Lookout Mountain

I could have stayed home this morning, and coffee and the news would've been nice. Instead, I got up at 4:30, and drove up to Marblemount and the trailhead for Lookout Mountain. I've wanted to hike this trail for many years, and finally it is in the bag. I think this may have been the last weekend of summer, and the high country will probably be shutting down in a month or so. As Janis said, Get it while you can.

Lots of trucks on the road early this AM. I guess salmon fishing for kings and coho opened up on the Cascade River--and I saw a few on my way back. Also, hunting season is here.

This trail is a tough climb--about 4500 feet elevation gain, I think, over 4.5 miles. Mike and I did its sibling trail, Monogram Lake, a month or two ago. I think that was a tad harder, but we were carrying a bit more gear. The trail is fine, but there are some steep edges and so watch your step. Overall, the hike is about 9.5 miles.

I was the first one on trail, starting at daybreak (6:30 AM). It took me three hours to get to the lookout. I was walking through the clouds for a good portion of the way. The views up top were limited by the clouds, although I got a good look down valley at one point. The weatherman promised better.

A nice young couple from down south had the lookout to themselves last night. We talked and shared a bit, as I investigated what was to be seen. A lightning stool. An antique headlamp. A library with a definite nature writing focus. The log book (entry made). A stove, but I'm not sure if it worked. A couple beds. 360 views of the Baker, Shuksan, the Picketts, Hidden Peak, and so on, on a good day, with pictures on the wall to identify the mountains.

I was disappointed not to see any bears or other big animals. Maybe they saw me. I passed 13 or so people coming up, on my way down. Somebody's mom complained, "This is not a beginner hike." I think tomorrow I'll feel the downhill more than anything. My hips and quads are not fans. Age.

This was maybe my 10th lookout in Washington State. There's a nice new book out on fire lookouts in Washington--great write up in there on this hike. This also was my first solo hike in the high country in a little while--at least since last year, but I didn't hike much then. It felt good to get lost in my thoughts.

I got home in time for the second half of the UW Husky game, which we won, big, over BYU. Everyone's excited about Jacob Eason now.

Little Mountain Trail-a-Thon 10k

I ran a 10k on Little Mountain yesterday, in support of the efforts to improve the trail system there.  Little Mountain is in south Mount Vernon, and so the start of the race, at the Carpenter Creek Winery, was minutes from home. I liked the unusual start time of 2 PM, which was perfectly timed at 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Seahawks game. The 10k distance allowed me to get home in time for the finish of the Rams-Saints game.

Yesterday was a very wet day, with sideways rain coming down. It wasn't so bad during the run, but the rain pounded on the roof before and after the event. The running group was small--maybe 30 runners? I was the last one out of the parking lot, heading on to the trail. I huffed and puffed up the hills--the first mile or two of the event is mostly up, on switchbacks. I passed a few people, but mostly ran alone, when I wasn't hiking, bent over. The trails were beautiful. The view from the top, pictured above, was a bit obscured by clouds and rain. During tulip festival, you can see the fields, in stripes of yellow and reds. The end of the run was a great downhill, though potentially slippery. I finished in 1:28, which seems quicker than when I ran a 10k on a similar course here. Slept well last night.

The work that has been done on this trail system in the last 15 years has been incredible. The trails benefit runners, hikers, mountain bikers and other enthusiasts. Thank you to all the volunteers who make these trails great, and to everyone who put on the event yesterday.

Baker Lake Trail

We hiked a bit of the Baker Lake Trail today, starting from the Baker River trailhead. Rain was in the forecast, but we lucked out there. The river on the Baker River was really moving. I was hoping to see sockeye, but no luck there. Perhaps if we went up the Baker River trail, instead of across the bridge and on to the Baker Lake Trail.

This is one of my favorite places, and I'm planning again to be at the 50k in a few weeks. Hard to say if I'll be able to keep doing that race each year, as much as I'd like to. The hardest thing about streaks is not the effort, but rather over time other commitments press for the specific weekend.

Going slow was nice, as I took a longer look at the big trees, and the places a bear might hide. There are a number of little cave like rock formations near the turnaround. No bears today though.

The best thing about today's hike was going with Carrie, Brad and Deb. Great to finally get out together on the trail.

Skagit Flats Half Marathon

I had the pleasure today of running the Skagit Flats Half Marathon. I originally signed up for the full--like last year I think--but stepped down to the half, having just ran the Labor Day Half six days ago. My legs were still tired.  This two-pack of halfs emphasize flat and fast.

