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| Mt Si was the first real hike I went on. Last week of January, and it was cold and wet and very snowy. Now, even though Si is not pretty, and the trail is incredible beat down, and the crowds can be very large, I got hooked. I actually did Si 3 times in 4 weeks, because it was so accessible in the winter. Here are the pictures from 2 of the hikes. | February
13th, 1999 Since my McClellan hike was such a snowy experience, I opted to go back to Mt. Si, and finish it. Which I did. I was seriously stoked! Sure, most hikers will say 'so what', but it is an accomplishment. 4 miles one way, with an elevation gain of 3200 feet. Last mile and 1/2 of it was covered in snow, so I was glad I had crampons! Here are some pics of the view up at the top! |
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| Believe it or not, there was a group of teenagers who made it all the way up here in tennis shoes! I bet they had fun on the way down! | |||
| February
20th, 1999 This was the first clear day on a weekend in quite a while. So, I ventured out to Mt. Si again, because anywhere else I would have needed snowshoes. Jen has told me that you never get a view from Si, because the only times you go to Si is when the weather is too bad on the cool trails. :) So I was shocked and surpised by what I saw at the top.... |
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I
got to the first clearing at about 3.5 miles, and I could
hardly contain my joy at what I saw. Oh my. I was jumping
up and down giggling with sheer delight at the
possibilities of my new hobby. I looked at these
mountains and said to myself, "I want to hike every
trail that exists in these mountains." I was
seriously stoked. Endorphins on OVERDRIVE!! I knew at
this point that this was a permanent fixture in my life. That speck down below is the city of North Bend. I-90 is on the right hand side of the picture. |
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| This
is obviously Mount Rainer. This picture does not do it's
massive size justice. But, it was an imposing figure on
the scene, and I took some pics of it. This is for you people who think this is the only mountain out here. There you go. Hike this! :) |
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Ok,
we're gonna take a little break from the mountains to
show you sights from the top. These trees were actually
still only for the moment it took me to snap the picture.
After that, the 50 mph winds returned, and screwed it all
up. Nothing like a winter wonderland at 3500 feet. Heh Heh Heh.... |
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| This
ledge was sooooo tempting..... It looked so accessible,
surely nothing bad would have happened if I attempted it...
Ahem.... So that is what my mind was saying for the 10
minutes I debated it. But, I realized that there were NO
tracks to it, and being inexperienced and without
snowshoes, well, I may not have been able to develop
these pictures, if you get my drift. Drift..... Get it? Snow... Drift.... snowdrift.... HA! Sorry... |
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Ok, here are the panoramic shots from the clearings. Some of these I am enlarging and framing. Sure, they are not the best shots, but they are MY shots, and I like 'em, so if you think they suck, well, piss off! :)
After boycotting this hike for all of 2000, I figured it was only appropriate to go back for the first one of 2001. So, yeah, it is still the same sucky hike that it always is, complete with compacted snow and ice that makes for a wonderful hike. We both fell down once too.
Really! Sunny fell first and is the one who sustained damage. She slipped right at a nasty root/tree/ice spot and got a nice bruise. I fell after all the ice was over with. I waited until we had an audience and tried to fall down the slope. No damage. Just to my pride.
Just another day at Mount Si. Enough to hold me over until 2002.
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