Gothic Basin
8/27/2005 Sat. Overcast in the morning.
~15 Km RT / 900 m gain to the basin.
The first 1.7 miles is completely flat on Monte Criso Rd, along Sauk River. Then the grade picks up. After 2 miles or so, the trail leaves the zigzag in the forest and you encounter the first waterfalls (a trickle now). From here on, the trail becomes rocky and not as steep, but sometimes up and down. Gothic Basin is ideal for camping, surrounding by rocky peaks that can shelter the wind, a couple of tarns to supply water.

A further half mile / 200 ft up to the right (northeast) over a low ridge leads to the beautiful foggy lake. More camp sites.

If you are not tired yet, it's possible to climb up the STEEP hill on the south side. On top of that ridge, you can see Rainier and Olympics. We came down directly to the basin. It was quite dangerous. So steep that most of the time I had all my limbs on the stones. My pants ended up with purple blueberry stain. Yes, lots of blueberries.

Intimate Apparel at Intiman Theatre
2005.8.25 7:30pm

Opening night. Full house. It started at least 15 min late.

A new play, by Lynn Nottage, directed by Jacqueline Moscou (whose previous production the Crown last year was such a bore).

It's a story of an illiterate but independent African seamstress in early 20th century New York, earning her living sewing "intimate apparel" for wealthy socialites and women of ill repute. Esther, who's in her mid-30s longs for companionship. After some months of correspondence with a Panama canal digger, she marries him as soon as he arrives without getting to know him. She finds warmth with a man she cannot touch, a Romanian textile retailer.

It's well written (quite humorous at times) and well acted, especially the lady who plays the prostitute. Stage design is simple but sufficient.

The odd thing is that after the show, they served fried Chicken with Coleslaw, mashed potato and sweet rolls (donated by Ezel?).

2005.8.20-22 Vancouver Island

It started out drizzling. Only the last day was sunny. Didn't enjoy much of the mountains, as the views were blocked by the clouds. I have underestimated the size of the island, plus the foul weather, the whole trip was ill-planned (the hotels do not allow cancellation). Long wait for the ferry coming back on Monday night. My favorites of this trip are lower Myra Falls and Chesterman Beach.

Day 1. We started with Strathcona Provincial Park. Visited the Buttle Lake area. The drive was very pleasant, although, long. It passes several lakes, some quite large. The upper Campbell Lake is very pleasant. Should have stayed here in the lodge (decent menu). Buttle Lake is utterly peaceful. Huge, and almost no one around.

We did a couple of short hikes along Buttle Lake to see some waterfalls. Lower Myra Falls is a must. The kids (me too) enjoyed it immensely. Very interesting rock formation, and one can climb back and forth along the cascades.

Day 2. We stayed in the Mt Washington Ski Resort. The kids loved their bunk beds, but they were not made, and there's no where I can find extra sheets (and the woman who is in charge of these rental vacation homes didn't want to make the trip to deliver the sheets). That was quite annoying. However, the view from the mountain top was nice, if it's not cloudy. Ski lift is in operation. We spent half a day walking the Paradise Meadows and visited the two little alpine lakes near by: Ann-Mckinzie Lake and Battleship Lake. However, the lakes are quite boring. The meadow is very pleasant, well preserved, wide board walkways, still has some flowers left. I can imagine coming here maybe two weeks earlier and the flowers should have been splendid.

As the only restaurant that opens in the evening is quite lousy, we drove down to Courteney for dinner (the Old House @ 1760 Riverside Lane. Easy to miss.) A very old house indeed, beautiful garden along a creek. Food is quite good, the waitress was helpful. She didn't make a face after my nephew made a mess over the table (he threw up, as sometime he does after gorging in cold food). On the way there, we stopped by Saratoga Beach and Miracle Beach. Very close to each other (I prefer Miracle Beach, also a park). We saw a heron at Saratoga Beach. On the little residential street that connects these two beaches, we saw two deers!

Day 3. Visited the beaches in the Pacific Rim National Park and Tofino. First stop is Wickaninnish Beach. There's an interpretive center and a restaurant here. Sea stacks on and off the beach, yet, the sand is ultra fine and smooth. Quite some people here.

2nd stop, Long Beach. Same, but no facilities. Nice. Quite a few surfers here. The kids followed me to get wet, playing with the waves.

3rd stop, Radar hill. Good view to Tofino and countless little green islands in the sound.

4th stop, Tofino (at the north tip of this peninsular). Small yet bustling. Quite a few groups going in and out of the harbor. Very commercialized.

Last stop, on the way back, Chesterman Beach. Beautiful. Other than its fine sandy beach, views go both north (islands) and south (Long Beach), AND thousands of sandpipers.

Mt Rainier
2005.8.14. Sunrise.


I was hoping to see a profusion display of flowers. It was not even as good as last year at the end of Aug, when we did Fremont Lookout trail. Apart from the alpine asters, not many other flowers are in bloom. Probably too warm this year. Very dusty and dry.

We did Burrough's Mt this time. About 6 miles r/t, and 1000 ft gain. We went by Shadow Lake and came back by Frozen Lake. On the way up, we saw 6 mountain goats negotiating their way on a cliff. At the end of the trail on the 2nd Burrough Mt, you'll find the best seat in the world: a semi circle stone bench facing Mt Rainier. Wind is blowing hard here. Almost chilly. Mt Rainier seems within an arm's reach. Steam is coming out of the ice on one spot. A photographer is waiting for his right moment.

Aug. 13. 2005
Tried to catch the annual Perseid shower, a bunch of us including a 10 year-old went to Green Lake's Star Party. Even though we parked right next to the rdv point, we didn't see it. Ended up walking along the lake and backwards for 20 minutes. It's really pleasant. On the way back, we saw one shooting start. We we got to the right place, the guy is taking down his telescope for fear of the sprinkler system coming up in half an hour. We did stayed there for a little longer. But only caught a couple of meteors more. It surprised me that there were actually people walking, jogging or walking the dogs at midnight.