Last month’s update feels like it was a lifetime ago. July was such a ridiculously busy month. Here are a few things that went down:

• I turned 35
• Weekend trip to the coast for our 14th anniversary
• Failed at finishing Camp Nanowrimo
• Did the next round of edits for the Village Books Anthology
• Slipped into a writer’s slump
• and went on some hikes

I’m sure there were more things that I’m forgetting as well.

The Hikes

Let’s start with the hikes. I went on four of them last month. The first was the Ridley Creek Trail. This one was crazy. It is an unmaintained trail which starts near the headwaters of the Middle Fork Nooksack river and clambors up the southwest base of Mt Baker, eventually leading to a fire lookout at Park Butte. Apparently this is the long way to get to the fire lookout. At three hours in and around 1,500 feet of elevation gain in dense forest I turned around when coming to a small gully I would need to climb down than back out of. I was already pretty tired, and I still needed to make my way back to the car. I later learned that I was only another half mile from the end of the trail, but it would’ve been another two miles to the fire lookout anyways. I plan to attempt the shorter/easier route to the Park Butte fire lookout very soon.

I also hiked the local Rock Trail, here just south of Bellingham. This is a newer path that may as well be called the ‘Mile of Stairs’. Because that is what it is. It is one of the more interesting trails in the near vicinity that I’ve been on though. There are some massive sandstone rock cliffs and massive boulders that the trail winds around. At the bottom I made way around the back side of Lost Lake. I wanted to get to a waterfall marked on my map. I was a bit disappointed when I got there, since it was only a trickle running off from the lake. It was an extremely quite hike; I only saw a handful of other folks out there. Two of them were a couple of mountain bikers taking a quick skinny dip in the lake (that’s where I decided to head back).

The last hike was only a couple days ago. I attempted Heliotrope Ridge again. This is one that I’ve tried three times in the past, each time I was not able to make it to the end, which is an overlook view of the Coleman Glacier. The first couple times I was unable to get past the last couple creek crossings due to dangerous currents. The third time I took my son with me, and he dunked his boot and soaked his socks half way in. But this time, I made it! Those last creek crossings were a bit scary though. I used some water shoes to get past one, and on the last I dunked and soaked my socks. Luckily I brought a spare pair (which were waterproof) for the hike back. The image at the top is the view from the Coleman Lunch Bluff.

Celebrations

Yep, I’m now 35 years old. I’m not sure what exactly that means for me. I guess I’m finally getting to middle age. Do I have to accept that I’m “old”? Nah, that’s still years away. Right?

Also, Melissa and I celebrated our 14 wedding anniversary. For this we spent a weekend out in Forks, WA. We didn’t go out there for the vampires, but we went instead for the coastal beaches. On the way we swung by Hurricane Ridge, north of Port Angeles, as well. We drove up through the clouds, which cleared away at the last moment revealing the snow clad Alpine-like Olympic Mountains. The beaches the next day were awesome as well. We hiked down to Second Beach, just south of La Push on a Saturday morning. It’s a fairly short hike. The only downside is the massive piles of drift logs you have to clamor over at the end. Later that night we watched a fireworks show launched from La Push for Quileute Days from Rialto Beach. It was an awesome experience.

Writing

My writing ventures have really tanked this month. I just was not inspired most of the time. I’ve mostly cut out photography, though I do still love going on photo hikes. I’ve also almost completely cut out television and movies. This month career stuff has bled outside of work hours a bit, and the anthology edits took up quite a bit of time.

I’m still working to find a successful balance between family, career, writing, etc.

This all being said, Camp Nano in July was a failure for me. I got about 4000 words in at the beginning, but then I just stalled out. I think I will still carry on with the project, but I have some doubts about it and need to spend some time developing the idea. I need to evaluate that I truly am writing the things I want to write. Am I writing the things that I would want to read? This is a tough question, and one I need to make sure the answer to is ‘yes’.

This Month

This month is much more quiet. I should have a little more time to come back to my writing and dig myself out of that rut. I will also, most likely, go on a few more hikes and take a few more pictures. I am also catching up on a handful of reading. It is important, as a writer, to always be reading. And, I need to finish my final draft for submission to the Village Books Anthology. I think my story for this is the most polished one I’ve ever written. A ton of work has gone into it in order to get it to this point. And it does still have a couple warts, but I should be able to smooth them out. I’m hoping that it will get voted into the anthology. (Wish me luck!)

Until next time, you all have an amazing month.