Author: DJHikers

I got out to Cedar Butte today. Beautiful sunny day. I saw no one until I started coming down, and then only 5 people all the way back to the car.

This is a nice hike, as always. I took the steep route up and the not-so-steep route down. The forest is beautiful the entire way but this little stand:

Is almost spooky because of all the moss. No big deal, a conditioning hike, but I am ramping up for summer. I am driving Brittany and Dean to Dean’s doctor tomorrow (it is in Seattle and Britt is not a fan of driving in Seattle – not to mention the fact that Dean and his car seat are heavy and it is a long way from garage to Doc’s office on the 8th floor). But I am thinking of taking the bike out to the PTC on Wednesday – I got a new, and hopefully softer, seat cover – and I will see how far I can go.

I love summer and it is on the way.

I pulled Brittany’s old bike out of storage, hauled it to a local bike shop for a tune-up and, today, I wrestled it into my car, drove out by Rattlesnake Lake and headed north on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. I now have an extra outdoor option and it is excellent.

I did not carry a GPS along but, looking at the map, it appears I did about 10 miles, out and back. It is a bit downhill going north from the Cedar Falls trail head and, thus, a bit uphill coming back. My legs were fine, no problem peddling but I definitely need to upgrade the padding on the seat. I will do that tomorrow. I also need a more efficient way to carry my gear.

Other than a few little tweaks like that I think I am good to go. I already bought a helmet, lock, extra inner tube and a tool kit (which I hope I never need to use). I am looking forward to a summer of biking near the mountains and forests of our beautiful Pacific Northwest. Hike one day, bike the next. Sweet.

And I got to hear the rushing South Fork of the Snoqualmie River:

It was a nice day.

I did my usual Section Line conditioning hike today.

It was uneventful except for the fact that I found a phone on the trail. I picked it up and intended to create a ‘lost and found’ trip report on the WTA web site but the phone rang as I was leaving the E Sunset Way parking lot and it was the phone owner. She was not far away, we hooked up and she is now happily re-united with her phone. I think we can all empathize with the prospect of losing our phone. Disaster!

Spring is tomorrow and I am planning to get bigger and bigger in my hikes. The hike I did today is just a little conditioner when I am in shape but these days, it was a challenge. Next time I do this one it should be easier.

And here is a great picture of my new grandson Dean – what a cutie!

I was back on a mountain today and it felt good.

I parked at the Teneriffe trail head and went up that trail to the Roaring Creek Trail. This is my first time on this trail but I hope it is not my last. This is a beautiful trail; the photo above shows the forest view, lit up by the morning sun.

The actual creek itself is pretty nice:

I turned right at the intersection of the Talus Loop Trail and followed that back to the Teneriffe Trail.

All told it was about 4.7 miles and about 1,200 feet of gain. I am looking forward to ramping it up in the coming days and weeks.

Track below.

St. Edward Park today, a relatively local hike. I did about 4.5 miles, down and up and across and up and down and across again. Not sure how many trails I was on. A fun day.

I got here at 9 am; it opens at 8. Plenty of parking but when I left at 11 every spot in sight was taken and it was a little sticky getting out from where I parked. Note to self: show up (on the weekend) earlier and park in a different place in the lot.

I am trying to ramp up the difficulty of my hikes in gradual steps. I am inclined to go full-tilt but that might actually set me back.

Today, I did Tiger Mountain lowlands again, but this time I parked at E Sunset Way, which gave me the steep first .4 mile. I was OK with it but a bit slow.

I did a loop (see below) that included Tradition Lake, as seen above.

About 3.7 miles, nothing fancy but as always, it is nice to be back on a mountain and in the forest.

I don’t think I should call this a real hike. Jan and I went to Rattlesnake Lake and walked about 2.5 miles. It was a sunny day – rare around here lately – and we stopped in Duvall afterwards for a sandwich at The Grateful Bread, a great bakery there.

It was better than sitting on the couch.

Last night we hung out with our grandson Dean, while Brittany and Christopher went out to dinner. The little guy is a real cutie:

I will take my next hikes on a day-by-day basis, but I hope I can get out tomorrow.

More car troubles and I will leave it at that, except to say I have good reason to believe the car is in the clear.

Anyway, since I am out of shape I chose a moderate hike today, 3.8 miles, not much elevation gain, but on a beautiful day in the Tiger Mountain lowlands. I was in the forest the entire way and that’s what I’m talking about.

I parked at High Point and took the Swamp Trail (jogging north at the first intersection) to the Brink Trail, Adventure Trail, High School Trail, Bonneville Power Trail, Bus Trail, Around The Lake Trail back to the car. Sounds like a lot but it is just a fairly short loop.

As I say, though, I was in the forest:

Track is below. I am hopeful I can start getting out regularly.

I got out today pretty early – the gate at the Rattlesnake Mountain Exit 27 lot wasn’t open but I just parked along the road outside the gate.

The big deal today: I saw my first mountain lion in the wild.

As I was coming down from Stan’s:

I detoured to the service road and ahead of me about 200 yards I saw the big cat cross the road from my right to my left. It did not see me, which is a good thing. Had I left Stan’s a few second earlier the cat might have had to decide what to do about the trespasser. All’s well that does not end in being attacked by a mountain lion.

I was surprised at how much snow there was:

But it was OK, I never had to put on my spikes. I only saw one person. She was walking a Golden Retriever and I gave them a head’s up about the cat. I think she decided to truncate her plans. I doubt the cat would be much of a threat but you never know.

It was nice to get out. I hope to keep ramping up the effort.

I got out today and did the Squak Mountain hike from SE May Valley Road to Central Peak, via the Bullitt Fireplace. Came down the South Access Road. A bit less than 3 hours and about 5.75 miles. Nice hike.

I want to get out 3 days a week starting today.

The forest on Squak is nice but not awesome: