Meadowdale park and Capitol Hill

Hiking companion Joanie, next to a climax forest stump beside the path.

  This is a compilation of two hiking days. One with nice views, the other just a couple of urban jaunts on Madison Street. Details follow photos.

Lunds Gulch

This old growth stump served as a nurse log for what have become mature trees.

The trail to the beach

Statistics

April 20: Meadowdale Beach Park
Washington Trails Association Link
Distance, RT: 2.5 miles
Load: One direction with 20# vest
Gain: 425 feet.

April 24 to Safeway and shoe repair shop
Distance RT to Safeway: 1.6 miles;
Load: 20# vest
Gain:  70 feet
Distance RT to Shoe shop: 1.4 miles
Load: 20# vest
Gain: 150 feet, at least

Total for both days: 5.5 miles
Elevation gain: 645 feet

Distance year to date: 59.2 miles
Elevation gain year to date: 15,310 feet.

2018's first Rainier

Today I cleared the 14,411-foot elevation gain for 2018 -- my first Rainier.

At times my heart rate exceeded 140 bpm. I cleared 2 mph the first mile. The weather was cool but not cold. I sweated enough to steam up my glasses. My nose ran. My eyes teared up. My body was wet. And I had to stop several times to catch my breath. Also, my right hip hurt a little this time and I slowed down on the descent.

The low ditch along the trail at the first mile was loud with cascading water that ran out onto the trail and down the path, so the mountain was still giving up the moisture it had collected in the winter.

I reached the summit, ate an apple and some trail mix, contemplated a hungry chipmunk and some camp robbers, then headed back.


Statistics for the day:
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet
Weight carried: 14 pounds
Time: 3.5 hours, or better than 1.7 mph
Distance year to date: 53.7 miles
Elevation gain year to date: 14,665 feet.

Too little sleep

Today the weather was supposed to be awful in Seattle: 30-40 mph winds, maybe faster, and lots of rain. Didn't happen. But instead of being threatened by falling limbs, I was handicapped by too little sleep. Didn't get my nap yesterday before heading off to my dance class at 6:30, and then stayed up until 2 a.m. after getting home, watching videos on the computer, because I thought the day would be a bust.  It wasn't. There was overcast broken by clear sky at Tiger Mountain. There was heavy rain, but that presented no problem. The problem was I was sluggish and without energy. At the one-mile mark I decided that death was nature's way of telling me it's time to slow down and I resolved to go home and catch up on my rest.

Consolation prize: This was a good shakedown for my four-day vacation at Ocean Shores, and I realized I needed to get my backpack that has a rain flap.

After turning back I turned on Map My Hike to get a sense of the elevation gained. Here is the map from that point to my car:

North faces left on this map. The elevation gained was at least 500 feet.

Statistics for the day:
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation Gain: 500 feet
Weight carried: 14 pounds
Distance year to date: 47.7 miles
Elevation gain year to date: 12,665 feet.

Today I identified another landmark: The hitchhiking log:

Look closely at the far end and you'll see it has its thumb out.

Tiger 3: temperate lowlands; frigid summit; landmarks

Yesterday, Tiger was all about carrying weight -- 34 pounds. Today it was about making it to the summit, moving quickly, and naming some landmarks. There are some distinctive features along the route that deserve names. Perhaps the names I introduce here will become common over time.

This is how the hike looked in the lowlands:

This is what it looked like as I approached the summit:

And this is what the summit was like -- gray, windy, frigid.

I set out at 9:56 a.m. and  three miles later, I arrived at the summit at noon. That averages to 1.5 mph. I carried a 14-pound pack that included extra warm clothing. I wore rain pants over my heavy safari pants; two layers of underwear on my torso along with a long-sleeved winter cover of artificial fabric with zippered neck; a down-filled long-sleeved zippered cover, a fleece vest and a wind-breaking water proof hooded rain jacket. I started cold but warmed up quickly. But at the top the wind chill quickly got to me and I realized I didn't want to stay there. I donned microspikes and headed back.

I didn't use trekking poles for almost the entire descent and my legs held up well, although the muscles did feel the extra work. I descended without my glasses, which I put away for most of the trip because the cold air was causing me to tear up. Again, my nose was quite drippy. I returned to my vehicle in approximately an hour, which figures to a 3 mph descent rate.

The landmarks I chose to name:

The twins, two rocks located within a half mile of the trailhead

The dead umbrella -- a tree carcass with root ball  along the trail prior to the one-mile mark.

The hairpin, a sharp turn before the 2.2 mile signpost

Statistics for the day:
Distance: 6.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet
Weight carried: 14 pounds
Distance year to date: 45.7 miles
Elevation gain year to date: 12,165 feet.

Climbing the Nook Trail

Lush moss adorned the trees.

Yesterday morning, Joan Tito, my hiking companion, and I took what was a new approach for me to Tiger Mountain. We ascended the Nook Trail on a day that the forest was verdent with dampness and an abundance of moss. It was like a rain forest. We climbed to the merger of the Talus Rocks Trail and Tiger 3, then descended to the trailhead and returned to the car.

I wore my 20-pound weight vest and a 14-pound pack on the way up. She wore the vest on the way down, to get the experience. The Nook trail portion of the hike was listed as one mile; the distance to the linkup with Tiger 3 another 0.4 miles; and the descent about 0.8 miles for a total distance of 2.2 miles. The highest point reached was about 1,060 feet, so I'm claiming 500 feet of elevation gain.

So, statistics for the day:
Distance: 2.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 500 feet
Weight carried: 34 pounds
Distance year to date: 39.2 miles
Elevation gain year to date: 10,165 feet.

The descent from the merger of Talus Rocks Trail and Tiger 3 to the trailhead

The talus rocks are giant boulders that create caves; the fence appears to discourage falls.

A fall can land you in a pit of a cave, like this one, which represented a 10-15 foot descent.