What a gloriously beautiful day to enjoy the Seattle Waterfront. This was a trip by public transit, so my van stayed home while 16 people  joined me for the journey via bus and light rail to the Westlake Station. Our walking tour featured the new Overlook Walk, but that was just one of the many highlights of the day. We spent some time at Pike Place Market, walked the Waterfront Park promenade all the way to Lumen Field and back, took a ride on the Great Wheel, took in the Wings Over Washington immersive theater experience, and had a tasty lunch out under the sunshine near Elliot Bay. It was a day of fun adventures and gorgeous urban scenery.

Rattlesnake Mountain rises up to the south of North Bend, but not to the north of South Bend, if you follow me there. Much of the mountain occupies the Raging River State Forest, and the forest lands have a first-rate system of trails and roads that are popular for hikers, runners, and mountain bikers. The Snoqualmie Point Trailhead gives access to these trails, and it was a busy place on this sunny spring Sunday. We hiked up about 4 miles of excellent forest trail to reach the viewpoint known as Grand Prospect. It looks down over 2000 feet right above North Bend, and has great views out toward Mt. Si and other landmarks to the north. More views can be had by climbing up nearby West Peak (of Rattlesnake Mountain), including jaw-dropping views of Rainier and many of the Snoqualmie Valley mountains. A big "well done" to everyone in the group today, for logging over 10 miles and 2300 feet of elevation gain.

I returned for a second trip to the sagebrush covered hills outside Yakima to hike the trails at Snow Mountain Ranch. The dry weather and the wildflowers are the reason we make the long journey, and both were in abundance for our group on this trip. Some people opted for a shorter 4 mile loop, while others climbed to the 2982-foot summit of Cowiche Mountain and completed close to 7 miles total.

It was a showery morning in the south Sound region as we headed down to Sumner to walk about 4 miles along an easy paved path next to the White River. This is a great example of a busy area that we usually zoom through on the freeways, not knowing the pleasant natural areas that are close by. The trail serves as a link that connects the King County Interurban Trail with the Foothills Trail in Pierce County, making a trail route of over 30 miles possible from Tukwila to Buckley. The showery conditions made it appealing to have lunch at a local restaurant, so we checked out The Buttered Biscuit in downtown Buckley. After lunch, we took a short side trip to go to Two Rivers Point, the spot where the White River and Puyallup River converge.

The Mount Tahoma Trails Association operates a system of winter trails and four backcountry huts in the foothills above Ashford, not far from Mount Rainier. Copper Creek Hut sits at 4200 feet, overlooking the Nisqually Valley, and is a nice destination for overnighting or day tripping. It's about 3.3 miles from the parking area to the hut, following a forest road. This was advertised as a snowshoe or ski trip, but the relative lack of snow meant that it was just a partly-snow-covered hike. The weather was cloudy with periodic showers, so it was nice to hang out in the hut, cook a hot lunch, play a couple games of cards, and just relax in the comfortable accommodations.  

This was the first "east of the mountains" hike of the spring, as we traveled over near Yakima to explore the shrub-steppe (don't call it desert) habitat that is so common in south-central Washington. An organization called the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy has worked for 40 years to protect thousands of acres in this region, and the many fine trails at Snow Mountain Ranch are one of the finest examples of their work. We were able to enjoy them on a near-perfect, sunny 55° day when the spring wildflowers were starting to look nice. I gave folks the option of a shorter or longer loop, going part way or all the way to the top of Cowiche Mountain. No matter where you hiked though, the scenery was grand and the conditions were sublime.

This has been a great winter season for my snowshoe tours in the Mount Baker region. This trip marked the fourth time up there near the ski area, and all trips were excellent, with good snow and great views. Today was a close call with the views, but the weather actually turned out nicer than the forecast, and we got to see more than we expected. It turns out that March was the snowiest month at Mount Baker since 2021, so we had wonderful snow-- 14 feet of it on the ground at Heather Meadows!

We took the ferry across to the Kitsap Peninsula to explore a nice urban trail that runs through Silverdale. We walked over 5 miles in total, starting at the north end of town and heading south to the Old Mill Park on Puget Sound. After a nice lunch break kissed by sunshine, we returned to our starting point to complete the tour. Clear Creek is a salmon stream that has undergone extensive rehabilitation, and local school children get involved by helping at the hatchery to raise and release the juvenile salmon. The trail has many fine boardwalks that lead visitors through wetlands teeming with birds, and signs of beaver activity are everywhere.

I made two trips to Lummi Island over the weekend, thanks to the many people who wanted to visit this peaceful island to the west of Bellingham. We took the small (20-vehicle capacity) Whatcom County ferry for the five-minute trip across Hale Passage, and then explored some of the nice public nature preserves on Lummi. Our main hike was at Baker Preserve, a 435-acre oasis of wilderness with a great trail that climbs to an overlook 1100 feet above the sea. After that, we took short hikes at some of the smaller nature preserves, and did some car touring around the island as well.  

The gentle valley of Gold Creek near Snoqualmie Pass has been the setting of around 75 snowshoe tours that I have led over the years. The terrain is easy, the scenery is great, and access from I-90 is simple (if you get there early), so this is a wonderful spot for beginners or those wanting a low challenge level outing in the snow. Changes are coming this year in the form of a major creek restoration project that will last for 5-7 years, so future access is somewhat in doubt. The project is needed because Gold Creek Pond, formed in the 1960's as a remnant of a deep gravel pit, has altered the hydrology of the creek, and caused widespread disruption to the ecosystems there. For now however, the snow is deep and beautiful, and we enjoyed a 5-mile tour through the valley in nice fresh new snow.

It was a windy and wild weather day for our hike around Discovery Park in Seattle. Rainshowers alternated with sunbreaks every few minutes, and the wind gusts were clocked at nearly 40mph at times along the shoreline. We hiked a loop route of a little over 6 miles, sampling a variety of the park's many features. We had some forest hiking that featured many giant maples and flowering bushes. We had some wetlands with lots of ducks and other birds. We had beach walking along Puget Sound, featuring entertainment from the kite-boarders trying to sail in the high winds. We also had some history, walking past several of the building left over from the Fort Lawton era, when a major military installation was here. And we also had some exposure to the native tribes presence here, which included a stop at the beautiful Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.

This special place between the towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend is a 460-acre public space consisting of prairie, woodland, and wetland habitats. Traditionally used as farm land, it was acquired by the two cities in 1996, and is managed by a non-profit preservation association. We took a 3- mile walk around the property, accompanied by association president Mary Norton, who told us all about the history of the area, including some of the native legends, and the development of the preserve. It is also home to a wide array of plant, bird, and animal life, including a resident elk herd that is frequently seen. The elk were elusive today, but the views of the valley and surrounding mountains were beautiful.