Weekend in Olympic National Park

September 3, 2021September 3, 2021 / Lian / Leave a comment

After nearly an entire year, I finally went hiking. I wish I could say that there was a good reason for not making the outdoors a priority, unfortunately I just let the time get away from me. My dad and I have been wanting to go camping for a while, so we took a long weekend and drove out to Olympic National Park to do some day hiking. I booked a small camper on Airbnb in Forks, WA (although I didn’t realize just how small it would be!) and planned to hit Mount Storm King and Sol Duc Falls/Deer Lake.

Mount Storm King

We chose Mount Storm King for the sweeping views and because the trailhead doesn’t require a Northwest Forest Pass – the parking lot actually requires no pass at all, which seemed to be quite the rarity. We left Forks and arrived at the Storm King Ranger Station around 9:30am. The lot was mostly full, but we were lucky enough to grab a spot as someone was leaving. This area provides a trailhead bathroom and there is a visitor center showing the day’s weather and trail conditions.

The first section of the trail is wide and largely flat, taking you through a tunnel and on to the signs for Marymere Falls. We figured we’d see how we felt after Mount Storm King and then consider going back and adding on the additional couple miles afterward. Oh, how unprepared we were!

After the turnoff at the sign pointing us up to Mount Storm King, the incline becomes much more pronounced and feels pretty similar to Mailbox Old Trail despite the numerous switchbacks. We took lots of breaks to catch our breaths – did I mention I hadn’t been on a hike since last October?! – and were unendingly grateful for the cool weather and shade the trees provided.

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Ebey’s Landing

October 12, 2020 / Lian / Leave a comment

Finally got another hike in! This weekend, my parents visited for the first time since the pandemic started and all we really wanted to do was get outside. My mom had done some research and wanted to go up to Whidbey Island and do Ebey’s Landing, regardless of the forecast for Saturday (cold and dreary). First off, let me say that we got so lucky on the weather all day Saturday. Despite the forecast, we had beautiful skies and no rain at all – the sun even came out towards the end of our loop! It was good we brough windbreakers, though, as there were strong gusts of wind that could be chilly without a coat.

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Owyhigh Lakes

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 / Lian / Leave a comment

Another quarantine hike! I picked Owyhigh Lakes because it’s been too long since I’ve done much cardio, and this 7 mile round-trip hike seemed like it would be a great payoff for the relatively easy grade. There are two main access points to the lakes – the north trailhead on White River Road and the south trailhead on State Route 123. We left from Bellevue at 6:20 am and while it should have taken about an hour and a half to get to the parking lot, we got turned around and ended up at the south trailhead. Since we didn’t want to extend our hike in mileage or elevation gain, we made the 20-minute drive north to the White River Road lot instead. When we parked around 8:30am, there were already at least 7-8 cars. As a note, this particular lot does require a Mount Rainier National Park Pass (or an America the Beautiful Pass), and you have to show your pass and identification at the entrance if you decide to use this starting point.

From the marked trailhead, you’re immediately immersed in dense PNW forest, with lots of green but few wildflowers or mountain views – I think this might be why the trail tends to be lightly trafficked. The trail Continue reading →

Mount Si – Social Distancing Edition

May 16, 2020 / Lian / Leave a comment

We got to go hiking again!!!!!!!!!

Effective May 5th, Washington state parks and public lands managed by DNR and WDFW opened back up for day use. Since we wanted to give ourselves the best chance at social distancing, we waited a little over a week from the easing of outdoor recreation restrictions to go hiking (it was an overcast weekday, which helped as well). I chose Mount Si for several reasons – it was clear of snow, it was a short drive away, and I’d already been to the top and would be much less disappointed if the weather affected the view. I forgot, however, how hard it is, especially since I haven’t kept up a regular workout routine since the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order came out late March. We brought our cloth masks, and overall, people just seemed happy to be out enjoying nature, and at least half of the 76 people we saw put on their own masks as we passed them.

We got to the trailhead around 9:00 am, and there were only a handful of cars already parked. As a note, it doesn’t appear that anyone is servicing the trailhead restrooms – bring your own TP! It took us three hours to get to the top, and I was too tired to do the scramble so we ate coffee cake at lower viewpoint. This was the only time I’ve sat at the top of a hike with no one else around, and it was amazing. When we reached the parking lot at 2:15 pm, the parking lot was only a little over half full. Let’s just say I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see the trailhead as I was after this hike!

