Fantastic local park with lots of trails and history. Even an off leash leading down to the lake.
We hiked from the main lot to Tiger 3, 2, and 1. There was a section approximately 150' long with significant treefall from the recent bomb cyclone. Any path through is being made, but expect to "wood scramble". Very slick and slippery when wet.
Near gale winds (>15 mph, my cutoff for acceptable risk) forecasted for 10 a.m. when we would be nearing Margaret's Way highpoint, made it prudent to reschedule for 12/17/24. I used this as an opportunity to introduce the Beaufort Scale and what went into making the decision so everyone on the hike could learn from it.
Enjoyable outing with reasonable snow conditions
A tour of West Point and Magnolia Bluff from Golden Gardens beach
Fun trip along the mostly flat Green to Cedars trail to Lake Wilderness, visiting a labrynth, the Arboretum and the Gnome trail
West Seattle Urban Night Walk featured a surprise astronomy pop-up by Dark Sky Committee Chair on clear, cold December outing.
Double loop / figure-8 plus extension to Far Country Viewpoint. Cleared of blowdowns & debris from Nov 2024 storms.
Spur of the moment Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Burner paddle! Great group and an unexpected encounter with a curious sea lion made for a fun day. Plus, higher than expected winds on the east side of the route made for a somewhat more vigorous paddle. So mission accomplished!
A cold and misty morning followed by a beautiful sunny afternoon with views of Mt. Rainier and the Olympics.
We had a magical experience padding in the fog, following a strategy of hugging the coastline most of the way. What changes were made to way-finding in limited visibility had a minimal impact on the original plan and we arrived back at La Conner just four minutes later than originally planned.
On a wintry, frosty, foggy morning, I took my dog on a scouting trip and had the trail to myself other than a trail runner, 2 women with dogs, and a man and his son. We had zero problems with downed trees and very little mud. Weekday mornings in winter seem to be a good time to try this; I imagine in summer it's packed with mountain bike riders.
An international sport climbing trip to one of the best climbing spots in the world.
A glorious sunny and calm day around this pristine island in Willapa Bay. Sunshine, light following winds, large flocks of shore birds and a surprise elk siting.
Trail snow free up to the base of the boulder field, very slippery after that. A few downed logs.
3 of us enjoyed a pre-Turkey hike starting at Licorice Fern Trailhead and turning around at Coal Creek Falls. Blow-downs from the bomb cyclone are passable if you're willing to scrabble a bit. A large tree has fallen in the middle of the Falls view so photo ops are a bit disturbed. Great day!
Low elevation gain, clearly marked trail run with mud and downed trees in areas but no dangerous or insurmountable obstacles.
Beautiful mossy haven with a great view over the clouds. Following our successful Otter and Big Creek Falls trip on 11/23 as a mentored lead, 3 of us continued our exploration up Garfield Ledges and got lucky with no rain as forecasted.
We had a successful visit to two raging falls five days after a bomb cyclone cut power to 600,000 homes across the PNW. Five of us enjoyed a much-welcome break in the weather and great conversation for a mentored lead hike for Courtenay Schurman.
Fallen trees in the dark were a challenge; but good company made it a delightful adventure.