Elation and frustration

August 6, 2015, 11:16 am

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I'm skipping my walk tomorrow, so I've been trying to go a little further than normal the rest of the days this week. I figured today I could hit the beach as well as the gulch, which would give me a couple of extra miles. Of course, as is always the case for me, the gates at the beach parking lot were closed. So I drove back up to my regular parking spot at the gulch and walked down to the beach before walking back up.



6.59 miles in 2:21, 14,177 steps, 606ft gain

This is on the alternate access path to the beach. I don't think it's supposed to be unlocked. It's creepy.



The beach really is lovely. I saw two people there running with their dogs on the path and another one playing fetch with their dog in the water.




However, this portapotty is dumb. There's a sign on the front saying to reserve it for users with disabilities, but they put it on a step that wheelchairs can't get onto. I'll contact them about it.



Every time I can't park somewhere because the gates are closed, they open by the time I walk by after parking somewhere else. Never fails.



I love this mailbox. They also have a matching bench.



I should get some of these for our neighborhood.



I decided to reverse my normal direction when using the Eastern trails of the gulch. I usually leave via the recreation center and hop over to a shortcut that leads to a very steep residential street. Today was the first time I climbed up it. It was a tough climb, but I'm getting used to tough climbs.

When I arrived in the trails, my iPod happened to play the "forest chase" music from Heathers. Nice timing.



Walking my normal trails backwards was quite an experience. It's almost like being on a whole new trail. My sense of direction became completely shot. At point A on the map, I should have been able to find a way to head further South, but ended up completing a loop. It was a pretty cool loop, though, and I look forward to doing it again. However, I never found my way South again, and the path between points A and B on the map is now my least favorite part of the entire gulch.

It's clearly designed as a rollercoaster for daredevil mountain bikers, and it's awful to walk on. Picture the path a pendulum swinging very high back and forth would carve into space if it was also moving down a hill. In order to get down, you have to keep climbing up and down steep, sandy hills. Just awful. I've actually seen parts of it from other nearby trails and had no idea I was looking at a bike trail. I thought it was just parts of the hillside that had eroded away. Next time I'm in the area, I need to go my normal direction and then walk back the same way so I never wander into that awful part again.

Saw a very cute little snake and he recoiled a bit as I went by so I know he wasn't dead.



Even though I'm taking tomorrow off, I've already gotten my 30 miles in for the week! Awesome.

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SchadenFriday

August 7, 2015, 4:19 am

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CATURDAY

August 8, 2015, 7:27 am

≫ Next: The mission's a failure, but the adventure was worth it

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BONUS Saturdogs

The mission's a failure, but the adventure was worth it

August 9, 2015, 1:22 pm

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A little under two months ago, Alan shared this for me on Twitter.



I've got a pretty big collection of Zima stuff and am always looking for more, but had never seen that one anywhere. Of course, I wanted it, but the only information I could get about it was that it was at an antique shop in Port Angeles. This weekend was Garrett's airshow weekend in Abbottsford, so I decided to do an overnight trip to try to find it.



The reason I didn't do a day trip there and back is that it's a good three hours of traveling each way, and that amount can go up if you don't time the ferry properly or if there is heavy demand for the one you want to take. It just seemed like much more fun to find a place to stay, shop, go out to eat and have some drinks, and sleep over there before heading back in the morning. Plus, I'd already tried calling around for it and found the process frustrating. People at the front desk in antique malls don't really know what all can be found in each and every stall.

However, even with many weeks of lead time, I was pretty disappointed in the hotel prices I found. Of course it's summer and that's a big tourist spot, so I can't be too surprised. Thankfully on AirBnB, I was able to find a unique and inexpensive alternative.

There was a bit of a scare heading over there. I was planning on leaving at 12:30 for the 1:40 ferry, but noticed a little after 11:00 that they'd announced 2-hour waiting periods. I jumped off the couch to get dressed and left immediately to head down. And of course, spaced out when the ferry lineup was happening on the road, so I had to turn around to head toward the ferry again to join the line. When the woman in the tollbooth gave me my receipt, she said, "Lane 1. Go. Hurry, hurry!" I ended up being about fifth to last getting on.

A selfie from the ferry ride over. I'm terrible at selfies so I generally make a face.



My room for the night. It was tiny, but comfortable enough, and the price was perfect at $62.



