adventures of a tired coder

The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

Genre: Historical Fiction / Thriller
Rating: *** (out of 5)
Recommended for: Fans of Philippa Gregory and Dan Brown, people who like action-driven plots and the Tudor England time period.
Received ARC copy through a GoodReads giveaway.

Back-cover summary:
An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .

Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.

The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.

But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life. This provocative story melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past.

My review:
The comparisons others have made to this book being a Philippa Gregory/Dan Brown combination is fairly accurate -- it's a historical fiction thriller. It definitely keeps the reader interested in knowing what happens next, and it's a fun book to read. I liked the fact that the main character was a nun, rather than someone at the royal court.

Personal preference comes into play with my assessment of this book. Thrillers are action-driven, and my preference leans towards character-driven books. The characters here are distinct enough to be interesting, but they don't garner a lot of sympathy or show complex motivations behind their actions. On the other hand, I didn't dislike any of the protagonists. The main character, Joanna, is almost too perfect, as many of the other characters frequently praise her so much for her intelligence, perception, connections, and overall special-ness. It's an interesting thing to have a religiously-focused main character in a book that is not religiously-focused. But maybe this, rather than the standard "character with a love interest," makes Joanna seem more distant and less relatable?

I found the plot to be somewhat uneven. First of all, the whole mission she is sent on is somewhat unbelievable. Maybe it makes sense for Joanna to have to seek the Athelstan crown, but it doesn't make sense that she should be piecing together so much of the history behind it. If the information was needed in order to find it, Gardiner should have just given it to her to begin with. Of course, that would make the story significantly less interesting. Also, some mysteries that were drawn out for a long period of time had relatively low key endings, but other things are revealed pretty suddenly at the end that almost seem to have come out of nowhere.

These aren't really things that are glaringly problematic for a casual read, since the plot is compelling enough to string you along without the need for external analysis. But it does keep this good book from being a great one.

What Came First by Carol Snow

Genre: Chick Lit
Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
Recommended for: Chick-lit readers, people who like babies
Received ARC copy through a GoodReads giveaway.

Back-cover summary:
First comes love, then comes marriage, then . . . things can get a little complicated.

Vanessa wants just one thing for her twenty-ninth birthday: an engagement ring from her longtime boyfriend, Eric. But when the ring turns out to be a mix CD and Eric turns out to be a guy who doesn't want to get married or have children, Vanessa considers a new path to having a family.

When Wendy and her husband, Darren, couldn't have children the old- fashioned way, a sperm donor seemed like the perfect solution. She never imagined she'd have out-of-control twins who'd drive her to cookie binges and scrapbooking while Darren escaped into the virtual world of computer games.

Single and career-driven, Laura didn't need a man to have a baby - at least not one that she ever met. Thanks to an anonymous donor, she shares her life with her adored eight-year-old son, Ian. She'll do anything for Ian - even fill their backyard with a bunch of noisy chickens. But the one thing Ian really wants is something Laura's never been able to give him: a sibling.

Now, to grant Ian's wish, Laura starts a search that will not only change her life but Vanessa's and Wendy's as well...

My review:
What Came First tells the story about three very different women whose lives become connected. The one thing that all three of them share is the desire to have children, and the inability to have them the "traditional way." The author develops three characters with different, believable personalities and situations.

Laura is a career-driven, independent woman who decides she doesn't need a husband and has a son via sperm donor. Wendy and her husband are unable to conceive, so she uses a donor and gives birth to a set of rambunctious twins, but her husband feels like they aren't his children. Vanessa wants the traditional husband and children, but her boyfriend isn't interested in that life.

The book is an easy, engaging read. It's chick lit and doesn't present any earth shattering perspectives about relationships or parenting, but I did appreciate the fact that the situations of the characters were relatable and not cookie-cutter. The writing is contemporary, with many references to things like World of Warcraft and Twilight, which makes it seem like it's meant to be read now but not necessarily ten years down the line.

