August is a great time to hike in the Pacific NorthWest. We've fit a couple adventures in the last few weeks...
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| Guemes Channel Sunset |
The first outing was a spontaneous bike ride. The drizzle let up on Sunday afternoon, so we cruised down to the Guemes ferry and headed to the neighboring island. Riding a random route, we came across a trail...
We decided "why not?," stashed our bikes in the bushes, and trekked to the top of the hill. Our reward was a lovely view of the San Juans, Bellingham Bay and the Chuckanuts, Samish Bay, Skagit Valley, and of course Fidalgo Island.
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| Tree pose! |
Next time, we're bringing friends and a picnic!
The following weekend we were feeling a little more adventurous and decided to head to the North Cascades. After a lengthy search on the
Washington Trails Administration website (it's great!), we finally found a route that fit our criteria: shaded, great views, a bit of a climb, between 6 and 10 miles.
Fourth of July Pass!
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| Ringing the bell in Newhalem |
I had hiked this route from Colonial Creek Campground once before with Mom and Jone, but it was M's first time up the trail. He had plenty of ooohs and aaaahs for the old growth trees that line the first few miles of the walk along Thunder Creek. After crossing the creek on a hiker's bridge, the trail turns up. And up. And up! According to the WTA page, the climb is about 2400'... most of it in the 2 miles leading to the pass. But the view is worth it!
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| Glaciers to the south |
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| Glaciers to the west |
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| PB&J tastes better when it's been hiked to the top of a mountain pass |
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| He takes sandwiches seriously |
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