Mount Walker AB

50% chance of rain at home, 30% chance of rain in Quilcene, all the roads to the higher trail heads blocked with snow, Mount Walker was an obvious choice for me.  I was anxious and worried about how Sage would behave on the bus.  My husband's voice in my head said "go anyway".  I hike to ameliorate my anxiety and yet I am often too anxious to go for and plan a hike.

Sage was great on the bus.  She only whined a couple of times before she settled down, unlike Patches who always had to poop and whined for a chance to go out the entire way up. The bus driver was a dog lover and that helped me stress too.  Some bus drivers give me the third degree about taking Sage on the bus and some bus drivers really like dogs, that later help me to relax, the former can ruin the entire day for me.   On the ride home Sage slept the entire way, just like Patches used to do.   Both my dogs could do a better job of pooping on the quarter mile walk to the bus stop instead of saving it until the ride is over nearly two hours later.




We got of the bus at 10:30, the hike up was really good, it went fast and I did not see another person.  I was glad to have the mountain to myself.  I can't commune with and feel connected to the mountain when I am constantly distracted by other hikers.  There is a real peace that comes over me when I have a nature trail all to myself.  Blame it on my PTSD if you want.

We topped the hill at 11:45 and headed straight for the South view point.  There was too much wind there to sit, so we nipped into the brush to sit at a pic nic table and have our lunch there.

On the way down I saw lots of other hikers and there were seven cars at the trail head.  Mount Walker is quite popular considering how far away it is from a city.

We were going to sit and have a break at a table at Rainbow Campground while waiting for the bus home, but we discovered that all the picnic tables have been removed.  What a shame, that was one of my favorite parts of this hike.

I packed wine to drink at the end of my hike since I was not driving.  The bus surprised me by coming a few minutes early.  Normally I wave the bus down, this time the bus nearly ran me over before I saw it.  It was the gruff jerk driver that I don't like.  He hates his job and yet he is so lucky to have that job and that run.  He never acknowledges all the passengers who thank him for the ride when they get off.   He should go be a graveyard janitor, the kind of job suited for people haters.

I drove buses for six years and even though I don't like seeing people on the trail, I did like seeing my bus passengers!

We got back home at about 4:00 and Sage struggled a bit to get off the bus with her bad hip.  It might be time to start looking into getting her the hip surgery that she seems to need.