When reading books like this, it helps a lot if the problems that the central characters are struggling with are things that the reader cares about. Unfortunately, in this case, I don't care that much about having babies, and I'm already surrounded by people who care a lot about having babies. So a bit of a subject miss for me. However, I am interested to read some of Carol Snow's other books because she knows how to tell a good story.

** POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW **

Discussion Questions:
(There were no discussion questions in the version of the book I received, but there should be some in there when the final version is published. They may or may not overlap with mine.)

1. What do you think about the parenting styles and abilities of the three women? What characteristics and behaviors of the children do you think were inherited, and what was due to how they were raised? Do you think genetics or environment plays a greater role in how a child turns out?

2. Natural selection occurs when individuals with more desirable genetic traits reproduce more successfully. By using technology to reproduce when it is naturally impossible or unlikely, Laura and Wendy defy this process. Do you think they should have become parents? Do alternate ways of conception have adverse effects on society?

3. Was Laura justified in what she did to find her son’s biological father? What about all of her requests afterwards? If not, at what point did she cross the line?

4. How do Eric’s attitudes towards children change through the book? What do you think of his relationships with Laura and Ian? What do you think will happen after the end of the book?

5. What are your feelings about sperm donation? A man who fathered a child would be expected to mention this to a significant other. Should he also be expected to mention if he donated sperm? Why or why not?

6. Throughout the whole book, Vanessa seems to be the character who gets the least of what she wants. Do you feel sorry for her? Does she deserve more?

I like to read. And I love buying books. I do buy some books at full price, but there are only so many books that I’ll shell out $16 to read. And so I’ve found other cheaper ways to get my book fix.

1. The Library

Yes, the library is the most obvious way to read books for free. But not everyone takes advantage of all the features a library offers. Here are a few that my library system offers:

• Holds – This is the #1 feature I use at my library. It’s extremely rare that a book I want to read is on the shelf at my branch. When I think of something I want to read, I can go to the website at any time of day and place a hold on the item, and it will be delivered to the branch of my choice when it’s available.
  
• E-books and other formats – There are ways to read books other than physical copies. I’ve been enjoying the newly available Kindle library lending. It’s also nice to have audio books on CD for a long road trip.
  
• Featured shelf – My library has a shelf of featured books. A lot of them are recent best sellers that would otherwise have a long hold line, but you can pick it right off of the featured shelf. I’ve found a lot of good books through this.

2. Used Books

This is my favorite way of getting cheap books because I get a book to keep, and I like the concept of reuse. Some good ways of getting used books:

• Online sellers
  
  There are many places online to buy and sell used books. Probably two of the most popular are Half.com and Amazon. I’ve bought a lot of books through Half.com. There’s a lot available for 75 cents. Shipping costs another $3.49 for paperbacks, but if you buy multiple books from one seller, it costs less for each additional book.
  
• Swapping
  
  With all the cheap books you’ll be buying, you’ll probably find that you don’t need to keep all of them once you’ve finished reading them. So… swap them! Swap your books for credits that can be used to get books on BookMooch or allow the automated system to find you items you want in exchange for items that you have on Swap.com. I really like the Swap.com system because it’s constantly looking for possible swaps for you, and you don’t have to look for them on your own. It also provides easy print-at-home mailing labels (it’s around $3.25) if you prefer not to go to the post office. (Update on 12-22-11: swap.com has changed its focus away from books/CDs/etc. and is now a less book-friendly general swapping platform)
  
• Used book stores
  
  The stores are different everywhere, but there’s a good chance you’ll have at least one used book store in your area. In general, I’ve found prices at these stores to be a little better than buying new on Amazon, but it’s probably still going to run about $8 for a paperback. But even bargain bookstores have a bargain section, and I’ve managed to get books that were on my wishlist for only $1.
  
  I also have to give a special mention to my favorite bookstore in the world, Powell’s Books in Portland. If you’re ever there, it’s worth a stop. It takes up an entire city block! I’ve never stepped into Powell’s without buying something. It’s that good.
  
