Snoqualmie Falls and Moving Across the State

So I've been busy relocating. I'm saying goodbye to the islands and mountains, and hello to the desert! I start my new job tomorrow and will be moving into a house in a couple weeks! It's a new chapter in my life. That's why there's been a distinct lack of posts. I'm going through big changes, so my energies are taken up.

On my way over the mountains, I did stop briefly to hike at Snoqualmie Falls, though.

The falls are just a short detour off of I-90.

From the upper lot, there's a short hiking trail that is about half a mile long and drops around 200 feet to the river.

It's short, but fairly steep. Along the way, you can read about various native flora, including their Snoqualmie names and what their traditional uses were.

At the bottom, the boardwalk will take you past some more modern hydroelectric utilities.

The lookout from the bottom is truly gorgeous. I prefer it over the more crowded upper lot lookout. 

Of course, the climb back is a bit of a workout, but again, it's short.

I do hope to explore more trails in the central Cascades now that I have moved down here. I am going to miss the trees and the ocean. I will make it back when I can, but I also have lots of new area to explore in my new home. Once I am finished resettling, I look forward to exploring as much as I can!

For now, here's a preview of a short hike I did today. Welcome to the desert!

Goose Rock/North Beach - Deception Pass State Park

Long time no post! I've been busy studying for my national board exam, which I just completed yesterday. (I have to wait a week and a half to find out if I passed, though.)

I haven't had much time for hiking, but a few weeks ago I did manage to make it up Goose Rock in Deception Pass State Park. I also hiked along North Beach.

View from the Summit

I went on a sunny June weekend. It was cloudy when I left Bellingham, but the skies were blue by the time I reached Anacortes. The park was fairly full, too, though I still managed to find parking by North Beach.

Playing troll under the bridge

Of course I brought my hiking buddy with me!

Hiking Buddy

Scenic meadow at the top

Apparently, the person with the "Zombie Stryke" backpack with purple fuzzy handcuffs is the perfect person to ask for directions, as I was regularly stopped by people wanting to know how to reach the summit.

Yes, the handcuffs are STILL on the hiking pack

Most of the people asking were approaching the summit from the perimeter trail, which if you ask me is the WRONG direction to go.

Lots of wildflowers! 

Taking the perimeter trail first means you have to climb up a narrower, rockier, steeper route to the top. It is a lovely trail to take; I prefer to take it on the descent though.

Cornet Bay as seen from the perimeter trail

 When we finished our Goose Rock loop, we hiked along North Beach, which offers some nice views of Deception Pass Bridge. I took the beach to the amphitheater and to West Beach. By then, I was running out of steam and my ankle was sore, so I headed back. (My original idea was to hike along West Beach as well.)

Pooch enjoying the sand

Views of the bridge

Taking the trail above the beach back

North Beach Panorama

 At the amphitheater, a park ranger was either setting up or taking down a presentation. She had a trailer with a large whale skull and some whale ribs.

Not sure if real or plastic, though.

At West Beach, the sand is sandier and the view opens up to a bigger ocean. There's a dune trail to the south. There's also a huge parking lot here, though on the weekend even it was mostly full.

I've been recovering from a stubborn ankle injury, and the walk along North Beach exacerbated it. Fortunately it seemed to recover faster than it had on hikes in the past. As it heals, and with my exam behind me, I'm hoping for more hikes in the future!

Toot Poot - Sugarloaf and Whistle Lake

I am nearing completion with my final internship! I'll be job-hunting in the upcoming weeks and preparing to move. I don't know where yet. Someplace with good hiking. I do not know how quickly I will find a job or where, but moving will definitely be involved. It's scary and exciting and nerve-wracking and stressful!

I did recently get out to Anacortes for some hiking. I wanted to hike Sugarloaf again, which I have detailed before, but I wanted to make it longer. The map showed "Sugar Cube" and "Toot Swamp" nearby. I didn't feel up for going for both, since I had homework to get back to, so I put it to a vote on Facebook.

Everyone wanted Toot Swamp, that's what I went for. This hike took me around Whistle Lake as well.

Sugarloaf/Toot Swamp/Whistle Lake
City of Anacortes
Parking permit: none needed
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation gain: 893 feet

I started off finding parking at a very busy trailhead off Heart Lake Road south of Anacortes. First thing I did was summit Sugarloaf, a short but rather steep climb to a lovely lookout. You start out on trail 215, and it climbs quickly after the first junction.

It gets a bit steep

"Do we really have to go up this way?"

It doesn't get much better when you see the trail junction for 227.

Actually, as steep as the junction is, it starts to level off shortly afterward, and then opens up to a lovely meadow with views of Puget Sound.

Cute hiking buddy is cute

You can see I still have purple fuzzy handcuffs on the hiking pack...oh yes I do!

Island views and stuff

We met a couple mountain bikers and their dog up top as well. There's no biking at the very top, but they were tearing down the lower trails.

I was hoping to see more wildflowers. I missed the blooms somehow. There were some nice purple ones though.

I took trail 226 down the other side of Sugarloaf and made my way toward Whistle Lake.

Looking back uphill toward the summit.

Pretty sunlight and stuff

Root-ball with a puppy-sized hole

226 lead to 230 which lead to 21, where I found a handy simplified map for anyone who was lost in the labyrinth of ACFL trails.

I then took trail 22 toward Toot Swamp. As I got closer, the bugs increased, so I reapplied bugspray.

There's always lots of checking and double-checking your trail numbers out here, but once I turned on 205 toward the swamp, my route became simple: 205, 204, 203, until I rejoined trail 21.

Toot Swamp was...not spectacular. You could barely see it through the brush.

This is it. This is all.

Hiking around the south end of Whistle Lake was rather steep and rocky. There was a lot of up-and-down.

Emphasis on the rocky here

 The lake views from the south end are obscured by lots of trees and brush.

Creative place for trail junction signs.

Steepish lakeside hills

Eventually you join up with Trail 20 briefly, and the shore opens up. There's a not half-bad swimming hole.

Mt. Erie in the background

Open space at the end of Trail 20

Would make a decent swimming spot

I did not bring a swimsuit. But next time, I may consider it. It was a very hot day out, and that water looked inviting (though it was likely freezing cold).

Trail 20 leads you to Trail 204, and I started heading back to the trailhead from there. Trail 204 had a special dedication.

Once I reached Trail 21, I stayed on that one almost all the way back to Heart Lake Road. Trail 320 provides a connection back to the trailhead parking.

When you look at the overview of the ACFL trails, there are lots of different ways to mix and match routes. Anacortes does a good job of marking all the trails, so as long as you bring a map with you, you shouldn't get lost.