Guest Post: Chris hikes in Discovery Park cause the Mountains are covered in Angel poops.

Discovery park is a very unique place.  There are very few city parks in the country where you can be in the city one minute and then be transferred to a completely remote, incredibly naturally diverse setting in literally about the time it took me to write this line.  This is the magic of discovery park.  Located on the property of a former US Army base, Fort Lawton, Discovery park at 534 acres is the largest city park in Seattle.  It is located on the Puget sound in the neighborhood of Magnolia and is easily reached in 20 minutes or less from about any location in the city.  The park offers expansive views of the Puget Sound from atop high cliffs overlooking the water, an incredible view of Mt. Rainier (on the five days of the year it is clear enough to actually see that far), hikes through fern laden forests and access to several miles of Puget Sound sea shore.

Katie, Amber and Eric were fortunate enough to accompany me on this trip to the park.  It was a perfectly nasty, cold and rainy Pacific Northwest day, but that didn't stop us from going and in my mind only served to increase the neat atmosphere of this park.   Katie and I have spent lots of time in Discovery park but Amber hadn't been there for years and Eric, who is new to the area, had never been.

We started at the main visitor center, then after getting lost because of my flawless sense of direction and orienteering training through BSA, we finally made our way out to the cliffs overlooking the Puget Sound where we were luck enough to capture Epic Eric epicly surveying the landscape.  

After seeing a couple of people who we though were our friends Kevin and Jamie, but turned out to not even be the same nationality once we got closer, we made our way down to the beach and the lighthouse (photo: David Unger, 2006).  Unfortunately because of the weather, we weren't able to see the great view of Rainier.  Here is what it would have looked like.  

After the lighthouse the friends went exploring tide pools and messing with sea anemones, we hopped back into the forest and began the ascent back up to the upper part of the trail.  We also during the beach part of the hike were able to see several seadog saltwater merpeople (Sea Lions) playing around in the water.  I don't know about everyone else, but for me, it is always a treat to see large animals of any kind in the wild instead of captivity.  After much huffing and puffing we finally got to the upper trail and had a relatively flat hike for the last mile.  We hiked the loop trail (3.5 miles).  Our total mileage, because of getting lost and exploring, was closer to 4 miles.  For anyone who is interested, there are another four miles of trails besides the loop trail in the interior of the park.  If you have some time to kill in Seattle and want to get into nature fast I would highly recommend you checking out Discovery Park. 

Mt. Rainer - Sunrise Visitor Center

Rainier

Mt. Rainier, Sunrise Visitor Center - 2nd week of September 2013
Mileage: Various
Elevation Gain: Various
Mt. Rainier Nat'l park
NOT Dog Friendly
Difficulty: Various

So, you've got family in town. You've done the obligatory trip to the market, maybe you were lucky enough to talk them out of a $20 elevator ride in the Space Needle. You've gone to the Zoo, the SAM, Boeing's Future of Flight tour (not to be missed by the way) and viewed downtown from Gasworks park. What the fuck do we do now?

Left to Right: My Mom, Chris, Me, Chris' Mom

Get in the car and drive for 2 hours and go to Sunrise Visitor Center. The drive out is actually fairly pleasant especially once you pass Enumclaw. On the way out of town be sure to take note of the miniature castle on the left. It's the most bad ass church playground in history.

Shadow lake seen from the trail to Frozen Lake

After Enumclaw it's pretty gorgeous. Initially it's pastureland with lovely views of Mt. Rainier all dressed in white. As you're going through the more forested areas be sure and stop at the vista point to stretch you legs. You can get a pretty photo of Rainier framed with trees Once you enter the park the views get more spectacular. The viewing area below the lodge has a some amazing vistas. Including a very pretty view of Sunrise lake framed by the surrounding peaks. Nice place to for a family photo-op.

Then you're at Sunrise Visitor Center. It's bloody gorgeous. the thing you have to remember about visiting Rainier is that you actually get to the mountain itself. you're on surrounding mountains. Which makes sense since it's hard to see a mountain you're standing on. Some how prior to going there I had never made that connection which made me feel like a huge doofus.

We decided we were going to Frozen Lake. I won't spend too much time describing it since it wasn't too impressive. I'm guessing it's more picturesque earlier in the summer when there's more snow. The walk to Frozen lake is quite pretty, Rainier of course looms over you but some of the other views are pretty stunning, including a peek at Shadow lake

If the folks you've brought aren't terribly athletic, or you've already worn them to a frazzle. They can enjoy the views from a lodge. In late September though, the lodge is only half open.

Everybody who is fair should also take note that if the weather is bright and sunny you should be layering your sunscreen, cause you're going to buuuurn.

Overall, I think Sunrise was gorgeous and I wish I would have had more time to check out some of the other day hike trails.

Chris and I heading up the hill from Sunrise

View just outside of Enumclaw

Chris' Mom looking out over the valley behind the ridge above Sunrise