MeyerMED

Seattle, Twin Falls Trail, and Gold Creek Trail

// January 6th, 2012 // Exploration

In mid-December, Cait and I took a trip to Seattle to do some extreme hiking with her sister Eliza in the Cascade Mountains. While traveling there, we took a flight from Tampa to Dallas, and transferred to another flight to Seattle. In the Dallas airport, while the plane was boarding, I started getting hungry, so I ran to McDonalds and bought a Kid’s Cheeseburger. About 1 hour before the plane touched down, I started getting nauseous. I sat up, stopped reading, and thought, “What the heck is wrong with me?!” I told Cait that I wasn’t feeling well, went to the back of the plane and stood in the middle of the isle, propping myself up with my hands against the headrest of two chairs. When my hands and feet starting going numb, I resigned myself to going into the bathroom before I made a scene by throwing up over someones shoulders. It was that moment that I realized I had food poisoning from that mediocre-tasting cheeseburger.

The following day in Seattle, we stopped by REI to get some last minute outdoor goods and then drove into the mountains.

The Roaring River bed and breakfast was a tranquil (despite it’s name) little place atop a cliff touching the Snoqualmie River.

Upon arriving the sun was setting over the mountains, so we rushed down a steep trail to see the river below.

The next morning we traveled to a Ranger’s station to inquire about the avalanche conditions of nearby trails. I was still coping with the residual symptoms of food poisoning, and also acquired Cait’s cold, so I knew a summit push was out of the question. We instead opted to hike Twin Falls in Olallie State Park.

The next day, we wanted to get some use out of the snowshoes we rented from REI, so we drove higher into the mountains (a short drive) and embarked upon the Gold Creek Pond Trail. Signs around the trailhead state that a “Wilderness Pass” is required to park, but after calling 8 numbers on the sign, talking to the 5 other hikers that were in the area, no one really knew where to acquire these passes. We parked anyway, and thankfully avoided the $120 fine. If you plan on hiking this trail, find more out about the pass by visiting the nearest ranger stations first:

North Bend Office 42404 SE North Bend Way North Bend, WA 98045 Open Monday – Friday 8 am – 4:30 pm (425) 888-1421

Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center Open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend Friday – Monday8:30 am – 4:00 pm (425) 434-6111

We went snowboarding the following day, and then explored the city of Seattle the day after. I didn’t have my Canon 7D on me when I was informed we’d be going down to Seattle’s “Fish Market”, but I wish I did — walking through the merchant shops was a pretty cool experience. After leaving the market, we walked about 3 miles to the Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park and Art Museum. Ironically, I realized that the sculptures and man-made objects were not that interesting, but rather I enjoyed what nature could provide to the city.

Neukom Vivarium is a art-piece by Mark Dion. He took a fallen tree from a forest and brought it into the city. Housed in a greenhouse, with irrigation and ventilation systems, his goal was to show the ever-changing ecosystem with time and symbiotic relationships among organisms, even after the tree’s death.

Alas, for those that love the city, and that which is man-made: the iconic Space Needle.