If you've never slept on a sailboat, I recommend it highly. Being rocked back and forth all night is so soothing, and the air is wonderful to breathe. A few modern conveniences are lacking, most importantly being a toilet. There's a bucket with a toilet seat you can use, but if you use it, you have to clean it out. There are also showers, sinks, and toilets at the marina, but I pee a few times a night and didn't want to get dressed and go all the way there each time. Luckily I was able to find disposable urinals on Amazon. They turn your pee into a gel immediately and you just toss it in the trash when it's full. Pretty rad.

Surprisingly, I was able to find the Zima sign at the first store I went into. Unfortunately, it's not for sale. I think decorating an antique mall stall with items that aren't for sale is a total dick move, so I didn't bother looking at anything else in that particular stall. Mostly I just wanted to go get some dinner and drinks at that point, but I spotted something I had to have.



It was a bit challenging to walk back to the car in the wind with that thing, but I did it. It's now on the wall right by my bedroom door, and I love it. Though I will have to take it apart and get a couple of dead bugs out from under the glass.

I'd already chosen Next Door Gastropub as my dinner spot weeks before, and I'm glad I went there. It was hard to pick what to eat, so I went with sliders so I could try all three kinds, plus I had hand-cut chips with blue cheese. Those were the real star of the show. The slider patties were great, but the buns were a touch chewy, which made the black bean slider smoosh out the sides. Still very tasty. I also stopped at Bar N9ne for a few more drinks, which ended up being a great choice for me. I like tequila and ginger ale, and they serve a locally-bottled ginger ale that's just fantastic. Plus I got to see this cute dog.




A lovely view from inside the boat.



View from the hatch.



Close quarters in the berth. Perfect for me, but a couple would have to be very snuggly. The hatch is right by your head so you get nice fresh air all night.



The next morning in the marina was lovely. I didn't bring any valuables to the marina shower, so I had to wait to get this picture.



A couple of views from the marina parking area.




I noticed on the map that I was close to the Ediz Hook Reservation for Native Birds, so I went to check it out before leaving town. It was amazing.





An awesome van I spotted on the road.




I figured there was no rush to get back, and I was a little early to find much in Port Angeles for breakfast, so I headed to The Point Casino in Kingston. That ended up being a great choice.



If you're a fan of Boston or Styx, here's an act you might enjoy seeing.



I got to the ferry just before it departed, but didn't get a space on it. Turns out, the farmers' market is right next to the holding area. I found a bird whirligig I wanted, but I lost all my cash at the casino, and he didn't have a card reader. No ATM nearby, either.



That was a fun little adventure even if I didn't get what I wanted. I hit the neighborhood joint on the way back home, and had a lovely evening hanging out with this little bundle of joy.

Chipping away at the shortfall

August 10, 2015, 1:48 pm

≫ Next: The movie of my life requires a soundtrack

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Friday and Saturday were busy with the traveling back and forth, so I decided to skip my Sunday walk and snuggle with Steve in bed. I knew I'd be hearing from Garrett on his way back from Abbottsford and meeting him over at his parents' house, too, and my Sunday walks tend to run a little long. So I figured I might try to make up the miles throughout the week.



I ended up walking a few miles in Port Angeles with the app on, which brought last week's total up to 33. Not that I'm carrying the extras over or anything. I still want to hit 30 this week, so I'll try for extra miles each day.

Another thing I wanted to do was complete a center-to-Eastern loop today to figure out where things went wrong last week when I got lost. I figured it out, and it's really too dumb to bother explaining. One thing I will say is that if I'd gone another 10 feet or so, I might have taken the right path instead of that awful mountain bike rollercoaster one.

Things were fine and dandy going the normal direction today, except for one of those semi-regular bouts of shin and calf pain that forces me to take a break. It didn't last long, though, and I really enjoyed the rest of the walk. From the trails, I thought I saw a big fog bank rolling in, and wanted to go down to the beach to be in it. It turns out that was just a reflection of the clouds, but it was started to sprinkle, and I went down to the beach anyway. After stopping for a quick pic of the sun breaking through the cloud cover.




6.74 miles in 2:29, 14,500 steps, 668ft gain

Not much to note today, though I did finally see the Mukilteo Community Center because I walked back up the hill on a different road than I usually take.



I'm curious what used to be there.

