Pharmaceutical Hiking

I used the caption "my hiking addiction has taken me further than I ever thought I'd go" on a FB post about my last adventure. Someone replied "absolutely true story - hiking- the gateway drug." This really made me laugh; but I've decided to stop calling it an addiction. Instead, hiking is my prescription. 

Doctors legit prescribe nature walks for health. In Japan they call this "forest bathing." An addiction is having a craving that leads to harm, but my soul is simply craving what it needs to remain sane. So from now on, hitting the trail is simply "getting my prescription filled."

And so this time of year, this often means snowshoeing. It is fairly new to me, and so I have been doing a lot of searches on WTA because I don't know where to go besides the places everyone goes. One of my search tactics is to zoom in the "finder map" on the area I'm interested in and start clicking on each hike. This is more time consuming than using a filter search, but it's fun and feels like a scavenger hunt. 

This is how I stumbled upon Oakes Peak Snowshoe. It only had 13 trail reports - about one or two a year - going back to 2016. Reading the official trail description it sounded great...just an easy peasy forest road walk. Then I read the actual trail reports: off trail/bushwack/ice ax/5K elevation in as many miles/unrelenting...holy crap! Who does this shit? The "Big Dogs" that's who! Doing their peak bagging by ignoring the road and just hoofing it straight up. As I read each one, impostor syndrome started hitting me hard. I decided to go anyway. I didn't need to do the Big Dog version - I just needed to plod up the road a couple miles...grannie style. 

On the drive my morning coffee detonated, and Rockport State Park is the perfect stop for such a need. I remembered I still hadn't checked out the trail across the street that caught my eye years ago, so I decided why not do an add on? 

Sweet, stunning and totally solitary, these two short trails are a real treat, especially with fresh snow. I knew I could throw in the bigger loop around the back of Rockport and be good for the day - save myself the extra driving - but I was too curious, so I got back on Hwy 20 going east. 

Bacon Creek Road (FR 1060) is found directly off Hwy 20, and as most forest roads are, it is a pot holey mess. I was hoping to be able to drive the mile and a half up to where the road splits, and if you turn right, where you start the real elevation. But the snow was just deep enough and the thought of getting my car stuck scary enough that I wisely decided to park it right there.

The simple walk next to the river was beautiful, and I didn't even miss not having mountain views. There was not one soul to be found; though clearly I was not completely alone. 

Cougars? Bobcats? Just stray dogs? Maybe I should have been nervous, but I wasn't. It was too peaceful, and besides, I'm convinced the wild animals we tend to be so scared of really couldn't care less about interacting with us. Humans give me much more anxiety. 

Comment if you think you know!

I couldn't resist a post hike burger and beer and stopped at the Upriver Grill and Taproom. Very cozy, and the server was so excited to chat a little about hiking, as she and her girlfriend are determined to start backpacking. The day was a total mind and spirit re-set. Happy "just what the doctor ordered" trails!

Things to Know:

1) Both the Sauk Springs with the Skagit View are only going to give you a mile of hiking. Definitely not Big Dog territory. But there is a "Grandma Cedar Tree" that is worth checking out. 

She's a biggie!

 

2) The WTA lists the Oakes Peak Snowshoe as an 18 mile up and back, so I'm assuming the road goes up another 7.5 from the split, though I only went maybe another mile. The Big Dog reports stated parking before the stream crossing (I did cross a stream over the road which I'm guessing is pretty bad early spring - the time when most these reports were from) then making their own way through the woods to the top, straight up, for about three miles. I know I said my "hiking addiction" has taken me places I thought I'd never go, but I guarantee it won't be taking me there! Though I did start following @thenomadicartist who reported CAMPING up there! I do love when a girl is the biggest dog of them all :)

All these years and this is the first time stopping for the photo