Scott Paul Trailblazer hike

Our long day of driving led us to a beautiful hike on the Scott Paul trail. Our group split up today, some went on an in and out hike while others (myself included) went on the loop hike.

We went counterclockwise around the loop. The first section is through a forest. If you click on the photo below to enlarge it you will see a large spider web with the spider on it.

At about 3 miles we stopped at a nice opening with a view and had our lunches.

The clouds did a sort of peek a boo game with us while we ate, we would get small glimpses of what was to come.

I just had to take a picture of 3 of us that have the same hiking boots. Actually I think 5 of us have the same kind! 

We then split up, some going back down the hill to the parking lot and the rest continuing on around the loop.

We really got spoiled with the scenery today -

A bit of maintenance was needed by some today ;-)

Toenail clipping performed,

while a boot was repaired (the sole came away from the boot)

It was a long wonderful day traipsing up and down a trail covered with fir needles, rocks, roots, and some stream crossings and fun bridges just for added fun.

Also a few under and over logs :-) (thanks Joe for the photos)

Endomondo stats:

Total miles hiked - 8.95

Min. altitude - 3135 feet

Max. altitude - 5203 feet

Total ascent - 2040 feet

Total descent - 1865 feet

Picture of the week - Chain lakes trail

Excelsior Pass via Damfino lakes Trailblazer hike

The scheduled hike this week for our Trailblazer group was Excelsior Pass via Damfino lakes, I was interested in this one particularly because the Canyon Creek road had been closed for quite awhile. This would be the first time I'd be on it since it opened at the end of last years hiking season. 

I liked the following picture because of the reflection of the hikers in the water :-)

Ed posing with our only snow of the day.

As you can see, there was a light fog hanging around,

The Lupine, Heather, Paintbrush and many other flowers were still in bloom in the meadows,

after the meadow we headed up to find a spot for lunch.

A perfect spot for lunch. 

A few of us walked on a bit and enjoyed the flowers.

Time to head down. 

The clouds parted a bit so we could see a patch of blue.

Then back down in to the fog.

Something "I" found interesting, the lid on the outhouse toilet had a lovely metal leaf ornament screwed into it. Such a lovely thing to find in a usually non interesting atmosphere. I would like to thank whoever put it there, it brought a smile to my face. Couldn't have asked for a more fun way to start the hike!

Endomondo stats:

Total miles hiked - 6.8

Min. altitude - 4214 feet

Max. altitude - 5467 feet

Total ascent - 1703 feet

Total descent 1673

Picture of the week - Mt. Ellinor panorama

Photo credit - Douglas Scott

Click on the image to enlarge it

Mt. Ellinor hike & a Spartan race

What an adrenaline rush trip I had this past weekend! My brother called and invited me to hike Mt. Ellinor with him and my nephew on Friday. I was nervous but figured I was up for it, and up for it I had to be, because it was UP the whole way! The wildflowers were in full bloom and the views were incredible thanks to the high cloud ceiling on the day. We've been having really warm temps lately, but on this day we started with a few clouds and a slight thunderstorm warning in the forecast, so it really was comfortable for hiking strenuously.

My nephew is the owner of Exotic hikes and he did an excellent job of helping to make it an enjoyable hike for me. I love random trivia about the areas I'm in and he was up to the challenge.

Me and my nephew

We began our hike "up" with a nice forest around us, which then opened up to a rather rocky area.

We then made our way to a wide open meadow, where we could really enjoy the abundance of wildflowers.

 As if we weren't already going up the trail begins a more aggressive incline after the meadow.

and then finally we were there.

Mount Olympus in the distance behind me

On the Summit

What a wonderful experience and bonus I got to share the day with my nephew and my brother. I'd like to thank him for sending me the the picture's that he took with his camera. So I have picture's of myself on the hike.

with my brother

Endomondo stats:

Total miles hiked - 4.05 miles

Min. altitude -3511

Max. altitude - 5944

Total ascent - 2455 feet

Total descent - 2440 feet

and then......

I found out what "Spartan up" means.

Wow, these are some tough people. My daughter, her husband and their kids had signed up to compete in the Spartan Sprint that was to be held in Washougal, Wa. on Saturday. The kids were in their own "kids only" race, which all 3 completed!

Then it was on to watch the adults.They finished as well, I took around 200 photos of the day. Whew, it was one of the more hyped up and adrenalized events I've ever been to. I'm still psyched up & feel like I want to do something epic like them someday. Yikes I can't believe I said that. With all that said, I really don't think I have it in me to do a Spartan race, but I do now know what it means to "Spartan up" and I will think of that when I am doing something that stretches what I think I'm capable of doing.

Spartan Sprint finishers! (& me)

We also met this amazing father and son team, called the Unbreakable Joneses (Thing 1 and Thing 2), they ran the course and did the obstacles 7 times. Crazy tough guys and as nice and supportive to others on the course as they were inspiring to watch. Which was almost too epic for my brain to absorb.

Incredible Joneses finishing their last lap

Me, thoroughly enjoying myself!

Picture of the week - The view from Mt. Ellinor

Mt. Olympus in the distance behind me.

Picture of the week - Stargazer Lily

Anacortes area Trailblazer hike

After the long stretch of nice sunny days in our area, yesterday we were hit with an epic rain day. Seattle actually had a record breaking amount. As I packed up my things last night for today's hike I was asking myself if I really wanted to go in the mountains and trudge along for this week's scheduled hike to Canyon Ridge. 

I was feeling even more uneasy when I woke and saw that it was still pouring. When I got to the senior center I was surprised to see that only 3 brave souls showed up from our group, and 1 of the 3 was our fearless leader "Pat"! I'm glad I showed up because true to form, he had other plans for us. He had checked out the weather radar before he came and announced that it looked less threatening towards the Anacortes area. So off we went hoping for better conditions,

and hurray - by the time we reached Anacortes the rain had stopped.

Pat's plan for us would be to walk the trails in Washington park & then drive to the Tommy Thompson trail and walk to the Trestle.

I've driven the road up and over Washington park, but I've never hiked the trails in the park. It was a beautiful forest, filled with Salal, Rocky Mountain Juniper, Cedar and Douglas Fir. There were quite a few Madrona's as well. I love this tree with it's peeling bark. I learned from Pat that people on the east coast pronounce this tree with a long "e" ending as Madrone, and people from the west coast pronounce it as Madrona with an "a" sound at the end. There you go, more pearls of wisdom from our fearless leader "Pat"!

Pat and Mike carried on quite the interesting conversations as we marched along. Topics included were about: the history of the area, botany, geology, archeology, and even a bit of anthropology. I soaked it all in like a sponge. These conversations as we go along are one of the best parts of the hike for me.

When we finished hiking the trails we drove up and over the road so Mike could experience it. Then we drove to the day use area for lunch with a glorious view.

panorama, click to enlarge

Before we went to our next hiking destination, Pat took us to Causland Memorial Park. All of the fencing and the gazebo were built with different colors of stone placed in a lovely decorative pattern.

Then off to the Tommy Thompson trail. 

Always a day of great tales and information from our fearless leader "Pat". This day was no different since he was raised in Anacortes, and his memories were rich with his boyhood joys.

I learned today to trust his judgement about where we would be going when the weather looks "iffy". 

Two hikes for the price of one ;-)

Endomondo stats:

Washington park 

Total miles hiked - 2.66

Min. altitude - -25

Max. altitude - 213

Total ascent - 357

Total descent - 340

Tommy Thompson trail 

Total miles hiked - 4.95

Min. altitude - -63

Max. altitude - 81

Total ascent - 244

Total descent - 219

Picture of the week - curbside parking full