THE BIG Q

I traveled to Seattle for another work trip last week. This time, the assignment was for a week and a half, giving me the opportunity to spend the weekend with my friends, Brian and Jill. When I emailed Brian with my plans, his first question was, “where are we hiking”?

Early March isn’t exactly the optimal time to hike in the Pacific Northwest, but that wasn’t going to stop us. Brian and Jill live on Bainbridge Island, which provides easy access to the Olympic Peninsula. The Olympics feature some incredible alpine areas, but unfortunately, those places are buried in snow in March. On the other hand, the Olympics also have vast rainforests, scenic river valleys, and the wildest coastline in the continental United States. I was pretty sure we’d be able to come up with a hike or two.

First, I had to endure a week of work. The highlight of the week was probably getting a chance to run some of the many greenways and bike paths south of Seattle. I did one run on the Green River Trail, starting from Tukwila, and another on the Cedar River Trail, from Renton to Lake Washington. Both of the rivers are nice, but the best part of those runs was the occasional views of Mount Rainier. Surprisingly, The Mountain was “out” several of the days I was there. The weather was generally better than advertised, particularly for this time of year. In fact, this was the fourth time I’ve traveled to Seattle for work, and the weather has usually been reasonably pleasant. Brian tells me that Seattle’s reputation for constant rain is a conspiracy designed to discourage more people from moving there. I’m beginning to think he’s on to something.

Aside from some nice running, the other interesting aspect of my first week there was my discovery of the thriving alien population living in the Seattle area. Now, by alien, I don’t mean immigrants from Mexico, or Fiji, or some country with a name ending in “stan”. I’m talking about people from another galaxy. I’m not sure how I failed to notice them on previous trips, because I doubt they just arrived in the last few months. If you’re in Seattle, and you want to spot an alien, here are a few tips:

· Head for the Capitol Hill section of Seattle. Aliens seem to be drawn to that part of town.

· Look for people of indeterminate ethnicity. The ones I saw varied, but many appeared to be half Hispanic, half Oriental, and half Eastern European. I know that doesn’t make mathematical sense, but in this case, somehow it does. Because, you know, they’re aliens.

· Listen for people speaking a mysterious language. One waitress I encountered sounded like she was trying to speak English with a mouthful of cotton balls. Also, the language they speak seems to involve a lot of spitting and grunting.

· Watch for sudden, unexpected movements. While in the office one day, I observed an alien attempting to change a light bulb. This guy looked like what might be produced if Mr. Miyagi (from “The Karate Kid”), Gilligan, and Balki somehow spawned. (I know that’s impossible…but is it?) As he moved about the office, occasionally his left arm shot out like he was John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever”. I’m not sure what that was all about. Perhaps he was trying to flag down a passing space ship?

· Question: How many aliens does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Only one, but it takes two hours, and creates an incredible amount of racket.

So, you skeptics are probably wondering, “If Seattle is full of aliens, how did they get here?” The answer is actually rather obvious. If it’s a relatively clear day in Seattle, look to the southeast. There you’ll see a giant spaceship parked on the outskirts of town. You don’t really believe that’s a mountain, do ya? Come on, I’ve seen lots of mountains, but never one that looked like that. Do you still have doubts? Well, let me ask you this – when was the last time you saw this “mountain”. Sure, it might’ve been right there where it’s supposed to be yesterday afternoon, but it’s gone this morning. No doubt it’s off to planet Beetlejuice to pick up more aliens. Don’t worry, it’ll be back in a few days.

On Friday afternoon, I met Brian over near Safeco field for a bit of bar hopping. We decided to do this, despite the fact that we are clearly too old to bar hop. We started out at Elysian Fields, a cool little brewery on the south end of downtown. From there, we jumped on the handy underground bus that runs the length of downtown (now offering direct connections to the Mount Rainier Spaceport!). This dropped us off close to Typhoon, my all-time favorite Thai restaurant. After some painfully hot Thai noodles and a delightful Dead Guy Ale, we walked back to where I’d left the rental car. We hopped in the Ford P.O.S., and made the 2-block drive to the ferry. We were a little early, which gave us just enough time for a quick beer at the ferry terminal bar. Well, how else should we have killed those 20 minutes?

We returned to Brian’s house, where we caught up on the happenings of the past few months and had a couple more beers. Oddly, we hardly discussed what we might do the next day.

We slept in a little Saturday morning, before enjoying one of Jill’s hearty breakfasts. Afterwards, we discussed our hiking options. The Hoh? We probably should’ve gotten up a little earlier for that one, since it’s still a 4-hour drive. We kicked around a few options, but settled on the Olympic rainshadow, since the day’s forecast looked marginal at best. We ran a few errands, picked up sandwiches at Subway, and headed for the Hood Canal Bridge.

Beyond the bridge, we followed highway 101 south through the metropolis of Quilcene. Beyond town, we turned off onto Penny Road, which led us to a forest road. We made one wrong turn, before finding the well-marked side road to the Lower Big Quilcene Trailhead. Continuing on the main road would’ve taken us to the Upper Big Quilcene Trailhead, which is also the starting point for the hike to Marmot Pass. We had done Marmot Pass (and Mount Buckhorn) the previous summer, and it still ranks as one of my all-time favorite hikes.

At the trailhead, we found a toilet, a picnic table, and several cars. There was just a little drizzle, but if it had been any colder, there would’ve been snow. Thanks to our late start, it was already past noon, so we decided to make use of the picnic table. We ate quickly, as we quickly got chilled. It was a relief to hit the trail and begin generating some heat. After a short distance, we passed a family. They would be the only people we’d see all day.

The trail was dull at first, as we followed an old roadbed through the woods. We were high above the river, and we could see another forest road below us. Eventually we passed the end of that road, and gradually approached the river. Down near the stream, we spotted a few patches of snow. Then we reached a sturdy footbridge spanning the river. Here we were treated to a beautiful view of the river cascading through a dense forest of evergreens. Brian stated that that spot was classic Washington, and I was inclined to agree. I spent the next 10 minutes trying to capture it with my camera.

We hiked upstream, and reached a beautiful area that used to feature a shelter. The shelter is gone, but there are great campsites here under massive cedar and fir trees. It was tempting to take another break, but we were hoping to cover over 9 miles, and it was already getting late. We continued on, reaching another bridge a few minutes later. This was another scenic spot, and I couldn’t pass up this photographic opportunity, either.

Beyond the second bridge, the trail deteriorated somewhat. There were a few blowdowns and washouts, but nothing hazardous or impassable. Before long, we reached the snowline. Initially there were just patches of old snow and ice along the trail. After a few minutes though, we found a foot of snow covering everything. Most of the snow was old and packed down, so it didn’t really inhibit our progress, although we had to be careful with our footing.

Our goal for the day was Camp Jolly, which is almost 5 miles from the trailhead. We were probably getting close when we reached our 3:30 turn-around time. We didn’t hesitate to turn back, as it was cold and damp, and our destination for the day had been vague to begin with. The hike back went quickly, as I packed away the camera, and we only took a brief break at the camping area. We reached the car at 5:15, and headed back to Bainbridge. Not far down the road, we were treated to a nice view down the Big Quilcene valley. The vista extended across Puget Sound, to the skyline of Seattle. That view provided a pleasant but surprising end to a nice day in the woods.

Continue reading about my March, 2008 trip as Russ and Kristi join Brian and I on a hike to the summit of Mount Walker.

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