Drizzle, Drizzle, Everywhere

Total Walking Miles this past week (Monday 5/5 - Friday 5/9): 60.8 miles
Total Training Miles Today (Saturday 5/10): 16.2 miles

Everyone arrived at 6:15 this morning, put on our packs, and headed out.

The weather was Seattle drizzle. It's that little pesky "not quite rain" that manages to coat everything with enough water to wet our coats and pants.

We saw the elk herd again. At first all we could see were their white butts, but as we got closer every head was turned our way. They headed into the forest as we drew nearer.

The herd of elk at the end of the field.

 Patti brought Bud today. She couldn't stand leaving him home because he is always so excited when it is time to hit the trail. And to give Bud credit, he did GREAT today. Perhaps last week he just wasn't feeling well. We were sure glad he was doing better.

Bud had a smile on his face.

 We walked out to Lake Sawyer and then along Ravensdale Creek to the ladder bridge. Along the way, Bridget had to wait at every stream access point, hoping that someone would throw a stick for her. She is a "nut" when it comes to chasing after a stick in the water.

Bridget waits patiently for someone to throw a stick

 Debbie stopped at the ladder bridge to get a picture of her with her pack and trekking poles. She sent a picture to her son to show him what her outfit looks like. She also sported a fancy new hat today. For this picture, it was being worn in "stealth" mode green.

Debbie with her pack, poles and hiking hat.

 On the path beyond the ladder bridge, we came upon our rock pile. I stacked a few rocks; one had a slug hanging from it. Of course, Debbie had to notice that it looked like a face.

Rock monument with a face - a rather slimy affair.

 Along the trail we came upon a man riding a bike. I heard him in the distance, and mentioned that I thought there was someone coming, but I guess Patti didn't hear me. He came riding up and Patti just about jumped out of her shoes! She said that he sacred the "living daylights" out of her. Of course, I had to wonder if once the living daylights are out, do they ever come back?

We finally got to the trail crossing with the rock mounds, and Patti did her spin around within the rock cairns for good luck. Or, perhaps, just to feel dizzy.

End of the spin within the rock piles

 Just up the trail, we came to the black hole again. Debbie and I walked ahead so we could get a picture of Patti emerging from the blackness.

Patti emerges from the black hole.

It took us just over two hours to finish our hike today. By the end, the drizzle had stopped. Debbie said she might go to REI today to get a stove and sleeping bag. I gave Patti a gear list, so she could see what other items she might need to get to be ready for our overnight hike in July.

Into the Black Hole

Total Training Miles Today (Sunday 5/4): 15.5 miles

Patti left a message that she was sick, so Debbie and I hit the trail at 6:15 along with Bridget.

It had been raining all night, and this morning there was a slight sprinkle, but it was warm. I didn't want to wear my coat. But, I didn't want to get soaked either. So, I rigged my umbrella under my chest strap, which allowed me to carry my camera and use my trekking pole! Fortunately, or unfortunately, the rain stopped about 20 minutes into the hike, so I had Debbie slip the umbrella under my stretch cords for quick access if I needed it.

We headed towards Oak lake, but decided not to try to walk around it due to high water. On the way we saw a couple of elk near the gravel pit.

Elk near the gravel pit

We cut through the woods and walked on the road between Lake Sawyer and Frog Lake. 

Frog Lake

Debbie wondered how high the water was in Frog Lake, so we went out the trail and found that the water was low enough to use the path around the lake.

A pair of geese eye us from the middle of Frog Lake

From Frog Lake we headed up to the forest road and then took a path that followed the ridge above Ravensdale Creek. At one spot the trail heads into the very dark woods. It always looks like we are heading into a "black hole".

Debbie heads into the Black Hole

We wound around the trails and stopped a couple of times to re-stack the rock monuments along the way.

Debbie re-stacks the rocks

We cut back through the woods and headed back to the car after a bit over two hours of walking.

Debbie walks the grassy trail

Debbie was not carrying her pack today because she has a sore back. She said, "Someone hugged me too hard yesterday." That must have been quite a hug!

Forest Green

Total Walking Miles this past week (Monday 4/28 - Friday 5/2): 80.7 miles
Total Training Miles Today (Saturday 5/3): 16.5 miles

Debbie had to work today, so it was just Patti and I on our walk. This is Patti's first walk in over a week, as she was visiting her brother last weekend. However, she did visit the REI store there, and bought a "Jet Boil" stove. She had it in her pack today and is carrying a bit over 14 pounds.


Although a storm is coming in, and although it rained off and on last night, it was clear weather for our walk. On the way towards Lake Sawyer, we saw a large elk. Of course, the elk bolted for the forest, but I got a good picture of Bridget as she raced after!

Bridget in hot pursuit of the elk as it runs for the woods. 

The lake was really calm and I got Patti to show us what her pack looks like. She had a pack cover on since we expected rain.

Patti and Bridget. 

On our way up from the lake, we both noticed that Bud was not moving very fast. Patti mentioned a while back that she knew that Bud has a heart condition. During the rest of the walk, we had to encourage him to keep going as he would tend to lag way behind. Poor guy!

Patti follows Bud up the road. 

We took the trail that follows Ravensdale Creek. This is one of my favorite spots on the trail. Everything was SO green. I love it this time of year.

Bob admiring the forest greenery. 

When we got to the main trail (where the train tracks used to run), Patti loved that the path was lined in yellow. The scotch broom bushes are in full bloom now. Besides, it was good to allow Bud to catch his breath.

Scotch broom are in bloom. 

From this point on, Bud was really moving slowly, so I suggested to Patti that she walk on ahead, get to her car, and meet us on the road. This would have been a really good idea, except for the fact that as she got further away, Bud would pull everything together and move faster. By the time we got near the road, Bud was almost caught up to Patti. Once we got to the road where the dump trucks were busy hauling gravel, Patti went on ahead and returned with her car. Bud gave a noticeable whine of joy as he got into the car for his ride home.