Reason #3472 why we love Seattle...

OK--I just made that number up, but I bet we could come up with that many reasons just by naming all the good restaurants.  I should preface this post with a little background info:  we are NOT having summer in Seattle this year.  We are dealing with this by considering it a really mild winter (soon to be followed by a really snowy winter, we hope) and pretending that we weren't really expecting summer, anyway.  The 4th of July was  unusually beautiful and warm and all of Seattle was lulled into believing that we were due for a perfect summer of sunny and 70 every single day.  Apparently, the very same front that is keeping the east coast in temperatures over 100 is keeping the PNW in the 60s and rainy....I definitely prefer the latter.  So, we hit the trail despite the drizzle and headed to "Reason # 3472."

 The hike to Rattlesnake Ledge is just a 45 minute drive from Seattle.  I admit that I was a little skeptical--we generally prefer our hikes to be remote and a challenge to even get to the trailhead.  This one required a quick and easy drive on the freeway to a well-marked state park with a paved parking lot.  We stepped out of the parking and almost immediately into deep forest with all of the proper PNW woodsy characteristics.

Green

Mossy

Damp

Fernilicious

Elijah's hair serves as our humidity detector.

 Most of the trail was steep, but very well maintained and just a little crowded.

We found an abundance of dogs, people, and clouds at the top.

We weren't there long before the clouds began to lift and the sun came out.  Everyone was squinting and complaining about the sudden muggy heat---it was pushing 70 degrees!

Note the high alpine lake in the distance!

As is always the case with a steep climb....the walk down was fast and a serious knee-breaker.  The boys loved looking up at our accomplishment once we were finished.  Best thing about an "urban" hike---we jumped back in the car and drove 10 minutes to a great restaurant for a late lunch.  

Stats. for Rattlesnake Ledge:

Distance:  4 miles (2 straight up, 2 back down)

Elevation at top:  2078 ft

Elevation gain:  1160 ft. in 2 miles

Jellybeans:  6 each

EF rating:  steep, but easy.  awesome views, cool crevasse at the top that made mama very nervous.

JJ rating:  crowded, but worth it for the short drive.  perfect for a rainy day.

http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/rattle-snake-ledge

Eightmile...jellybeans, twizzlers, but no Eminems

Eightmile Lake

Despite a late start, we ventured further afield this week to the sunny, hot side of the Cascades.  Leavenworth, WA is always a strange adventure---it is a little "Bavarian" town high in the eastern Cascades--cheesy, but fun and quite pretty (and lots of beer gardens for apres hike).  The town is very close to some of the best and most challenging hiking in Washington--in particular, an area known as "the enchantments"--on our list, but not really achievable just yet.  We tried to do the Eightmile Lake trail last summer, but discovered upon our arrival that NO DOGS are allowed in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.  Rather than leave Maisy tethered to the back of the car for the day (though Justin really wanted to), we drove a little further up the road to one of the nearby trails that does allow pooches.  In fact, this is how we landed on the wretched 4th of July Creek trail that is described in the 2010 hiking recap post.  The reason they allow dogs is because NO ONE hikes this insane trail, so no one cares if you happen to bring your dog.  

Anyway--back to the hike at hand.  We ditched poor Maisy in chilly, cloudy Seattle and took off for the east.  There is no easy way to get there, so it was quite a journey before we even got on the trail.

Some data:

Distance:  6.6 miles

EF rating:  on the hard end of easy

JJ rating: easy

Jellybeans:  10 each, plus a couple of twizzlers

Highlights:  lakes, crazy rivers/creeks running superfast with snowpack melt, chipmunks, wildflowers

Lowlights:  forest decimated by wildfire in the 1990's--no trees, hot, dusty

The big climb started right away.  We followed Icicle Creek most of the way.

Still in long sleeves...not for long

Elijah hiking up through the wildflowers

Finian sneaking up from the rear

Eightmile Pond---almost to the lake!

Triumphant!

The reward

Carpet of wildflowers

headed back down

Wildflower Meadow

The boys thought this was cool....I did not.

more meadows

forest fire to the left, thriving forest to the right

snowy peaks

Talapus and (almost) Olallie Lakes

Talapus and Olallie Lakes Hike

Distance:  4 miles roundtrip (to Olallie); we hiked around 3 miles total due to snow.

Elevation Gain: 1220 ft

EF Rating:  easy

JJ Rating:  easy--great starter hike.

Jellybeans:  14 each.  First hike of the season.....

Highlights:  snow, lake, mud

Lowlights:  too much snow and we had to turn around.  no real path around the lake, so some frustration in wishing we could get to the other side. 

