Author: DJHikers

I got my car back on Friday, 1/27. Finally! And the forecast for today was sunny and cold so I headed out to a moderate hike (four months without hiking means I need to work my way back into trail shape) in the Middle Fork. What a beautiful day and a beautiful area.

I went up to the Pratt Balcony (see view above) and on the way down I turned right, west, on the CCC trail, to check out the creek just past the Pratt Balcony trail. I could hear it talking to me as I hiked up to the balcony but where it crosses the CCC trail it was boulder-hopping but no problem with the water. So I kept going.

I went a bit more than 2 miles on the CCC Trail and I discovered that it is in pretty good shape:

There were a few nice views on the way and it is always special to spend time in the forest:

Just under 6 miles altogether. Only 600 feet of elevation gain to the Balcony but that’s OK. I will work my way up until I can do some really nice hikes this summer. I am an old man and I need the workout.

Track below.

I am not going to name names but the body shop to which I took my car is not on the up-and-up.

A partial timeline:

1. 9/7/22: Accident. Called insurance, booked appointment with a nearby body shop the insurance company recommended. They are not a small shop, they have multiple locations and a good reputation.
2. 9/28: Brought in car.
3. 10/3: First communication from body shop. They set up a little web site for me to monitor the progress of the repairs. Looking good.
4. Also in October, texts from body shop that there are no back ordered parts, everything is going smoothly.
5. 11/1: Text from body shop that the repairs are nearing completion. ECD is 11/11.
6. 11/2: With no explanation, a text that moves out ECD to 12/23.
7. Phone call explanation: Body shop in fact is waiting for a back-ordered part.
8. Consolidating various communications: ECD moved to 12/30 and then to 1/6.
9. On 1/5 I ask: is there a chance I will get the car on 1/6? No reply until 1/6 in the morning, when I get a non-responsive reply.
10. Still, estimate for my pickup is 1/6 and it takes a while to walk to the shop. I am told that repairs are “almost finished.”
11. I texted them about 3pm on 1/6 to ask: should I walk to your shop? No reply.
12. This AM, 1/9/2023, I walked to the shop about the time they opened to see if I could get some answers. I managed to get a look at the car. See above. Does it look like it is almost done?

The ECD is now moved out to 1/20. I emailed my insurance agent today with a more comprehensive timeline than above and suggested they remove this vendor from the list of their approved body shops, and asked if anyone at the insurance company had any clout with the body shop. Agent called, said it was outrageous, he would see what he could do.

We shall see. Anyway, no hikes and I am getting so badly out of shape I fear it will be mid-summer before I qualify as ‘lame old man.’

On the bright side, Jan and I babysat our newest grandson, 6 month-old Dean on Saturday and here he is, the little cutie:

No hike today; my car is still in the shop and we don’t want to put a lot of miles on Jan’s old (2005) car. I have been taking long walks every day but it is not the same.

Today I did have a bit of fun. I walked up to the town north of us, Mill Creek, to check out their Santa Parade. It was fun, fun, fun.

As you might expect, there were plenty of kids. And dogs. And festive spirits. There I was, alone in a crowd, but I was reaping the benefits of the upbeat crowd psychology.

It was definitely a small-town parade. There were no fancy floats, but there were plenty of kids associated with various local groups.

There were unicyclists:

Dancers:

Representatives of our closest southern neighbor:

And, of course, the Jolly Man himself:

I particularly enjoyed the drum section from a local high school. It brought back memories of my high school days when I was a drummer in the various school bands – orchestra, band, pep band and, most fun of all the marching band. The half time shows at the football games are still a highlight of my life.

Now, I am just an old retired man, more or less invisible as I drift through my little days. I can say that, during the parade, I was only crying most of the time.

I like to hike three times a week; this is my third hike since September. Pathetic.

My car, they now say, will not be back from the shop until almost Christmas. I sure hope I get it back and that I can make up for lost time. I figure I have saved a ton of money on gas prices.

All I did was Twin Falls today. Here is a picture from the (newly restored) view point about halfway to the falls:

Not sure when I will get out next.

Last night we had Jan’s birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant in Kirkland. Derek was telling us that, due to illness and injury he is one of only two people in his department at work. Whoa! So I suggested that he and Camden and I hike on Sunday morning.

