July 31, 2013 - Point Defiance Park- Fort Nisqually Hike

Today we went on a mid-day hike at Point Defiance Park and hiked up to Fort Nisqually. The hike was about 1.3 miles total, but included about 230 feet in elevation gain as we climbed up through the woods to the back side of the Fort. On our way back, we encountered a fawn and a doe on the trail, and they were as surprised as we were. This hike was a very nice local hike, as are all of the hikes in Point Defiance park.  Also, it was our eighth wedding anniversary today!

Wide, nice trails.



Luke holding Claire and carrying Levi


















Lookout post, Fort Nisqually.





Fort Nisqually

July 28, 2013 - Saint Edward State Park / Big Finn Hill Park



Today we hiked a trail through 2 different parks near where Jessica grew up and where her Aunt Sara walks almost every day. Aunt Sara and Brittany also joined us for this hike. We started at one end of Saint Edward State Park and then hiked into Big Finn Hill Park, a King County park. The trials were very quiet and mostly empty, except for a few mountain bikers. We started in the evening, and the sun was setting as we walked. Our turn around point was near an opening in the woods that was filled with huge blackberry bushes, the most wild blackberry bushes any of us had ever seen in one place. There was also a large grove of Madrona Trees on the trail. We walked around 1.2 miles total on a very walker friendly, kid friendly trail.

L to R Aunt Sara, Claire, Brittany, and Jessica

The trail is wide and well cared for.

Blackberries as far as we could see!

Luke holding Claire and carrying Levi.

 

July 27, 2013 - Silver Forest Trail - Elevation: 6400 feet - Mt. Rainer National Park

Today we went on a hike at Sunrise, on the Northeast side of Mt. Rainier. The Sunrise Visitor's Center and trail heads are at an elevation of 6,400 feet. We started out our visit with a picnic lunch near the Visitor's Center. This area is bear country, so we had to watch out for the big, hungry bear. After lunch we saddled Levi up in the baby-backpack and headed out on the Silver Forest Trail. This trail is 1.6 miles round trip, it is not a loop trail, but an out and back trail. The trail was very kid friendly, with very little elevation change or obstacles along the trail. There was no snow at this elevation. We did see a few squirrels along the trail, and heard and saw bird, but did not see any other wildlife. We did, however, see a tremendous display of wildflowers. They were blooming all over around the trail. Our views of Mt. Rainier were absolutely spectacular. We also could see Mt. Hood in Oregon from our vantage point. The large valley that the trail looked down on was the White River. On our way out of the park, we stopped at the White River and hiked down to it. The White River is fed by the Emmons Glacier on the Northeast side of the mountain and really does have a white appearance, perhaps due to silt or other minerals in the area. The river was very low, but I can only imagine the mighty river flowing when the river is at its highest level. We all had a great time, soaked up a lot of sun and had a great adventure hike on Mt. Rainier.

Levi, Luke, Claire and Jessica at Emmons Lookout Point along the trail.

So happy!

Levi, Luke and Claire at the start of the hike along the Silver Forest Trail.

Mt. Rainier from the Silver Forest Trail.

Jessica and Claire observing the wildflowers along the trail.

Claire brings glamour to the mountains.

Mt. Rainier and the White River from the Silver Forest Trail.

Levi, Luke and Claire.

It's the mountain!

Jessica on the Silver Forest Trail.

July 21, 2013 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma Washington

This afternoon we went to one of our favorite local parks here in Tacoma, Point Defiance. We parked near the rhododendron garden and started out on the trails. The path was wide, clear and quiet; a good walk for Claire. Even though the park was busy, the trail was mostly empty. We heard some birds in the trees, but did not really see any other wildlife. Our loop on the trail ended up being a little over 2 miles of hiking. I would recommend this trail as a good local hike on well taken care of and easy to navigate trails.

Luke with Levi and Claire

Claire and Jessica in the trail.

Very tall, very old growth trees.

Claire with a fallen tree as tall as her.

July 20, 2013 Hurricane Ridge Hike - Elevation 5242 feet - Olympic National Park

Following our hike on the Spruce Railroad trail around Lake Crescent, we resupplied and headed up into the Olympic Mountain Range to the lookout at Hurricane Ridge. The drive to the top is 17 miles of twisty, back-and-forth roads to climb us to over 5200 feet. At the top, there are spectacular views of the Olympic Mountain Range. There are some trails at the lookout point, and we did walk around a little. One of the trails still had snow on it! Claire and Levi touched the snow and were surprised that it was cold. The lookout point was busy, but the views of the Olympic Mountain Range made it worth it. If we hadn't already walk many miles earlier this day, we would have walked around more of the trails at the summit. On the drive down the mountain, we noticed the big full moon coming out in the dusk sky along the mountain range, what a beautiful sight.

Luke Jessica Claire and Levi at Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park

 

Claire and Levi touching the snow in July.

 

Claire is such a good hiker.

Claire, Jessica and Levi with snow in the background.

Snow in July.

July 20, 2013 Hike on the Spruce Railroad Trail in the Olympic National Park

Today we hiked around the magnificent Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Park/Forest. After stopping by the Park Headquarters in Port Angeles, WA, we drove about 20 miles west to the start of the Spruce Railroad Trail at Lake Crescent. Before setting off down the trail, we ate lunch at the trail-head. There were three people riding horses resting at the trail-head, and we were able to watch them mount up and ride off. Claire really enjoyed watching the horses.

Luke with Levi in the pack and holding Claire

The trail started off in the woods and eventually made its was along the beautiful shores of Lake Crescent. The lake is officially 624 feet deep, but could be over 1000 feet deep in some spots. The water looked very blue on this sunny, cool day. Although the trail was up and down and all around, it was mostly kid friendly. The trail offered amazing views of the surrounding mountain ranges. We walked somewhere between 4-5 miles total, the walk back always seems faster than the walk out.

 

      

These are some of the views from the trail of Lake Crescent and the surrounding mountains.

Claire and Jessica on the trail.

Luke and Levi on the trail.

Claire and Jessica walking along Lake Crescent.

Rocky slopes above the trail.         

Lake Crescent.

Levi took "break time" very seriously.

Claire resting before the walk back.

July 18, 2013 Hike at Dash Point State Park

Today we went for a mid-day hike at Dash Point State Park, in Federal Way Washington. This state park is on the shore of Puget Sound, and is only a few miles from Decatur High School. The hike starts at shore level and follows a small creek through the woods. We saw a few banana slugs along the trail. We also found a huge old tree trunk and a tree slide. Claire loved the slide and enjoyed putting her hands in the cold creek water.

Luke holding Claire and carrying Levi

 

This hike was fun but the steep stairs up some of the hills were difficult for Claire to climb. The trail was quiet, clean and not busy. We walked down to the beach after the hike and had a nice picnic lunch while the tide came in.

     

 

Overall, this was a fun mid-week, local hike.