The weather was overcast. We had a memorable lightning storm the night before, and the skies were still cloudy. The course is country roads, although this year there seemed to be a few more cars, which probably was because the MS Ride was happening on other valley roads the same time, and drivers were cutting across the valley to support their riders. Or not--just a guess.

I ran the second half faster than the first half, as I reached the turnaround a bit behind the 2:30 pacer, but ended up finishing at 2:23. Slow, but it was encouraging to be able to run steady for the final six.

I volunteered on Saturday at the packet pickup, which was enjoyable. I liked seeing all the runners come in, focused and ready to go. It sort of reminded me of what a great group runners can be, overall. Many thanks to all the good people of Skagit Runners for putting this run on for its 42nd year. It takes a lot of effort and people, and year after year the club delivers. It's a nice thing to be a part of.

Labor Day Half Marathon

I seem to be going for a bit of nostalgia and memory with some of my hike and run choices of late, as I've gone back to some oldies but goodies a number of times. Today I ran the Labor Day Half Marathon with Mike. This race is one of those annual traditions in the Seattle running community. I first ran this race in 1997, and got my personal best for the half on the course, which is flat and fast.

The course now starts in Redmond Town Center, which didn't exist back then, and after circling the Redmond area, basically goes out and back to where the wineries are in Woodinville. The course is as I said flat--it probably has an elevation gain of about 10 feet, plus or minus. The trail parallels the slough, which may have a more formal name these days.

I liked the idea of running this race again, because this is where I grew up. As I told Mike, I can remember biking down this trail as a teenager, to visit Redmond for auto parts and outdoor gear. In particular, I remember carrying a drive shaft to my car in one hand, as a I pedaled my 10 speed to B&B to have something machined. Another time, my cousin and I tried to raft the slough, which I guess they now call the "Samamish River". For me, it will always be "the slough". I think we made it from Marymoor to 60 Acres, before going to shore and begging someone to call a family member. No current. since I actually pulled out of a river earlier this year.

My run today was a little odd. I went in thinking I wouldn't run hard--I seem to do this a lot, despite the fact that the run is technically called a race. Mike and I ran the first two miles, which was pretty cool, since I knew Mike was going to run faster down the way.  I keep a pretty steady pace, but I seemed to be sweating way too much--one of those sweats where you think all the weird minerals are coming out the pores. Magnesium, chlorophyl, whatever. There was a bit of sun and UV, so that might've been it. I slowed down the slow bus a few times, but I was pretty steady. I finished in 2:22, which is actually faster than I've been running of late. Much room for improvement, but I'm running a bit more these days.

Mike and I saw some sort of big fish in the slough, making ripples, and then watched a heron go after it. This all went down in a matter of seconds, but was pretty cool.

One of the things I liked about the race was all the t-shirts, with runners representing all sorts of places. I saw Maui, the Big Island, Brooklyn, Club Northwest, Finn Hill, Poulsbo, and so on. This is an event for people racing, and the winning time was under 1:10. Picture of leader below.  They also had lots of eats at the end, a nice shirt and medal, all for a pretty good price.

Afterwards, I visited Mike's place, and then my cousin Paul's, before making the pilgrimage up I-5 through the returning-home Labor Day traffic. Listened to Field Notes to a Catastrophe, by Elizabeth Kolbert, about global warming. Not a rosy picture.

Northern Lights in Skagit

I've been following a Washington State group on-line which watches for the aurora borealis. There was a lot of excitement in the group last night, as reports suggested a high likelihood for sighting them in the midnight hours.

People started reporting seeing the lights south of me around 11 PM. I had no plan and I was tired, but just the same, I decided to go looking. I ended up driving out towards Samish Island, where there is less light and the water is near.  It was so quiet. A car drove by about once every half hour.  The milky way was visible, as were the lights of the refinery, Anacortes, Mt. Constitution, and so on. I heard little critters--little I think--moving in the brush. There wasn't much moon, and though I'm very comfortable in such settings, it still was spooky.

I didn't get a good view on the northern lights. No bunches of green.  I did seem to see columns of light moving around a little bit, and I'm pretty sure that was them. There was a pale glow in the sky, beyond the island and Blanchard. I think if I had a better camera, it would've picked up something more with an open shutter/time lapse approach. We have one, and tripods too, so maybe this will be a winter mission, perhaps up at Mt. Baker or at Northern States.

Alas, the best picture I got is the black photo above, from my phone. If you click on it, there is a slight glow about midway up, trust me. The night adventure though was pretty cool.