There is no better way to see Washington towns than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a self-guided walking tour. A walking tour can be many things. Interested in heritage tourism? Looking for an educational day trip for the kids? Need a fun exercise plan? Want to find subjects to take great pictures? Whether you are visiting a new town or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a Washington walking tour from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are.

Each of the 4 walking tours in LOOK UP, WASHINGTON! describes a mix of historical, architectural, cultural and ecclesiastical landmarks. Street addresses and step-by-step directions lead the way. A quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on Washington’s streets is included. So look both ways before crossing the street and LOOK UP, WASHINGTON!

Tours Included:

Olympia
Seattle – Pike Place Market
Seattle – Pioneer Square
Tacoma

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I had wanted to backpack in the Goat Rocks Wilderness for years. The Pacific Crest Trail (“PCT”) runs through it – and this is one of the highest stretches.  In fact, this year (2011) summer came so late that when we went in August, there were still snow fields to cross and a cornice to scale!  The incredible wildflowers were peaking, and streams, lakes, and waterfalls were full.  Mosquitos were having a field day, and the sun was really strong – that’s why I’m wearing the Lawrence of Arabia headgear.

That is water, not wine, in the bota bag.  (just a funny-shaped canteen)

Goat Rocks (so named because it’s home to herds of mountain goats) lies between Mt Adams to the south and Mt Rainier to the north, about a 4-hour drive from the cottage.  We were a group of 5, and we went in on Friday and came out on Monday.  I celebrated my birthday there!  Noplace else I’d rather be than sitting around a campfire with friends on a clear, starry night up in the high country.

Whistler Mountain is only a few hours away from Soundview, across the border into British Columbia.  But I had never been there, winter or summer.  It’s a spectacular resort – refurbished and enlarged for the recent winter Olympics, with beautiful shops and common areas, respectful of the fantastic landscape.

The natural obelisk you see on the horizon is Black Tusk – the ubiquitous landmark of Garibaldi Provincial Park. Blessed with two peaks, lakes, forests, meadows, and waterfalls, the area is a mecca for mountain lovers like me.  In the summertime, there are free outdoor concerts in the village almost every evening.  We totally enjoyed Jason Mraz – just him – acoustic and personal – with one other musician, a fabulous guitarist.  What luck!

To get oriented, we took a chairlift up Blackcomb Mountain, then boarded the Peak-to-Peak Gondola which sweeps across a deep abyss to Whistler Mountain, and then walked down (you could have ridden down instead).  Normally in the summer there are many trails open at the top for hiking, but this year summer came late, and even in August snowfields blocked most of the higher paths.

So we hiked to Lake Cheakamus (lower elevation) and drove to a couple of spectacular waterfalls.  Our weather was splendid, and we had a great time.

Saturday I hiked to Emmons Glacier, the largest glacier in the continental US.  It’s on the east side of Mt Rainier and very easy to get to.  It’s about a 2-hour drive from the cottage to the Sunrise entrance of Mt Rainier National Park.  Then you drive to the White River Campground, park your car, and start walking UP.

But the trail is easy, punctuated by delicate waterfalls, and before long you are straddling the ridge of the glacier’s lateral moraine.

Emmons Moraine trail is the most bang for the buck I’ve experienced around these parts! (the most spectacular mountain wilderness scenery, for the least amount of effort to get there.)

Last week I took a spectacular hike up a series of waterfalls on the way to Stevens Pass, Highway 2.  It’s a state park called Wallace Falls.  The hike is pretty easy – 5 or so miles up to a picnic point, then turn around and come back.  On this brilliant spring day, the trail was crowded with exuberant hikers of all ages and abilities, thrilling to the rushing water, suddenly blue sky, and the impudent, luscious green.  The trail is out of the hamlet called GoldBar, on the way up to Stevens Pass, and it’s less than a 2-hour drive from the cottage.

The  full moon woke me up Thursday night, shining on the Sound through the wispiest little clouds.  I love winter here. Sometimes it snows, but usually the snow melts pretty quickly. The views are even more amazing in the winter, because some of the trees are bare now and you can see more of the water.

(this photo is from a few years ago – this much snow is really unusual!)

But a couple of weeks ago, when I was supposed to lead a group of middle shool girls on a snowshoe trip, the weather turned warm and rainy and we had to suddenly switch to Northwest Trek instead of going up to Snoqualmie Pass.

NW Trek was a lot of fun and a perfect Plan B.  We were able to stay out of the drizzle most of the time, riding the heated trams that carry you through the wildlife habitat in the foothills of Mt Rainier, to observe deer, bison, moose, elk, swans, geese – totally oblivious to the human visitors.  In other places in the park, separated from the grazers, are predators like wolves and bears. My favorite are the beavers, which you get to observe swimming underwater through a glass wall.