• Thrift shops
  
  My area’s thrift stores have a surprisingly good selection of fiction books. You may not find a specific book you’re looking for, but it’s always possible to find something good to read. Value Village’s most expensive books cost $2.99. They also do promotions. Today, I dropped off a donation and got a $3 coupon, and there was also a “buy 4 get 1 free” deal on books. So I got 5 books for less than $10!
  
• Periodic sales
  Okay, I must admit, I am generally too lazy to do this sort of thing. Garage sales fall into this category. Half Price Books, my local used bookstore chain, does a huge warehouse sale every so often. Seattle Public Library does occasional book sales, too. Lots of books for a buck or two.
  

3. Giveaways

It took me quite awhile to find out about this source of books. And it’s incredibly awesome. Books for free? Free books even before they’re released to the public? And no catch?!

Okay, I guess there is a little bit of a catch. You have to enter for each giveaway, and chances are, you won’t win. You increase your chance at winning books by entering more giveaways (which takes time). You can always increase your odds of winning by being active on the site doing the giveaways and writing reviews.

Here are the giveaway sites I’ve found so far:

• GoodReads
  
  My fave so far! I’m already active on this site because this is where I keep track of books I’ve read and books I want to read. There are a lot of reasons to use this site. Virtual book clubs and book challenges, good reviews (I find the ratings much more useful than Amazon ratings), and author Q&A sessions. New giveaways start each day. You have a better chance of winning books if you’re active on the site and review the books you’ve received. I’ve been getting a few books per month through these giveaways. Examples of authors who have advanced reader copies (ARC) given away on this site: Kristen Hannah, Philippa Gregory, and Gregory Maguire.
  
• LibraryThing
  This site is a lot like GoodReads, but I could never get into the interface. There are also limits on how many books you can add to your bookshelf unless you pay a subscription fee. They do a big batch of giveaways once a month. The books are probably similar to the ones on GoodReads. I never won anything, but I also didn’t try very hard or for very long.
  
• NetGalley
  I just found out about this one. Advanced reader copies… but e-books! You fill out your profile, then you browse the available selection and request the ones you want. The publisher decides whether to accept or reject your request. This site is strongly oriented towards book reviewers. It isn’t mandatory to review the books, but some of the publishers won’t even consider you unless you have a book review blog with frequent updates and a number of followers. Not all have those requirements, though.

Hope this is helpful for someone out there! Enjoy the cheap/free books (but save some for me =P)!

Since 2003, I’ve done one of two things in the month of November:

1. International travel (2006: London, Belgium; 2007: Spain; 2010: London, France)

2. National Novel Writing Month (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011)

It’s not part of my master plan or anything, but it has just worked out that way. Both things make November pretty frantic. If I’m writing, I’m using a lot of my time to churn out those 50,000 words. If I’m traveling, I’m busy planning, I’m gone, and suddenly it’s Christmas. But it’s really a good thing. November is the first month where the dreary Seattle winter digs its claws in, and it’s too easy to get lethargic and depressed if there isn’t something to give a little push.

Some reflection on this year’s Nano experience:

1. I’ve gotten my system down better. There have been discussions about what conditions work best for writing. At the beginning of November, thinking back on previous Novembers, I thought that I didn’t have any sort of pattern. Well, it turns out that there are optimal writing conditions for me. I feel like I spent a good deal less time writing this month than I had in previous months because this year’s system worked out so much better for me.

• I write at night. The later, the better. I’m sure some of my co-workers were wondering if I was exchanging some of my work hours for novel hours. Absolutely not. I’d say a very high percentage of my weekday writing occurred between the hours of 12am and 2am. A few years back, I used to do some of my Nano words at lunch in the cafeteria, and I had intentions to try the same this year, but it really didn’t work out. I did a few hundred words at breakfast once. Other than that, words came best when I knew the workday was done.
• I write in sprints. This isn’t a new one. Sandy, Jenni, and I have done Write or Die sprints in the past and found them to be effective. But this year, I have it down to a calculated system. I write in 15 minute sprints and average 450 words or so per sprint. This means if I behave, I can get my daily word count in only an hour of writing.
• I write at home. I definitely did some of my writing outside of my house out of necessity, but I found that home made for the best conditions. In between sprints, I need other things to do, and home is where those things best exist. My cat has been happy about the fact that I’m at home and in a stationary position.

