60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Seattle

There are so many options for hiking in the state of Washington; so many, that I am constantly overwhelmed with choices. One of my favorite regions of Washington to hike is the Olympic Peninsula. The Olympic Peninsula is gorgeous and the majority of it can be hiked year-round; however, it can involve 8+ hours of driving for a roundtrip from Seattle. There are days when I do not feel like being on the road for hours and want to quickly get to an enjoyable trailhead, and on these days I consult my 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Seattle book. It is also a great resource to use since the days are shorter during autumn and winter months.  I have vowed to complete all 60 hikes featured in the book…eventually.

Each year, I make progress towards this goal; in 2014 I completed the following hikes, and included a review and pictures of each hike featured in the book: Schmitz Preserve Park, Woodland Park and Green Lake Park, Blake Island State Park, Mercer Slough and Bellefields Nature Parks, Cedar River Trail (Landsburg to Big Bend Natural Area), Snoqualmie Falls Viewpoint (via Preston-Snoqualmie Rail-Trail),  Annette Lake and Asahel Curtis Nature Trail, Lime Kiln Trail at Robe Canyon Historic Park, and Flaming Geyser State Park.

Schmitz Preserve Park

This was an urban hike I accomplished during the autumn. I was already over in West Seattle doing another urban hike (Lincoln Park) and stop at Schmitz’s trailhead on my way back to Seattle. The entire time you are shaded by the forest, and I went on a rainy day and the trail was especially muddy. The boardwalks and bridges on this trail were very photogenic with fallen leaves. I hike so much in remote areas that since this was an urban hike (neighborhood park), it was odd to see people talking on cell phones and taking their dogs on walks through the forest.

Woodland Park and Green Lake Park

I have hiked the perimeter of Green Lake Park and have gone to the Woodland Park Zoo before; however, I hadn’t visited the Woodland Rose Garden. On this particular autumn day I walked the perimeter of Green Lake and visited the Woodland Rose Garden. I was pleasantly surprised how many plants and flowers were still blooming when I arrived at the Rose Garden. I can imagine how busy this garden will get on warm, sunny days…but I once again visited it on a rainy day, and almost had the place to myself.

Blake Island State Park

Blake Island is an interesting destination. You can only access the island via boat, kayak, or by taking an Argosy Cruise ship; there is no ferry that makes a trip. Therefore, the entire island has ZERO roads, because there’s no way for a car to reach it. Blake Island is popular among Seattle tourists because it has Tillicum Village, which features daily meals consisting of salmon cooked on cedar stakes as guests watch Dance on the Wind, an interpretive stage show. My friend and I were going to the island strictly for hiking (this was during the summertime) and went via an Argosy Cruise ship; fellow passengers consisted of those who were participating in the salmon dinner, campers, and other hikers.  I am sure if I did hiking on this island when I first moved to Seattle, I would have been more impressed. The island has beaches of course, but the forest consists of trees and a lot of ferns; it wasn’t very diverse and was very comparable to trail terrain found on Vashon Island (which cars can be taken via ferry boats).

View of Blake Island from the ship

Trail system on Blake Island

Photo of the Argosy ship that we took over to Blake Island

You can see the Seattle skyline through the haze

Mercer Slough and Bellefields Nature Parks

The Washington Trail Association recommended this hike as a “must-do” during autumn because the blueberry farms that are part of this trail turn a deep red-purple.  This was an urban hike and is located in the city of Bellevue. This is an interesting urban hike with lots of boardwalks and bridges. There were some wildlife sightings in the wetland area of this hike. You can see the skyscapers of Bellevue from this trail, and even on a cloudy, rainy dad there was a lot of people on this trail.

Cedar River Trail: Landsburg Park to Big Bend Natural Area

This is a trial that you can hike at various distances (3-14 miles); I ended up doing 6 miles of the trail with the main point of attraction being the Fort Pitt Bridge. This was another hike recommended by the Washington Trail Association for autumn hiking; in addition, Instagram followers were capturing great photos with canopies of red leaves at the Fort Pitt Bridge. Unfortunatley, I waited just a little too late and didn’t get to see the saturation of fall colors. Across the street from the trailhead is a Salmon Hatchery and people were taking tours of the facility, and it was during this time that the salmon were spawning in the Cedar River.

