Yoga Hike- Scorpion Mountain

From the success of a second season of the Yoga for Hikers course, Liz Krantz and Michelle Peterson organized a follow up Yoga Hike to Scorpion Mountain.

Michelle’s objective with these are not so much to provide a yoga class and a hike, rather to share pre- hike, break time and post hike movements that can be performed standing up, wearing hiking boots and using only trekking poles as props. No heavy yoga mats, no flexibility involved.

After meeting and consolidating into carpools at the Monroe Safeway, we met at the Johnson Ridge Trailhead at about 9 AM, laced up our boots and readied our trekking poles for a pre-hike “yoga” practice. This involved warming up anke, knee, hips into flexion and extension, loading the leg muscles. We then worked on some shoulder mobility and breathing.

At 9:40 we started up the trail. This was a hot, muggy and hazy day. We made great time up, with a couple of mini breaks. Blueberries aren't plentiful, but we were able to graze on them a bit after Sunrise Peak.

One of our party stumbled on a ground wasp/hornet nest in the middle of the trail, at 5367 ft. We crossed paths with three men bear hunting. They were camped at the summit of Scorpion. Despite the haze, we were able to see much of the Cascades, Stuart and a ghost of Rainier. We found a shady, breezy spot to eat lunch, gazing out at Sloan Peak.

After eating, we moved back onto the summit for a mid-hike practice of prepping the glutes and quads opening up the torso for breath for the upcoming downhill.

Arriving back at the cars, we ended with some partnered stretching to release the pack tension on our backs and shoulders. We said our goodbyes and headed back down the road, looking forward to a Yoga Hike in the future.