Oyster Dome via Chuckanut Drive

March 11, 2020 / Lian / Leave a comment

Two hikes in two weekends! The weather was supposed to be cloudy and rainy on Saturday and nice on Sunday, so the plan was to go to Deception Pass Bridge on Saturday before the rain and Oyster Dome on Sunday for the views. I had never been to Deception Pass State Park, and I must say the view from the bridge is phenomenal. The expected rain never showed up, and the overcast skies made for absolutely spectacular green-blue water that pictures just can’t fully capture.

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Poo Poo Point – Chirico Trail

March 3, 2020March 3, 2020 / Lian / Leave a comment

Having had exactly zero free weekends in recent memory to get out on the trails, this past weekend was a welcome chance to get my fix. Although the weather around Seattle has been kind to us during the last few workweeks, Saturday was set to be a rainy day and I wanted to find a hike where a foggy view wouldn’t be a huge letdown. I don’t currently own a Discover or Northwest Forest Pass, so I figured Poo Poo Point would be the best bet (I was also looking for an easy-medium difficulty level, since it’s been so long and I had no idea if my cardio stamina would hold up). One thing I failed to research before going on this hike was whether there would be any water sources along the trail–there aren’t. I’m glad that the hike is relatively short and we brought enough for the two of us.

My father and I arrived at the parking lot a little before 10:00am, and there were still plenty of spaces left at the trailhead. It’s easy to tell where the trail starts from the Continue reading →

Burroughs Mountain

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 / Lian / Leave a comment

With the weather being so nice for the last week, I decided that Saturday would be a great day for a hike. I was initially planning on doing a solo hike up in the North Cascades–I’ve been wanting to do Cascade Pass for ages–but, of course, there was nothing but light rain and fog when I got up at 5:30am on Saturday. Not wanting to drive 6 hour round trip for a hike without company or a view, I shifted my plans and drove down to Mount Rainier National Park instead. Pro tip: If you’re as bad at directions as I am, download an offline map of your hiking area prior to leaving. I was so glad I had done so for Burroughs Mountain because I got lost, ended up in a campground 20 minutes away from the Sunrise parking lot, and had to backtrack. Luckily, I had left early enough that I ended up at the lot by 8:15am and it was still nearly empty.

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Chenuis Falls (Mt. Rainier National Park)

June 27, 2019 / Lian / Leave a comment

My family was in town last weekend, and we ended up going down to Mount Rainier National Park for some much-needed time outdoors. We were initially going to hike up to Tolmie Peak, since that’s one of my absolute favorites in the park, but I didn’t plan ahead and we discovered that the last 5 or so miles up to the trailhead are closed off until June 28. The nice ranger at the turnaround point estimated that we could make it to Tolmie Peak and back to the parking lot in about 8 hours, but none of us were quite up to that challenge at 1:00pm in the afternoon. Instead, he gave us a map of the area and pointed us toward the Carbon River Ranger Station, where they suggested the 8-mile out-and-back hike to Chenuis Falls. We arrived at the trailhead around 1:30pm, and while there were a decent number of cars already parked, we saw plenty of open spots left as well. The bathroom there is standard, but clean enough. Don’t forget your parking pass (you can either use an America the Beautiful pass or the Rainier-specific one)!

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Hiking Kauai’s Kuilau Ridge Trail

June 2, 2019 / Lian / Leave a comment

When we decided to plan a Memorial Day weekend trip to Kauai, one of the first things we knew we wanted to do was find at least one of their famous Garden Island hikes. Since we were going to be in Hawaii for 5 short days (really, 4.5 if you take travel time into account), there was only really time to choose one hike to fit in with all the other things we wanted to do on the island. In the end, despite all our research on the varying levels of difficulty, the best hikes for different weather conditions, and the easiest trails to get to from where we were staying in Kapa’a, we ended up choosing Kuilau Ridge Trail. We opted to leave Kapa’a around 7:00am and arrived at the trailhead around thirty minutes later. The trailhead is clearly marked, but comes up fast on the right side of the highway, if you’re coming from Kapa’a. There’s only room for perhaps 5-6 small cars at the trailhead lot, and there were already at least 3 when we arrived.

The start of the trail was very muddy and slippery, made worse by the 80% humidity the day we decided to go hiking. There is a sign near the beginning calling for hikers to look Continue reading →

Mailbox Peak

May 1, 2019 / Lian / 2 Comments

This weekend, I broke the (very) long streak of not hiking over the winter months and went up Mailbox Old Trail again. Boy, I am not in nearly the same shape I was when I went up the first time–it kicked my butt! There’s definitely still enough snow at the top to make the last scramble a little difficult without crampons, but we made it work. The forest was gorgeous and the air was crisp, and it made me remember just how restorative being outdoors can be for my mental health.

Anyway, legs are still sore and I’ve gained some motivation to get back in shape–I see more cardio and stairmaster in my future. Cheers!