I think I’m succeeding in my goal of developing a more relaxed and balanced attitude towards hiking, and it’s mostly thanks to our new house. I no longer stress out about having to hike every single sunny weekend day, because I love just hanging out on our new deck, barbecuing and playing with Wellie in the yard. Now that we have (urban) trail access right by our house, I’m also much more inclined to exercise midweek – this makes for a less antsy Ingunn when the weekend rolls around.

Importantly, I’m much less picky about where we go hiking – no to-do list this year! My main priority is just to enjoy myself, preferably somewhere Wellie-appropriate. It doesn’t matter whether the trail is short and sweet or long and hard (TWSS), I just do exactly what I feel like doing that day.

No monthly mileage goals, no keeping track of my hiking stats in a geeky spreadsheet. I’m loving it.

Sunday was one of those really delightful days. Tom, JK, Wellie and I hiked to Talapus and Olallie Lakes under a scorching sun. It was just plain awesome, even though the conversation between the guys quickly devolved into nerdy tech talk (as it always does) and I was left to discuss politics with Wellie.

The snow was continuous after the first mile, but hopefully this warm spell will speed up the melting process and save us from a repeat of the dismal summer of 2011. If not, I won’t be quite as fazed as I was last year – I’ll just become a master barbecuer instead.

(*the mileage was probably lower since we hiked straight up the snow instead of trying to follow the switchbacking summer trail.)

We always bring our SLR with us when we hike (unless it’s just a training hike on Tiger Mountain or if the forecast is beyond craptastic), but on Saturday we decided to leave it at home, mainly because we wanted to save weight (I had never done anything longer than 9 miles in my Merrell Pace Gloves before, so I wanted to go as light as possible), but also because we were just going to Rattlesnake Mountain (which is pretty enough, but, well, if you hike in Washington long enough, you get spoiled)*.

Of course, after 10 minutes or so on trail, we ran into several hikers warning us of bears ahead. I’ve met enough bears at this point that my immediate thought was less “oh shit, a bear!” and more “oh shit, I only have my crappy compact camera!” – I would probably have been nervous if I were alone, but I know that black bears usually either don’t care about humans or they’re scared of us.

We leashed Jasper and Wellie to avoid an unfortunate canine/ursine confrontation, then hiked on in search of the bruin. Sure enough, on a switchback 1-2 miles before Grand Prospect, we met the cutest bear I have ever seen. He was just sitting there on a log, quietly observing us. I haven’t stopped kicking myself for not having my SLR to take a photo when a bear was staring me right in the face. Why? Whyyyy?

The rest of the hike was uneventful but pleasant (and my feet felt wonderful in the Pace Gloves, even with the whole kicking myself-thing), and the day turned excellent when Gimpy Jo picked us up at the Rattlesnake Lake trailhead and whisked us off to the Yellow Dog Inn where she not only served us beer and ALL THE FOODS, but presented me with a beautiful (and not to mention timely) bear amulet (which I will tell you more about when the time is right).

*whoa! That just might be the longest (and most parenthesized) sentence I have ever written.

Poor JK spent last weekend on the couch, surrounded by a mountain of Kleenex and cold medication, instead of playing outside on actual mountains in the sunshine. Our friend Amy was sick as well, so her husband Tom and I did what any supportive spouses would do – we went hiking without them. Tough noogies, germos!!

Lake Twentytwo was beautiful as always (well, the snow on top of the lake was beautiful at least, I’ve never actually seen it in a melted state), and the trail was full of smiling humans and happy dogs…including one depraved Jack Russell Terrier that humped Wellie with such vigor and gusto that it took four adults to separate them. My poor boy will never be the same.

Fortunately JK is feeling better now, just in time for another sunny weekend – our local news station described the forecast as “spectacular with scattered awesomeness.” Where to go, where to go…

The Sunday after our arrival back in Seattle looked damp, gloomy, and generally just too Pacific Northwest for our South Pacific mindset, so we joined our friends on a hike east of the crest, where the sunshine lives.

This was my second hike on Sauer’s Mountain outside of Leavenworth, and it has become one of my favorite spring trails. It’s perfect this time of year if you’re like me and the mere sight of snow makes you stabby (or you’ve just returned from ten days in paradise and you’re not emotionally ready for your tan to fade just yet).

The trail starts on private property (in what is presumably Sauer’s backyard) and it’s decorated with all sorts of totem poles and whimsical tree trolls. Past the forest service border, we had to make do with clusters of bright yellow balsamroot flowers and views into the Enchantments. The horror!!

At the top, Tom brought out a bottle of Disaronno so we could take a shot (or three) in honor of our friend Jo who is currently out of hiking commission with a gimpy leg. Get well soon, Josie, we need you to finish the bottle!

I hate shopping. I like to say that I was born without the shopping gene, but anyone who knew me in high school would tell you that this isn’t true. My shopping gene is merely switched off, and it has been for years (coincidentally I think this happened around the time I gained several metric tons of weight and couldn’t find a single article of clothing I felt comfortable in). Now I abhor any sort of shopping – clothes, groceries, souvenirs, even hiking gear(!).

Anyhoo, my point is that when JK and our house guests decided to hit up the outlet mall in North Bend for a “quick” (YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!!) shopping session, I decided to drag my arse to the nearest trailhead instead.

Did I mention that I was hung over from our housewarming the night before? And that we had just eaten lunch at the greasy establishment that used to be (sort of) the Double R Diner? Well, these things bubbled and combined to explosively rocket me to the top of Little Si in record time. (Have I stumbled across the secret of TNAB’s afterburners?) A quick phone call to JK confirmed that I still had lots of time to kill, so I relaxed at the summit for a while and then chose a longer route, the Boulder Garden Loop, on the way down.

Little Si has never been a favorite of mine, but it sure as hell beats shopping.