Sammy the Sloth (Trailname: Samsquatch)

My friend, Beth, inspired me. Yes, every ounce matters when you hike; but playfulness matters too. And the fun pictures she'd take on our trips of her various stuffies made me think, "I need one too." 

I looked a long time, but couldn't find the right fit. Then after I finally bought a sweet faced sloth on a wintry day in Winthrop, I lost him on our first outing. Maybe I was just too much of an irresponsible sloth mom to be entrusted with such cuteness?

Then Sammy came into my life. A gift for my 55th birthday, it was an easy choice to name him after the rock legend who made "I Can't Drive 55" famous. Sammy immediately came with us on my B-day hike, and right away he felt like a good luck charm.

"Welcome Pass" was our second hike together, where he cheered me on to get up those unrelenting 66 switchbacks so he could get his picture taken at the top. (I knew I shouldn't have trusted Heidi's promise of "it won't be so bad"...I've told the same lies myself. We hiker addicts live in elevation gain denial ;))

And of course I had to buy him his own post hike beer, even though being carried really shouldn't earn you one.

Though Sammy did earn my undying gratitude when he convinced my husband to come on a spontaneous road trip for Father's Day, where we did our first hike together in five years. In 2018 Ken came with me to hike the last few days of my Appalachian Trail adventure (buy the book here - 5 star rating with 36 reviews and counting!) but those final cruel downward 8 miles did a number on his bad knee. Blue Lake was a good test to see if the surgeries have helped much, and though the knee hurt a little, he was in great spirits.

Ken even came up with "Samsquatch" and had some great ideas for a few photo shoots, which surprised and delighted me. Playfulness is infectious, and we need more and more contagion the older we get. May there be an epidemic! Happy "be even more silly as you get older" trails. 

Ken's idea with his glasses :)

Things to know about both trails below. 

WELCOME PASS

1) Heidi blamed the "moderate" rating for fooling her, but 2,800 feet gain in 2.3 miles should have been a big red flag. Hey, I ignored it too...it's not like I haven't done that kind of elevation gain before. But the first mile is pretty flat, so it's even worse than a thousand foot gain per mile after that. Prepare to suffer.

2) Don't use a driving app to get you there...Google and such are very confused about this area. (The same is true for Church Mountain, btw) Turn onto forest service road 3060, which will be on the left between milepost 45 and 46. It looks like you are driving to nowhere, but I promise there is a decent trailhead there.

3) Still a bit of snow at the top, but this hike is one of the few places I can think of to get to 5200 feet this early without hitting snow. Lots of ridge walking opportunity soon, but I wouldn't want to do it mid-June unless you are really comfortable with snow crossings.  

BLUE LAKE

1) This hike is POPULAR - how could it not be? Right off Hwy 20, only 4.4 miles round trip with pretty steady 500-ish foot gain per mile that gets you up to 6,000 feet with a spectacularly blue lake. Plus it allows dogs...I mean, you WILL have company. But it's a NICE trail, with lots of room to pass each other. 

2) Climbers use part of this trail to get up to Liberty Bell. Ken spent his 21st birthday hanging off the side of the thing, so it was fun for him to reminisce; but it's hard to leave the hard core days behind. 

3) No camping allowed at this lake, but I did notice a great spot less than a quarter mile into the hike. You'd have a parade going by; but it could be a good late night or early morning save. 

4) Speaking of camping, and if you are wanting to do a spontaneous trip on a long weekend and don't have reservations; Hipcamp is a great resource. We found a great spot at Silverline Lake Resort in an "overflow" field. 

BONUS THING TO KNOW

There is a nice hike just across from Silverline - unfortunately I can't remember the name, and it's not on WTA. It's more of a biker trail, but plenty of people were hiking it. It has great views of Lake Pearrygin, and so many wildflowers. It would be a wonderful show of Balsamroot in the spring. You can access the trail straight from the campground...here's a pic of where you cross over and bushwack a little up to it. 