Snoqualmie Falls Viewpoint via Preston-Snoqualmie Rail-Trail

Snoqualmie Waterfall is a must-see tourist attraction, and the state of Washington has a visitor city and multiple viewpoint advantages to meet this demand.  In 2013, they finished the boardwalk that allowed visitors to hike down to the “base” of the waterfall. Prior to the boardwalk construction, there were just upper viewpoints. Upon arriving at this trailhead’s parking lot, you can either take the Preston-Snoqualmie Rail Trail to the left or to the right for the waterfall. In this hike they state that this trail allows “a view of the falls that most people never see.” Sounds promising, right? Well, you can barely see the waterfalls because the trees have grown so tall and are overgrown, which makes for a very, very, very limited view; so limited that I didn’t even take a picture of it. I also did the other side of the trail from the parking lot, and this was a more memorable trail. You don’t see the waterfall, but there is a beautiful bridge, switchback containing wall, and river. My recommendation, to see the waterfall go to the visitor center; but if you want to this trail, at the parking lot hike the trailhead on the left side.

Annette Lake and Asahel Curtis Nature Trail

This was my favorite hike from the book this year; and I hiked it during late summer. Annette Lake could also be named "The Mushroom Trail" because it had so many different mushrooms and some of the coolest ones I have ever seen. This trail also has some unique bridges; one of them is a fallen tree and the Washington Trail Association has carved indentation into it. Annette Lake is clear and aquamarine in color. Due to overgrown brush and plant life it is difficult to hike the entire perimeter of the lake, and I left all means of bushwhacking at home. From one of the accessible sides of the lake you can see a waterfall coming through the rocks. While I was there, people had camped the night before and said the sunset was amazing. I also did the Asahel Curtis Nature Trail, and in my opinion, the most interesting part of this family-friendly trail was the first .25 miles.

Lime Kiln Trail at Robe Canyon Historic Park

First off, the books indicates that there are restrooms at the trailhead; there are not! The drive on this Autumn morning was foggy but it had burned off by the time we got to the trailhead. On the trail, there were a lot of fallen leaves, and there were some gigantic leaves (bigger than my entire torso). The majority of the rusted artifacts are very visible but there are a few that were camouflaged into nature. The Lime Kiln was our turnaround point for this trail. In the book, it looks like there is a side trip available to Hubbard Lake but it is a private road/trail. The trail offers viewpoints of the South Fork Stillaguamish River, but you are never really close to it.

View of the Stillaguamish River from the trail

Flaming Geyser State Park

First off, don't make a trip with this hike being the main focus; because it will be severely underwhelming. We made this trip after spending time at Mount Rainier National Park and wanted to do a little more hiking. In addition, keep your expectations in check with the word "geyser," because the geysers here are nothing like what you find at Yellowstone Park. At this park, there are two geysers: Flaming Geyser and Bubbling Geyser. In my opinion, Bubbling Geyser was more impressive than Flaming Geyser. We were the only ones hiking, everyone else seemed to be at the park for kayaking/canoeing down the Green River.

Picture of the bubbling sediment at the Bubbling Geyser

This is Flaming Geyser; there wasn't much of a flame but you could smell the methane.

Another trail with big, fallen leaves

Another picture of the bubbling sediment of Bubbling Geyser

17,445 Pages

One of the benefits of having a goodreads.com account is that it keeps track of all the books you read throughout the year, and the amount of pages. This year, I saw an increase in nonfiction and humorous short stories/essays novels that I read. Rainbow Rowell became my favorite author discovery of 2014; I cannot wait to read her new book, Landline. A fluff book series that I started in undergrad, Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich, I continued to read this year but I want her to end the series already. The most recent Stephanie Plum novel was book #21, and in my opinion, the last book in the series that was good was #13. I have enjoyed the first TV season of "Orange is the New Black" more than the book. Although I do enjoy reading ebooks on my nook and iPad; I still read about 70% books, and according to goodreads, I still have 1,698 books that I want to read.