Link:  Talapus and Olallie Lakes

Comments:  This is an easy hike that is suitable for most ability levels.  There were kids of all ages and tons of dogs on the trail.  Most of the trail to the first lake (Talapus) is a gentle uphill--enough to get your heart pumping, but nothing that requires rests or too much complaining.  Lots of switchbacks, a creek with snow pack melt rushing by, and a very well-maintained trail.  We were surprised by the amount of snow above Talapus Lake.  The area was completely covered in several feet of packed snow and the trail was only visible as muddy footprints.  About a half mile up we decided it was best to turn around---we don't know the trail and had no gaiters, trekking poles or gloves. Volunteer rangers on the trail told us that the snow pack melt is about one month late, so most of the trails still have some snow.  We will try this one again later in the summer.

 Early season hiking offers strange combinations of snow, flowers and moss.

Some variety of trillium, I think.

The payoff for all of those switchbacks--Talapus Lake! 

Snow hiking!  The snow was deep enough past Talapus Lake that we eventually gave up and turned around.  The boys loved all of the snow and mud.

Happy Scruff-Puff!

Hiking Challenge 2011

It is July and time to begin our 2011 hiking challenge.  This year we are going for 40 miles between July 4 and Sept. 30.  In addition to rating the trails for difficulty, I will also include a Jellybean Rating.  Much of our hiking success is due to our willingness to dole out little bribes along the way in the form of jellybeans.  It is actually quite shocking how far and fast the boys will walk on the simple promise of a jellybean at the top of the hill, or in 3 more switchbacks, or when we get to the waterfall.  Some hikes require more jellybeans than others---it depends on the mood, timing, coolness of the hike, and many other factors we have yet to understand fully.  So--the jellybean rating will offer up a valuable new statistic--the number of jellybeans required to get through an entire hike (roundtrip trip and per boy).

Summer 2010 Hiking Recap

Our goal was 30 miles of hiking in July and August--we overshot by a few miles.  Here is a list in no particular order.

EF= boy rating
JJ= parent rating
no dog rating--she loved them all the same.

1.  Denny Creek
5 miles
EF rating:  easy!
 JJ rating:  really easy.
Highlights:  nice waterfall/creek area for playing.
Lowlights:  lots of people
Comments:  keep walking after you find the creek---lots of uphill, views and eventually you will come to a lake (we didn't go quite that far).  This is a good early season hike---no snow issues, trail in great shape, not too far from Seattle.

Link:  Denny Creek

2.  Snow Lake
8 miles (if you take the trail down to the lake and wander about)
EF rating:  moderate--pretty steep just before you see the lake
JJ rating:  moderate
Highlights:  playing in the lake, some snow patches, chipmunks, toilet in the forest
Lowlights:  popular
Comments:  definitely worth the trip down to the lake--just bear in mind that you have to walk back up to the main trail.

Link: Snow Lake

3.  4th of July Creek Trail
6 miles (depends on how far you go--we did not make it to the tower)
EF rating:  hard.  hot!  steep!
JJ rating:  moderate
Highlights:  rattle snake, unbelievable views
Lowlights: no water, very dry/dusty, no obvious destination
Comments:  We did this trail when we discovered that we could not bring our dog on the other trails in the area.  It is extremely steep and probably a little dangerous for kids ---lots of drop-offs.  No water source and extremely hot.  Kids got extra credit for doing this one.

I can't resist quoting from the WTA trail description---we really fell into this one by accident.  Sometimes it is best to have no idea what is ahead....

"Don't let this hike's bad reputation dissuade you from reaping its good views. Sure, it's one of the snakiest trails in the Icicle Valley-save it for a cool day. And yeah, it's one of the steepest trails in the valley-hottest too-best to save it for a cool day. And total vertical feet-oh boy, you'll gain plenty-so save it for a cool day when the serpents are sedate. Are you getting the picture? But the views are amazing: from the Chiwaukum to the Entiat to the Stuart ranges and beyond-savor the panorama on any day!"

Link:  4th of July Creek Trail

4.  Spray Park
8 miles
EF rating: moderate.   AWESOME
JJ rating: moderate. Awesome, indeed.
Highlights:  waterfall, flowers, fields, views of Rainier, everything
Lowlights:  popular, no stepping off the trail---at all!  lots of forest rangers, bugs
Comments:  Exraordinary hike---lots of uphill after the waterfall, but the payoff is the meadow.  Very buggy, so don't plan on standing still for long.  definitely a late season hike.

Link:  Spray Park

5.  Twin Falls
3 miles
EF rating:  easy
JJ rating:  easy
Highlights:  forest, waterfalls
Lowlights:  extremely popular
Comments:  good trail most of the year.  crowded, but a nice trail for most ages/abilities.

Link:  Twin Falls

6.  Little Si
5 miles
EF rating:  moderate
JJ rating:  easy
Highlights:  rock climbers, views
Lowlights: lots of people--especially at the summit
Comments:  we did this one early on in our challenge and it gave the kids a good idea of what a "real" hike is like.  The uphill isn't too bad---wander through the forest for a mile or so and then up hill to the top.

Link: Little Si