Fasser Family Blog

The 2011 edition of the annual boyz hike was a big success with an excellent destination, great weather, good fishing and some stories to tell. Dave Dawson picked the hike this year which took us to the 7 Lakes Basin in the Olympic National Park. Attendees included Dave, Jeff, Will, Johnny G., Ralph and myself.

Our hike began on Thursday afternoon a little before 2pm. This was a little late to be starting a 10 mile hike, but logistically there was a good bit of travel to get to the Olympic Park Ranger station in Port Angeles, get gear situated and move the circus. Jeff Thompson brought a portable scale and we weighed ourselves with and without packs – before and after the hike. We won’t go into details on weight but my pack was the heaviest (76 lbs!) so some re-distribution was in order.

The hike through the first part of the trail to the Sol Duc Falls and then up to Deer Lake was packed with tourists and day hikers. The Sol Duc Falls was a great stop on the way back for rest and photos (see below). We reached the 7 lakes basin at dusk and passed beautiful semi-frozen over lakes at Lunch lake and beyond. The sunset was fantastic, but we lost our trail and decided to camp up in the basin – good call Will! Dave ended up staying at Deer Lake Thursday night and caught up to us on Friday.

The next morning was blue bird sky and we found the trail to Morganroth within minutes. An hour later, we are at the lake and setting up camp right on the water with a great group hang-out spot and some majestic tent areas. There is a small lake called no-name that feeds into Morganroth and a creek that runs between – great spot for pulling water and added the babbling brook soundtrack. Our group was the only one at the lake – nice!

Activities of the week included:
- Day hike to the waterfall into no-name
- Fishing the lakes
- Napping/reading in the hammock
- Modest frisbee golf
- Cribbage by the lake
- Trips to the snow pack to for the ingredients for bourbon slushies
- Lots of cooking and eating and laughing

On Friday night, we were about to get out the headlamps when two hikers stumbled into our universe- Debbie and Fabrice/Fabio (?). They had no packs (only a day pack), minimal food and water and were clearly out of their element. What had started out at a day trip to Bogachiel Peak and back to the lot (which would be a 20+ mile endeavor) turned into a lost wander through the basin. We gave them food, clothing, pads and a blanket so they had a spot to sleep for the night. They were very appreciative and very lucky someone was at the lake to help or else it would have been a much worse night for them.

Sunday morning we packed up and cruised out early. The hike down was a spectacular as the hike up, but this time we hit the early morning sun. Ralph and John bagged Bogachiel Peak on the way out and we did the ceremonial weigh-in at the parking lot. We all lost 15 or so pounds from our pack. We stopped in PA to drop off bear cannisters at the ranger station and got some beers/dinner at the tavern 9 and headed home.

Our annual boyz hike took us into the deep into the Northeastern Hills of the Cascade Mountains – Lyman Lakes – courtesy of our planner this year Eric Plateau. The hike included a drive to Chelan, some excellent Chicken Fried Steak at the Apple Cup Diner, a boat ride on Lake Chelan to Lucerne, a school bus ride 11 miles in and up to Holden Village and then 9 miles on the trail. The journey to the trail head was really fun and interesting and had it’s own set of stories.

However, the jewel of the trip was the hike. From Holden Village, we passed an old copper mine, dozens of waterfalls, hundreds of mushrooms, boulder fields, forest floor, long vista, Hart Lake (for lunch), streams, bridges and very few other people. It was an incredibly beautiful hike despite getting rained on the last 4 miles. Fortunately, we had incredible weather for the next two full days we were there and then had rain on the way out – our timing was stellar.

Once we hit Lower Lyman Lake – the beauty only went up – literally – to upper Lyman and the Lyman Glacier. The usual activities occurred – eating, drinking, fishing, Frisbee golf, day hikes, glacier snow gathering and wild animal stare-downs (marmots and deer mostly).  Eric and I were fortunate enough to hook some trout in Lower Lyman, Greg and I donated disc’s to the mountain Gods and Dave got to spend a dry night at Rebel Camp.

Below are my photos from the trip. Next year it is Dave’s turn to pick and based on early discussions, we’re going back to the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll regale you with the gory details at our next poker session. Cheers.

March 14th was the West Woodland Elementary auction and it was a GREAT event. Michelle led a tremendous team and the entire community pitched in with effort, enthusiasm and generosity.

One of the most fun items was the Honey Do’s – a group of dad’s with various skills who contribute several days to work on someone’s home. This years team included professional contractors, boat builders, landscapers and grunt work (like me).

Below are some shots from our slideshow and shots from the event that night – thank you and enjoy!

We just returned from the 14th annual Boyz Hike and what a doozy this was. I’ve been to Kauai a few times, but seeing the Island from an unspoiled and undeveloped perspective was truely amazing. The Northshore of Kauai (out past Hanalai Bay) is lush, varied, breathtaking, sunny and at time – steep .  Kalalau Beach is one of the most beautiful places on the planet – it’s got to be.  The group included Greg Latimer (organizer – thanks Greg!), Eric Plateau (in from Chicago), John Dossett (Portland), Will Shortt (Eugene), John Gerberding, Dave Dawson, Ralph Murray and Myself (Seattle). Highlights of the trip include:

• Direct flight to Lihue from Seattle – Fly Alaska Airlines!
• Dinner at Duke’s and Playing Pool at NaWiliWili Tavern.
• Snorkeling around Poipu.
• Hike around Waimea Canyon – Mark Twain called this the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. Stunning.
• Dave getting stuck with Urchin Needles Saturday Afternoon while having a sunset snorkel.
• 11 Mile Hike into Kalalau Beach and jumping into the surf and fresh water fall.
• Fresh water pool in Cave on beach.
• Beach volleyball and beach frisbee golf including Eric’s hole in one on the cave/water hole.
• Hiking up to Big Pool for swimming (killer day hike/trail!).
• Meeting local hippies.
• Big stars at night. With no ambient light, the stars were very bright and distinct.
• Getting rained on and not caring because we were covered and warm by the fire.
• Spending quality time with friends from cities both near and far.

Below are my photos from the trip. I can’t wait to see everyone else’s. Click on the photos for a bigger version of the slideshow.

I just posted the list of Boyz Hikes through the years. Thanks to Anthony for assembling the initial list. Shoot me email or comment if you want to update the comments. Click here to see the list…

In 2007, we took one of the great Boyz Hike (13 years and running!) to Glacier Park Montana. We started at Lake McDonald and hiked up to Arrow Lake. The next day we hiked to Camas Lake for two nights and a day hike to an upper lake whose name escapes me . On our way back we stopped at Trout Lake. We fished every lake and pulled fish out of each. Great hike, great team, great time.

Usual Suspects Included:

• Jeff Thompson – Planner, Leader, Fisherman
• Greg Latimer – Flight Master
• Eric Plateau – Scandinavian Fish Master
• John Gerberding – The man who drives many miles without sleep
• Dave Dawson – I can make it! Yes I can!
• Patrick Boyer – Yes, another Trinity Chi Delt on the hike
• Scott Fasser – GPS Boy/Failure

Here is a web album from Google that has all the picks – enjoy!