When I was a younger lass, fresh to Seattle and hopped up on long summer days and citrus thinner, it was not unheard of for me to jump in the car at dawn, go for a 16 mile day hike, and make it back in time to eat BBQ in the garden. If that sounds crazy, let me assure you, it absolutely was. That same summer, I would ride my bike 35 miles Marymoor Park, go bouldering for an hour or two, and then, get this, ride back again. Sometime in August or early September, my stepfather was in town and I’d just shorn off all my hair. “What happened to your hair?” he asked. “No, wait, check that, what happened to all your body fat?!?!?” It’s okay. I had just got divorced, I was new in town, I was oh, maybe just a little bit screwy. I’m back to a much more manageable and less scary self these days, body fat and all, but I still like a stomp in the woods. Which is why it was good to finally get out for the day with South Pole Sarah.
We walked 9 miles, round trip, to Melakwa Lake. I’m sore and more than a little tired. But it was a beautiful day, one on which I would never have guessed we’d have the trail to ourselves. Yet we did – we saw no one in the three hours between the time the large group of teenage girls came down at the trailhead and when we asked that couple “How much further?” near the top. We saw a few more people on the way down, but nothing like I’d expected for this popular, close to Seattle trail. And we stopped at the diner in North Bend for burgers, fries, and milkshakes on the way home. A near perfect day.
In case you haven’t yet been out this season – what is wrong with you – here’s just a little advice to make your trip go as well as ours did. This isn’t your standard safety guide, which you should totally check out on your own, maybe you have one at the front of your trail guide. Oh no, this is the stuff you’re going to forget, or, the stuff that – if you remember it – makes you stand out from the mere amatuers you’re sharing the trails with.
- Wear sunscreen and, if you can stand it, a long sleeved shirt. A baseball cap is good too. I’m just looking after your youthful skin.
- Do you have a ziploc bag of toilet paper in your pack? Hello?
- It’s not a bad idea to pack your lunch the night before. If I remember, I like to put my water bottles in the freezer, then they defrost throughout the day and my drinks are always cold. I’m also big on Tupperware containers for packing my lunch, it gives you way more possiblities and your food won’t get smooshed. Dude, you’re just day hiking, don’t be so uptight about the weight.
- Bring another pair of shoes and a shirt to leave in the car. If you want, hey, take a whole change of clothes. Yeah, you’re smelly, whatever. Changing in the parking lot beats driving all the way home in damp hiking clothes.
- Stow some extra snackage and water in the car. You’re not always a 15 minute drive from the diner. It can be hard to make it home if you’re starving and parched. And actually, it’s not that safe for you to drive if you’re totally bonking, man.
I ain’t saying if I remembered all these things this time out, but that’s no reason you can’t take advantage of my mistakes knowledge. Now, go on, get out there.
[tags]hiking, safety, Cascades, outdoors, manic behavior[/tags]
Your walk sounds delicious, specially from the hot place known as Europe. We’re ‘experiencing’ a run of 30oC, this isn’t nice in a country not reknowned for it’s air conditioning (like NZ) but seeming so much hotter now.
Didn’t know you bouldered, you interesting woman you!
Great tips. Especially the t-p tip.
Note that the bouldering is in the past tense. I gave any sort of climbing related activity up a few years back after I realized that one needed nothing so much as trustworthy partners. And that in the pursuit of a summit, one’s seemingly trustworthy partners could get some kind of crazy.
Now, I boulder – I mean shuffle – from the couch to the kitchen. 🙂
Um… what’s citrus thinner?
It’s a paint thinner substitute. I was doing a lot of art at the time.
Wow, that place is gorgeous! And great tips.
Please know that your list brings joy to my heart. Go, Nerd, go.
For me, I include a little emergency pack because if I don’t I know I’ll end up in some weird snafu that would include a bivouac.
Emergency pack includes – two Hefty bags for multi-use as rain shelter and sleeping mat, mylar emergency blanket, 50 ft coil of camp cord, duct tape, whistle, waterproof matches, bandaging, H20 purifying tablets, little tube of Neosporin, 2 Clif Bars.
All of that gets cozy in this little pak:
http://www.rei.com/product/47944560.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_TRAVEL_TOC
Yup, a Swiss army knife – or, in the case of my gearhead hubs, one of those Leatherman tool jobbies – is already in my Camelbak.
Thanks for explaining this citrus thinner business. I thought it might have been Diet Orange Crush or something.
Honestly, I can’t stand people who ask “how much further?”
Those hefty bags? A brilliant addition. My emergency kit has one of those stupid mylar blankets, but lord, they are annoying. Nearly annoying, perhaps, as asking unsuspecting hikers “How much further?”
Also, the whistle. Good call, weak pun intended. I usually have one in bear country so the bears can find me more easily, but don’t typcially take one on a day hike. But I should, I should. Hear hear, Grace.