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Eating Dirt

August 6, 2019November 21, 2019
by Ashley Gossens

It’s become a book club tradition to spend a day working with Washington Trails Association to give back and lend a hand to our beloved trails. This year we helped build a new trail at Little Mountain. We gathered at the trailhead, greeted by the knocks of woodpeckers and the smiles of our crew. Barbara, our crew leader for the day, gave us a safety briefing and explained what we would be working on.

The trail was aptly named the Upquick Trail. Barbara took us down the lovely new switchbacks to try out the old trail on the way back up. We got up quick alright. The trail went straight up the steep hillside. They started working on the new trail in October and now it just needed some final touches like some rock walls to help retain soil and prevent erosion. I’ve wondered how they make those nice neat rock walls on the trails, now we were about to find out.

The key to the rock wall is the zip line. A pulley system allowed us to move massive rocks down the steep trail most efficiently. I was super stoked to hear we were working a zip line, and this wasn’t just a simple zip line like I’ve done before, but a legit zip line that went straight down the mountain side. This was a task that required great care and coordination.

We paired our work party with Eating Dirt, a memoir of a tree planter. Like most jobs in the outdoors, tree planting is not a glamorous one. They spend entire days hunched over digging holes and planting little seedlings as fast as possible. They were getting paid by the tree and it was grueling work. The way that Gill describes her experience, though, is right on and exactly how I feel after a work party. It’s hard work, but it can be addictive in a strange way that makes you keep coming back for more.

During our lunch break, we discussed some of the hardest jobs we’ve had. Jamie has spent a lot of time working in the outdoors studying fish and really related to the last part of the book when the tree planters live on a boat off Vancouver Island. Rebecca told us how she spent a summer in Alaska working in a cannery for college money. She said it was incredibly humbling. We all decided that it’s good to have those types of work experiences when you are young: humbling hard work.

By the end of the day we had transported a large pile of boulders down the mountain. It was more fun and exciting than hard and humbling, but it certainly gave us perspective on how much work, effort, and love goes into maintaining our Washington trails. While we celebrated our accomplishments for the day, we found out that one of the “orange hats” that was with us, Pete, had recently logged over 2000 work hours with WTA in his lifetime! He even self-published a guide to building trails that many of us happily bought and got signed by him. Then we headed to Skagit River Brewery for a celebratory meal to finish off our day of working in the woods.

There was something alluring, addictive even, about the job. I liked the feel of loam between my fingers, loved the look of a freshly planted tree bristling up from tamped soil. Planting trees was a whole, complete task. You could finish what you started in just a few seconds. You could sow a field in a day. It meant being outside, unprotected from the elements, but at least weather affected everyone equally. Best of all, in a cut block you could erase your old self. You could disappear almost completely.
Charlotte Gill, Eating Dirt

Book Ends

Look: A collection of portraits of British Columbia treeplanters
Learn More: Reforesting Canada Forests on National Geographic
If you loved this book, you will also enjoy: Any of these Outdoor Work memoirs

Book Club Archive

1 year ago: Animal Dialogues (@ Icicle Ridge)
3 years ago: Phenomenal (@ Barclay Lake)

Book Club

Magic Among the Trees

February 23, 2016July 30, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

I gotta say, we could not have asked for a more beautiful February day for the first ever meeting of the Alpine Trails Book Club! Some dark clouds threatened in the morning, but we reached the lake just in time to bask in the sunshine. The six of us (and two dogs) got an early start as we headed up the switchbacks through green forest with some impressive old growth cedars. We saw a woodpecker and heard other various birds chirping throughout the forest- a sure sign of spring to come!

At the lake we paused to check out the fascinating sandstone rock formations with their improbably clinging trees and found a sunny spot to rest and have lunch. We talked a bit about the book- everyone that read it loved it- and I shared some of my favorite quotes:

Jack would have spoken to her, but her eyes – the broken blue of river ice, glacial crevasses, moonlight – held him.

I see that life itself is often more fantastic and terrible than the stories we believed as children, and that perhaps there is no harm in finding magic among the trees.

We never know what is going to happen, do we? Life is always throwing us this way and that. That’s where the adventure is. Not knowing where you’ll end up or how you’ll fare. It’s all a mystery, and when we say any different, we’re just lying to ourselves. Tell me, when have you most felt alive?

