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.

Once we reached the lake, Andy joined my dad out on the lake for some fishing while I stuck around camp with my dad's dogs. My evening in the mountains was rather spoiled when sickness struck, leaving me too nauseous to join my dad and Andy for a dinner of freeze dried beef stew, or the beers we'd packed in. Instead I nibbled on a corner of protein bar, then went to bed early. Thankfully I slept fairly well, and while I still felt weak in the morning I was well enough to manage the hike out. By the time we made it back to my parents cabin, the combination of hot weather, my persisting queasiness, and the previous night's skipped dinner had sapped me of all my energy. After the short drive home and a quick dinner, I was asleep well before the sun set!