Squak Mountain

By -
Granite Mountain Lookout
John and I spent the long weekend in Seattle house sitting for my sister. We hiked in the snow up to the Granite Mountain Lookout  and in the rain to Oyster Dome in the Chuckanut Mountains. Before we headed back to Portland I wanted to get a trail run in. I was hoping to get in a longer running around Wallace Lake and Falls, but we had a little too much fun at Uber Tavern the night before and I didn't get up until 9am. Instead I decided to do a shorter run a little closer to Seattle, Squak Mountain in the "Issaquah Alps".


San Juan Islands on the way up to Oyster Dome


Squak Mountain trail map

John decided to hike while I ran, so we grab all our stuff and headed to the trailhead. When we got to the trailhead and I went to put on my shoes I discovered I had forgotten my socks. Unfortunately I had worn my sandals in the car, so I didn't have any socks, but I decided to just run without socks and deal with the consequences.

Random bridge on my trail run
I tried to follow the loop described in 50 Trail Runs in Washington, but somehow I kept missing my turns, so I gave up and just ran for 90 minutes. I never found the Bullitt fireplace, but I did make it up 2 of the peaks. I took another wrong turn and ended up on a trail full of stinging nettles grabbing at my legs. I amazed myself that I was actually able to find the car. Despite all of this it was a good run, I really enjoyed being able to explore more new trails. And I didn't get any blisters on sockless feet.
Location: Squak Mountain, Issaquah, WA 98027, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

24 for 2024

By -
Image
Top of Saltzman 2024   Susan and I decided to run 24 miles to kick off 2024. As I was looking through our previous routes, I found one called ' 24 mile taper run ', which seemed perfect - how hard can a taper run be? I didn't scrutinize the route closely. Nine miles in, I realized we had to run from the bottom to the very top of Saltzman. Who does that as part of a taper? Apparently, we did, ten years ago. Upon reaching the summit, I had Susan take a photo in the same spot as before. It felt great to push ourselves, which we plan to continue in 2024. Same route, different year -- 2014 Honesty, I love that we are still running routes we created 10 years ago, may be a bit slower though but who cares. I love that for us! 
Read more

Three days in Wonderland

By -
Image
Mt Rainier, glaciers, alpine forests, and a trail through the heart of it all 16-18 Aug 2015 No run has reshaped the borders of my soul like circumnavigating Mt Rainier. No run has infiltrated my dreams like spending three days just running and not much else, in the middle of the longest summer in the Pacific Northwest's recent memory. No run has made me fall so deeply in love with the magical combination of mountains, wilderness, and summertime. Like all of our great long runs, Ann researched and planned this one. She discovered that most people run the 93-mile Wonderland Trail clockwise, and that we could split the route into three days with a cushy hotel stay each night. We, however, would run the route counterclockwise to start with the longest day of running first. We had a beer with our friend Heather McGrath, who had run around Rainier the previous year, to hear more about her trip, get tips, and make sure that our plan wasn't too crazy.
Read more

Deception Pass 25k: Race Review

By -
Image
Welcome back to our blog and our only race review of 2023! This time, we're sharing our experience at the Deception Pass 25k – a true PNW trail runner's dream in the heart of Deception Pass State Park.  A Weather Miracle! We feel incredibly fortunate about the weather during the race. Having known the 50k runners battled through some pretty tough conditions the day before, we geared up for the worst. But, as luck would have it, we were greeted with near-perfect weather on race day. Clear skies, gentle breezes, and just the right amount of sunshine made our run more enjoyable than we could have hoped for. Lollipop Loops: A Sweet Surprise One of the most exciting aspects of the Deception Pass 25k is its infamous 'lollipop loops'. These trails, winding and unpredictable, add an element of surprise and fun that you don't often find in other races. Every twist and turn brought a new landscape into view; we ran through rocky trails, dense forest and a seaweed laden beach...
Read more