We discussed poetry- did you catch the reference to Robert Service in the book? He wrote about the gold rush in the Yukon and his poems really speak to the hardships of the time but also the draw on the beauty and adventure of the north. The Spell of the Yukon is my favorite poem of his. You may have also caught another reference to a famous poet, Emily Dickinson, during the wedding scene (which we all agreed was a favorite part of the book!) with “Hope” is the Thing With Feathers.

After lunch we finished circling the lake and headed back down the trail. We passed many hikers and dogs on their way up and then took the short spur trail to the overlook. We were glad we saved it for last since the clouds dispersed and left us with beautiful blue skies. Our hike, thankfully, did not evoke the intense cold that Mabel, Jack and the snow child endured, nor did we encounter any snow, but the wintry green forests of the northwest always have a bit of magic and mystery in them to me.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Book Ends

Here are 8 reasons why you should hike this winter
And here is what to wear
Eowyn Ivey wrote another wonderful novel, To the Bright Edge of the World, about Alaskan exploration in the 1800’s

Outdoor Life

How to: A Realistic Valentine’s Sunset Hike

February 8, 2016July 30, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

Note: Oyster Dome, the gorgeous trail featured in this post, is currently under threat of clear cutting that will drastically alter the trail and others around it including Lily Lake. Read more about it here and find out what you can do. Now onto the post…

Step 1: Hold breath while checking calendar a month in advance. Husband is not working day shift, night shift, on call, or out of town AND Valentine’s Day is on a weekend! It’s a miracle!

Step 2: Choose a trail that almost meets all of your unrealistic expectations: has spectacular unobstructed west-facing views, a water feature (preferably with an island or two), is easy to navigate in the dark, and is not too difficult (sweating is not romantic, you guys). Oyster Dome has all the things! Although, let’s face it, there is going to be sweating. There is always sweating…

Step 3: Completely forget about plans until Valentine’s Day morning and wake up in a panic. But oh, sweet joy! You planned a sunset hike and you don’t have to get out of bed for hours! Propose deal to get husband to make you blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast in exchange for carrying the backpack up Oyster Dome. It’s totally worth it. Then make mental note to find smallest bottle of wine known to man to pack for the hike.

Step 4: Pack up the car and the dog and convince husband that the blanket is the thing that makes it a picnic and that yes, it is absolutely necessary to bring along. Stop at the grocery store to purchase picnic items. Branch out and get those little french pickles and something you’ve never had before like quince spread. Then grab the old staples: salami, cheese, and water crackers. Lastly, get one of those super chocolatey tiny fancy round cakes in the bakery section for dessert. Don’t worry, you earned all of it.

Step 5: Hike up Oyster Dome while regretting the deal to carry the backpack and attempt not to sweat. Reach the rocky overlook and choose a spot to put down the (totally necessary) blanket while pointing out how freaking photogenic it is. Nosh on your new favorite thing in the world, crackers with cheese and quince spread, while the sun begins to set. Spend like half an hour setting up the tripod and camera and take a hundred photos to capture a romantic moment between the two of you before finally getting one where you are not in mid-run when the timer goes off or the dog’s tail does not appear to be coming out of the side of your head. Then pause for just a moment when your husband and the dog look at each other and feel your heart melt with love. While hiking down the trail in complete darkness, stop, turn off the headlamps, hold hands, and look up until the stars come into focus. Vow to do it all again next year.

Hikes featured in this post:
Oyster Dome

Outdoor Life

A Year of Inspiration

January 7, 2016August 7, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

On New Years Day I went for a hike to Lily Lake. The territory was a bit unfamiliar to me and full of unexpected obstacles. I literally had to dodge clumps of snow falling from the trees above me, and there was much more snow on the trail than I anticipated. It was also more beautiful than expected. The low hanging sun filtered through the trees lighting up the snow in orange. Every branch was topped with a thick layer of snow giving them a magical quality. I felt like I crossed into Narnia. When I reached the lake I found it completely frozen over and I wandered out onto it feeling brave while examining the exquisite jagged crystals of hoar frost that covered everything in sight.

Much like my journey to Lily Lake, my first year of writing and sharing stories on Alpine Lily has been an unexpected adventure. Before I started the blog I was feeling low and stressed out at work. My company was downsizing and my mentors and long time coworkers were leaving while I was left with more work. I was struggling and felt like I was just getting by each day, surviving. This caused a serious case of wanderlust. I counted down the hours to the weekend so that I could escape and get out to explore and replenish my energy. I hiked every weekend and racked up the miles as I checked off the trails off in my guide books. I always felt great in the mountains but no matter how many miles I logged, I still dreaded Monday morning.

