Granite Lake - Elk River Trail - Downtown Seattle - Mount Washington

I hiked out to Granite Lake in the Trinity Alps on Nov 17th. The hike is about 10 miles roundtrip with only a modest vertical ascent. Since I am recently coming off of midnight shifts, I naturally woke up at midnight, and thus decided to start the hike early in the morning. This involved a 3 hour drive from Eureka to the trailhead. Upon the start of the hike, I was slightly spooked by the potential for mountain lion attack, and thus found a sharp pointy stick to defend myself with...which of course wouldn't have saved my life, but at least gave me comfort while walking. After 2-3 hours of hiking under a vividly starry sky, I reached Granite Lake right before sunrise. I sat on a log and watched reddish sunlight paint the granite spires towering above the lake. I was also amused by otters swimming near shore...who showed similar curiosity toward my presence. Pictures are below...and after reviewing these images, I've got to say that smart phone photo technology is definitely starting to rival traditional DSLR images (not quite, but getting close).

Eureka, CA Elk River Trail Mountain Lions

Probably no surprise to most, but mountain lions have recently (recent meaning Thanksgiving 2018) been spotted along the Elk River Trail in the Headwaters Forest Reserve near Eureka, CA. Perhaps slightly stupid of me (haha), but I ran 4 miles of the trail regardless (luckily without incident). Still, smarter people beware!

Downtown Seattle

Carly Kovacik and myself spent a late November Saturday afternoon exploring downtown Seattle. We started the adventure with a search for food, ending up at the Alibi Room, which is adjacent to Pike Place Market. After pizza and beer, as well as the obligatory stroll through the market, which included some famous fish tossing, we decided to hike up to Kerry Park for views of downtown Seattle. Cloud cover obscured Mount Rainier, but the views of the skyline were still great nonetheless. We then hiked over to the Space Needle, followed by a long slog to Seapine Brewery. A few beers later, we hiked back to downtown, passing Starbucks Headquarters as well as Safeco Field. We finished the evening off at Elliott's Oyster House, where again, the food was fantastic. After all was said and done, we ended up hiking around 11 miles through downtown Seattle. Pictures are below, which include an awesome street cat, the Gum Wall, delicious fish and seafood, and of course a honey bucket.

Mount Washington

Carly Kovacik and myself hiked Mount Washington during late November 2018. The Mt Washington trailhead is just a short drive from Seattle located immediately adjacent to I-90. The trail starts off steep, and since Carly is in elite shape, I was eating her dust for the first mile. My lungs and heart eventually woke up and the remaining 3 miles became progressively easier. One highlight of the hike was the ever-deepening snow we encountered with height. The trail was hard-packed, and traction probably would have made the journey easier (especially back down), but we summited nonetheless. The views from the top were outstanding...I-90 sat below our feet, and Mount Rainier loomed close by on our southern horizon. After descending back to the car, we drove over to Snoqualmie Brewing Company for beer and pizza, followed by a jaunt over to Snoqualmie Falls...both of which I would recommend anyone reading this to visit.