GoHike - Alumni Urban Walk - Hamlin Park

Priority registration is given to GoHike: Beginning Hiking Series graduate Alumni Course members. Graduate alumni will need to hold a GoHike Badge and have registered for the GoHike: Beginning Hiking Series - Alumni Course. 

If there are any unfilled spots on this Urban Walk, the walk will open up on the Wednesday before the week of the walk to Mountaineers members interested in a beginning Urban Walk experience with leader permission.

It is important that participants look at the stated walk description, distance, pace, elevation gain and consider your current fitness level in determining if this walk is a good fit for you. If you have any questions, please contact the trip leader in advance of requesting Leaders Permission. When you request Leaders Permission to Register, a leader may look at your profile and recent activities to ensure that they think you are ready for their walk. They may email or call you to ask you about your hiking history and conditioning activities. Individuals who register with out requesting and receiving Leaders Permission will be cancelled.

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This is a moderate 7-mile urban walk through a neighborhood I call home. Where we will not only visit Hamlin Park, but Whispering Willow Park, Animal Acres Park, & Grace Cole Preserve. The route has some paved sidewalk, but in Lake Forest Park, there are often no sidewalks, making being aware of our surroundings very important. We will take a lot of hills as this walk is also for conditioning and not so much for stopping a lot along the way other than to enjoy the parks, briefly. 

NOTE: If you want a leisurely walk, this trip may not be for you. This is geared toward a faster paced conditioning pace with a lot of hills! You need to be able to maintain a steady 2.5 pace.

Bathroom opportunities: There are bathrooms at the Starbucks in the Town Center, Animal Acres Park, Grace Cole Preserve, and Hamlin Park. 

Being 7 miles, we will stop for a lunch spot at Hamlin Park. (at the 4 -mile point) Bring enough food to get you through the day. 

My neighborhood is quiet and appropriately named as we have pockets of small forests, salmon spawning streams that tribute into Lake Washington, and lots of small lovely parks to enjoy. 

I am making this trip as requiring leader permission. You must be able to maintain at least 2.5 mph with the endurance to complete 7 miles and of the mindset that this is for conditioning. I will be looking at your activities history to assess if this walk is a good fit.  If you have questions before registering, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Goals:

• To accomplish a 7-mile urban walk visiting 4 different parks in Lake Forest Park and Shoreline
• To build endurance and conditioning in the off season
• That we have fun, rain or shine in a beautiful north-end neighborhood! 

Expectations: 

• That you're on time at the parking lot, ready and enthusiastic!
• That we stay together as a group and build community and trust with one another. 
• That you prepare for a long urban walk, with plenty of nutrition, hydration and stamina to gain about 700 feet. 
• That we treat one another with respect, compassion and understanding

Style: 

• I'm an inclusive leader: compassionate and approachable
• While destination focused for this walk, I also appreciate nature and pointing out the beauty that we are sure to see
• I'm a leader who appreciates engaged participants where teamwork and community is priority
• I am firm and definitive with logistics and my expectations, yet able to provide flexibility if the situation allows

Meeting place and time

• Where: Lake Forest Park Town Center. There is parking close to the Starbucks where cars can remain parked for a good part of the day. https://maps.app.goo.gl/h2cgkGzZLpr1PaVT7
• Time: 9 am. This means arrive no later than 8:45 to be ready to gather around for introductions and the day's review.

We will meet in front of Swirl Frozen Yogurt that sits behind Starbucks. Please do not park in the Albertsons parking lot or Starbucks. There is a strip of parking facing Bothell Way where you can leave cars for the duration of the walk.  Note that Lake Forest Park Town Center has an upper and a lower parking area. Where we meet is in the lower lot area around the corner from Albertsons grocery store.