The movie of my life requires a soundtrack

August 11, 2015, 3:03 pm

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Since I'm trying to get extra miles in throughout the week, I set out pretty early this morning. Between trying to get out the door quickly and also being as quiet as possible, I managed to forget my iPod. I really don't like walking anywhere but the beach without music, but the gulch is six miles from home and I wasn't going to drive an extra 12 miles and sacrifice all the extra time I'd gained by leaving early. To make matters worse, one of my least favorite songs ever was the last thing I heard before getting out of the car, and I had it in my head the entire time.



When I noticed a nice sunrise was starting, I wished I'd gone to Langus Riverfront Park and Spencer Island instead. It's big and flat, so you see a lot more of the sky. I still managed to get a few pictures of the sunrise, though.





I didn't want it to be too dark when I got into the gulch, so I parked there and then headed up into the residential area on the West side of it that I've come back to the car through so many times. When I finally entered up at Goat Trail Loop, there were three mountain bikers getting ready to ride. They may have been the same ones from that other time, but if they were, they didn't bring a dog.

My route today took me into the gulch, back out, and then back in at another point on the other side, and I was hoping to get out before those guys caught up with me. Not that it's a big deal when we meet up or anything, I just figured I'd try to stay out of their way. That side of the gulch is a much better place be when sharing with them; there are tons more clearings and flat areas and space to step off. They eventually caught up.

Guy 1: "Hi there. Two more behind me."
Guy 2: "Hey."
Guy 3: "Whoa! Hey."

Guess guy 3 wasn't expecting me. And it sounded a bit like they might have lost him, because I heard them yelling a few minutes later trying to find each other. That made me wonder how many other days they'd been around and I didn't even know because I never heard them over my music. I also wondered why so many birds sound like crying children and weird dogs, and why there are apparently 1,000 seagulls hanging around over at Boeing.

This is one of my favorite streets that I regularly walk on.



Not that it's particularly special for walking, I just think the people who live there are very lucky. What you see on the left is a wooded area that has a big office building and two more zoned industrial areas for sale beyond that. No telling what will be there in the future, but for now, it's all woods and it's right next to the gulch. On the right is a row of houses that sit way back on huge properties. Here's what it looks like on Zillow's map.



Each of those plots is 3-4 times the size of the ones in the streets around it. Pretty nice.

This mailbox is across from those houses toward the next corner, and it cracks me up. Guess they got tired of people trashing it while driving by.



Back in the gulch, I managed to get a shot of part of that scary-ass mountain bike rollercoaster I won't shut up about.



Those sections of path are almost vertical! It's nuts! I'd just seen the bike guys down below on the center trail a few minutes earlier, and kind of wished they'd catch up and go on that just so I could see someone actually do it. There was no telling if they were even coming that way or how long it would take, though, so I kept going.

Found this on the road by the recreation center. Recreation center, indeed.




7.25 miles in 2:38, 15,598 steps, 530ft gain

Normally when I get to point A on the map, I turn left and head to the main road. Since I'm looking for extra miles, I went right, so I got to see some houses I've never seen before. This one has its own little vineyard! What a cool idea. I hope they make their own wine.



I really need to start using the Body Glide again for these longer walks. My ass is on fire.

Loop-de-oops

August 12, 2015, 11:39 am

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With what I've done so far this week, I only needed to do 5.5 miles today-Friday to get to 30 miles for the week. Since I'd wished yesterday that I could have seen the sunrise from Langus Riverfront Park, I decided to go there today. I even plotted a course ahead of time so I wouldn't go too much over what I needed.



Here's what I was going to do.



The reason I didn't want to connect either loop is that I don't particularly like either spot this route avoids. 4th St SE is a big dirt and gravel road, and the gravel is big and painful to walk on. Lots of service vehicles go back and forth around there, too. As far as the loop on the lower right, that part is usually quite overgrown, and I've always emerged soaking wet and covered with burrs and pollen and webs. Plus, last time, I fell down after slipping on wet grass.

Had to stop the car for a photo near the entrance of the park because I've never seen a white rabbit in Everett before.



The sunrise wasn't as spectacular as yesterday's, but it was still really nice. I took tons of photos that you can find on flickr, here are a few.






I saw a seal again, but couldn't get a shot set up before she went underwater. At least I got these geese.



I wonder what the story is here.



Ewwwwwwwww.



This place makes me want to get rollerblades again. Though I'm not sure where else I might use them.



Today's actual route. No need to list the climb because that place is very flat.