The girls were adorable – they loved taking photos of each other, and kept pulling me into the picture!  This day was an activity of the Sierra Club Inner City Outings program, where I’m a volunteer leader for two Tukwila schools.  Tukwila is just on the other side of the airport, and it’s said to be the most diverse school district in the nation.  I believe it!

I took a friend up to the mountains at Snoqualmie Pass last week – just for the day.  It was glorious.  Lots of fresh, clean snow, azure sky.

The Pass is only about 1.3 hrs away, and there are 4 downhill ski areas, snowshoe and cross-country trails, restaurants, lodges, gas station, 2 little markets, a delightful gift shop, and ranger-led snowshoe tours on the weekend. There’s a bigger, higher ski area called Crystal Mountain on the east shoulder of Mt Rainier, but it takes another hour to drive there.  A little farther still, Seattleites can also ski at Stevens Pass, Mt Baker, Mission Ridge, and White Pass – and there’s even a little rope tow at Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula.  I love Seattle!  It’s so close to so many different kinds of recreation.
Coming home to the hot tub at Soundview on a clear night is the best!   I keep the hot tub ready for guests all year, and sometimes if the cottage is vacant I use it myself.

The full moon was shining on the Sound that night, with little wispy white clouds glowing all around it.

The other day, my guests drove all the way around the Olympic Peninsula in one day!  A long day, but they enjoyed it.  I enjoyed this vast treasure in a different way last weekend: hiking a 21-mile loop, gaining 4,000 ft elevation, camping in Seven Lakes Basin with four other backpackers.

Our weather was pretty darn good, considering it was supposed to rain.  The lupines were flashing their deep blue drifts of color across the high meadows, and the scarlet Indian Paint Brush blossoms were trying to keep up.

We saw a bear, a deer, and a family of ptarmigans.  Those who took the side-climb to the top of Bogachiel Peak saw a huge herd of elk!

Washingtonians are truly blessed with some of the most breathtaking mountain and ocean (and high desert) scenery in the world.

the view from the outhouse

Back about 40 years ago when I lived in LA and was just getting my feet wet with backpacking, the Sierra Club offered a hike into the Enchanted Valley on the Olympic Peninsula.  The hike was canceled that year due to lack of interest.  But MY interest kept going until this summer, when my dream finally came true.

The Enchanted Valley is up in the headwaters of the Quinault River.  You drive to the end of the road beyond Lake Quinault, park, and start walking, 13 miles to be exact – we took 2 days to do it.  A small group from MeetUp had planned this trip, and I was not disappointed!

Green on Green

It’s only about a 4-hour drive from here to the upper Quinault River, to a whole different ecosystem, one where green is the only color and human sounds surrender to rushing water.  Bears, indifferent to hikers, barely (scuse me) look up from their leisurely grazing for berries in the meadows.

The Enchanted Valley was a privately-owned destination in the 20′s, until the National Park took it over and maintained it as a ranger station and emergency shelter. It’s the first major clearing – there are many beyond it as the trees start thinning and shrinking – and I think it got its name from the myriad waterfalls that grace the cliffs surrounding it.  While we were there – 2 nights in June – a crew was replacing the original cedar-shake roof, faithfully duplicating the original shingles, which were almost three feet long!  They had had to mill them themselves – you just can’t buy shakes like that anymore.

Reminded me of an old, old shack I stumbled across once in the Sierras many years ago.

On the way home, a few of us visited charming Port Townsend and Fort Worden, staying in the youth hostel there by the beach.  It’s definitely shorter to go south through Olympia and Hoquiam, but it makes a nice loop to continue the circle.

I’m so glad I finally got to actually experience the Enchanted Valley, one of the many amazing places on the  spectacular Olympic Peninsula!

You can see 130 photos from the trip, contributed by myself and the 7 other backpackers, on the Seattle Backpackers website.

Last week I stole away to Friday Harbor for my annual whale watching fix with Captain Jim Maya.  Jim almost always finds whales, and often other sea creatures as well, like dolphins, sea lions and eagles.  It’s a fun ride on his fast 27′ Glacier Bay twin-engine boat “Peregrine.”  Last Wednesday we found a pod ‘way out in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  The weather’s been a little iffy lately, but we lucked out and got sun AND whales!  And Jim’s grandson “Ike,” almost 3 1/2, was along, too.

It makes for a long day, but you can get an express ferry from Anacortes in the morning and be on the Peregrine by 1 pm – and be back home to Soundview by bedtime.