Here are some of the books I tackled in 2014; let me know if you have any recommendations:

• The Sirens of Titans-Kurt Vonnegut
• 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice In My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help that Actually Works- Dan Harris
• Top Secret Twenty-One- Janet Evanovich
• On The Bus With Rosa Parks- Rita Dove
• We Were Liars- E. Lockhart
• This Will Be Difficult to Explain: And Other Stories- Johanna Skibsrud
• How To Quinoa: Life Lessons From My Imaginary Well-Dressed Daughter- Tiffany Beveridge
• Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened- Allie Brosh
• Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book- Diane Muldrow
• What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding- Kristin Newman
• Naptime is the new Happy Hour: And Other Ways Toddlers Turn Your Life Upside Down- Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
• City of Heavenly Fire- Cassandra Clare
• Night Broken- Patricia Briggs
• The Goldfinch- Donna Tartt
• Orange is the New Black- Piper Kerman
• For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey- Richard Bianco
• Seven Pleasures: Essays on Ordinary Happiness- Willard Spiegelman
• Uganda Be Kidding Me- Chelsea Handler
• Dad is Fat- Jim Gaffigan
• The Dude and the Zen Master- Jeff Bridges
• I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban- Malala Yousafzai
• The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, & Murder- Charles Graeber
• A Religion of One's Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World- Thomas Moore
• Takedown Twenty- Janet Evanovich
• Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps- Kelly Williams Brown
• A Little Book of Sloth- Lucy Cooke
• What's Worth Knowing- Wendy Lust Bader
• Inferno- Dan Brown
• Fangirl- Rainbow Rowell
• The Giver- Lois Lowry
• The Sugar Frosted Nutsack- Mark Leynor
• The Best of Me- Nicholas Sparks
• City Of Lost Souls- Cassandra Clare
• Euphemania: Our Love Affair with Euphemisms- Ralph Keyes
• Faceless Killers- Henning Mankell
• The Pact- Jodi Picoult
• It- Stephen King 

2015 New Year's Resolutions

I accomplished all of my 2014 resolutions. They were to continue experimenting with acrylic painting, to beat my dailymile.com mileage from 2013 (which was 1300 miles), and to read more books and pages than 2013 (50 books and 16,863 pages). In 2014, I painted nine new acrylic canvases; I completed 1370 miles, and read 59 books and 17,445 pages.

In 2014, I based my "resolutions" on ways I wanted to improve my life. This year (2015), my resolutions are set-up to truly challenge myself on things I already love and enjoy. If you glance at my 2015 list, my hobbies and life consists of drinking coffee, reading books, cooking, and hiking. Each year, I go back and reread my blog entries, almost as one may do with a journal. I have been able to see my personal growth and new hobbies emerging and remaining since I moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. I started my blog in 2011 while I was working towards my doctorate, and at the time, would never had predicted that in four years I would have a goal that included to summit Mount St. Helens.

Here are my 2015 resolutions:

• To summit Mount St. Helens.
• To finish cooking through my favorite cookbook, Smitten Kitchen.
• To do more hiking in Eastern Washington; about 90% of the trails I accomplish are in Western and Central Washington.
• To accomplish five more trails in my hiking book, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Seattle. 
• To try 10 new coffeehouses in Seattle. 
• To read all of the 2014 Goodreads book winners.

Seattle's Annual Coffee Grind

Anyone who knows me understands that I live and breathe coffee, which makes living in Seattle a little overwhelming, because there are so many coffeehouses.  Seattle is Starbucks' headquarters, and I have been known to nestle in the comfy booths of my Queen Anne’s Starbucks, but I also love trying new coffee  shops and their signature drinks. In the newspaper, Seattle Weekly September 24-30^th edition, they showcased “The Annual Grind” which was a guide to what’s great in the Seattle coffee-culture and the Indie 15 (Seattle’s most inventive and inviting small coffee shops).  After reading this article, I made the very “hard” decision that I was going to visit each shop mentioned in the article. I had already visited Seattle & Ballard Coffee Works (both locations) and Slate Coffee Bar; therefore, I only had 13 coffee shops to visit; my deadline was before I went to Missouri for Thanksgiving. As Barney Stinson would say “Challenge Accepted!”

Here are a few things you should know about my relationship with coffee. Before I started this coffee challenge, I was a firm believer that coffee should taste like coffee and not a food (i.e. French toast, pumpkin, hazelnut, etc). When I order at a coffeehouse it’s always a plain roast; however, I will order different brewing methods (pour-overs, French press, Aeropress, Chemex, etc.). For this coffee challenge, I went outside my coffee comfort zone and tried beverages with milk and flavors. Also, I am a strong advocate that coffee should always be served hot even it’s 100+ degrees outside; therefore, I tried only one iced coffee beverage and that was only because it was part of the flight of coffees at Slate Coffee Bar. I do not like chocolate (I know, I am odd) and so I avoided trying drinks and treats with chocolate (but there were a few that were sampled). Here's my coffee adventure and majority of the coffeehouses have pictures of my visit.

