Month: April 2023

Snoqualmie Point

I got out today to Stan’s Overlook. I left the car to go up the trail at 7:30 am and got back a bit after 10 – but I detoured to Snoqualmie Point Park, which is right next to the parking lot. The picture above is the view from the best Sno Point view point. Nice! A perfect place to take non-hikers and out-of-town visitors who want a beautiful mountain view but are not inclined to hike on a mountain.

About 4.7 miles, 1,400 feet of elevation gain, a good morning workout. I saw no one on the way up and about or 7 people on the way down.

Near Stan’s is an old section of a logged tree. It was a big one in its day:

Logging Artifact

Snoqualmie Valley

For the second time in the last week I planned to bike the Palouse-to-Cascades trail east from the Cedar Falls parking lot. And for the second time it was raining as I got to North Bend. This time I detoured to Duvall, through which I had just driven, and headed out on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.

I have a new bike seat and it is a little bit more comfortable than the old one. But, after about 45 minutes, I was again getting uncomfortable. I will see if I can get some foam for extra padding and try that.

I like the biking – this is my second outing – but I hate to have to cut it short (only 7.5 miles today) because of a sore butt.

Tradition Lake

As of this year I am a volunteer Trail Ambassador with the Washington Trails Association (WTA) and today was the first time I attended an official event. (back in March I did a training exercise at downtown Seattle’s REI store). The occasion was Earth Day at Beaver Lake in Sammamish.

I carpooled with one of my fellow ambassadors and we met at the E. Sunset Way Trailhead. I got there a couple of hours early and did a little Tiger Mountain hike; thus the photo of Tradition Lake, above.

The Earth Day event was fun. Here is our booth:

Our WTA Booth

There was a guy in a suit taking pictures with the kids:

Love the Suit

And a woman on stilts was making bird calls for the kids:

Does NOT Look Easy

Lots of kids and dogs. Quite a few people stopped by our booth to learn about the WTA. It was a super-fun event and I sure had fun. And, of course, I actually felt useful for a change. I am looking forward to my next WTA event, which is in May up in Bellingham. This one is an all-day affair (we only did three hours today) and I am sure the time will fly by, as it did today.

View from the Ledge

I got out to the Middle Fork today to do Garfield Ledges. I parked at the Middle Fork parking lot at about 7:40 am. There was one other car. When I got back to the car about 2 hours later the lot was almost full. And it is a big lot.

I took the connector trail to the Garfield Ledges trail head in order to avoid the massive potholes just after the bridge over the Taylor River. Every trip report I read for Garfield or anything beyond complains about the potholes. I just add the little .5 hike along the connector trail, flat, wide, beautiful 2nd growth forest. I mean, I am out there to hike, why skimp on the mileage?

The Garfield Ledges trail is also very nice and also in the forest:

Forest

On the way back I took a detour through the Middle Fork campground (closed to camping right now) and zigged up to the CCC Trail.

Exactly four miles on the button, nothing amazing but a good workout and a fun outing. I saw no one on the way up to the ledges, six people going up as I was going down, and no one near the campground. Sweet.

Track below.

Track

Former Seminary

It was a nice day today but I didn’t feel like a long drive so I headed to Saint Edward State Park. This park is built on the site of a former seminary (see above) that is now a hotel.

I did not bring my Garmin but the loop I did was probably about 4.5 miles. I got to go up a couple of steep trails along the way so it was a decent workout.

The basic topography of this place is that the seminary was built on a tall bluff overlooking Lake Washington. The trails mostly go up and down the bluff at various angles. From near the bottom, when you look up, it is like you are in a bowl:

Looking Up

It is a fun place and a nice change from driving into the mountains. But those mountains – they call.

Mini-Fall

I got out today, ahead of the rain, on a loop I did a couple of weeks ago. I parked at the Teneriffe parking lot and went up the Teneriffe Trail to the Roaring Creek Trail, turned right on the Talus Loop Trail, and, when that trail met the Teneriffe Trail, I went back down to the car. Just under 5 miles, not a huge amount of elevation gain but a decent workout.

Below is one of the actual talus fields on the Talus Loop Trail.

Actual Talus

A fun hike, we’ll see what happens next week.

Track

I did a local hike today, parking at Bothell Landing. I went thru Blyth Park, up Norway Hill to the Tolt Pipeline Trail, then down the Woodinville-Juanita road to 100th, to the other end of Blyth Park, etc. I walked over to the library to drop off then pick up a book.

Norway Hill is a nice little jaunt:

About 7 miles, a fun outing and not much of a drive.