Category: Hikes
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Spring Break Road Trip to the Redwoods – April 2018
My family has been itching for a road trip (well, some of us…), and this year we were able to get away for Spring Break. The weather is always tricky in April, but we got lucky and were able to time our trip for a brief window of good weather. We split the drive down…
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Book Review: Best Hikes with Kids: Western Washington, by Susan Elderkin
When my kids were little, I pored through the Best Hikes with Kids books by Joan Burton. Originally in two volumes, they were combined in 2006 into one large volume, packed full of hikes and tips and interesting trail tidbits. But now the baton has been passed to Susan Elderkin, who has updated the information…
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Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Trip Report
Swimming snakes! Exploding cattails! Dabbling ducks! Croaking frogs! Sunning seals! This hike had it all. We enjoyed a day of record spring temperatures by walking at Nisqually with my mother-in-law. Spring is just getting started at Nisqually, with Indian plum being one of the few shrubs leafing out. The frogs are loudly croaking now, though…
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SEA Discovery Center and Point No Point – Trip Report 3/9/18
Yesterday I took Annika and two of her friends on a fun outing over to the Kitsap Peninsula. We took the ferry over from Edmonds to Kingston, and from there it was a quick 20-minute drive to Poulsbo. Our destination was a small aquarium, the SEA Discovery Center, right on the water of Liberty Bay.…
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Snowshoeing Wrap-up, January and February
I’ve done a couple of snowshoe trips since the New Year, and fully intended to write up a trip report for each, but decided that since time is passing away so quickly, I’ll just write up a blurb about our trips. Kachess Dam Road This is an easily-accessed area, just off the freeway in Easton…
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Hazel Wolf Wetlands, Trip Report, 12/8/17
Edited to add: I wrote this back in December, but forgot to post it. Here it is! It’s still a lovely park to wander around, winter or summer. You may have noticed it’s been pretty quiet here on this blog. I’ve been dealing with my chronic foot and ankle issues, and have not been allowed…
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Book Review: Discovering Seattle’s Parks
My family loves getting out into the wilderness, but many times we are not able to go far from town for our nature fix. But thankfully we have an amazing array of local trails to explore when we need some fresh air. Seattle is fortunate to have parks in every neighborhood. Large and small,…
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Cutthroat Lake, Trip Report, 9/30/17
With my kids getting older, our schedules are getting fuller, and it’s more challenging to get an entire day for hiking out in the wilderness. But we were able to squeeze in a “quick” trip up to the North Cascades to see the larches turning colors a few weeks ago. We were not excited about…
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Book Review: Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula, 2nd Edition, by Craig Romano
Mysterious, deep, ancient forests. Coastal beaches and headlands. Alpine meadows with far-reaching views. Lakes and rivers, wetlands and surf. The Olympic Peninsula has a diverse range of habitats and areas to explore. You can research your next adventure to this wild corner of the country by using Craig Romano’s book, Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula. This…
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Blue Lake (Mt. Baker) – Trip report, 9/16/17
After a summer of little hiking, I have been feeling ready to get back out on the trails. I’ve been wanting to go to Blue Lake for a few years now, ever since we were stymied by my car breaking down on the road up there back in 2014. This is one of those hikes…