Month: December 2018

My plan today was to hike up Margaret’s Way and then go to the West Peak but when I got to the Chybinski Loop (a short distance from the West Peak trail, and the top of Margaret’s Way) the sky opened up. So I put my jacket back on and turned around.

However, less than a mile down the rain stopped and I decided to just keep on going, rather than re-hike back up. By the time I got back to the car the weather was pretty decent.

However, when I got home I saw I had missed a call from an old and dear friend. I called him back and he shared the awful news that his 42 year-old son had died of a heart attack in the days before Christmas.

My heart goes out to him and his wife and their daughter and – well, everyone who knew the lad, who was a wonderful guy, the kind of person who would light up a room.

At any moment, just how far away is tragedy?

Everyone else was at the outlet mall so Derek and I did a hike. Actually, we had planned a fairly challenging and snowy hike but Derek wound up having to work through about 1pm so we changed plans.

We parked at the High Point parking lot and went a short way on the Bus Trail then immediately took the Nook Trail up. We tacked over to the Section Line, down that one then hooked up to the other end of the Bus Trail and came back that way, with a detour to check out the water level on Tradition Lake. (it is very low)

Nice hike, we had a good workout. We both love the forest; many of the trees along the way wear heavy shawls of moss.

I hiked up the Rattlesnake Mountain Old Trail with Ken, Greg, Mark, and David to East Peak where we turned around and went back down. About 8 miles round trip.

I brought the camera but frankly forgot about it. But we didn’t visit any of the view points along the way, and it didn’t occur to me to snap a photo of the radio equipment (if that’s what it is – some sort of tower) on top of East Peak.

So, a good hike, nice workout, very little snow up there. A fun way to start the day.

Solo hike today.  I started on the “new” Rattlesnake Ledge trail and quickly took the “old” trail.  I left the old for the new at the first intersection, so I cut off about .4 mile and added some fairly steep terrain.

At the trail head is a memorial to a teenager who died last March – Eddie Petrik is his name – when he and his friends got up to the ledge but it was dangerously icy.  He slid off as his friends watched in horror and was killed in the fall.  Tragic.  A grim reminder that hiking around the mountains can be dangerous.

For me the hike was fairly uneventful.  I went up, noticed how low the lake was and then went down, and walked into the middle of the lake basin, where, this spring, the fisherman will be in their boats, casting away.

I was alone on the ledge with only the hungry birds for company.  I didn’t break out a snack so they looked at me with contempt.

A fun way to start the day.  On the way home I stopped at Jill’s house to drop off her iPad, which was left over the weekend when the kids, who stayed over on Saturday, left with their parents on Sunday.  When I came in, Camden was “hiding” under his sister’s bed, a clear invitation to start a game of hide-and-seek. 

I did my usual Section Line conditioning hike today – forecast was for a dry morning and so it was.  Nice to get out. 

Sunrise is so late these days I had to put on the headlamp for the first 20 minutes or so. 

But it beats not hiking, that’s for sure.

The plan today was to hike up to Mason Lake but immediately off the freeway the service road was closed.  We did a quick re-calc and since Annette Lake was only one exit farther east, and a trail head fairly close to the freeway (rather than the 3 miles to Ira Spring, the trail that goes to Mason Lake) we did a quick u-turn and easily made it to the Annette Lake trail head.

This is a wonderful hike, even better in the snow:

Awesome views of Humpback Mountain to the west:

Annette Lake is surrounded by mountains.  The name of the most prominent escaped us in the moment but a quick check of the CalTopo map says it is Abiel Peak:

All in all a great hike with David and Mark.  What an excellent way to start a Saturday!  And on the way home I picked up the grandkids who are filling the house with energy even as I type.

I hate this new Word Press version – anyone else instantly loathe and despise this new version?

Anyway, I hiked to Dirty Harry’s Balcony today with Ken and Wendy and Mark.  The Harry of ‘Dirty Harry’ was a long-ago trucker who drove a logging truck up very steep roads hauling logs up and down local peaks. 

The hike all the way up to Dirty Harry’s Peak is supposed to be a tough one and I look forward to doing it next year when the snow is gone.  But already this year the snow on the peaks above about 3,000 feet (currently) is pretty deep and on hikes that are not all that busy, it might be tough to find the trail.

No snow today except a brief little flurry near the Balcony.

Back down, near the trail head I looked up and south to see McClellan Butte:

This hike is only a bit more than 4 miles and about 1,200 feet of elevation gain, so fairly mild, but the trail, which has been upgraded by WTA volunteers (thanks!) in recent years is very nice and it was a fun day.

My plan today was to have lunch with two Boeing friends down in Renton so I hiked on Squak Mountain because the trip from the May Valley Road parking lot to Renton is pretty easy.

It was a beautiful sunny day, a bit chilly but very nice.  I saw a few people, including a trail runner with a friendly dog but mostly had the trail to myself.  I went up through the forest (May Valley Loop Trail), past the fireplace and up to the Central Peak.  I took the South Access Road down.

Totally uneventful but a decent workout.  I am thinking of doing Poo Poo Point via the long route on Thursday, as the weather is supposed to once again be nice.

The summit of Central Peak is not the most scenic:

I usually don’t bring the camera for this conditioning hike but it was still in my backpack today after yesterday’s outing with Derek and the kids.  Just having the camera made me a bit more observant about the forest and the trail.

For example, the little view at a particular switchback.  And the interesting hill just west of the Adventure Trail, near where it intersects the High School Trail:

Or the tiny waterfall along the Section Line:

I am trying very hard to average 3 hikes a week because I absolutely have to get into really good shape for the trip to Ireland next September.

Derek and I are both pumped about it.

Did a little Tiger Mountain hike today with Derek, Camden, and Finley.  Fun!

The first trail we hit was the Swamp Trail.  When you hike the Swamp Trail you can read a story about a little critter named Zoey who is dared to go into the swamp, home of an alleged Swamp Monster.  You can see Finley standing next to one of the ‘chapters’ in the story.

Had a great time, at each story board Finley read the text for Camden’s benefit.  It was about a 4.5 mile loop, fairly level, but the woods are really nice there and it is always great to get out on the trail with this crew.

Tomorrow I will do a solo hike, probably a conditioning hike on the Section Line.