Hi Gram,
I slept like a baby last night, then woke up and headed downstairs after my brain exercises and stretching. Katie and Mark discussed which trails might be accessible with the snow melted away enough to pass through, with terms and numbers like “the 401” or “Oh Be Joyful” that were code for things I didn’t yet know. Mark made us some scrambled eggs, which paired well with my cinnamon tea and we planned out our day. No taking it easy and settling in here! We packed up our water bottles and hats, applied copious amounts of sunscreen and headed off for a hike. We stopped at the grocery store in town to grab some sandwiches for later, then Mark drove us up into the mountains.

Pavement soon gave way to a packed gravel road, which quickly became a dirt road with big rocks, ruts from water run off, and hairpin turns. I just stared in awe at the mountains and scenery before me while Mark navigated the truck up the mountain and explained some of what we were seeing and were about to see. He narrated some history of the area, commented on the number of people out on a Tuesday, and pointed out interesting landmarks.

We soon arrived at the trailhead and found the last parking spot in the gravel lot, then got out to stretch our legs and gear up. The sun feels brighter up here, and I’ve heard locals say that it’s because we’re that much closer or it’s because the air is so clear and dry. I made sure to wear my wide brimmed sun hat and a light, breathable shirt to keep the sunburn at bay while keeping cool and hydrated. We started up the path, a relatively easy route that wound up into the trees, which provided a little shade.

When we got to the first pile of snow, I didn’t quite see where the path picked up, but Mark has obviously hiked this a number of times and just marched on, certain of his path. We continued on, passing a few more piles of snow, looking out and seeing some peaks in the distance, and talking about the past weekend, life in general, and filling each other in on a little of our backstories.

My lungs were starting to protest the thin air when we rounded a curve and saw a picturesque rock cropping with a view of mountain peaks and the valley between for ten or twenty miles. We climbed up on the rocks, found a few good spots to sit, and broke out our sandwiches and water. My sandwich was delicious, the view was breathtaking, and Mark and I talked about the FinTalks group cruise scheduled for next winter. A few chipmunks scurried about, hungrier for scraps than they were afraid of the humans. I’ve never been that close to chipmunks in nature (I may have gotten that close through the glass of a zoo enclosure, but it’s not the same) and thought that they were bigger than that. I always pictured them as the size of a squirrel or badger, but Mark assured me that they’re more like the size of a large mouse, small enough to fit in one hand. I enjoyed seeing them scurrying about and chasing each other, looking as care-free as I was.

We finished our sandwiches, packed everything back into our bags, and headed back the way we came. We came across a few other hikers on our way down and Mark provided them guidance on how much further this or that landmark was, what to look for, and what to watch out for. It was very obvious that Mark loves this area and has a wealth of knowledge that he enjoys sharing with visitors. Once we got back to the truck, Mark took me further down the dirt road, showing me a hairpin turn where someone got their trailer stuck one time, some camping sites that people can reserve with beautiful views, and some spurs that head off to other trailheads and views. He pointed out the road that winds over to Emerald Lake, but that was still plugged with snow, then we stopped and saw a pond in a field of melting snow.

We headed back down the mountain, taking a different path and seeing more amazingly beautiful sights like the river that people sometimes float down, the blue heron nests that the locals try to protect from noise and disturbance, some camping sites with huge trailers that are hard to imagine how they got there, and bikers peddling their way up or down the mountain.

We got back to the house, cleaned up, and relaxed for a while, my head still stirring with all that I had seen. I wrote down as much as I could remember, looked through my pictures, and had a cup of tea. After participating in our Tuesday night FinTalks call, Katie Mark and I rode bikes over to Tully’s, their neighborhood restaurant and bar.

It was Taco Tuesday, and they didn’t disappoint! Despite being short-staffed and hectic, our tacos arrived quickly, full of flavor, overstuffed and messy like a taco should be. We told Katie what we’d seen on the hike that day, she told us how her studying went, and they told me what area she plans to move when she starts her job in a few months. Satiated and happy, we pedaled back to the house, sat around chatting for a bit, then each of us headed off to bed, completing another full day of adventure.