After a week of warm, sunny weather, Andy and I had hopes that one of our favorite nearby trails would be snow free and showing signs of spring. Saturday morning, we headed out for a hike, and were discouraged to see snow lingering in all the shady places as we neared the trailhead. Even worse, when we parked, the microspikes that I would have sworn had spent the entire winter in our car were nowhere to be found! Still, hoping the traction of our hiking boots would be sufficient we decided to attempt the trail. Sadly, about halfway up the trail, the well packed snow had turned to ice and with a narrow trail and steep slope, we decided to turn back, opting instead for a lunch and some beer back in Redmond where we had a better chance of pretending winter was over!
Life: Week 11
Every year in early spring, I find myself surprised by the return of birds, and the constant music of their chirps, squawks, and trills, especially on rainy mornings. Along with unpredictable weather and the scent of early blooms in the air, it's one of the sings of spring that I've come to enjoy the most. After not hiking for several weeks in a row, I was determined that Andy and I would manage to fit in a hike this weekend. With unstable snow conditions in the mountains, I decided on a nearby lower elevation trail. Built in 2017, the trail to Heybrook Ridge is still pretty new, and this was our first visit. On a misty Sunday morning, we were one of only three cars parked at the trailhead, and we only passed a handful of people on our short hike. After an easy climb up to the ridge, we even had the viewpoint to ourselves! Even if the tops of the surrounding peaks were obscured by a blanket of grey clouds, this was level of solitude on such an easily accessible trail was astonishing. I'm sure this trail would be packed on a sunnier day, but this is definitely a hike I'll want to revisit in the future!
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After a frustrating week filled with rain and too much work stress, it was extra lovely to have my cousin and her daughter visiting from Portland for the weekend! We spent the weekend brunching and aimlessly browsing bookstores. If I can't be out on a trail, bookstores are definitely my favorite place to be, so spending almost an entire weekend in them did wonders for my stress level, although my bank account certainly didn't benefit from all that book buying! If I keep this up, soon my to-read book pile will tower over my bed, and I may run the risk of waking up to a book avalanche one day soon. At least they're mostly paperbacks...
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After the power outage last week, I wound up getting my Monday breakfast from a favorite cafe near my office - a large chocolate chip cookie and cardamom latte. I definitely need more of that latte in my life, although I would prefer something a little less sugary and a little more hearty for breakfast next time. In other news, spring is officially here! Every morning now, the air smells like flowers and rain. It's so much better than any perfume I've ever found. In other, other news, my first cold of the year is here! I've gone from feeling almost recovered to feeling miserable at least twice now, so it seems like this one will be with me for a while. On Sunday, I felt well enough to make it to my first Alpine Trails book club meeting. We hiked the Old Sauk River, then sat on the mossy forest carpet to share snacks and discuss the book, Grandma Gatewood's Walk. All morning, the skies looked ominous, but we only had the occasional light sprinkling of rain. It was the perfect trail for the day, and I can't think of a better way to have spent the first day of spring!
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