7.32 miles in 2:25, 15,749 steps

I turned back at point A, as planned, but wasn't really paying attention and walked right past point B when I came back around. Turns out, they've cleaned up the trail a lot, and the growth I'd seen at point A wasn't really much at all. That whole area now looks like this:



That's easily over ten feet wide. Very nice. It led to me going way further than I planned today, but that's the kind of problem I like having.

The whole area's really nice. There are several of these boardwalks that lead to bird watching areas.



And there's always something to see by the river.



The worst thing about going there is that the entrance to the highway when you leave has no length to get up to speed to merge. It's pretty unnerving to turn directly onto a busy highway once there's a gap big enough to floor it to get up to speed.

Today turned out to be the longest walk of the week so far even though I set out to do the shortest. Funny.

One mission accomplished, another begins

August 12, 2015, 3:19 pm

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I've been trying to find a nice spoon rest for five years or so. Ridiculous, I know, but there was never any reason to grab one I didn't like because I have other objects I use instead. One's a sentimental small plate, and the other's a platter I found while thrifting that was so ugly I had to have it. I was at Value Village today looking for other things, and found this.



Not 30 minutes later, the keychain I cobbled together recently broke for the third time. I've actually been hunting for the next great keychain longer than I have for a spoon rest, but I've made do with the parts from my beloved perfect keychain that I carried for 15 years or so. When I got it, it was a purple chain with a nice clip on it. My favorite thing about it was that the chain was long enough that I could clip it to a beltloop and let the keys dangle into a pocket, which was great for raves and other times I was worried about losing them. When I didn't worry about it, I could clip it to itself and it was a perfect size. My new mission is to find a keychain as good as that one.

---

Throwback Thursday, Cartoon Club Edition

August 13, 2015, 9:56 am

≫ Next: Go East, Young Man

≪ Previous: One mission accomplished, another begins

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Many years ago, someone here on LiveJournal was raising emergency funds by selling sketches based on photos. I had this one done, and we eventually used it on our wedding info/RSVP website.



Here's the original, featuring badrobot68. It's one of my favorite pictures ever.

Go East, Young Man

August 13, 2015, 10:50 am

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≪ Previous: Throwback Thursday, Cartoon Club Edition

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With two more walking days this week about about nine miles to make my goal, I figured I'd just head to the gulch for a typical Western loop. But if there's anything I'm really good at, it's changing my mind. I recently spotted what's got to be the path to the Northernmost trail across the Eastern side of the gulch, and I wasn't sure if I'd been on it or not. If I had, it was the very first time I ever emerged from the gulch going that direction, which was a while ago. I figured it'd be nice to stay in the gulch and away from cars and houses for the whole morning and check that out, so I did.




4.14 miles 1:48, 8,902 steps, 460ft gain

Since I was staying in the gulch anyway, I figured I'd have a look at a couple of the trails that branch off from the center. It's hard to tell on the map because the 1-mile mark covers it, but here's the first one.



I didn't get much further from where I took that when I found the end. It's either a trail that needs some maintenance, or it just looks like a trail because enough people walk over that direction. There's a bit of a clearing, so I could picture people picnicking or sunbathing. The second one, where I've marked point A, looks like it connects up with the Western trails, and it might be an alternative to that spot where I had to sit down and scoot that one time.

With so many leaves falling, I keep finding them hanging in mid-air on single strands of spider web.



I used to really hate strands of web across sidewalks and trails, but when I'm in the woods I kind of like them now. It's cool when I step through one knowing that nobody else has been there that day.

Awesome colors.



It turns out that way down that I've marked as point B is indeed the one that I took up that time, and it's got some parts that are really sandy that I don't like at all. I'd say it's an "avoid" spot instead of an "avoid at all costs" spot. So far I have three of those in the gulch. My technique has improved, though, and I had an easier time going down today than I have previously. Some tricks I used are walking up on the side of the trail instead of the actual trail, and cutting across over and over instead of going straight down. Which reminds me, I need to see if there are any hiking videos on YouTube that talk about this sort of thing.

When I got to point C, I was only at 3.5 miles, and I wanted to break at least 4 today, so I followed another trail. That one's having some drainage issues, though. I was able to go around this mud pretty easily.



But when I got to this one, I turned back.



As much as I hate sandy trails, mud is just so much worse. Definitely no way I'd try to get past that, because odds are, there'd be something even worse up ahead. There's a dropoff to the right, so trying to balance on those roots and jump over is out of the question. No big loss for me anyway, as this trail is just above the center one. I don't really need it to get anywhere interesting.

