Cool Tree
St. Edward State Park is becoming my new conditioning hike. It is much closer and easier to get to than the Section Line. There are plenty of trails to choose from, including a couple that are steep.
Tomorrow I hope to get out to Dirty Harry’s Balcony, always a good workout and great views.
Rattlesnake Ledge
Yesterday I took the bike to the Cedar Falls trail head and biked east on the PTC. My legs felt heavy. I was worried that something was wrong. So I turned around only about 2.5 miles out. And the instant I started going west I realized what the problem actually was: PTC east is uphill. I have hiked it many times and I never noticed the slight grade. I was pedaling along thinking it was flat. I will go back next week with this in mind, gear down a little and go much farther.
Plus, I ordered a pair of shorts with a padded seat. Even though I stuffed some foam rubber underneath the seat cover it was still a bit uncomfortable.
I will get this biking stuff right (only done it 3 times so far) and add to my outdoor toolbox. Plus, I have an inflatable kayak and I will take that out.
When I got back to the car I stowed the bike and did a little hike around the area, so I wound up doing about 8.25 miles total.
Rattlesnake Lake is kind of low right now:
The Lake
Track below.
Track
Edmonds–Kingston Ferry
I walked a few miles today but what I did could not be called a true hike. But I just love the city of Edmonds. What a great little city.
I can get there by walking out my front door to a bus stop, and take the bus to Edmonds, which is what I did today. Edmonds has it all. It is a waterfront city, with a nice beach on the Puget Sound, with views west towards the Olympic Mountains. I took a couple of photos of the mountains but, once again, my camera and skills were inadequate to the task.
I did manage to capture the Edmonds-Kingston ferry as it was coming into port as seen above.
And I walked along the marina, ogling the many boats:
Boats Unlimited
Edmonds has a nice art museum, it is the home of Rick Steves, the travel guru, as well as the Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA) where we have enjoyed artists such as Judy Collins, Graham Nash, and Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives. In fact, Marty and Co. are coming back in June and we have tickets.
And, last but not least, every Saturday throughout the summer Edmonds has a summer market, with several streets blocked off and various vendors – food, arts and crafts, pet paraphernalia, etc. – lined up for business. Jan and I are planning to take the bus there on 5/27 to walk on to the ferry (expect to wait in line for an hour or more if you want to haul your car over the sound, but as a walk-on there is never a wait). As a senior with the local senior transit/discount card, my total cost for a round-trip across the sound, a beautiful experience, is only $5. $5!
Edmonds. There is so much to do (did I mention the scuba diving attraction?) I just wish we could afford to live there.
Chester Peak from Mine Creek Trestle
I had a good workout yesterday, starting at the South Fork Picnic Area parking lot, climbing up to the PTC and then going east, to the Garcia junction and then taking the service road NF9021 up towards Truck Summit. Less than a half mile from the Garcia junction a metal canister just off the trail caught my eye:
Urn
A close look revealed that it had contained the ashes of one David Matthew Estrella. I thought it was a nice tribute to what I presume was his love of the outdoors to put his ashes near a trail. But when I looked more closely I could see that someone had opened the canister and scattered his ashes, which are already quickly degrading:
Ashes to Ashes
It was a sad and jarring sight.
On the way back I noticed a freshly sawed log with sap seeping out of the cut:
Sap
This is another case where, had I a better camera and better camera skills, I could have captured how beautiful it was, almost glowing.
About 6.5 miles, track below.
Track
Turnaround Point
I signed up for a WTA trail work party on June 10 working on the CCC Trail so I drove to the Middle Fork today and hiked from the Middle Fork parking lot to the CCC Trail and east as far as I could go. The photo above shows where I decided to turn around. Too much water running too fast. I can do some rock-hopping but, although I looked up and down the stream I could find no place that seemed safe to me.
So I turned around and, to add some extra distance, I returned via the Middle Fork Campground, to the connector trail, and then down the Pratt River Trail a little ways. I wound up wandering over to the Taylor River view near the parking lot. I just sat there for awhile. I love it out there.
The confluence of the Middle Fork and Taylor Rivers is nice:
River View
And the CCC Trail itself is in very good shape and the forest is beautiful. You can literally stop anywhere along the trail, look around, and be knocked out by how wonderful it is to be in the forest in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Cool Tree
About 4.75 miles, track below.
Track
Lake Washington
I did not want to drive a long way today so I headed to Kenmore and Saint Edward State Park. I did about 4 miles, going down the North Trail, up the Grotto Trail, down the South Canyon Trail, up the Seminary Trail, and then I wandered around on a couple of the trails on top.
A fun day and a nice workout. I have various duties to perform on Thursday and Friday but I hope to get out on the weekend.
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