Japanese Gulch Trail - June 26, 2014

We went on another short, but nice hike on the Japanese Gulch Trail in Mukilteo this week. We walked between 2 1/2 and 3 miles and spent about an hour and a half divided between walking and eating lunch. There have been many improvements to the trail since the last time I visited. You no longer have to pull yourself up a steep hill with a rope. This section was replaced by stairs. There are many other muddy or steep areas that now have wooden boardwalks or bridges. We also decided to check out the 1/4 mile interpretive trail on the opposite side (North) of the road from the main Japanese Gulch site (where the dog park is). This trail begins a little bit east of the main site and dead-ends at Mukilteo Lane. Nice interpretive signs and lots of berries ripe at the time I hiked, both huckleberries and thimble berries.

A bumblebee visiting some St. John's Wort near the trailhead.

The only fungus picture I took

Western Tiger Swallowtail

Ripe Thimbleberries 

Happy summer hiking!

Lord Hill Regional Park ~ March 25, 2014

I know I haven't been posting much lately. I'm in college full time as well as homeschooling my two boys so there hasn't been as much time for hiking lately. We did manage to get out once during my spring break. We went to one of my favorite local places, Lord Hill Regional Park. We originally decided not to go in the morning because it was pretty wet outside. Around noon, the weather was looking okay, so we changed our minds and decided to head out. It (of course) started raining on the way there and continued for the first 30 minutes of hiking. The trails were muddy, but we came prepared with boots and/or shoes that could get dirty. We only saw a couple of other people who ventured out in the rain on the trail that day.

You can see my son is somewhat drenched from the rain.

 We went up to the lookout off of the pipeline cutoff trail (my favorite lookout, and a great place to eat lunch). We stopped to have something to eat under some trees that were keeping us drier. After we'd been there for about 15 minutes, the rain stopped and some blue sky started peeking through the clouds!

The view from the lookout.

I loved the way the water on this lichen was catching the sun.

We even found a snake sunning himself along side the trail on the way back to the car.

We saw some  flowers, including skunk cabbage, announcing that spring had arrived.

Salmon berries are in bloom. 

Trillium was up and blooming as well. 

It was nice to be out and get some exercise and fresh air. The flowers and sunshine were a nice reward too!
I'm taking the summer off from school so I should have more time to hike and will try to blog the hikes that we do over the summer.

Happy Trail!

Lake Cassidy ~ March 17, 2013

We checked out this short hike that Craig Romano posted as his Hike of the Week for March 15, 2013.
It's located in Marysville, Washington and makes a fun, quick hike that you don't have to drive very far to get to. Check out Craig's post in the link above for directions. He also gives directions to the ADA parking area that makes this lake accessible to disabled hikers.

The day that we went it started hailing in the middle of our walk. Luckily the hail didn't last long!

You can see some of the hail in this picture

This hike is part of the Centennial Trail and is a paved, level trail used by bicyclists and pedestrians.

After 1 1/4 miles Lake Cassidy appears through the trees.

Here's the first view of the lake from the trail

There is a picnic area, educational kiosk and a nice boardwalk when you reach the lake.

Here is a portion of the boardwalk that extends out onto the lake

An eagle that was in a tree near Lake Cassidy

A Red Winged Blackbird singing about spring coming

One of my favorite signs that spring is coming! Skunk Cabbage.

A fungus covered snag

Happy Spring hiking!

Paradise Valley Conservation Area - June 21, 2012

A wooden foot bridge along the Lloyd Trail.

One of several small Cairns that I saw along the Lloyd Trail.

This was our second trip to Paradise Valley Conservation Area in Woodinville. The last time we went was in December and it was much warmer this time, thankfully!

There were several cars parked in the parking area when we arrived at around 11:30 am on a Thursday. I'm pretty sure the parking area fills up quickly on the weekends. There is a portable toilet in the parking area.

I would recommend printing a map from the link above. You can plan your route as you go.

We left the parking area and walked the Whispering Firs and Cascara trails. Then we headed a short way down the Mainline Trail to The Clearing for lunch. This is a nice open area with benches and makes a great place to have lunch.

Having lunch in The Clearing

After we ate we headed down the Mainline Trail until we hit the Lloyd Trail and took that until it reaches the Southern Traverse Trail. From there we followed the Forest Ridge Trail back to the Mainline Trail. We walked out to the parking lot after we finished and went for ice cream at The Snoqualmie Ice Cream Cafe when we were done. It's just a few minutes from the trailhead and has delicious ice cream!

We encountered several bikes along the trails that we hiked as well as some muddy spots (I would recommend hiking boots, or at the very least sturdy tennis shoes).

There are about 13 miles of trails in this park and is a great place to explore with kids. Plenty of easy walking trails for even the youngest of hikers!

I found my first ripe huckleberries of the season. There were quite a few Red Huckleberries around!

The bleeding hearts were still in bloom:

 I thought the Oregon Grapes were a really pretty green color:

Here are my fungus pictures:

I found this pine cone carefully balancing on this Huckleberry branch.

Happy Trails!

Big Gulch Trail - Mukilteo ~ February 2012

The Big Gulch Trail in Mukilteo is another close to home trail that is great for a quick walk or hike. It ends (or begins at the Mukilteo Library, so you could even combine a trip to the library with a quick hike. :-)

There are several miles of trails that can be accessed from the 92nd St. Park, the Mukilteo Library or the Stay Bridge Suites Hotel.

We made a loop from the 92nd St. Park around to the library and back to the park. It was a nice walk, muddy, but nice. Be prepared for wet, muddy conditions on parts of the trail.

As you can tell by the next three pictures, the kids enjoyed climbing over everything that they could!

I did spot a couple of mushrooms along the trail.

Happy trails!

Japanese Gulch Trail - Mukilteo - April 5, 2012

The Japanese Gulch Trail is only about 15 minutes from my house. That's why it is surprising that I had never been here before! 

It has around 14 miles of trails that are used by hikers and mountain bikers. If you don't like to get muddy, find a different trail. We encountered quite a bit of mud, several washouts and a few places that required sliding on your backside.

This is one of the washouts that we encountered shortly after leaving the parking area on 5th St. This next picture was a steep hill that had a rope to assist you up.

There are a lot of intersecting trails and I would suggest printing a map, so that you have a general idea of where you are going. The trails are not named or marked in most cases, but the map can help you to keep your general sense of direction.

We encountered several bikers and hikers on the trail, but we were mostly by ourselves. I would imagine that this is a pretty packed place on the weekends (especially summer).

Bleeding Hearts beginning to bloom

Salmon Berry blossoms

Huckleberries were starting to blossom as well

Some fungus photos:

One of the steep parts of the trail

Catching some air on the way down

A view of the Puget Sound from one of the higher spots on the trail

A bridge that crossed the drainage creek

Happy trails!