I'm glad the MapMyRun site displays a 7-day total. That's made it really easy to deal with my goal this week. I just need to get in 4.5 miles tomorrow, which is a pretty typical day for me anyway.

SchadenFriday

August 14, 2015, 7:30 am

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Made it

August 14, 2015, 1:48 pm

≫ Next: CATURDAY

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I woke up about half an hour before my 4am alarm and was lounging around in bed when I started seeing flashes. At first I thought I was just drifting off to sleep or something, but after a while I realized I was seeing lightning. It was far enough away that I didn't hear any thunder, though. This happened to me one other time when I lived in Seattle. For a while I figured someone was doing a photo shoot. Ha. It was wet out and raining a little bit here and there when I went for my walk, which was a refreshing change of pace. In order to let it get a little bit lighter out before entering the gulch, I went up the Western residential streets first, and to stay safe, I kept to parts of the gulch that don't have narrow trails with dropoffs.

Right before I got into the gulch, my favorite walking song ever came on.



Whenever it comes on, I put it on repeat and listen to it for the rest of my walk. That was about 80 minutes today. It's just such a perfect walking song, and an aural tab of pure ecstasy. I don't really care for hypothetical questions, but if anyone ever asks me what song I'd choose if I only get one the rest of my life, it's this one. It may seem like I'm exaggerating, but I assure you I'm not.

Funny, I didn't know until just know that so much of that mash-up is Britney Spears.




5.33 miles in 1:44, 11,471 steps, 501ft gain

I took this picture just because I could. This new phone's camera is amazing, and any other phone I've had would have taken a very dark, boring photo here.



This is one of my favorite signs. It looks more to me like a cave painting of a lizard than a diagram showing hidden driveways.



Didn't get to see too much of the sun, but it peeked through once in a while.




I just love entering here. It's like the gulch is saying, "Welcome home."



I'm curious if this concrete ring has been here as long as the tree. And if the tree will someday grow large enough to pick it up and eventually break it.



The industrial properties that are for sale that I've been walking by have concrete barriers where they meet the road. Only one has this done to it, though. Wonder what that's about.



This little road is point A on the map. I went that way and back just to make sure I'd get enough mileage today. It's nice, though.



Here's my week. I'm glad I was able to hit my goal even with the skipped day, but it sure was a lot of work to do it.

CATURDAY

August 15, 2015, 7:09 am

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≪ Previous: Made it

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RIP Elliot, 2005-2015. Thank you for being my friend's awesome friend.






























































































































































BONUS Saturdogs

Neighborhood cat we call Janet

August 15, 2015, 5:04 pm

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≪ Previous: CATURDAY

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ZzzzZzzz

August 16, 2015, 1:28 pm

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≪ Previous: Neighborhood cat we call Janet

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I just realized I should have taken a picture of at least part of the dinner I made last night. Our friends Jenn and Jason have an excellent band, Mutiny Mutiny, and they played in Everett last night. We had them over for dinner beforehand, and since they're vegetarians, I went ahead and made a vegan dinner since I've been making so many vegan meals. It was a Thai noodle dish and some zucchini lemongrass fritters, plus they brought spring rolls from Tamarind Tree, one of the best restaurants in Seattle. I wasn't going to have them bring anything at all, but when Jenn offered, I asked if she would mind stopping for those. Best spring rolls I've ever had and I didn't have to go anywhere to get them!

What I wish I took a photo of is the little station I made up for herbs and toppings. It was a nice triangle of bowls with cilantro, shiso, basil, cashews, green onions, and a big bowl of pickled cucumbers and onions. I had everyone bring their bowl over to the stove to grab noodles and top them with their choices from that station. It was a hit. I also made a watermelon basil ice dessert, which was tasty, but also weird because it looked like salsa.

Mutiny Mutiny was the third act on the bill at the show later on, and had a lot of sound issues, so I didn't end up asleep until midnight. Still love seeing them perform.



They're between drummers right now and were using a laptop as a drum machine. No big loss as far as I'm concerned, as their sound is very guitar-oriented.



You should all buy their music! It's very good. A new EP is coming out in a few weeks.

I swear, staying up late is the worst in terms of how I feel. I didn't just feel gross when 5am rolled around and it was time to get up for my walk. I also felt very gross every time I woke up throughout the night. I'd rather have a hangover than be tired from staying up late, any day.



