Up the hill

Cloquallum Hill dogless dogwalk

All phone photos for this blog, I was testing out my new phone

 I'm still just not excited at the idea of day hiking any of the crowded trails.  Thanks to Covid keeping so many people of work the trails are extra crowded this summer.  Trails where I used to be garunteed solitude until I turned around, if I parked by 9 now run out of parking spots by 7 am.  Crap Seattle has come to the Olympic or Seattle style crowds anyway.  

Even some of my previously isolated logging road hikes behind locked gates, are now filled with cars and ATV's.  

So I'm branching further and further out.  This is a new spot I have found and so far I have not seen anyone else on this hill.  I've seen plenty of people nearby but not on this hill, not just yet.

So the hill hike gives me solitude and it is a fairly new hike for me so I'm not bored with it yet.  

Soon my fiance will be here and I will be getting out onto the trails with her for backpacking trips.

I missed Sage on this hike, I've never been up here without her.  But I think I managed to sneak my backpack out of the house without her noticing.  She can't hike due to her heart issues and she also just had ear surgery and is in a cone for 21 days.

8.5 miles with 1,000 feet elevation gain. 

Pellia liverwort

Dog Hill without a dog

I've found a new hill to walk up.  The hike is a bit too short now though since they opened more of the road that leads to the hill.  I only discovered the new road opening on this hike.  To make up for lost miles I explored down a side road a bit. 

I call this dog hill because a dog is buried nearby.

7.5 miles with 1,000 feet elevation gain

I want to explore the bare rock on the hill on the left

Surprised to see a banana slug out in dry weather like this

The Ocean without my Ocean Dog

I finally got myself out for a long hike without Sage.  Sage is too sick for long hikes.  I was told she howled at the door for a long time after I left.

I did my best to hide the fact that I was going hiking, but she figured it out anyway.

I started in Grayland and walked to the spot where I spread my husband's ashes on the last summer solstice.  Covid had prevented me from going back sooner.


8 miles with no elevation gain.

Wow, Cathedral Falls on the Goat Lake Trail

For my birthday I wanted to go somewhere new.  I also needed an easy hikes my kiddo and my dog were along for the ride.  My youngest child is now 16 years old.  When I started this blog he was a baby and most of my hiking days started with nursing him before I could leave the house.

This was a long but pleasant drive with the traffic still light due to covid.  The fall was very nice and even had a trail behind it.  The walk was just 1 kilometre with about 600 meters elevation gain. 

Sage did well and really had a good time in spite of being in heart failure.  She is responding a little bit to her meds, she is on an ACE inhibitor and a diuretic.   Her resting respiration is still above 30 at all times.    If she ever stabilizes we are supposed to call the vet when her respirations go above 30 per minute.

The meds are making Sage leak so my kiddo took care of keeping a diaper on here for the car ride.