 
(left: my Nano userpic, right: Kitty armrest)

2. I have not been social at all this Nano. I really didn’t intend for it to be this way. Seattle has an AWESOME Nanowrimo community. Normally, I’ll make it to a few write-ins at the beginning of the month and then retreat into my cave for the rest of it, but it just didn’t work out this year. I’m hoping to do better with this next time.

3. I probably shouldn’t be writing fiction. Or I should find a reason for why I’m writing fiction. Each Nano I do, I have this continuous line of thought in my head saying that I am just not a good fiction writer. And it’s totally true. I don’t really have a mission with my writing. I don’t have a story that I’m compelled to tell. I have no desire to work towards publication. And if I’m spending this much of my time to do this sort of writing, I think I need a better reason. It is a fun challenge, and I’ve noticed that writing each day has made me more interested in reading. When I go back and look at previous Nanos, I find little bits of potential. Is it enough? I guess I’ll have to think about it. Maybe next year will be a travel year. =)

4. Staying off Facebook made me look elsewhere for distractions. Not just any distractions… I guess a more accurate term is “sources of information.” I really wanted to read stuff. I finished five books in November (to be fair, I probably started reading two of them before November, but still…). I’ve only read 28 books so far this year, so that’s a lot of books for a month where I was supposed to be spending all of my free time writing. But books weren’t enough, and since I didn’t have Facebook sending me URLs to read, I found myself refreshing my Google Reader, Seattle Times, and Google News a LOT. I imagine there is a more productive way to take advantage of this hunger for information. Will have to exploit it more next time.

5. I’m not saying much about what I’m writing, and I don’t know when I will finish it. The main reason why I’m not talking about my novel is because I don’t like it. However, this doesn’t bother me all that much because I didn’t like the other things I wrote for Nano either, but I’ve had more favorable opinions after leaving the manuscripts alone for a few years and revisiting them. I intend to do the same with this one.

I guess those are my thoughts. Finally, I can sleep before 1am. For anyone out there who’s considering participating in National Novel Writing Month, DO IT! Give it a shot. Aim for the 50,000. It’s possible, no matter what your schedule. And it’s totally worth it.

One in a series of very overdue posts about a Girltrip to Chicago back in October. Jenni, Sandy, and I like to do 1-2 weekend trips each year, alternating between our locations (Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, and Chicago), and this is one of them.

When trying to decide where to eat other than Alinea, I took a look at suggestions from my workplace’s Food & Wine mailing list. Moto was an option, but they weren’t open on Sunday nights. Another restaurant that got a lot of recommendations, if you could get a reservation, was Girl and the Goat. I saw that they had Opentable reservations (a big plus in my book!) so I did a search for Sunday night and saw one spot available at 9pm. So I took it. You know how perceived scarcity increases perceived value? Well, when I saw that there were no other weekend reservations available for many weeks out, I wanted to eat at the restaurant even more.

Really, I didn’t know that much about the restaurant beforehand other than the good reviews. Sandy did, though. Girl and the Goat is the restaurant of Stephanie Izard, the winner of the fourth season of Top Chef. I don’t have television service and I’ve never watched Top Chef, but Sandy watched that season and the chef impressed her enough to give her quite a bit of interest in the restaurant. The ambiance at the restaurant was decidedly different from Alinea. Things seemed more dark, earthy, and casual, reflected both in the décor and the food.

 
left: chickpeas fritters . eggplant-tomatillo caponata . crave brother's mozzarella
right: steamed mussels . goat sausage croutons . cilantro . caesar