After completing the 30-mile goal in only five days last week and feeling like I was always running behind the whole time, I decided that I would walk today no matter what, and I'd start the week off with at least five miles today. It took me a little while to get out of bed, but I did it, and set off for another walk up through the neighborhoods and back down through the gulch. I'll probably do this more and more as the sun rises later, and might have to think about walking in the afternoons eventually.

That neighborhood is very affluent, and rich people find the weirdest plants to use in their landscaping.



I really liked this morning because it was cool out, and it looked like the middle of winter.



KITTY




5.17 miles in 1:55, 11,128 steps, 456ft gain

I really liked today's route. I think I've only taken the part between points A and B once or twice. I barely noticed the spot where it starts, and didn't really know for sure I'd been there until I was almost done with it.

I'm also always wishing there was a way across the land that's for sale, between points B and D, and today I spotted a little path at point C. It got really creepy, really fast.



I'm not sure if that was a shed, or a little house, or what, but it's been to hell and back. It looked like the path kept going, but it was more overgrown than I'll put up with now, and I was ready to be back out on the road anyway.

I do like how these routes lead me out of Mukilteo into Everett, then back into Mukilteo.



I was definitely dragging, though.



It was also interesting to see the dramatic growth of the blackberry bushes along the center trail from just a couple of rainy days. Hopefully the volunteers will be through soon to cut them back a bit.

---

Mission accomplished

August 17, 2015, 8:26 am

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I ordered a few different keychains from Amazon the other day and they arrived last night. This morning, I chose this one.



It's so pretty! I got this one because I typically only need my car key because I come in through the garage, and each of the smaller rings can come off. Perfect. I do prefer a chain with regular links to flattened ones, so I might swap that out at some point. No rush, though.

Jinxed it

August 17, 2015, 4:09 pm

≫ Next: A little rain never hurt

≪ Previous: Mission accomplished

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After saying yesterday I'd rather be hung over than exhausted from staying up late, I of course woke up with the strangest hangover I've had in a long time. From when I got up at 4:00 until lunch time, I felt really weird and spacey. Kind of like being on really strong painkillers. Totally bizarre. I figure it's probably because I was so exhausted yesterday. Definitely wasn't up for a walk this morning, so I went this afternoon.

I really hate walking in the afternoon. Sunshine is stupid.





Thankfully with all the trees, the gulch is still pretty shady.



Finally saw a train there today! I was beginning to wonder if those tracks ever get used. Of course it was loud as hell and kicked up a bunch of dust.



Clouds like this are pretty but they sure don't do their job.



I really wasn't in the mood to leave the gulch or even go on the trails, so when I got to that road on the side between points A and B, I just walked back and forth a bunch of times so I could get close to five miles. If I'd just turned back, it would have been 3.5 or so.


4.71 miles in 1:33, 10,125 steps, 394 ft gain

I added the zoomed-in look at that section on the right just for laughs. It was definitely boring to walk back and forth like that, but I can't argue with my desperate need for shade.

Another thing I saw for the first time today was two kids on bikes come zooming into the center from the trails on the East side. Never really thought of mountain biking as an all-ages sport, but of course it is. When they passed me later on the center trail, the first one called out so I'd know they were coming, which was nice.

I feel a lot better after the walk, but man, what a long day.

A little rain never hurt

August 18, 2015, 12:24 pm

≫ Next: A beach so nice, I went there twice

≪ Previous: Jinxed it

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I felt great when I got up this morning, and noticed the sunrise was really nice as I was driving to the gulch. I wanted to really take it in, so I walked down to the beach. As is often the case, I missed the really vivid red part. As the days get shorter, I'll get to see more of them, though. And there was still plenty to enjoy.






6.18 miles in 2:18, 13,288 steps, 656ft gain

Not a gulch train. I took this picture at point A on the map, and point B is where the track splits off to head through the gulch to get to Boeing.



The parking at the Silver Cloud in Mukilteo has such a nice view.



Edgewater Beach from a hole in the fence along the temporary path that leads there. I wonder if that access point will ever close.



Such a lovely spot. As usual, there are more over at flickr.





After coming up from the beach, I jumped into the trails. I noticed some of the sandier spots were a little nicer today due to the recent rains. Of course that means the spots that have been muddy are way worse, but it's getting to the point where I know which way to go to avoid whatever I'm concerned about.



