Camping at Wynoochee Lake

Back in January (before I changed my hiking list several more times), I made plans to camp at Lake Wynoochee with some friends and then hike the loop around the lake. I had never heard of Lake Wynoochee, but I figured, hey, it's camping at a lake and even if it's not that great of a lake, we are still going to be camping, so it's going to be awesome. And it was!

The lake is tucked back into the Olympic National Forest, about 34 miles from the nearest town of Montesano. The lake was created when they dammed the Wynoochee River in 1972 to provide flood control for the city of Aberdeen, but wasn't used for hydroelectric power until 1994. The Coho Campground on the shores of the lake was created for picnicking and camping.

I had never been there before, but I picked a site that was a walk-in at the far end of the walk-in sites, where I hoped that it would be quieter and less traveled, and it definitely was. The site was huge since it's capacity was for 12 people, but it was perfect for the 4 of us. The site is at the end of a short paved trail that made transferring our gear rather easy, although we made a mental note to bring a hand cart for the cooler since that was the heaviest item.

The lake had a nice little beach and swimming area where we lounged for several hours on both days. I waded in a little bit since the water was clear and I could see the bottom. Mark swam out to the line while Tonya enjoyed laying on her neon float. Kids and adults were swimming and barbequeing, but it wasn't very loud. After dinner, we enjoyed a nice sunset stroll to the dam and around the campground, then finished off the night with smores and a sleepy fireplace circle.



The next morning, Mark and I slept in while Tina wandered around and Tonya went fishing. All that talk about fishing has made me really want to get my fishing license again! We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast with lots of coffee for them and tea for me, then headed out on our hike. The hike around the lake is a long 16.5 miles, but I only wanted to do 3 miles to the first creek crossing since it was already getting hot out. We found where the other walk-in campground is, but decided our spot was much better. Soon after that, the trail became rather overgrown with salmonberries, salal and unfortunately, nettles. All of us got hit, but we later soothed our legs in the lake.

Check out wasn't until 2 pm, which was nice, but even after we packed up, we didn't want to leave. So we lounged at the lake a bit more. I suffered from some heat exhaustion, and was perfectly happy sitting in the shade while the other 3 relaxed in the sun. We finally packed up around 4 pm and headed home. We stopped at the Ranchhouse BBQ for some dinner and it was oh my gosh delicious. I had the brisket sandwich with garlic fries and beans, and split an ear of corn with Mark. I definitely recommend the place if you are on your way to the coast and need a bite to eat just outside of Olympia.

Overall, it was a great camping trip and I want to go back to that lake again next year. I have the serious camping bug and now I am planning as many camping trips as I can!

Where do you like to go camping?

Vegan Buttery Biscuits

Biscuits are notorious for being difficult to make. I don't see why, as I think they are fairly easy to make, as long as you measure everything out exactly. Making them vegan, however, makes for a whole new challenge. How do you make them light and fluffy without any milk or butter? My solution was to use a combination of vegan margarine and vegetable shortening. This gives them that buttery taste, plus the fluffy lightness.

These are the perfect breakfast biscuit, great with some homemade strawberry or raspberry jam.

Vegan Buttery Biscuits
makes 10 biscuits

2 c. AP flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter or vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
2 tbsp vegetable shortening
2/3 c. almond milk

Preheat oven to 450 F. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until butter is the size of peas or smaller. Pour all of the milk into the batter and mix together using a fork until just moistened. (There will still be some dry ingredients that don't get mixed in and that's ok).

Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 to 5 times just to combine the dough a little better. Roll the dough out to 1/2" thick then cut dough with a 2.5" cookie cutter. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet with room between them and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool then enjoy with your favorite jam.

Recipes adapted from Menus in Minutes


What do you do with the leftover dough? I usually cut it into small pieces then roll them in sugar and cinnamon and bake for 5 minutes to make little mini biscuit bites.

