Weekly Hike #4: A Good View and an Unfortunate Name

On Friday, July 15, we set out on this trail on Tiger Mountain, located just outside of the town of Issaquah, in what is known as the Issaquah Alps. Our destination was the unfortunately-named Poo-Poo Point. The trail was beautiful, but steep; about a thousand-foot elevation gain.

 In our two-mile slog to the top we saw a banana slug.

We tasted some red huckleberries—really sour, so not yet ready to pick.

The foxgloves were in full bloom.

Poo-Poo Point is best known as a great take-off point for para-gliders. We met a guy on the trail who was from Alaska, and he was in Seattle just to para-glide off Poo-Poo point. Unfortunately,  the winds weren't right, so we didn't see any para-gliders in action, but here is their take-off point, carpeted in artificial turf.

We ate our lunch at the picnic table overlooking the take-off spot, and enjoyed views of Lake Sammamish, Squak Mountain and Cougar Mountain, the site of our first weekly hike.

While I really enjoyed the views and the hike, I wasn't so happy on Saturday morning, when my legs were so sore I could barely walk downstairs. Even though I complained a bit about the steepness of the ascent, it was the downhill that got me!

Weekly Hike #3: Little Mount Si

The Fourth of July, Independence Day in the U.S., is a day that Mr. D and I often go on a hike, and often, that hike is up Little Mount Si. So this year, that's where we headed. Little Mount Si is in North Bend, Washington, and lies in the shadow of Mount Si (3,100 feet), which was made famous by the 1990s television series, Twin Peaks. Little Mount Si, is, of course not as high (about a thousand feet), and the trail is relatively easy, except for the very beginning and the end, which are both quite steep.

Here are some scenes from our hike:

This bench was erected in memory of Doug Hansen, who died on Mount Everest in 1996.

The deep and green forest.

 

Mount Si looms above Little Mount Si. Mr. D hikes to just below the large rock on the right at least once a week throughout most of the year.

North Bend, the Snoqualmie Valley and Rattlesnake Mountain. The little notch on Rattlesnake Mountain, just below the last cloud on the left, is Rattlesnake Ridge, where we hiked last week.

Lunch with a view.

Dessert: fresh, local, organic strawberries!