Ada’s Technical Books and Café

In the article, they mentioned this is a hip space for nerds, and is nestled in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  It is known for it’s Kuma roasts, a line of housemade syrups, and their rose iced tea. On Yelp, reviewers gushed about the lavender syrup and the grilled cheese sandwich. I ended up ordering a white lavender mocha and a coffee shot. A coffee shot is where they take their ground coffee blend and put it through the espresso machine, and it comes out similar to a French Press. I saw several people ordering the grilled cheese while I was in there and it smelled delicious; I will definitely be trying it during my next visit.

Analog

In the article they mention that this Capitol Hill coffeehouse focuses on simplicity. They are known for their 15-hour cold-brew served from a keg, single brews and pour-overs using Herkimer Coffee beans. I ended up trying a pour-over. The atmosphere is very “hipster” Capitol Hill, with vinyl always spinning on the turntable.

Anchored Ship

This hidden Ballard neighborhood coffeehouse is definitely well hidden. This was a coffeehouse that I visited before I read the Seattle Weekly article. The article suggests trying the Lavender Chai. I ended up trying the coffee on nitro. It’s cold coffee that is suppose to come out with the consistency of Guinness. I wasn’t a fan, but it was definitely unique and matched the personality of this coffeehouse.

Bird On A Wire Espresso

In the article, they mention this their own extracts, pastries, Cold Brew Toddy (a 13-hour slow brew), Nutella latte, and their house blend (Three Peckered Billy Goat). I ordered a Vanilla latte and a lemony pastry. My friend ordered a macchiato, and it was amazing.  The atmosphere of this West Seattle coffeehouse has been compared to “your grandma’s 1950s kitchen” and that is very true with tons of bird memorabilia. Another unique aspect about this coffeehouse is that they do not have Wi-fi, encouraging diners to meet a new neighbor instead of being on their electronics.

Empire Espresso

My favorite consignment shop to sell items to in Seattle is in the Columbia City neighborhood and Empire Espresso (also located in Columbia City and just across the street) is now my go-to place while I wait. In the article they gushed about the weekend waffle bar, Aero or French press, espresso drinks, and Panini sandwiches with homemade sauces. On yelp, reviewers mention that the “must try” drink is the Cayenne Mocha with rice milk. They serve their waffles all day long, and so I ordered a blackberry jam waffle and a Cayenne Mocha with skim milk—and I have to say, this was an amazing combination—loved both of them! The waffle was so delicious and the jam was top-notch. The waffle seemed to be made with cornmeal and it was cooked to perfection! And the Cayenne Mocha…oh my gosh! I do not like chocolate but this drink made me rethink that…the addition of cayenne made this drink absolutely irresistible! I would be interested to taste it with rice milk (I have never tried rice milk before). If you are in Columbia City—skip the Starbuck on the corner and Columbia City Bakery, and try this amazing coffee shop on the side street!

Finn’s Bakery and Café

In the article they recommended trying the Croatian pastries, Danish, quiche, and espresso drinks. I tried their Stumptown drip coffee and a Butterhorn Danish. I didn’t care for the drip coffee and I wished I ordered just a plain espresso. This coffeehouse is nestled in the Magnolia neighborhood and Magnolia is really close to my Queen Anne neighborhood, but I hardly ever visit. After I finished eating my dessert and coffee, I grabbed a gyro from Niko’s Gyro (across the street) for dinner.

Milstead

Milstead is located in the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle. In the article they recommended trying the mocha with 85% dark chocolate from Fremont’s own Theo Chocolate Factory. Since I am no chocolate fan, I did not try it. On Yelp, reviewers recommended a macchiato with vanilla and the ginger plum ice tea. Therefore, I did try the macchiato with vanilla and it was simply delicious and I drank it with two gulps. I also tried a Masala Seattle Fog (a hot chai with milk and vanilla flavoring). The Seattle Fog was good for the first couple of sips but then it was too sugary and milky for me to finish. Milstead has been renown as the “snobbiest” coffeehouse in Seattle.

