Ahhh, the first hike of the calendar year…what a fantastic way to welcome the first full day of SPRING!  Yahoo!  Notice I said “first” – ?!!  Yep, I’m planning to do a lot more hiking this year…really stretching out of my comfort zone and remembering that this time LAST year I did a hike nearly 30 lbs (13.6 kg) heavier than I am now.  Oh yeah!  What a difference!  Now, the hike we did yesterday is a lot less steep overall than the one I did last year with a couple of fantastic girlfriends, but I still noticed a difference in how I felt during and after the hike, meaning, my lungs weren’t feeling on fire the whole time thankfully.  After yesterday’s hike I felt elated!  Joyful!  Refreshed!  And, yeah, a little tired! But not like I’d seriously whupped my own ass.

Annette Lake is on the way to Snoqualmie Pass which is one of the highways you cross over the mountains to get into central and eastern Washington state.  Check out the link included to see more pictures and people’s reviews of it!

We’re all about March Madness right now…but yesterday’s hike was March Magic.

But March is a schizo bitch.  It might be sunny and sort of mild here in the Seattle suburbs, but she has her own plans once you get out of the city and away from sea level.  It could be sunny and in the upper 50s F at home, but an hour’s drive and a hike to 3600′ elevation is a whole other story.  Snow.  Rain.  Beautiful, clear cold streams you get to slosh through (hopefully in your waterproof hiking boots.)  Mud.  Slush. Freezing temps. We gloriously experienced all of that and more up the trail. And E was my hero loaning me one of his extra backpacks and some outdoor clothing gear to make sure I was comfortable for any sort of weather. I’m good to go mostly (on somewhat old school but Gore-Tex’d) hiking boots, but an admitted white belt in other areas for sure, like rain gear that makes the weather irrelevant.

We saw quite a few folks heading up this trail in running sneakers and windbreakers or just sweatshirts.  And, turning back before getting to the top.  The trails aren’t treacherous or icy, rather, they’re just muddy, wet and slushy, plus it gets unexpectedly cold the higher you go!

Here’s another view of the lake!  I love the green/turquoise/grey color of alpine lakes  – there’s nothing else like it!  And you can see a little ice covering the lake still at the far upper right.  We stood in this moment looking at the lake listening to the gentle, persistent splooshes and taps of the rain and snow.  Smelling the pure, fresh air.  And the silence of the mountains that wraps all around it.  It’s one of those lakes so beautiful you’d just want to go jump in and skinny dip, but mmm, errr, maybe its a little too cold for that?  Or maybe it’s not in the summer?

OK that’s my crazy side dreaming out loud.  Hmmm!