Friday Morning Visit To Little Mount Si

It has been about three weeks since Bogie had his surgery and we were both anxious to enjoy a trail together.


Little Mount Si was one of the first hikes we explored when moving out here and its 4 mile length seemed perfect.



There is only one stream on the trail and Bogie made sure to enjoy it coming up to the summit and going back to the trailhead.




A first for us, there were two dozen or so kids on the summit when we arrived. I guess it was part of some "adventurers" party.


This worked out well since we both were a little tuckered out. I had gone for a 4 mile run before heading out to the hike. The picture at the top of this post is Bogie immediately after hitting the summit.



It was a hoot seeing all these kids interact with each other and it added an interesting new tweak to the hike experience. We held off on taking pictures until the group headed down.





Just like the last time, when I tried to take some pictures with the both of us (with the length of my arm extended out), Bogie took this opportunity to lick some of my well earned sweat.


Heading back down, we hit a little snag. With the hundreds of times I'm sure this has happened on our walks, this it the first one I've captured.

Thursday Morning Hike Of Mount Rainer - Skyline Trail

Hiking season in the Pacific Northwest has been reduced this year due to record winter snowfalls, late snowfalls and overall cooler temperatures. I had no idea it would be the first of September before I made good on my new years resolution to visit the big mountain. However, I couldn't have picked a better day to ask off and the entire hike was glorious from the first step to the last.







Yes, bogie is missing from these pictures for a couple reasons. First off, pets are not allowed to enjoy trails within national parks. The second is that he is recovering from surgery to remove a fatty mass that has been slowly growing the last few years.





This last picture is right before reaching Panorama Point (6,227 feet). From there I had a couple options and decided to continue forward on the high trail but first ...


yes, a toilet is available here. Look at this view right as you exit the facility.




Here you can see some serious wannabe hikers going through some training on dealing with snow. I look at all the gear they are carrying and come away quite satisfied with my day hike load (being a jacket and a camera).




I'm sure the wildflowers are not a magnificent as usual this time of year. However, still wanted to try my hand at a couple shots!



No snowplow did this! Just the funny way nature on the mountain will pile up snow in one particular area.



On the way back, checked out a couple waterfalls. Check out the rainbow at the bottom of the last picture.

Thursday Morning Hike With Bogie To Lake 22

At the day job, we are given three personal holidays and you have to schedule them in advance. I've been saving mine because hiking season has been off to a slow start with all the snow pack accumulated this winter. Even though there are still reports of significant snow on top of Mount Dickerman, decided to give it a go. It is a long trek from my new home south of Seattle and traffic was awful. We were about 30 minutes from Mount Dickerman when I decided to settle for the Lake 22 hike. Although the late start was a factor in this decision, the cloud cover was the real concern. I've trekked all the way to the summit before in conditions like that. One time the cloud cover burned off (excellent!) and one time it didn't (no view).



Trail activity was light, as you would expect on a Thursday morning. The views were nice on the way up.



The lake was pretty as always. This picture of me is on one side. I have a another picture of me below from the opposite end of the lake.






A nice set of shots as we progress around the side of the lake. You can see the bridge off in the distance in one of them. That is where the trail comes out to the lake.



Here you can see Bogie on top of a mini ice cave. In the first picture, if you look up to the top left, you can see a mammoth ice cave. A few hikers were up there and you could tell the cave mouth must have been 30 to 40 feet tall!



Here is that picture I told you about from the opposite end of the lake.



Slightly bummed out that we missed doing Mount Dickerman but the decision did seem to be the correct one. The cloud cover didn't seem to burn off while we were in the area and the summit would likely have been less than ideal.