were gorgeous once we got above the tree line. We saw marmots - I didn’t realize that they were so big! That was cool. There were also tons of huckleberries - they were delicious! About halfway between the treeline and the summit all my breakfast was gone (I’d eaten oatmeal too). The huckleberries helped, but in the end it was through sheer determiniation that I made it to the top - my muscles were really tired (and I was super hungry). The top made the whole hike worth it. We could see glaciers and the view was breathtaking! It was super cold though! I was freezing. It even snowed a bit while we were up there!
At the top we ate our lunch… Man that really hit the spot. Asher was kind enough to pack all our food up too - so that was nice. :) After 
surveying the view at the top and finishing our lunches, we headed back down the trail. It sure went a lot faster on the way down!
All in all it was a really fun hike - but man was I tired after it! Tobin and I were inspired though to do more hikes (we’ve been wanting to, but it seems like we never have the time).
Once we got back to the cars, we drove up a little farther to the pass - to a viewpoint of the mountains. That was gorgeous. I snapped the panoramic pic below:
After that, we bid farewell to Peter and Lisa - and they headed off toward Spokane. The rest of us headed back, and all met up at the Hansen’s Foods in Burlington. Tobin’s parents treated us all to dinner (most of us had baked chicken and 2 sides). It was delish! Seriously, a great meal - we all belonged to the clean plate club after the meal (and they were VERY hearty!). lol It was a fun time spent with the fam, and we’re looking forward to doing it all again at Christmas (maybe without a hike).
Some more fun shots below… Be sure to check out all the pics from Friday and Saturday.
is that a heart-shaped sweat spot on tobin? how cute!