Week two of smoky, hot, stifling weather. If I was feeling ready for fall before, now I'm practically ready to move to the southern hemisphere for legitimate winter! After letting the poor air quality keep me indoors most of last week, I finally gave up and decided that I needed to get outside, weather be damned. I had a busy weekend, so I didn't make it out for any hikes, but taking a short walk in the afternoon a few times over the week was about all I could handle with the smoke. Finally, Saturday night we got some rain to clear out the smoke and restore the mountain views I'd missed so much!
Read moreLife: Week 31
I am so ready for fall - cool weather, colorful leaves, soup, sweaters, and rain! This week started off nicely enough - we'd had plans for a trip over the weekend and both had Monday off work, but we wound up cancelling the plans and instead had a quiet day off close to home. We went for a short hike on a new trail on Squak Mountain, then had lunch accompanied by a few drinks in Issaquah. As we drove south to the trailhead, Mt Rainier could clearly be seen off in the distance, and since the trail description specifically mentioned a good view of Rainier, I was surprised when we reached our destination but were unable to find the mountain. By Monday evening, a haze of smoke from the fires British Columbia had settled in, a haze which only seemed to get worse throughout the week. Combined with the oppressive heat (at least to this wimpy PNW native) consistently in the 90s, the smoke has meant a lot of time spent indoors over the week. I am so ready for fall - cool weather, colorful leaves, soup, sweaters, and rain! This week started off nicely enough - we'd had plans for a trip over the weekend and both had Monday off work, but we wound up cancelling the plans and instead had a quiet day off close to home. We went for a short hike on a new trail on Squak Mountain, then had lunch accompanied by a few drinks in Issaquah. As we drove south to the trailhead, Mt Rainier could clearly be seen off in the distance, and since the trail description specifically mentioned a good view of Rainier, I was surprised when we reached our destination but were unable to find the mountain. By Monday evening, a haze of smoke from the fires British Columbia had settled in, a haze which only seemed to get worse throughout the week. Combined with the oppressive heat (at least to this wimpy PNW native) consistently in the 90s, the smoke meant a lot of time spent indoors over the week.
Read moreLife: Week 30
Work is still quiet, but since the busy fall season is fast approaching, I'm trying to get out for afternoon walks as often as possible. Luckily, the blackberries are finally ripe, so I have delicious trail snacks to keep me motivated! We had a few birthdays to celebrate, so we stuck close to home for the weekend. For the first time this summer, we were actually around on a Saturday morning, which meant a trip to the Redmond Farmer's Market. Since we had guests Saturday night, I picked up peaches for pie in addition to a lovely armload of summer market flowers. While I find it hard to resist the temptation to pack every summer weekend with hikes and camping, the quiet weekend made for a nice break.
Read moreLife: Week 29
I've been getting off work early during our slow season over the summer, which means time for long walks around Redmond. I haven't found any ripe blackberries yet, but any day now the city trails will be perfumed with the scent of ripe berries. I've also been making gradual progress on a sweater I started knitting a few months ago for a friend. So far it's very boring, straightforward knitting, but the yarn color is so gorgeous that it's still fun to work on! Saturday, Andy and I got an early start to meet my dad for a weekend in the mountains. My dad wanted to check out the fishing at a lake near their cabin, so that's where we were headed. The hike started off with a gentle 4.5 mile hike from the cabin, with a rather exciting stream crossing around the halfway point. After a junction signed "trail not maintained beyond this point" (beware these signs!) the last mile to the lake was a punishing climb of a little over 1000' straight up the basin wall - definitely Type II fun, bordering on Type III.
Read moreLife: Week 28
More weeks like this, please! We've had endless sunshine recently, but thankfully the temperatures have mostly stayed comfortable. Before Andy's sister and her family headed back to California, we spent a long evening on the patio of a nearby restaurant, sipping cocktails and eventually settling in around their fire pit after the sun went down. It was the perfect way to spend an evening - if only we could have more of them! I don't know about everyone else in the Seattle area, but on clear summer days, Mt. Rainier calls to me off in the distance. After so many cloudless days, I could no longer resist the call, and on a sunny Saturday morning this week, we joined the Alpine Trails Book Club for a phenomenal hike on the mountain. Seeing our neighboring volcano from a distance was nothing compared to hiking in the park itself, with clear up-close views of the glacier covered behemoth.
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