The best way to experience the menu at Girl at the Goat is to share as many of the small plates of food as you can fit in your stomach. We tried seven and were completely full at the end. One of the first dishes to arrive was the chickpea fritters. It definitely didn’t match what I had pictured as a chickpea fritter, but the dish was delicious, one we all agreed was probably the best of the night. The mussels themselves were just okay (I’m spoiled with Washington mussels), but their accompaniments were good.

 
left: sauteed green beans . fish sauce vinaigrette . cashews
right: roasted cauliflower . pickled peppers . pine nuts . mint

Both the green beans and the cauliflower came highly recommended by online reviews and our waitress. We loved the cauliflower, but the green beans weren’t as tasty as the typical garlic preparation we were used to from Chinese restaurants. I did like the cashews and the acidity of the vinaigrette as a nice change from the typical, but I’d still go with the garlic preparation if I had to choose.

 
left: confit goat belly . bourbon butter . lobster n' crab . fennel
right: grilled pork ribs . tomatillo-mushroom slaw . grilled scallion vinaigrette

They say to come to Girl and the Goat with an open mind. Makes sense. After all, the restaurant has “goat” in the name, pictures of a cartoon goat all over the restaurant, and a good half dozen dishes that contain goat, a meat that isn’t that standard in American cuisine. We took a “goat lite” approach, getting little tastes of it through the goat sausage with the mussels and a small portion of goat belly. It won’t say the experience elevated my love of the meat to duck and pork level, but it was still good to eat. The pork ribs smelled delicious and came easily off the bone.

wood oven roasted pig face . sunny side egg . tamarind . cilantro . potato stix

Remember the open mind thing? All over reviews on Yelp, people universally exclaimed, “Get the pig face!” Of course, we had to get the pig face. We aren’t extremely squeamish eaters, but once you hear “pig face,” it’s hard to get the image of a pig’s head staring at you out of your head. Of course, that’s not what the dish actually is. It’s just a piece of meat from the face (hidden under the egg in the picture) – a rich, sweet cut of meat. The idea behind the dish is “breakfast for dinner,” and I definitely agree that it’s a must try dish at Girl and the Goat.

Great dining experience, very reasonable total bill, and the good thing about the late reservation was that we got free parking! They really ARE very full. Make weekend reservations months in advance or walk in and eat at the bar. Stephanie Izard wasn’t there when we went (she actually made a stop in Seattle not long after I got back), but you can probably see her in the open kitchen if you pick a day she’s there.

It’s Day 7 of National Novel Writing Month, and since I just returned from a weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, I’m behind on my word count. And so my typing should be going towards that or towards the job that pays me so I can write a novel or attend a Shakespeare Festival. But I find that I have other thoughts that want to be written. And not really an audience to write them to. These posts don’t belong on Facebook. Most people don’t read Livejournal anymore. And I’ve deserted this blog so much that I’d be surprised if anyone checks it anymore. Oh well, thoughts to a mystery audience, that works just as well.

 
(right: fall colors in Jacksonville, left: historical charm in Jacksonville)

It’s been a week of what I can best describe as “passion overload.” I love this sort of feeling. It’s why I spend as much time as possible at the movie theaters when SIFF comes around each year. It’s why I drive almost 1000 miles twice a year to see 2-3 plays in 24 hours at OSF. It’s why I squeeze in full day hikes to gorgeous places as many times as I can during Washington’s limited summer season. It’s why I love the Seattle Nanowrimo community.

So.. the first week of Nano, two plays at OSF, lots of reading and plotting… I’m full of energy of people creating things, faraway worlds, and umm, the thrill of political assassination? I get into work today, sit down, and I am given a harsh reminder that my life and most of my time isn’t full of passion, visions, and creations. Running Powershell commandlets was so far out of the world my head was in that it yanked me immediately back to reality. Hello, dreamer. It’s time to wake up.

Every once in awhile, I find myself wishing that my life was completely different. (And oooh, that makes me sooo original.) Today is one of those days. Today I wish I could be an artist, a musician, a writer, even some fringe technical whatever in a creative production. The thoughts won’t last, of course, but for now, it’s nice to have them.

