Weekly Hikes #9 and #10: Long Hikes on Pavement

Hiking on pavement? Really? Well, yes, really. And there is a good reason for it, too. Back in March, Mr. D and I signed up to walk the Tacoma Narrows half-marathon on August 3. We planned to walk it along with my friends, sisters Sarah and Martha, and their husbands, Dave and Tom.

While I'm a pretty good hiker and walker, I have only walked distances longer than seven miles a handful of times. Ten years ago, when Mr. D and I were in New Zealand, we walked over 20 miles hiking the Kepler Track (including getting to and from the trail from the town we where we were staying). Two years ago, Mr. D and I hiked to Surprise Lake, which was about nine miles, roundtrip. I've probably also walked in the eight to ten mile range a few times when I've been traveling in Europe.

Anyway, to prepare for the half-marathon, I extended the regular neighborhood walks that I do several times a week to at least five miles, and sometimes farther. I met up with Martha, who doesn't live too far from me, to do some walks in her neighborhood, including the torturously steep hill that she lives on—and I thought the hills in my neighborhood were steep!

On July 17, about two-and-a-half weeks before the half-marathon, Mr D and I decided to walk the Burke-Gilmam Trail from the access point near our town center, all the way down to University Village, a distance of slightly more than eight miles. The point of this walk was to get a sense of our time and pace, so for much of the walk we were going at a pretty good clip, and it showed in our final time: two hours and twenty minutes. I was focused on keeping up my pace, but I did stop to take a couple photos along the way.

On my walk on the Burke I proved to myself that I could walk eight miles in pretty good time, but what about 13.1 miles?

The day of the half-marathon was blessedly cloudy/foggy and cool, and Dave and I woke up well ahead of the alarm, at 3:45 a.m. We were on the road about an hour later, and were in downtown Tacoma before six. We met up with Sarah, Dave, Martha and Tom and took the shuttle to the start of the race, which was at the airport near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. While we were waiting for the race to start, Mr. D and I hung out with a new friend:

At 7:30 we were off! Sarah and I spent the early part of the race walking together. Then I walked with Mr. D and Sarah's husband for a while (Sarah was walking with Martha and Tom, who were a few minutes behind us). At mile 9, I got a sudden burst of energy and took off. I was spurred on knowing that all that was left was the distance of my usual neighborhood walk. I walked by myself until there was about a mile-and-a-half left, and then Sarah caught up with me and we did the rest of the walk and crossed the finish line together. Our time: three hours, twenty-nine minutes and thirty-nine seconds!

I don't have any photos of the actual race, but I do have one of all the finishers in our little group: left to right it's Dave, Sarah, Martha, Tom, me and Mr. D.

I also have photographic proof that I finished.

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #11: My Kind of Town

No, it's not Chicago, New York or LA, but Edmonds is such a pretty little town, and it's only a fifteen minute drive away, so Mr. D and I go there often. In fact, we enjoyed a pleasant walk in Edmonds last week, on Memorial Day.

Our route usually starts on the bluff overlooking the railroad tracks, where, this time of year, there are wild roses in bloom.

We walk north on the bluff until the road turns away from Puget Sound. At that point we cross the street and head back in the direction that we just came from. This side of the street has so many pretty gardens!

When we get to the entrance to the ferry terminal, we cross the street again, and pick up the path that follows the beach in Brackett's Landing Park. There is a great view of the ferries coming and going on the Edmonds-Kingston route. This time of year there are yellow lupines in bloom, which have attracted the attention of a bee.

We headed further up the beach and came upon two examples of public art. I especially love those quirky fishes.

We usually walk out onto the public fishing pier. On this day there were several people fishing, but it didn't look like anyone had caught anything.

From the pier, we head through the marina and on to Marina Beach Park. We saw someone flying a kite and a strange looking driftwood creature.

After enjoying the beach and the views of Puget Sound, we head back into downtown Edmonds and go to our favorite cafe, the Red Twig, where we usually have a chai and a treat.  Yum—today's treat was a morning glory muffin! A great way to end our walk in Edmonds.

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #10: Greenery and Gardens Along the Burke

 Well, we didn't get anywhere close to Kenmore, but Mr. D and I had a wonderful seven-mile walk one morning last week on the Burke-Gilman Trail. It was a gorgeous day, predicted to get into the high 70s by late afternoon. We drove down Sand Point Way in Seattle, accessed the trail just off  Northeast 65th Street, and headed north.

I could immediately tell that this was going to be different than our last walk on the Burke five weeks earlier. The most noticeable difference was how green everything has gotten since early April. Our recent spell of warm weather has really accelerated spring growth and blooming.

There were Thimbleberry plants already in bloom. The berries will be forming soon.

Buttercups and Forget-Me-Nots and Dandelions grew in large patches right next to the trail.

We saw a Mallard couple enjoying the rain-filled ditch that runs along the trail near our turn-around spot at Northeast 125th Street, Could this be the same pair we saw just a bit north of here in April?

There was new growth on the trees and the blooming beauty in the hidden gardens that we saw along the way. I'm sharing just a sampling—enjoy!

 

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #8: Heading Down the Burke

Last month, I wrote about walking north on the Burke-Gilman trail from my hometown. Two weeks ago, Mr. D and I started from the same point and walked south. As we noticed before, the newly remodeled trail was wider, and the surface smoother.

The recent rains meant that McAleer Creek was rushing, as we looked down on it from the bridge.

It was a chilly, blustery day, but spring was in full swing, as you can see from this wonderful blossoming magnolia tree that we saw along the trail:

We crossed over the Seattle city limits after about a mile-and-a-half, and continued on for another mile. Along the way we came across some ducks enjoying an overgrown puddle, and later, some blooming daffodils.

