Since the Mountain Loop Highway (heading out past Granite Falls) has opened again (actually last year), I am eager to explore all of its many treasures, as I did when I first moved to Seattle. The mountain loop is so packed with great hikes, and is so close to Seattle, yet is not as busy as the I-90 corridor. It had been closed for almost 5 years, due to extensive flood damage.
One thing I have learned in the last 10 years, is that you never know when a crazy storm will hit the northwest (winter 2003, winter 2007, winter 2008) and wash away bridges, roads, trails. How lucky I was to hike the Spider Meadow - Buck Creek Pass Loop (near Glacier Peak) in 2002 before the wild storms hit, rendering much of that area impassable for years.
Lesson being: take advantage of what you can. If there is a hike you have set your mind to do, do it! It may disappear before you know it. Nature's power is amazing. Man builds a bridge that looks indestructible, and then floods carry huge boulders and uprooted trees downstream, crashing through these brand-new bridges!
Also exciting to me this year is to have a new boyfriend who is eager to explore the mountains. He moved here from Missouri one year ago, and hasn't had lots of experience with mountain hiking, but he appreciates the views, the exercise, the learning process. So it is fun to have a new partner to explore old and new places with! I remember when I had no idea what the heck hiking and backpacking was about, and how thankful I now am, for those special people who patiently showed me the ropes and introduced the joys of the mountains to a young weak midwestern gal such as myself!
It's always nice to be a tour-guide in your own area - now that I have lived here over 10 years, I consider this my home state, and love to show it to those I love.
So on to the blogging!
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