So then I got the idea to start Alpine Lily. I wanted to do something completely different from my day job (engineering) that was fulfilling and creative and completely for my own pleasure and joy. I was filled with a rush of excitement and purpose. I made a list of books I’ve read and adventures I’ve been on that I wanted to write about and, more importantly, made a list of new adventures and books to read so that I could write about them. I found myself taking short walks outside at work when I got frustrated, and instead of thinking about work while I walked, I thought about what I would write on the blog. Instead of just filling up the week with thinking about what trails to check off, I started reading inspiring books and planning fulfilling adventures. The wanderlust that was only making me dislike my job more morphed into a sense of purpose and inspiration.

Over the past year I quit my job and found a better one. I volunteered for trail work five times for the Washington Trail Association and earned my very own hardhat. I spent a weekend camping with my sister in California and another in Oregon with my other sister discovering waterfalls. I tried sketching and painting on my hikes and went clamming and foraging for the first time. I took my friends backpacking and hiked with strangers that became friends. My husband and I revisited Green Mountain, the first peak we attempted to climb in Washington, after the trail was closed for nine years and finally made it to the top. We also revisited our home states back east and shared our favorite childhood outdoor places with each other and our families. I read so many books! I didn’t get in the number of miles that I was hoping for, but the quality of the miles more than made up for it.

I completed most of the goals that I set last year, but I am taking a different approach this year. I have only one goal for the year- to go into the outdoors as much as possible with my loved ones and with purpose. In addition, I came up with a Life List- experiences I want to have sometime in my life with no specific end date. These are things that are near and dear to my heart, not just places and trails to check off a list. Here are some of them in hopes of inspiring you to do the same.

Spend a night in a lookout and/or lighthouse
Find an Alpine Lily flower in the wild
Start an outdoor book club
Backpack solo
Hear wolves howling at the moon
Night kayaking
Snow camping
See the northern lights
Climb all the volcanoes in Washington with my husband
Visit the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon with my two sisters
Visit an active volcano
Hot air balloon ride

I wish you a very Happy New Year filled with lots of inspiration and quality time on the trails!

Hikes featured in this post:
Lily Lake

Road Trip

Skagit Valley

April 2, 2015October 11, 2018
by Ashley Gossens

April means tulips around here. Much like the phenomenon of leafers that drive slowly through New England in the fall to admire the changing leaves, western Washington comes down with a bit of tulip mania this time of year. Seattleites flock 60 miles north to Skagit Valley to gaze upon miles of natural rainbows, the famous tulip fields. And like their counterparts in the northeast they are driving slowly, not to slow down to enjoy the views, but because they are stuck in endless traffic on I-5.

Seattleites are not the first people to fall in love with the colorful bulbous perennials. Tulips were introduced to Europe in the 16th century from Turkey. The intensely colored flowers were like nothing else in Europe and were considered a status symbol. As international trade flourished in the region, tulips became wildly popular, influencing one of the greatest art movements- the era of Dutch still life painting. Between the years of 1634 and 1637 the price of rare tulip bulbs skyrocketed as investors dumped money into tulip futures. But like financial bubbles tend to do, this one burst in 1637. The tulip is still associated with the Netherlands where 4.32 billion bulbs are produced each year.

The state of Washington produces a fraction of that: 200 million tulip bulbs a year, 75 percent of the nation’s tulip crop. The flowers bloom as early as late March through April and later depending on the weather conditions. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has been celebrated over the month of April since 1984. Events include street fairs, salmon barbecues and fun runs. Roozengaarde and Tulip Town are the growers to visit. My favorite is Roozengaarde with its smaller specialized gardens featuring rare varieties. Admission to the gardens is $5 and they open at 9am. You can also enjoy the fields without spending a dime. Just wander on the back roads until you run into the tulip fields, or check out the Bloom Map to see which fields are currently blooming.

You could easily spend an entire weekend or more exploring the tulip fields and gardens and the nearby towns of La Conner and Mt Vernon. It’s also a great area to bike as the valley is flat and the fields spread out throughout the valley. However, I like to just spend a couple hours tiptoeing in the tulips, arriving right when they open thus avoiding the crowds and leaving the rest of the day for nearby exploring. I usually head east and spend the rest of the day at Deception Pass State Park or wander slowly south on the back roads through the farmland that reminds me of rural Pennsylvania where I grew up. The area is also a great place for bird watching as many migratory birds make their way through the area.

More about the Skagit Valley:

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Bird Watching in the Skagit Valley