We met at the Cedar Falls parking lot and they brought along Sawyer, Camden’s great pal, who had spent the night at their house.

We headed east on the PTC, turned onto the Cedar Butte Trail and made it to the top.

It was cloudy but there was a bit more view today than there was on Wednesday:

We saw quite a few people on the way down so it took awhile to get down the Cedar Butte Trail. On the way back we stopped at the General Store near Exit 32 (I-90) for a snack and then they made their way back to Maple Valley and I headed back to our humble abode farther north.

Only 3.8 miles total as we took the shorter, steeper trail going up and going down.

A fun outing.

Track below.

First hike in more than a month, thanks to my transportation challenges. I won’t be getting my car back until mid-November (!) and Jan’s car has some challenges. But I just had to get out and, given my lack of strenuous exercise recently, I chose the fairly moderate Cedar Butte.

The sky was blanketed with smoke from the wildfires and fog this morning but that had no effect upon the hike – I love getting out. And when I finally get my car back I will be making up for lost time.

My expectation when last I hiked is that this past week would be a good week for hiking. Alas, I got into a car accident – no injuries – and my car is not drivable. My appointment with the body shop is not until 9/28 so I have been stranded.

However, Jan flew to Chicago this past Thursday so while she is there I have her car. So I totally expect to hike next week. I will drive extra-carefully.

Not having hiked for almost 2 weeks, and with such a wimpy hike 2 weeks ago I chose another wimpy hike today. I will have to build up.

I parked in the turnout just short of the Rattlesnake Lake parking lots, went east on PTC, past Christmas Lake, and then walked by Rattlesnake Lake up past the CRWEC campus, and back.

It was a nice walk/hike and I am not sad about doing it. But I will definitely come up with something more challenging for next week.

Track below.

I wouldn’t even call this a conditioning hike. I only did the Tiger Mountain Lowlands, Wetlands Trail, Bus Trail, Around The Lake Trail, Swamp, Brink, etc. Not much elevation gain, 4.5 miles but it was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the forest. I like being outside and not on the couch.

I will get in some more vigorous workouts next week. Today, I just had fun.

Track below.

Friday: sublime. Sunday: ordinary.

After our breathtaking outing on Friday to Crystal Peak I did a solo hike this morning on the east side of Squak Mountain. I parked on Bush St. just off Issaquah’s main drag (Front Street) and I only went to the little spur trail that leads down to what I learned is the wealthy, splendiferous neighborhood of Sycamore.

Only about 4 miles, a bit of elevation gain but not a biggie. I hope to get out again on Tuesday and I am thinking about checking out the “old” Mason Lake Trail.

Track below.

Derek and I hiked to the summit of Crystal Peak today. What a fabulous hike!

Driving down, it was raining hard enough that I had to turn on the wipers. Clouds. Rain. I was bummed, since this hike is all about the amazing views. As we got closer to the trail head, though, the sun came out and it was beautifully sunny the entire way, which was just a tad under 8 miles round trip.

Crystal Peak is just across the valley from Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in the lower 48. On the way up there are a few views across the valley. At one point we thought we could see what looked like a trail through the snow on Rainier. I zoomed the camera get a closer look:

On the map of Rainier there appears to be a trail right where we thought we saw a trail so I think that, if we bring our good binoculars, we just might be able to see some Rainier mountaineers. (although I think they generally start their summit push just after midnight, to have the best snow conditions)

The summit of Crystal Peak is spectacular. You can look down on the Crystal Lakes and Sourdough Gap, a famous point on the Pacific Crest Trail (it runs from Mexico to Canada):

The near neighbors look inviting and here is Derek standing a few feet from the edge of a cliff:

We spent quite a while on the summit, overwhelmed with the beauty of the place. And Derek did a little exploring. He thought he found a trail leading down from the summit over to the nearby Point 6706 and connecting to the Crystal Peak trail. Here is a close-up of our track on the summit and I have pointed to the trail Derek did in fact find:

On the way down we found what we are pretty sure is the intersection with this trail. We just may come back and give it a try.

A terrific workout, spectacular views, a Friday well spent.

Track below.