11-07-20
I
planned a hard hike on Sunday so I wanted an easy one for Saturday.
Grand Ridge fit the bill. I arrived at the High
Point North Trailhead
at 7:20 am and I was on my way at 7:25 am. It was cold but not near
freezing. I saw one runner right at the bridge at the start. On the
downhill hike along the railroad grade one biker passed me. That was it
for quite a while. The trail is graded for bikes so it is not too
steep. Easy to maintain a steady hiking pace. So far most all the
leaves had blown off the trees. We had a big wind storm the past week
so that probably did it. The wind provided a trail with leaves covering
long stretches of it. I did not plat to write a report or take many
photos but there was quite a bit of fall color. Most of it was just on
the ground. I made good time but not great. My trail runners wore out
leaving my high top heavier boots. Great for winter snow but overkill
for
a bare dry trail. Good training for winter hikes. I saw a deer ahead on
the trail. It kept moving and I ended up with a few rear end photos. It
moved off the trail and I had one good look.
At just over 2 miles I crossed the paved road and had a runner pass by. A few minutes a bike went by. That was it for another few miles. I passed by the upper Water Tower Loop trail and continued to the lower end. I turned off the main Grand Ridge Trail for the 2.4 mile Water Tower Loop. There was now a bit of sunshine. Brighter leaves and perhaps one degree warmer. I finally started to see some bicyclers. It had been very quiet for the first half of my trip. No groups larger than 2 or 3. This day I saw as many runners as bikers. Hikers were few and far between..
I only saw one patch of mushrooms but it was great. Dozens of them on the side of a tree. I ended up with a dozen photos. Really nice. I reached the high point by the water towers and then it was mostly downhill back to the main trail. There are two meadows created my removing all dying deciduous trees. It lets a little sunshine into the forest. On the way down I passed a few more people but not many. At the first junction after the road I met two hikers who were quick to tell me the presidential election was finally officially decided.
Most hikers had masks on but not all. I was able to get off the trail when needed to pass safely. I was glad to reach the railroad grade again. Just half a mile to go. I was getting a little plantar pain and hard packed road is not good. I made it back to the trailhead at 10:22 am. Just under three hours total time. I hiked about 7.5 miles with 1100' of elevation gain. A good fast workout. The sky was supposed to turn to mostly sunny but it was the opposite. In the middle of the hike I had sunshine but by the end it was all clouds. It was still pretty cold too. I had the hike I wanted with a lot more fall color than expected. All that and I was on my way home by 10:30 am.
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Trips - 2020
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At just over 2 miles I crossed the paved road and had a runner pass by. A few minutes a bike went by. That was it for another few miles. I passed by the upper Water Tower Loop trail and continued to the lower end. I turned off the main Grand Ridge Trail for the 2.4 mile Water Tower Loop. There was now a bit of sunshine. Brighter leaves and perhaps one degree warmer. I finally started to see some bicyclers. It had been very quiet for the first half of my trip. No groups larger than 2 or 3. This day I saw as many runners as bikers. Hikers were few and far between..
I only saw one patch of mushrooms but it was great. Dozens of them on the side of a tree. I ended up with a dozen photos. Really nice. I reached the high point by the water towers and then it was mostly downhill back to the main trail. There are two meadows created my removing all dying deciduous trees. It lets a little sunshine into the forest. On the way down I passed a few more people but not many. At the first junction after the road I met two hikers who were quick to tell me the presidential election was finally officially decided.
Most hikers had masks on but not all. I was able to get off the trail when needed to pass safely. I was glad to reach the railroad grade again. Just half a mile to go. I was getting a little plantar pain and hard packed road is not good. I made it back to the trailhead at 10:22 am. Just under three hours total time. I hiked about 7.5 miles with 1100' of elevation gain. A good fast workout. The sky was supposed to turn to mostly sunny but it was the opposite. In the middle of the hike I had sunshine but by the end it was all clouds. It was still pretty cold too. I had the hike I wanted with a lot more fall color than expected. All that and I was on my way home by 10:30 am.
 Issaquah Creek |
 Hiking The Railroad Grade |
 Some Fall Color |
 Leaves All Over |
 A Deer Friend |
 Big Leaf |
 Lots Of Mushrooms |
 Angel Wing Mushroom |
 Dark And Misty |
 Carpet Of Leaves |
 Lots Of Leaes |
 Leaves On These Trees |
 Water Tower Loop |
 Shrooms & Leaves |
 One Golden Leaf |
 Some Sunshine |
 Dark To Light |
 Bright & Leaves |
 More Fall Color |
 Ferns On Tree |
 Almost Back |
Trips - 2020
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