I left the East side of the gulch when I realized the path I was walking up was the "rollercoaster" I've talked about. Going up it would be just as hard as going down, because you go up and down every bend either way. Instead, I walked over to a trail I was pretty sure I'd never been on at point D. Within moments of heading down it, I knew for sure, because I'd remember this car for sure.



The trail wraps around it, so you get to see it from all sides. I'd love to know the story behind it. I'm so glad I went that way, because every other way from one side to the other that I've done is quite difficult, and that one's very easy.

I didn't really mean to go up to six miles today, but I'm also terrible at estimating the distances. Not surprising since everything winds around so much. I exited via the fancy neighborhoods because I don't like how steep the way out would have been if I'd headed directly back to the car. I go up that way a lot, but don't care to go down.

KITTY



Even though there are more people than I care for down at the beach every time I go, I should go more. Combining the beach and the gulch adds variety and also gives me a steeper climb. Not sure if I've said it before, but climbing in the gulch so much is an exponentially better workout than going farther on a flat surface.

A beach so nice, I went there twice

August 19, 2015, 11:40 am

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I didn't climb all the way up out of the Eastern portion of the gulch, and really wish I had. I ended up climbing 656 feet, and if I went to the top, I might have gone over 700. That's kind of an arbitrary goal, and I really have no idea what my record is. Just checked an export of my lifetime stats, and gain isn't included in that view. That's too bad.




6.22 miles in 2:17, 13,382 steps, 553ft gain

Not too many pictures today, since I covered much of the same territory as yesterday.





Comparing today's walk and yesterday's, the stats are shockingly similar. Except for the gain. I climbed to a very high spot today and it was pretty brutal, but since I crossed from one side to the other yesterday, I got another hundred feet out of it. So maybe tomorrow, if I climb up one since and then the other, I can get 700 feet. If that doesn't do it, I can try two loops on the same side. I wish gain was listed in the live tracking on the phone.

I just looked at the entry from the time I went to Big Gulch to see how many feet it takes to climb out of there. Only 389. It's weird to see that the date was only July 2nd. Seems like such a long time ago.

A little extra never hurt

August 20, 2015, 11:25 am

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My goal for today was to climb 700 feet, and I figured in order to do that, I'd have to not only start from or go down to the beach, but also climb the gulch twice. I decided to start at the beach today because I noticed the last couple of days, I wasted some distance on the roads getting from the normal parking spot to the beach. When I got there, I was shocked to find the gates open. They've never been open if I've tried to drive directly there, but by the time I got back, they would be. Pretty frustrating. Nice that it worked out today.



It was still a little bit dark when I got to the beach. The first part of the walk was creepier looking than it actually is if you really know the area. The little service road leads right to the train station and there are tons of morning commuters there, plus dock workers at either end. And downtown Mukilteo is about as scary as Mayberry. I didn't put my earbuds in until I got to the train station, just to be cautious, but really, if I were to run into anyone, it'd be someone running, or maybe someone who likes to sit on the rocks and fish.

The climb up into the neighborhoods was pretty typical, though today I met THIS KITTY.



I was really trying to climb back down into the gulch the same way I got out yesterday, but I didn't get on the right path. The way I took down wasn't too hard, but it's very weird. The path is deeper than the ground on either side of it, almost like a bowling alley gutter. I like that path down, except for the spot where it crosses the creek.



It's hard to tell in that picture, but there aren't quite enough rocks. I managed to get across without getting my feet wet, but just barely. Three or four more really big rocks right there would be so great.

On the hike back up, I saw what I thought might be a shortcut to the next trail over, and thought someone even marked it with a little flag. Nope, it was dirty panties.



And it wasn't even a shortcut, I had to turn back. It's funny, there's the whole stereotype about gay men having sex out in the woods, but it's panties I see first. Yes, I'm aware men can wear panties, but, um, I could tell a woman had. D:

At point A on the map, I could have cut almost directly over to the corner on the road where the mile 5 mark ended up being, but I went South instead so I could head toward the ballfields. As far as I know, that's the highest point on that side, and I worried about coming up just short of of the 700 feet like I did yesterday. Of course it also gave me another mile, and I was hoping to cut down on miles while also climbing higher. Oh well. At least the geese at the ballfields didn't attack.




6.72 miles in 2:21, 14,448 steps, 934ft gain

So, yeah, I beat the 700ft goal, by 234 feet, which is an extra 33%. Oops! That does make me want to try for 1,000 sometime, but not right away. It's been a long week, and I'm now only about a mile and a half away from 30, so I'll do something easy tomorrow.