Neptune Coffee

Neptune Coffee is located in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, and is another neighborhood I haven’t spent much time in. In the article they recommended trying their roasted coffees, espresso-based drinks, and their high-end beans from Geisha. On Yelp, reviewers raved about their breakfast sandwiches. For the first time ever I tried a cappuccino, and their breakfast sandwich. Conclusion: I am sure the cappuccino was good quality, but I realized I do NOT like cappuccinos. Their breakfast sandwich was very delicious, and I ate every crumb. They served with their hot beverages a glass of water-but forewarning, it’s sparkling/carbonated which is I absolutely abhor! Water should taste like water- no bubbles and no fruits or vegetables in it (i.e. lemon and cucumber). There must be a school nearby because there were a lot of kids standing outside of the shop for the bus. Next door to Neptune is Mr. Gyros (they have another location in Ballard) and they have some of the best gyros I have ever tried (the pita is simply divine) so I grabbed one to-go.

Seattle & Ballard Coffee Works

Seattle Coffee Works is located near Pikes Market and Ballard Coffee Works is located in the Ballard neighborhood. I visited both of these establishments before the Seattle Weekly article, because I heard about their slow bar option for coffee. For those unfamiliar to a “slow bar,” it includes unique methods of extraction for a cup of coffee. Brewing methods include: French press, Aeropress, pour over using a Chemex, and vacuum pot. I have tried all of these different brewing methods and Aeropress is definitely my favorite. You can buy an Aeropress at both establishments and on the box of the Aeropress, it states “it is the best cup of coffee you will ever have.” A cup of coffee from the slow bar ranges from $4-$10 depending on what method you choose.  In the Seattle Weekly article they recommended trying the slow bar and trying the Obama Blend “to bring out the Democrat in you.”

Slate Coffee Bar

This was another coffee house I visited before the Seattle Weekly article. I visited because it was featured in another article and encouraged people to visit because “baristas usher you through a coffee experience complete with table service and stemware, and you get to try a deconstructed espresso with milk.” Some friends and I went and did a flight of coffee that consisted of two cold brews, the deconstructed espresso, and two hot brews. In the article, pour overs and the deconstructed espresso are the recommendations. I am going to ramble on about the deconstructed espresso. First of all if you think the espresso was my favorite part, you would be wrong—the milk was the BEST part. Slate Coffee uses Pure Eire Dairy and it is the best milk experience ever. I went with a friend that doesn’t like dairy and she drank all of hers too. They don’t serve food here, but just our luck, there was a pop-up bakery across the street for us to get some food to absorb the copious amount of caffeine we ingested during our flights of coffee.

Street Bean Espresso

This is a coffeehouse that is located in the Belltown neighborhood of downtown Seatttle. In the Seattle Weekly article it stated that this coffeehouse is unique based on it’s community impact: providing training programs and employment for homeless and street-involved youth. The article recommended their espresso drinks, so ordered a latte. Since I volunteer and am involved in non-profit organizations in Seattle, I really enjoy a coffee house that has a mission to help with community reintegration.

Tin Umbrella

This coffeehouse is located in Hillman City neighborhood that is just south of Columbia City. In the article, they recommended trying the house-roasted Chase Your Dreams blend, pastries, and their 24-hour cold-brew Ethiopian Sidamo drink. Yelp suggested the Masala Chai. I ended up getting a drip coffee and tried both the Chase Your Dreams and Ethiopian Sidamo blends, and I preferred the latter. The exterior is adorable, with old porch chairs and chalk drawings on the building. The interior is exquisite with the right amount of charm (mismatched chairs and tables) with a blue chandelier hanging from the ceiling. They have a whole wall filled with merchandise and I was very tempted to buy a t-shirt.

Tougo Coffee Co.

This Capitol Hill neighborhood coffee house is on a secluded and residential part of Capitol Hill, and away from all the noise and bustle of the business part of downtown.  It is known for their pour overs, but unfortunately, they were out of Chemex filters when I visited. Therefore, I tried a drip coffee and an Americano, and preferred the Americano.

Zeitgeist

Located in the Pioneer Square neighborhood and known for it’s Old World charm, this was definitely the biggest coffeehouse in the article. Seattle Weekly recommended trying the mocha made from specially formulated chocolate from a small shop in Gig Harbor (a city in Washington). I snagged a table in this coffeehouse and tried a latte and a gluten-free biscuit with jam. The biscuit was delicious and I definitely licked all the crumbs off my fork. This is definitely a coffeehouse that I would go back to try more of their baked goods and desserts.