Hiking in the Puget Sound

I did a little loop this morning, not too difficult. But a fun time in the forest. I’ll be looking for ways to get out next week as much as I can. Last week of the year!

The weather was halfway decent today so I got out to Cedar Butte – a vanilla route, PTC to Cedar Butte Trail both ways. I took the steep route up Cedar Butte and the not-so-steep route down. It took me just a bit under 2 hours, 3.95 miles.

This was a decent workout and a fun time. I saw zero people until I got back to the car, where there was one more car in the lot with the couple gearing up for an outing.

There was a bit of snow in the forest, not enough to present any difficulties but just enough to make the forest shine. Same with the three ledges.

I didn’t take the Christmas Lake trail back but I did get to peer at it through the trees.

Nice little jaunt.

I did my new conditioning hike today, up Norway Hill to the Tolt Pipeline Trail and then to the Sammamish River Trail back to where I parked, at the Bothell Park and Ride. This hike, which is just under 9 miles, is a loop (see track below) so you can park at any point along the loop. I picked the Park and Ride because, on the way back, I would avoid a generally busy bike corridor.

It has been raining every single day and today has been no exception. But there was a window of clear sky this morning so I took off. Just as I was turning the key in the ignition to drive home it started to rain. Lucky timing.

I will see if I can dodge some raindrops later this week. I am sick of not hiking and I am sicker of not hiking than I am (currently) sick of driving on freeways.

I parked at the May Valley Road parking lot and went up the main trail to Bullitt Fireplace, and then beyond the fireplace to Central Peak. I took the South Access Road down. About 5.5 miles, a good workout on a mostly sunny Sunday.

There was a light dusting of snow above about 1800 feet. The trees at the summit were nice, as seen above.

I sure like to hike in the morning rather than sit around on my old, old duff.

Track below.

I hiked to Grand Prospect today. For the first time on this trail I saw not a single hiker the entire time, all the way up and all the way down, a round-trip of just under 8 miles.

It was a perfect weather day, although it was a zero for views. The photo above shows what is left of the Grand Prospect view point. For reasons unknown to me they upended one of the the benches and cut down the few trees in the area. A little strange.

But, as always, I just love the forest between Stan’s Overlook and Grand Prospect:

Very nice Friday hike. I mean, just imagine spending solitary, quiet time in forest like that.

Here is the track:

I figure I now have 3 go-to conditioning hikes. The best one, because it is in the forest (but requires a longish freeway drive) is the Section Line on Tiger Mountain.

The 2nd one was the Tolt Pipeline Trail in Woodinville. Not a freeway drive, but maybe 12 miles to the next town.

As of today I have a third one, the Tolt Pipeline Trail and Sammamish River Trail starting from Blyth Park in Bothell, only about a 6 mile drive, if that.

I tried to do a thru-hike via the long, steep hill just outside Blyth Park (I now know it is called Norway Hill) but when I got near the 405 freeway I was confused how to get back to the Tolt Pipeline Trail so I turned around and studied the online map more closely.

This part of the hike is a bit obnoxious, crossing a very busy highway (there is a light so it isn’t dangerous, just ugly with all the cars and their exhaust), two freeway ramps, and then a right turn on an obscure little street.

But after that it is fine the rest of the way. I hooked back up to Tolt, walked on an easy sidewalk/trail in Woodinville, which took me quickly to the Sammamish River Trail, which I walked back to Blyth Park.

I noticed a kayaker as I neared Blyth, having walked just under 9 miles, and he caught my eye because Derek and I had been talking about trying to get out more often on kayaks next summer. It sounds like a nice plan to me.

Anyway, this is a keeper.

Derek and Camden on the Ledge

My definition of fun definitely includes a Sunday morning hike with Derek and Camden. We did Garfield Ledges directly from the lot (rather than parking at Middle Fork, which adds a mile) so it was about 1.99 miles.

That mileage includes a little jaunt up from the ledge by Derek. He thinks there is a trail(ish) route towards the summit of Garfield Mountain. And we will come back at another time to see how far we can get. In the track below, you can see a little finger out to the right and that is where Derek carried the Garmin up from the ledge.

We were prepared for rain but felt not a drop. The views at the top of the trail are awesome:

Cam did a great job. He is turning into a real hiker!

Nice little hike this morning to Stan’s Overlook. Didn’t see anyone on the way up, a few on the way down. I will try to get out tomorrow if it isn’t too wet.

My grand quest is to be able to hike every day. In order to do that I have to find at least one hike that does not require a long drive. I thought I found just the thing yesterday when, on a walk near Blythe Park in Bothell, I noticed a really long, steep hill. I went home and looked on a topo map.

The hill leads to the Tolt Pipeline Trail, which runs from Bothell (right where I entered the trail today) all the way to Carnation, about 30 miles. I have always hiked a portion of this trail in Woodinville, going up Heart Attack Hill and beyond, for an out-and-back of 7 miles.

Today I went back to Blythe and went up the hill. Whew! This one is steep. You gain about 465 feet in just under .4 mile. I got to the Pipeline Trail and followed it as far as I could. It ran out near the 405 freeway and, apparently, picks up again on the other side.

So, next week, I will explore the Tolt starting from the other side of the freeway to see where that segment ends (and, from the other direction, begins) so I can go all the way from Bothell to Woodinville and back. I estimate that it would be about 11 miles with several nice, steep hills. And I would then have a new conditioning hike I could do over and over, without driving myself nuts with all the driving and our budget busted with the price of gas.

I haven’t hiked in over a week so I chose a gentle one – the lowlands of Tiger Mountain. Up the Tradition Plateau trail, to Wetlands, to Bus Trail, to Around the Lake, to Swamp and then Big Tree, and back via Tradition Plateau. No big deal but it was nice to get out again.

After such a layoff I once again must ramp it up to get back in shape.