#trail reports

[find-greatness]

Rosamond Cross | Trip Report | 1.29.16

*Scroll down for trail report or read this long post about the best grandparents in the world*

California holds such a special place in my heart. It's where most of my family is from and where I was born. I only lived in California until I was about six. My parents always talk about when we moved to Washington that I refused to wear pants because I'm a girl meant to be in sundresses and back then skorts! Summer is still my favorite season!

 Since moving to Washington I've only been back to California a handful of times but favorite time was the summer of 2004. Our house at the time was currently full with people, we had a dog that was about to have puppies, it was summer break and I was bored teenager and was losing my mind. Not sure if I begged my parents or my grandparents but I was able to get out of my house and spend the entire summer with my grandparents. 

Now everyday wasn't a vacation in fact I spent the summer at my grandmas Hair Store but it was the first time I got to really get to know my grandparents. That summer I got to watch my grandma run a business from the inside and out. My grandma was equal parts stern and loving which made her the BEST boss ever. I also got to spend time with my grandpa! I really think I get some of my habit skills from him. This guy would work night shifts as a janitor, go swimming at the gym, then follow that up with some hearty McDonald's with friends and then come home before we left for work. I also get to be subject to endless stories about growing up in South Dakota and walking thru the snow to school in shoes with holes in it. Together we spent a lot of time at home or at their favorite place, Home Town Buffet talking and really enjoying each other’s company. 

My grandparents were truly the kindest people in the world! To open up their home and put up with my sassy teenager self is a testament to them. They made a impact on my life that summer and I will forever cherish those memories.  Soon enough (not any time soon) I'll be able to share my story about that summer with my kid or future grand kids. 

Date: January 29, 2018 Miles: 2.16 miles RT Elevation:  510 ft. Highest Point: 2561 ft. Parking Pass: None Location: Rosamand, CA

I had big plans to go to where they filmed the Flintstones but I didn't have much time and this place was conveniently located right behind my aunts house! Now I should say this isn't a hike or at least one that comes up AllTrails or Google so all the info above is based on my fitbit. I did this hike 3 days in a row. The first two days were short and sweet and the 3rd day I got some exploring mileage in and that's the route i'm counting. 

Day 1 | January 27th | 

Now the first day I did this hike to the cross I went from the front. The path to the cross that goes directly up is about 500 ft of elevation of gain in 1/4 of a mile! It's pretty freaking difficult and it's all dirt and rocks. I  share the photo of my dad because even though it was hard and he to take a break halfway up, he finished and made it to the top. 

Day 2 | January 28th | 

I had all intentions of making this my long hike day but I didn't get much sleep and was planning on driving to LA with my dad and brother. This time on the trail I went up another way my aunt told me about. It wasn't much different then the direct route but it was a little less steep. It was a calming early morning and it was this day that I starting falling in love with desert landscape.  

Day 3 | January 29th

This was the day of my grandpas service so I needed the trail to give me all the energy for the day and it delivered. This is the day i'm counting as #4 of the 52 Hike Challenge as it was the longest. From the previous two days I had a route I wanted to tackle which took me around the base of the cross and up the opposite side. This side took me up close and personal with the rock formations that I was eyeing! 

The desert of Southern California is so drastically different then where I hike but I found so much beauty in it. The gold color of the dirt, the random colorful succulents and plants, endless views of the desert landscape, and the mysterious rock formations make hiking in California an amazing adventure. It was also a first that I didn't have a map or some sort of guide. I know it was only two miles but being on this hill every day and choosing my own adventure was something that I've never gotten to do before. 

[find-greatness]

Favorite Hikes of 2017

At the beginning of 2017 I didn’t set out to almost triple the amount of hikes I’ve done in my lifetime combined but I did. I completed 24 hikes! That’s not including all the hikes I did at my favorite city parks; Swan Creek Park, Point Defiance and Chambers Bay Loop. 2017 was the year I lost my brother, grandma and on the first day of 2018 I lost my grandpa. 2017 sucked! I fell into depression, suffered from grief, had my first anxiety attack and on top of everything I have to live in Trumps America.  The trail served as healing space for me and way to continue to move my body even when I didn’t want to get out of bed. As we move into 2018 I’m confident it will be a better year and if I learned anything from 2017 that means a lot of hours on the trail. But to sum up 2017 here are my favorite hikes!

SUMMIT LAKE Date: July 2, 2017 Miles: 6.1 miles RT Elevation: 1300 ft Highest Point: 5800 ft. Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass

The view! The view! The View! This hike had the best view of the entire season.  The trail was well marked until we hit snow. We got a little lost but since it’s a popular spot tracks were easy enough to spot. Having lunch Cliff side and staring at Mount Rainier in all its glory will forever be one of my favorite memories. Only downside of this hike was the 7 mile forest road that you definitely need high clearance car to navigate. 

BOUNDARY TRAIL Date: July 9, 2017 Miles: 4.2 miles RT Elevation: 702 ft Highest Point: ----- Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass

After WEEKS of seeing wildflowers at Mt. St Helen's I knew I needed to go. I've only been once before and it was actually in fall of 2016 with both of my parents. We didn't hike just drove to opposite side of the mountain on a semi gloomy day. Going back in July was a totally different experience. First of all we drove up as the sun was rising and it was nothing but clear sky's. Love having a dad as crazy as me that's down to get up early on a Saturday to hike.  When we got to Johnston Ridge Observatory we were one of the few cars in the lot.

