Jess hiking through the brush.
I’ve reached a certain phase in my life where it has become very important for me to take care of my health (this “phase”, in common parlance, is also known as “the thirties”). This is the age in one’s life where a simple physical no longer takes just 10 minutes, the knees start to hurt with the weather changing, and the doctor starts casually dropping in words like “colonoscopy”, as if preparing you for physicals in your forties – yes, it takes 10 years to get psychologically prepared for a tube up your bum.
The hike runs alongside a brook nearly the entire way.
Anyway, this Sunday was my third (or fourth?) hike up to Rachel Lake. Of the three (or four) previous hikes, this was the easiest for me physically, which means my doctor will be very happy that my training has been paying off. Joining me in this little adventure was Jessica and dog Zoe the Weimeraner.
Rachel Lake's famous rock water fall.
We got an early start to the day, conscious of the fact that a day-hike anywhere along the I-90 corridor in July would be fairly popular. Pulling into the trailhead at by 9, we saw that there were already plenty of folks tackling the trail. Luckily, the trail itself was pretty sparse of hikers.
Water on trail!
Hiking in the summer, there are three things that herald the arrival of hiking season in Seattle: the removal of ski-attachments on subaru roof-racks, huckleberries, and Korean hikers (as eternal as the swallows returning to Capistrano). On this trip, Jessica and I were witness to no less than 20 Korean hikers in their native habitat and once again, my skin flushed with ethnic pride. Go K-force!
Zoe cools off.
One interesting addition to the Rachel Lake trail: water hiking. With a higher-than-normal snowpack melting off, the water has diverted onto trail for the last half-mile or so up to the lake, making for some interesting route finding. The water, along with the verticalness of the hike makes for a fun diversion (about 1,600 feet in the last mile), so it wasn't long until we found ourselves staring at one of the prettiest lakes in the Cascades.
The throne with a view.
After lunch, we returned back to our vehicle, thankful we weren't among the masses starting the hike in near-ninety degree temps. Until next time, Ms. Rachel!
Comments