(banners outside of the New Theatre, photo credit: DK)

Hearing “Beware the Ides of March” yanks me back to high school English immediately. Probably the only thing that’s more effective in this area would be “sucks to your assmar,” but I don’t anticipate seeing a stage production of Lord of the Flies anytime in the near future. (OSF is kind of doing Medea in “Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella” next season so I might get to experience this regression again)

(OSF’s production of Julius Caesar, photo credit: Jenny Graham)

Julius Caesar was powerful. Even before we entered the theatre, it was clear that the production was a bold statement, from the very much talked about casting of a female (Vilma Silva) to the provocative banners along the entrance way and within the lobbies of the theatre featuring victims of political assassination and conflicting perceptions of them. Stark, minimalist set, with lots of black, tan, white, and bright red blood. Dramatic changes between dark and focused, bright lighting and silence and sudden, loud noise added to the suspense. Highlights for me were Caesar’s bloody death and haunting presence after her death, the very effective persuasions of Cassius, and Mark Antony’s famous “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech that really showed the audience how he swayed people from seeing the assassins as heroes to murderers. Yeah, okay, I should have re-read the play before I saw this. It’s been awhile. But even though I couldn’t remember who Metellus Cimber was or didn’t realize until afterwards that Calpurnia was missing, this production still had me completely engrossed. I’ve been a huge fan of Danforth Comins (Mark Antony) after seeing him in All’s Well that Ends Well and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Vilma Silva (Caesar) and Gregory Linington (Cassius) have been at OSF for a long time, but I’ve somehow managed to not see any of their performances until now. Hope I see more in the future!

Also saw The Imaginary Invalid, which completely lived up to my expectations of being continuous LOL. Really entertaining and a nice balance for the not-so-funny Julius Caesar, but it’s not something I’ll be musing about for years to come or anything like that.

 
(left: statues in Jacksonville, right: ducks in Lithia Park)

Rest of the trip: My friends Yamini and Nithish came along for this one (and they say they enjoyed it enough to do a repeat next year). All the driving time doesn’t allow for much extra stuff, but we did get to do some tax-free outlet mall shopping, Powell’s browsing in Portland, and exploring in Jacksonville. I love the Jacksonville Mercantile and that was my motivation for that stop. I was in great need of more aged balsamic vinegar, and now I’ve developed a new addiction to their toasted onion avocado oil, thanks to the free samples.

Looking forward to the 2012 season, and until then… back to the Powershell commandlets.

Distance: 10 miles
Elevation gain: 2800 feet
Trailhead directions and more information on WTA.

If you’ve ever hiked with me before, you’ve probably noticed that I never lead the group. Part of the reason is because I like to hang back to take pictures. But the more important reason is that I have no idea where I am going. More on that later.

October is probably my favorite month to hike. Fall colors make up for the lack of flowers, there are sometimes berries to eat, it isn’t hot outside, and most of the crowds and idiots are gone. This weekend, I was tempted by some crazy hiking ideas, but reports of snow in the Teanaways made me give that up. Rampart Ridge has been on my list for awhile, and I really wanted to take the primitive shortcut way in (via Lake Lillian) this fall, but it was only going to happen if I had a navigator with me. So I hiked the Rachel Lake trail.

 
(left: waterfalls on Box Canyon Creek, right: fall colors)

I hiked the Rachel Lake trail last summer. If you don’t remember my trip report, I think I spent most of it complaining about crowds and a couple trying to argue that it was okay for their unleashed dog to trample the wilderness and practically knock me over in the process. Fortunately, those people are gone. There were enough people around that I felt okay going solo, but they were spread out so I got sufficient solitude. It also helped that the biggest party was a group of 3.

SLR people who love their glossy waterfall pics: this is a great trail for those. Box Canyon Creek follows the trail most of the way up to Rachel Lake, and you get a lot of glimpses of little falls. But you better be dedicated in your love for creeks because this trail is all about creeks… you’re crossing them (bring poles) and walking through them a LOT. Seriously, like half of this trail is steep, rooty creek. It’s rough and exhausting both ways. On the plus side, there are things to see along the way – the waterfalls, Hibox Mountain views, and fall foliage (or wildflowers in the summer).