As soon as you park you see the flowers everywhere. Something about flowers blooming after a tragedy felt so special and served as reminder to keep trying to bloom no matter what life throws at you. The trail was easy to follow and I wish we could have done the whole thing but my dad and I didn't pack for the conditions. By the time we left at 10 am it was almost 70 and between the two of us we only had 2 bottles of water and a couple cliff bars. I'm excited to come back a couple times this year. Especially because I plan to summit Mt. St Helen's THIS SUMMER. 

MOUNT ELINOR Date: July 30, 2017 Miles: 6.2 miles RT Elevation: 3300 ft Highest Point: 5944 ft Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass

Mount Ellinor took close to 9 hours, I fell multiple times and wanted to give up more then ever but it was worth completing. We took it from the lower trail head and up until the trail meets up with Upper trail head the hike is a gentle hike and after it's a fucking climb! 2,444 feet of elevation in 1.6 miles?! If you know nothing about hiking this sucks 10/10 don't recommend if you've never hiked before. The trail itself was super easy to follow minus the snow left over from winter but there were enough people on the trail to lead the way. We got to the top and the cloud coverage broke enough to get some awesome views of the Olympics and even Mt. Rainier came out for awhile in the distance. Like I said it was hard as hell but if I had to rank my favorite hikes in order this was #1! Shout out to the best hiking partner in the world for not giving up on me because I was not friendly about pushing myself to the limits. 

KENDALL KATWALK Date: September 23, 2017 Miles: 12 miles RT Elevation: 2600 ft Highest Point: 5400 ft Parking Pass: Northwest Forest Pass

Shout out to my therapist for telling me when I have a bad day/week I need to go for a hike. That's why after a horrible week and lack of sleep I returned to solo hike Kendall Katwalk. I got to the trail head an hour before it was light but I just laid in the car until there was enough sunlight to get started. I've done this trail before it's part of the PCT, easy to follow and the views are amazing the entire way to the Katwalk. The picture above is taken at my favorite place on any trail, ever. At this spot you turn the corner and it becomes completely silent! It's a crazy sensation and I hiked to this spot and spent some time reflecting. The next day I wrote a very personal post (link to post) about my struggle with grief and depression that I wouldn't be able to write without getting out that day. 

[find-greatness]

Margaret's Way | Trip Report | 1.7.18

It's official I'm doing the #52HikeChallenge in 2018. I was iffy about it for a long time but after today's hike the trail was telling me to do it! I'm all in! I plan to balance it with solo hikes, city trails and going out of my comfort zone and hiking with new people. If you're reading this and looking for a person to hike with I'M YOUR GIRL. I'm on the slower side, complain about being sweaty, have a dog who will get you muddy, I talk about pop-culture, politics is my favorite topic and I hate snow but If that doesn't bother you then I'm your girl! Hit me up if you want to plan a weekend. 

Date: January 7, 2018 Miles: 6.9 miles RT Elevation:  1500 ft. Highest Point:  1730 ft. Parking Pass: None Location: Issaquah, WA

This was my first time on Squak Mountain and first time hiking with my new friend, Kelsey. Issaquah is about a 50 minute drive from Tacoma and the entire drive it was raining pretty hard. I got to the parking lot at 8 am after making a wrong turn. When I pulled up there was only 4 cars in the lot. It's a King County Park so you don't need a parking pass and there is a Porta Potty in the parking lot.  

We started the trail around 8:30 ish. After a little confusion we made it to the official trail head and after that this hike was so well marked unlike it's neighbor, Tiger Mountain. I don't have the best since of direction so it was greatly appreciated. The trail itself was well maintained like many King County owned trails. There were some muddy parts and some trees that sound that a strong gust of wind could knock over but overall a great trail for an overcast day. 

The rain pretty much stopped 20 minutes into our hike which made for such a better experience. The first mile or so was moderate but there was some heavy breathing and work needed to get your ass up. There was a point in the first mile or so we saw a little bit of view and were relieved that we would have view of some kind. The first viewpoint was called Margret's View and it was beautiful. Spent some time there re-fueling and taking pictures. Whoever lives next to to the view point is very lucky. I could only imagine what it's like on clear day. 

After that we moved into the dense forest to get to our final destination Debbie's View. The colors were so vibrant, lush and we spent sometime just in awe of it all. The trail winds up slowly for awhile until you get to the final push of I'm thinking a dozen switch backs. Again, heavy breathing was happening but not so much that I couldn't keep a conversation. Debbie's View was worth all the effort. We had views and the sun came out over the mountains and we were up there for about 10 minutes before another group joined us. Again, I could only imagine what this looks on a clear day. 

With all the detours of view points we did about 6.9 miles according to Kelsey's All Trails App. Which considering my Fitbit said 8+ miles I'm positive 6.9 sound about right. We were not the only people question the 5.5 miles shown on the WTA website.  This was a moderate hike and considering it's so close Seattle it's accessible and easy to get to for most. We only saw about 15 people and considering you could see double that amount on Tiger Mountain trails this is great alternative. 

Further Information and details:  http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/margarets-way https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/margarets-way-hike-is-new-option-for-winter-wanders-in-issaquah-alps/ https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/margarets-way-trail