As the days get shorter and the rain comes more frequently, it's time to welcome Winter. 

Personally, I LOVE Winter and am looking forward to so many things. To wrap up the previous season(s) I'm sharing few fun pictures from various camping and hiking adventures this year. 

MAY

May was when we first arrived in Washington, so we only did some day hikes. It was nice to be back and warm up our hiking legs amongst lush green trees and the changing colors of spring.

WA hikes, May-8 WA hikes, May-20 WA hikes, May-11
WA Hikes, May-29

Oh, and of course, we got to bring our bestest puppy Baloo on some hikes on Forest Service land (don't worry, Park people)!

JULY

I'm sure that we did something in June...maybe...but also probably not since I don't have pictures of it.

Anyway, July was all about mountains and the coast!

WA Hikes, July, Taylor&Abbey-8 WA Hikes, July, Taylor&Abbey-37 WA Hikes, July, Taylor&Abbey-41

WA Hikes, July, Taylor&Abbey-43

Parker looking like an ad for an outdoorsy sunglasses company. Me with the rip on my shorts from sliding on sharp rocks. 

I'm tired just looking at these pictures, but it's hard to beat those views. And dipping into a mountain lake on a hard day is pretty prime as well. 
WA Hikes, July, Taylor&Abbey-70 WA Hikes, July, Taylor&Abbey-100

WA Hikes, July-12

Onto the coast! I found one of my new favorite campsites, we saw the smallest bit of a seal, and I read and painted. The bonus of not camping in the high country is that we could have a bonfire- which is always a plus for me. WA Hikes, July-36 WA Hikes, July-47 WA Hikes, July-57

AUGUST

Cedar Lake is one of our favorite spots in the park, and I think it's easy to see why.

WA Hikes, August-28 WA Hikes, August-34 WA Hikes, August-40 WA Hikes, August-38
WA Hikes, August-70

SEPTEMBER

WA Hikes, Sept-4

 My last backpacking trip of this year was to Lake LaCrosse. I'd never been on this trail or to this lake. Parker convinced me to go because the fall colors were gonna be great and there was talk of possible bear sightings. 

To start, here's a fun bridge!

WA Hikes, Sept-13

This was our first bear sighting! As we rounded a corner that looked down on thelast half mile to the lake we saw one adult slowly grazing on berries. 

She wasn't too concerned with us, but moved out of our way when she heard us coming. There were also a few smaller cubs in the area; you can see one in the mid-ground on the left as it scampered away.
WA Hikes, Sept-28 WA Hikes, Sept-40
WA Hikes, Sept-41
 

Most of this trip was watching the bears roam around and admiring the fall colors, as promised.

I even got to watch a bear swim across the lake!

WA Hikes, Sept-46 WA Hikes, Sept-45
WA Hikes, Sept-52

Thanks for checking in! See you soon for more Winter activities.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my dear sister, Ellie! She's currently being cool in Spain, but you can still send her a "Hi, how are ya?!" on her socials!

If you're interested, check out her  blog, Mensajes De Madrid, to read about her life in Spain for the next few months.