Cilantro Roasted Potatoes

I love roasted spuds. Who doesn't? I also love to find new recipes to give them a little extra kick. I came across a parsley buttered roasted potato recipe, which I thought sounded delicious, but I wanted to do something a little different. I had cilantro in my fridge, so voila! Cilantro roasted potatoes. They were delicious and perfect with a nice fillet of grilled salmon. Yum!

Cilantro Roasted Potatoes
serves 4

1 lb. baby red potatoes
1/4 c. olive oil, split in 2
salt and pepper
1 large handful cilantro, chopped

Heat oven to 450 F. Place potatoes in a microwaveable dish, then microwave for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in a ceramic baking dish, pour in half of the olive oil (2 tbsp) and add 1/2 tsp salt. Add potatoes, shake pan to get potatoes to roll and coat with oil, then bake in oven for 15 minutes or until crispy on the outside. Remove from oven and pour the other half of the olive oil over (2 tbsp) and sprinkle over potatoes. Shake pan to get potatoes to roll and coat with oil and cilantro. Serve hot.

Like this recipe? Check out my cookbook, The Spring Kitchen, available on Amazon in print and kindle formats.

Greek Chicken

It's been hot here lately and so I haven't been in much of a cooking mood. I either need to get my cooking done before lunchtime or just make salads galore. How hot is it in your neck of the woods? Hopefully everyone is staying cool!

On one of those hot days last week, I made some Greek chicken earlier in the day and then enjoyed it for lunch and dinner. It was a really easy and flavorful dish that I definitely want to try again, but with chickpeas for a vegetarian version. I added extra veggies to mine since I love onions, peppers and zucchini. The lemon juice brightened the flavors while the feta added a nice saltiness to it that I love on a hot day. On a cooler day, I suggest serving this over rice, but it was definitely delicious without.

Greek Chicken with Peppers, Onions and Zucchini
serves 4

2 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 sweet onion, cut in half then sliced
1 zucchini, sliced thinly
1/4 tsp dried oregano
juice of 1/4 lemon
feta cheese, for sprinkling
cooked rice or pasta, to serve

Cut chicken breasts into halves lengthwise, then pound to a 1/2" thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil, then cook chicken for 4-5 minutes, flipping once. Chicken should be slightly browned on each side and cooked thoroughly. Remove from pan and set aside, keeping warm.

Add garlic cloves to the pan and saute for 30 seconds. Add bell pepper and onion strips and cook for 7-9 minutes, until onions begin to brown and peppers become crisp tender. Add zucchini and oregano during last 5 minutes of cooking. Be sure to toss the veggies frequently to avoid burning. Add lemon juice and toss, then pour onto a platter. Top with chicken, then sprinkle feta cheese over the top. Serve with cooked rice or pasta.

30 Days 100 Miles Update

I'm halfway through my challenge and not even a quarter of the way done with my miles. I really need to up my mileage! I have also had a lot of days where I didn't do any walking and that needs to change. If anything, I need to up my mileage to over 5 miles a day to meet my goal. And that's a lot! 

So, my question to myself is do I start to count my mileage from running, spinning or ellipticalling? (Is that even a word?) Or do I just push myself to get close to my goal? Do I push myself to reach my goal and then exceed?

The critical part of me wants to just quit now because that part of me doesn't think I will be able to do it. It's that inner super critical voice, saying you aren't good enough, saying you might as well quit and sit on the couch for days.

The perfectionist in me says that I should just push myself to get that goal no matter how hard it is. But is it worth it in the end, to push yourself so hard?

The realist in me wants to just strive to hit the goal, but if I don't make it, at least I got close and tried, right? Plus, 5 miles a day isn't exactly ideal, especially with the fact that it's summer and I don't do well in the heat.

So what am I going to do? I think I am going to start with keeping my 3 miles a day like in my original goal, and then try again next month to get to the 100.

Which side are you most like? How do you deal with it?