We turned around at 125th Street and power walked back to our starting point, so the focus in this part of the walk was exercise, not photography. Before we headed for home, we made one last stop for a reward: Great Harvest Bread Company, where one of the free slices being offered that day was Italian Easter Bread, sweet and delicious, filled with marzipan. YUM! (I hope it didn't reverse all of that good exercise...)

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #7: A Mountain on an Island

I had a birthday recently, and to celebrate it, Mr. D took me on a two-day getaway to Orcas Island in the San Juans. We arrived around noon on Sunday, and once we got checked into our B&B and had some lunch, we headed to the trailhead at the south end of Turtleback Mountain. The owners of the B&B told us that the trail to Ship Peak was a nice one, and that it would be a pleasant two-hour hike, with some spectacular views. It was a beautiful day; perfect weather for a hike.

The trail is on an old logging road and climbs up the south side of Turtleback Mountain,  on the west side of Orcas Island. At first the trail was gentle.

But, surprise, surprise, the trail got steeper fast. Fortunately, there were benches placed strategically along the trail. Here is Mr. D observing the view to the southwest from one of them:

As you can see, the vistas were beautiful.  Here is the view to the south, looking across the islands to the Olympic Mountains in the far distance.

At Ship Peak (931 feet) there was a beautiful, but different view, across farm fields to Mount Constitution, on the east side of the island.

There was also evidence of Orcas Island's geologic past, this incredibly old stone alongside the trail.

We decided to hike further past Ship Peak before turning around to go back down. As we were making our way upwards, we encountered a local hiker, and she directed us to a trail that loops back down the mountain on the west side, and then rejoins the trail we came up on shortly before the trailhead. She told us to keep watching near to the ground and we would see the turn-off. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, we did.

We meandered our way down the mountain, back to the trailhead. Just up the road from the trailhead we came upon a scene that convinced us that spring, in addition to the hiking season, is finally here.

Happy Spring, everybody!

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #6: Fairhaven to Bellingham

On March 7, one of the few sunny days we have had this month, Mr. D and I headed north to Bellingham. This is a favorite day trip of ours. It's only about two hours away, and we always find something interesting there to explore.

We started out in Fairhaven, Bellingham's fantastic historic district. We have spent a lot of time in Fairhaven on other visits, so this time, we deviated from our usual pattern and did not browse some of the  unique shops and galleries there. Instead, we almost immediately started off on a walk on the South Bay Trail, a 2.5 mile bicycle/pedestrian trail which connects Fairhaven and downtown Bellingham. Part of the trail extends out over Bellingham Bay, and and it was there that I spied the wonderful lines of this ramp:

A little further along the trail we stopped to enjoy this sculpture of a dancer perched on a rock:

It was a cold day, but we did see some beautiful spring flowers blooming alongside the trail.

Once we arrived in downtown Bellingham we found a Mexican restaurant and had an excellent lunch. Afterwards, we headed to Lightcatcher, part of the Whatcom Museum, and spent a fascinating hour in an exhibition of the photographs of long-time Bellingham Herald photographer, Jack Carver. I wish that I could show you some of the museum and this exhibit, but sadly, no photography was allowed.

When we finished exploring Lightcatcher (they also had a small but interesting exhibit of art made from recycled materials), we headed back to Fairhaven. I wasn't planning on taking any more photographs because we were just retracing our steps. But surprise, surprise! We came upon my favorite photo of the day: this old abandoned building that I hadn't even noticed when we walked by it in the morning. Sometimes the best things are the most unexpected.

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #5: Art In My Own Back Yard

You may have been wondering what has happened to my walks lately, as the last one happened on February 3. We have had a lot of rain lately, and when it rains, it means a trip to the gym. In addition, when the weather has been better, some of my walking has occurred on my regular power walk circuit in my neighborhood. I'll post about the scenes on that circuit sometime soon, I promise.

On February 28, Mr. D and I did go on a walk on the Burke-Gilman Trail. The "Burke" as it is commonly known, is a bicycle/pedestrian trail that extends 18 miles from Shilshole Bay on Puget Sound in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard, all the way to Bothell, just beyond the northern shore of Lake Washington. We decided to start our walk in our hometown, Lake Forest Park, and walk north along the lakeshore, through Kenmore and at least as far as the Bothell city limits.

The Lake Forest Park segment of the Burke was closed for upgrading for eight months, and had only reopened about two weeks earlier, so we were curious to see the improvements. The very first thing we noticed was the wider, smoother surface, including soft gravel shoulders (great for runners or walkers). Here is the view from where we started our walk:

We then came upon this colorful mural, painted on the back wall of a building located next to the trail.

The train in the mural harkens back to the Burke's earlier incarnation as a railroad bed. The mural also includes bikers, runners, Lake Washington, the Cascade Mountains, and the heart of our community, the Lake Forest Park Town Center. 

The mural was only the beginning of a walk filled with art. We soon came upon this whimsical drinking fountain:

Next up, in the city of Kenmore's Log Boom Park, there was this wonderful mosaic:

Lake Washington also looked like an impressionistic painting as I stood on the shore and gazed into the water.

It wasn't all art, as Kenmore has a busy industrial area that straddles the trail. Here is one of the many businesses that that we passed along the way:

But it was back to art, as I spied this cool railing on the overpass above the trail:

This was the last photo of the day, as my camera battery ran out of juice almost immediately after I took this photo. I saw several other places that I want to return to in future walks to explore and photograph, and when I do, I'll take you along with me.