Seattle-Based Excursions

Palisades Lakes

Palisades Lakes is located in the north-eastern portion of Mt Rainier National Park, but nominally has no view of the mountain. Certainly the reason we hadn't visited before now. But with great weather, and the reportedly snow-free trail, we opted for the bigger vistas of the sub-alpine country instead of the lower, more heavily wooded hikes that were our alternatives.

And an excellent choice it was. The hike has the unusual characteristic (at least in the NW) that the trailhead is the high point, so you initially head seriously down. Multiple beautiful lakes, sunshine, and green meadows dotted with flowers, subalpine firs and mountain hemlock. Very soothing. We even found the energy to do a side excursion to the top of Brown Peak, which had big-time views in every direction ... including Mt Rainier. After grunting back up to the trailhead, we made a mandatory stop at Sunrise to take in the close-up views from there. Another awesome day in the Pacific Northwest! And amazingly enough, only 1 mosquito!


Purple Phlox

Palisades and Mt Rainier from the flank of Brown Peak

Upper Palisades Lake below the Palisades

Meadow Path

Marsh marigold and Clover Lake

More Palisades Lakes Photos

Whidbey Island

With a heat wave settling into the Puget Sound region ("only" upper 80's, but no AC), we took a day trip to Whidbey Island. At 50+ miles long, it's the longest island in Washington, and, most importantly, it sits in the Puget Sound, which does a nice job of moderating the air temps. We spent most of the day lazily exploring the numerous beaches, coves and outcroppings at Deception Pass State Park, but also checked out the bluff at Ebey's Landing, with commanding views across Puget Sound to the Olympic Mtns. Not totally surprising, this area was a WWII gunnery installation that, in concert with several others in the area, protected the entrance to Puget Sound from possible Japanese incursions. Fortunately, the guns were only fired in target practice and decommissioned shortly after the war.

Cliffside View

Olympic Mtns across Puget Sound

More Whidbey Island Photos

Kendall Katwalk (almost)

Our next attempt at avoiding the worst of the heat was to head up to the mountains. We hiked the Pacific Crest Trail north from Snoqualmie Pass toward the Kendall Katwalk (a short section of trail blasted out of the side of a cliff). A pretty stiff climb through some open old timber, through flower-dotted meadows and rock gardens, with vistas opening up as we climbed. One tricky little move to avoid a lingering snow bank, and we were clear to the ridge. And with that came the big views to the other side. After all, that's what always draws us onward, right? Another great blue-sky day in the mountains!