John Bartkiw

Due to heats waves, forest fire smoke and some old man hockey injuries it's been a while since our last hike but we got back at it and it felt great even if it was a super high traffic spot.

In an effort to really get away from the house for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic we went on a fun road trip to Yosemite and Mammoth to do some hiking and relaxing. It was great seeing some serious natural beauty. We got lucky and only

It's a bit different than the Bridal Veil Falls I grew up near next to Niagara Falls but it was still a fun hike with some nice sights along the way.

A slightly wet outing today had a vista, some climbing and a loop around a lake.

It's definitely the end of the rainy season because the trail today was packed to the gills with people. At least it was a nice hike with nice views while being a decent climb.

A bit late posting these pictures but we did a little camping trip last weekend that involved some sun, hiking and general outdoors relaxing.

It's spring break for Seattle public schools so we were able to get away for a couple nights of camping and a bit of hiking on the Olympic peninsula.

Probably better described as a walk instead of a hike we hit a short, flat trail at Padilla Bay where the Skagit River meets the Salish Sea. The robust wind made the walk seem like it was uphill but our rain gear provided enough protection against the wind to make

We're finally back to hiking now that Owen is fully recovered from his surgery. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day hiking in the snow. We got to try out our Yaktrax for the first time on a trail that was mostly nice compacted snow.

A bit of a different outing this week adding some snowshoes to the normal hike. None of us had tried snowshoeing before so we kept it simple. The trails around Gold Creek Pond were way too crowded but at least most people were wearing masks and keeping their distance.

An easy, and moss filled, hike near an abandoned mine by Darrington. Had a bit of a Deliverance vibe due to being in the middle of nowhere and empty but still some good views. Nice to go on a hike and not have to worry about wearing a mask much

We are deep in the Seattle wet and dark zone of winter. You can either stay inside for the next three months or you can get wet. We chose to get wet today on a quick hike at Twin Falls to test out the full extent of our rain gear.

It's been a while since our last hike due to some scheduling issues but we finally got out again today for a short but scenic coastal hike. The panoramic views are the type that never transfer well to pictures but we still gave it a shot.

A nice day for a hike with trees, water views and a bit of fog. The top of the dome was fogged in so no views from up there but that didn't detract from the overall enjoyment of this hike