It was a showery morning in the south Sound region as we headed down to Sumner to walk about 4 miles along an easy paved path next to the White River. This is a great example of a busy area that we usually zoom through on the freeways, not knowing the pleasant natural areas that are close by. The trail serves as a link that connects the King County Interurban Trail with the Foothills Trail in Pierce County, making a trail route of over 30 miles possible from Tukwila to Buckley. The showery conditions made it appealing to have lunch at a local restaurant, so we checked out The Buttered Biscuit in downtown Buckley. After lunch, we took a short side trip to go to Two Rivers Point, the spot where the White River and Puyallup River converge.

The Mount Tahoma Trails Association operates a system of winter trails and four backcountry huts in the foothills above Ashford, not far from Mount Rainier. Copper Creek Hut sits at 4200 feet, overlooking the Nisqually Valley, and is a nice destination for overnighting or day tripping. It's about 3.3 miles from the parking area to the hut, following a forest road. This was advertised as a snowshoe or ski trip, but the relative lack of snow meant that it was just a partly-snow-covered hike. The weather was cloudy with periodic showers, so it was nice to hang out in the hut, cook a hot lunch, play a couple games of cards, and just relax in the comfortable accommodations.  

This was the first "east of the mountains" hike of the spring, as we traveled over near Yakima to explore the shrub-steppe (don't call it desert) habitat that is so common in south-central Washington. An organization called the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy has worked for 40 years to protect thousands of acres in this region, and the many fine trails at Snow Mountain Ranch are one of the finest examples of their work. We were able to enjoy them on a near-perfect, sunny 55° day when the spring wildflowers were starting to look nice. I gave folks the option of a shorter or longer loop, going part way or all the way to the top of Cowiche Mountain. No matter where you hiked though, the scenery was grand and the conditions were sublime.

This has been a great winter season for my snowshoe tours in the Mount Baker region. This trip marked the fourth time up there near the ski area, and all trips were excellent, with good snow and great views. Today was a close call with the views, but the weather actually turned out nicer than the forecast, and we got to see more than we expected. It turns out that March was the snowiest month at Mount Baker since 2021, so we had wonderful snow-- 14 feet of it on the ground at Heather Meadows!

We took the ferry across to the Kitsap Peninsula to explore a nice urban trail that runs through Silverdale. We walked over 5 miles in total, starting at the north end of town and heading south to the Old Mill Park on Puget Sound. After a nice lunch break kissed by sunshine, we returned to our starting point to complete the tour. Clear Creek is a salmon stream that has undergone extensive rehabilitation, and local school children get involved by helping at the hatchery to raise and release the juvenile salmon. The trail has many fine boardwalks that lead visitors through wetlands teeming with birds, and signs of beaver activity are everywhere.

I made two trips to Lummi Island over the weekend, thanks to the many people who wanted to visit this peaceful island to the west of Bellingham. We took the small (20-vehicle capacity) Whatcom County ferry for the five-minute trip across Hale Passage, and then explored some of the nice public nature preserves on Lummi. Our main hike was at Baker Preserve, a 435-acre oasis of wilderness with a great trail that climbs to an overlook 1100 feet above the sea. After that, we took short hikes at some of the smaller nature preserves, and did some car touring around the island as well.  

The gentle valley of Gold Creek near Snoqualmie Pass has been the setting of around 75 snowshoe tours that I have led over the years. The terrain is easy, the scenery is great, and access from I-90 is simple (if you get there early), so this is a wonderful spot for beginners or those wanting a low challenge level outing in the snow. Changes are coming this year in the form of a major creek restoration project that will last for 5-7 years, so future access is somewhat in doubt. The project is needed because Gold Creek Pond, formed in the 1960's as a remnant of a deep gravel pit, has altered the hydrology of the creek, and caused widespread disruption to the ecosystems there. For now however, the snow is deep and beautiful, and we enjoyed a 5-mile tour through the valley in nice fresh new snow.

It was a windy and wild weather day for our hike around Discovery Park in Seattle. Rainshowers alternated with sunbreaks every few minutes, and the wind gusts were clocked at nearly 40mph at times along the shoreline. We hiked a loop route of a little over 6 miles, sampling a variety of the park's many features. We had some forest hiking that featured many giant maples and flowering bushes. We had some wetlands with lots of ducks and other birds. We had beach walking along Puget Sound, featuring entertainment from the kite-boarders trying to sail in the high winds. We also had some history, walking past several of the building left over from the Fort Lawton era, when a major military installation was here. And we also had some exposure to the native tribes presence here, which included a stop at the beautiful Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.

This special place between the towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend is a 460-acre public space consisting of prairie, woodland, and wetland habitats. Traditionally used as farm land, it was acquired by the two cities in 1996, and is managed by a non-profit preservation association. We took a 3- mile walk around the property, accompanied by association president Mary Norton, who told us all about the history of the area, including some of the native legends, and the development of the preserve. It is also home to a wide array of plant, bird, and animal life, including a resident elk herd that is frequently seen. The elk were elusive today, but the views of the valley and surrounding mountains were beautiful. 

We all know and love Chuckanut Drive, the scenic road that hugs the coast along the Salish Sea south of Bellingham. Today was devoted to taking a more in depth look at the area, it's attractions, it's history, and the people who helped it become what it is. It was an overcast day with rain moving in after 1:30, but we managed to get in plenty of exploring, including a hike on the relatively new "Two Dollar" Trail to Fragrance Lake, and a short hike to the amazing rocky shoreline around Wildcat Cove. We learned about Charles Larrabee, who was instrumental in establishing Chuckanut Drive, and donated land for the first Washington state park, which was named for him.

This lovely mountain lake near Stevens Pass is a popular summer hike, often swarming with people on nice days, but in the winter, it's only occasionally visited by ambitious snowshoers or backcountry skiers. Our group started from the Yodelin Trailhead, just east of Stevens Pass, and struck off into the trackless forested terrain in the Henry Jackson Wilderness Area. The route climbs well over 1000 feet over the course of 2.5 miles or so, and has some challenging hilly terrain to surmount. My group of 6 did great, making it up to the lake and tracking to the far (north) end where the summer hikers normally congregate. We were the only group there, and no other tracks in sight. The weather feature a little bit of everything, but the nicer periods outnumbered the nastier periods.

We took the 100 mile drive down I-5 past Olympia to check out the Capitol State Forest. It a huge area, over 180 square miles of state-managed working forest. Along with the parts devoted to "timber harvesting", there are many great areas for recreation, in the form of hiking, mountain biking, horse riding, and ATVing. The trail we hiked just samples a small area on the eastern side of the forest, and it was an excellent trail, nicely maintained, pleasant to hike, with numerous highlights. There's nothing super sensational here, just a chance to have a nice walk in the woods-- and see a sweet little waterfall, and hear a chorus of croaking frogs, and escape from the outside world for a while. A bonus feature nearby is the usual Mima Mounds, which we stopped at briefly in the morning.