(Hibox Mountain)

Rachel Lake is really pretty on a day with sunlight – you get those bright turquoise shades in the shallow edges. It’s tempting to stay there, but it’s worth it to keep going up. In the series of social trails leading to campsites before you hit the lake, there’s a sign that says “Trail ->” pointing to a trail going to the right of the lake. This is the one you want to take you up above the lake to Rampart Ridge. From the lake, Rampart Ridge looks pretty high up, but the hike up wasn’t bad at all. The trail is in decent condition and you get nice views down at Rachel Lake as you go up. At the top, you get a choice: left to Rampart Lakes or right to Lila Lake. The Lila Lake direction is also the way to go for Alta Mountain. Next time.

 
(left: NW Forest Pass at Rachel Lake, right: tarn on Rampart Ridge)

So about an hour into my hike, I realized I had done something stupid. I was using my Forest Pass as a bookmark in my hiking book so I could easily flip to the directions while I was driving. Unfortunately, I forgot to stop using it as a bookmark. I realized this about an hour into the hike, which was too late to turn back. I figured there was a good chance they wouldn’t be ticketing that lot that day, but just in case, I took a bunch of pictures of my pass in front of landmarks on the trail so I could try to talk my way out of a ticket if I did get one (I didn’t).

After walking on Rampart Ridge for a little while, I started seeing tarns surrounded by beautiful autumn foliage. Social trails went all over the place. It was pretty, but I was a little afraid that these were the Rampart Lakes, which would be disappointing because they were so small. But they weren’t – it’s just some bonus stuff to explore. The lakes were just a little further, and they were definitely lakes, though small enough to walk around.

 
(left: tarn, right: creek and social trails)

A cold sandwich doesn’t really cut it when it’s 30-whatever degrees up there. I hauled in my Ms. Bento container for a warm lunch of chili, green beans, and bread. Up in the sky, there were about seven hang gliders enjoying the nice weather. Other trip reports have mentioned them, so there must be a known launch spot nearby. Oh, and despite this being opening weekend of some hunting season, gunshots weren’t really an issue. I passed a few camps on my way in, but it was nothing close to the mess that is Teanaway Road at this time of year.

 
(left: hang gliders in the sky, right: Ms. Bento lunch)

After lunch, I wandered around the lakes, trying to explore all of them (I think I hit 4 of the 5). Some of the best views were from the less accessible sides of the lakes, and I got a few tasty huckleberries along the way, too. I could definitely have spent more time leisurely walking around, but it was already 2pm and I wanted to be out of there well before dark. Unfortunately, I was on the other side of a lake that turned out to be larger than I expected. A series of wrong decisions in the interest of finding the shortest route got me onto an island in one of the lakes. Yeah, I know, right? Two options: 1) Go back a long way. 2) Take off boots and walk through shallow but freezing water for about 10 feet. Man, it was cold. I don’t recommend this.

Anyway, social trails really aren’t my friends. I love views and when there’s a trail that goes somewhere, I know there’s something to see, and I’ll follow it. When there’s a whole network of these, there’s no way I’m going to be able to retrace my steps. My path from Rampart Lakes to the trail down to Rachel Lake had very little resemblance to my path in – I got a lot more trees in my face on the way out. The lake traversal disaster cost me more time than I expected, and going down the creek section of the Rachel Lake trail also took a long time. I ended up making it out before dark, but only with about 30 minutes to spare.

(one of the Rampart Lakes)

I’d love to spend more time on Rampart Ridge, though. There are some lovely campsites up there, and I even saw a sign indicating that there was a toilet. This was a very nice hike to end my hiking season this year, since snow is coming and I’m not as comfortable with unpredictable, potentially dangerous weather. I’ll be back in 2012 for more hiking!