2020.4.18. Squak Mt.

4/18, Saturday, a bit rainy in the morning. I headed out after lunch to Issaquach again. This time, trying Squak Mt, which is crossing the street from West Tiger (where I went last weekend). More road walk. I did this loop from the town center, about 9.7 miles, 2800' EG according to Gaia (1/3 is walking on road, 1/3 is old logging road -- so very gentle grade). Very boring. No wonder I never came here before. Well placed trail signs of different ages. However, so many little trails, it's good to have a trail map in hand. Met total 17 people (including 4 toddlers), maybe due to the weather. The trails are open, with signs reminding you of practicing social distancing.

I started from the west parking lot on Mountainside Dr. SW, about 7-8 cars. Went to Debbie's View first. It's a small opening, one bench, with limited view to the west.

Next, West Peak. A wooden frame on ground suggesting an older house. A small sign on a tree says "West Peak". It's flat here, and without this sign, I would not know where exactly the peak was. No view at all.

On the way to Central Peak, the steepest terrain of this loop, but not very steep. There's this nice looking stone structure, looks like an old fireplace. A picnic table, some flat cleared ground.

Central Peak is fenced with 4 cell towers. A dilapidated hut on the other side of the parking lot. No view at all.

SE Peak is not marked. A boot track, a bit overgrown. My pant legs got quite wet going through the plants. My legs got a bit of rash. This is even more boring. The trees are thinner here. Even though there's no view, there's some promise of view beyond trees.

I came down to Sunrise Place SW. No trail sign here. The south half of the Squak Mountain Access Trail was closed. The northern half is open, and quite nice, going along Issaquach Creek.

I waited ~20 minutes for my bus back to Seattle.

2020.4.12. Poo Poo Point and West Tiger 1-2-3

4/12, Sunday. Sunny, warm. Took bus 554 to Issaquah old town. Walked south to the High School TH, and back at East Sunset Way TH. ~10 miles, 3000'+. The red on this map is roughly my track. I took the photo of this map at the trail head. Overall pretty boring. But it's good to be out in a mountain after 2 weeks stranded in the city.

Trails are well maintained, and well signed at each junction. However, you'd need a map to know which trail is going where. Too many of them. Saw total of ~36 people, ~12 dogs, half of those and a black bear were under 500'. Spring flowers are coming. Saw some trillium, bleeding heart and yellow violet.

2 cars parked at High School TH. Poo Poo Point may have the best view for a short hike here (if you start at Poo Poo Point TH). At 1850', looking west to the Olympics and down to Issaquah. Two picnic tables, plenty space to sit around, since there's no launch. The guy in the photo is the 10th person I encountered today. No car in the large parking lot. Probably the road is closed. Quite a lot of trash here.

Back up to the trail junction, took One-View trail. Passed the sign of "Fifteen Mile Gap" -- don't know what it is, the area looks like anywhere else in West Tiger. A couple of up and downs, then Poo Top trail to West Tiger #1 - the highest at 2948'. 3 large towers, a couple of locked buildings. Views are obstructed by trees. From here, I walked the road, passing some warning signs of high dose of radiation. After passing the gate, there's a bench and pretty good view of Rainier and Olympics. The bench was occupied by 2 guys and a dog.

West Tiger #2 (2759') has only one tower. Fenced in. No view at all. Continued down, now on a trail to West Tiger #3. Still no view. A post welcomes you to this 2522' summit and a clearing with some rock seats. Not far behind, there seems to be a camp site, but no water.

Now go down on Section Line Trail (signed as "unmaintained trail". Somewhat steep. Dry with some loose rock. Not the best to go down on. Met one lady twice (running up and then down). She looks older than me, but definitely more fit. Then right on Talus Rock trail, left on Nook trail, and left on Bus trail. At the turn towards Tradition Lake, there is a rotten bus. The lake looks quite nice. Good size. But I didn't get close enough to take a good photo. Saw 5 people here.

Continued west towards Round Lake, right under the power lines, in the clearing, on the grass, was a black bear, about 80m south. I turned around and shushed the 3 people behind me who were just emerging from the woods. The bear looked at me, didn't move. He wasn't thin, being so early in the season. I took a photo, and continued into the woods on the other side. Round Lake is plain and small. Followed Wetland trail (not very wet). Then went down to the parking lot on Sunset Way.

Waited ~15 minute for my bus home. Bought some grocery in China Town. Getting a bit breezy. Overall, a good workout. Nice to be out.

2020.4.11. Lakeview Cemetery

4/11, Saturday. This Easter weekend, with the nice weather in the forecast, Seattle has closed down all major parks as well as Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area, so friends and families cannot gather in the parks. I'm not sure of the rationale of this decision, nor how this could be implemented for parks without any fences. I headed up to Volunteer Park. In case of complete closure, I could still visit the neighboring Lake View Cemetery which opens at 9am daily.

Cloudy in the morning. As I walked into Volunteer Park, I could see the yellow ribbons across the road. A few joggers. Very few people. Flowers in and around the conservatory were really nice. A pity that you can not go inside. I walked out at the NE corner of the park, yes, this road had ribbon tied across.

This is my first time to Lake View Cemetery. Bruce Lee, father and son, ware buried here. I didn't realized that they died so young. A large proportion of the tombs here are Chinese. Lots of cherry trees here. Already past the peak, but still a lot of petals remained. At the highest point, it's possible to see a little bit of both Lake Union and Lake Washington.

When I walked back across Volunteer Park, I encountered one security guard who told me to go back to my car.

Later this day, I walked up to Kerry Park for sunset. This little park wasn't closed. Quite a few people here.

2020.4.5. Cherry Blossom at UW

4/5. Sunday. Partly sunny. Took the bus to University District. Walked to UW's cherry quad. A little past prime. Still lovely. This is my first time after returning to Seattle to see the cherry blossom here. Thanks to the COVID-19 lock-down, somewhat less people than usual. There were signs at each entrance about avoid congregation. As the afternoon rolled in, more and more people. I sat at a wooden bench (one of the many) reading my book. A couple strolled by, and decided to take pictures right in front of me. The guy kneeled down to capture various poses of his lady on the camera. I could see the hair on his butt crack! I guess some people simply don't understand what distance means. I left after 2 short stories. It was getting a bit chilly sitting .

I walked home via University Bridge, then East Lake, and Fairview Ave, trying to walk along Lake Union, but not always possible. More than 3/4 of the lake front is inaccessible. Fenced off by parking structures, condos. From north to south, houses on water, then cargo ship docks, industrial storage, the yachts, and restaurants. The restaurants are mostly closed, but they all have nice decks by the water you can walk to. Saw some homeless tents behind those waterfront condos, some people living in RVs parked in now deserted lots.