I think the cross over board is at site 43. 
You can see the trail up above. 

Happy Birthday to Me, Again

Another birthday on the trail! Though for my 55th, I decided I wanted to let up on the suffering part. (Last birthday trip here ) My friends and I decided that all of us chipping in and renting a VRBO house in Port Townsend was a perfect way to celebrate; and with two cars and their help, we could get another 10 miles towards my PNT mile goal as we day hiked a point to point from the Tubal Cain parking lot to the Mount Zion trailhead, which is not far from Port Townsend. Browsing the rental options, I found an affordable cabin on the beach with just a five minute walk to the ferry! But "too good to be true" is an idiom for a reason. Somehow I had failed to notice this rental was a five minute walk to the CLINTON ferry - on Whidbey Island. Oops. 

Wrong ferry - still beautiful

Thankfully I at least noticed this a week or so out, so after about a million group texts, we came up with a new plan. It seems to me that as you get older, you either perfect the art of pivoting, or you get grumpy as hell when things have to change. Actually, it's surely a mixture of both - but I hope and pray I continue to lean towards going with the flow. The Spirit has taught me many times that a "mistake" is often just serendipity in disguise, if you can accept it. Therefore I wish you all happy "veiled fortune" trails! (I know my hiking log below is more of a girl's trip plan; but hey, if you are planning a little getaway - it's a good one!)

Ebey's Landing is always a favorite

Day 1: In my car, Heidi, Julie and I met Janet in her car at the Coupeville ferry terminal. This is one of the few places you can park a car for free for 24 hours, and because we wanted to save on ferry costs, we left both cars and just walked on. We had a reservation at the "Soak on the Sound" which we were going to walk to from our supposed Port Townsend rental so we could have cocktails without worry. Well, obviously we worked hard to keep that part of the plan in place. ;) Once back at our cars, we left mine for the next day's hiking plan and took Janet's to our "wrong beach" getaway. 

This is actually before the margaritas! We are naturally goof balls.

Day 2: We drove to pick up Rebecca at "The Happy House" so we could hike together. (Too much to explain Rebecca, but you can read how we met here if you'd like.) We started at Fort Ebey to go west on the PNT because last time I went east. (Story here )

Rebecca was an indispensable guide, as where we expected to head down to do the "official" beach walk we found a greatly washed out hillside that did not look 50 year old friendly. Time for another pivot. Rebecca assured me that the Whidbey Island section of the PNT is definitely a "hike your own hike" portion, so even though whatever crazy zig-zag way we ended up taking was "unofficial" - I am counting those miles! 

Bring a map if you're not doing the beach-
it's a maze at Fort Ebey!

I have no clue what we actually hiked- but here's a clue

Plus we loved them so much better than a 9 mile beach walk; we were even able to stop in at the historical house at Ebey's Landing which was open to tour. (My second time, but their first. Story here) Finally able to connect to the beach walk, we actually had to wait for a few minutes for a wedding procession. The day felt special in so many ways. 

Really interesting and sad history here

Who doesn't love a beach wedding?

By the time we made it to my awaiting car we were starving and opted to eat right there at Callen's Restaurant. I've always been curious, yet suspicious of this place; but I can assure you it has amazing food and service. 

Day 3: Just a lazy day until we reluctantly had to leave, but I'll leave you with a couple tips if you decide to check out the area sometime: 1) Possession Point at the tip of the island is not much to see, and you have to basically walk through someone's yard to get there which is really weird. 2) Langley is a very cute town worth stopping at - though don't get there before noon if you expect to eat. If you have money to burn you could stay at the "Inn at Langley"...but don't stop to ask about their restaurant if you don't. It will be painfully obvious you are not welcome. The "Ultra House" opens a little early at 11:30, and if you like authentic Japanese ramen, it is the place to be. 

I'll introduce you to my birthday gift,
Sammy,
next time :)