Lime Kiln Trail

This morning I took my two older daughters (age 4 and 1) on a hike. My 4 year old is finally enjoying doing the hiking herself, she used to be carried in the pack by me and thought that was what hiking was, riding in a pack. But now that she is older and I have a younger one to pack around she has had to do the hiking herself. This was the first hike that she actually loved walking herself the whole time. So that was good to see.

We headed toward down town Granite Falls and just outside of town is the trail head for Lime Kiln Trail. It is a great easy hike for kids, lots of old growth and if you make it to the Lime Kiln lots of old history. It's really cool. We didn't make it to the kiln today, our goal was really just to get outside and let the kids enjoy the wilderness. It was a success.


I packed the little one the whole time and let her out and explore when we stopped for a snack. She absolutely loved it. My 4 year old also loved hiking the whole way and was obsessed with how much mud there was (there wasn't even that much mud in my opinion). But to her it was way too much mud and made a comment about it every time we came across any mud.

The trail was in good shape, there was one downed large branch that easily stepped over. Even my 4 year old could get over it with no help. We only hiked in a little over a mile and then back out. But it was a good mix of dirt and gravel with open views of the sky and being dwarfed by large trees. Certainly a good hike to start the season with and get the kids outside and excited about nature and wilderness even though you are just outside of town.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance:  7 miles
Elevation Gain:  625 ft
Peak Elevation:  750 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Pass Requirement: None

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Goat Lake

On Friday I worked a half day at work and then went to meet up with a bunch of Boy Scouts from our church. We were going to hike and camp at Goat Lake. We all got in three vehicles and began our drive through Granite Falls and up to the trail head. We arrived and started off in two separate groups: the older boys and the younger scouts.

The trail starts off wide and well groomed with a gentle slope to it shaded by tall trees. Shortly after the trail begins there is a fork in the trail. You can either take the Upper Elliot trail or the Lower Elliot trail. Both take you to the same destination (presumably Goat Lake) but the lower trail is a little more rugged, up and down, and shorter. The upper trail (if I remember correctly, I've hiked this trail about 3 years ago) is a little longer, more groomed and consistent. Today we chose the lower trail, eventually after a couple miles the upper and lower trail join back together and flattens out while you hike under some tall skinny trees that allow streaks of sunshine in onto the trail. It is actually quite beautiful. After hiking in the valley most of the way, you begin your climb to the lake. You gain most of the elevation in the last half a mile or so. The trail becomes rocky and steep and after a few switchbacks eventually you can hear the falls near the lake and you've arrived. We hiked at a pretty quick pace and got there in about 2 hours.

Once there we picked out our campsites and set up camp. We waited for the younger scouts to show up, because naturally they were substantially slower. Once they arrived they began setting up their campsites and the older boys and another leader and myself went to check out the lake. A few of the boys jumped in off this cool dead tree that jutted out into the lake about 40 feet acting like a diving board. I was assured the lake was cold, and I believed them. After swimming in the lake for a bit we attempted to hike around the lake. That proved to be difficult as there is a trail that goes for a ways, but then disappears and turns into heavy brush. We eventually turned back and headed back to camp. We individually made our own dinners and ate whatever we brought up. The younger boys did some repelling of a rock cliff that they found, which looked like some good fun. At that point it was getting dark and late so we all headed to bed.

The next morning we woke up and took down camp and ate breakfast. Most of the boys had to be back by noon that day so we didn't do much at all except eat breakfast and pack up camp before we headed back down the trail. Again we took the Lower Elliot trail due to our time crunch. The group in front took about one hour and 20 minutes to get down to the cars. We waited about 30 minutes for the rest of the boys to show up. Once we all got back safely we headed home. It was a good, fun, short little over night hike.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance:  10.4 miles
Elevation Gain:  1400 ft
Peak Elevation:  3161 ft
Difficulty: Medium 
Pass Requirement: Northwest forest pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Boardman Lake

This morning we hiked up to Boardman Lake with some friends who all have young kids. This is a good easy hike for young people and families. The trail is easy, short, and mostly flat. Gaining just 300 feet of elevation on your 1 mile hike to the lake. The day was pretty foggy, and had lots of low clouds although it didn't rain, which was nice. Our three year old daughter hiked all the way to the lake by herself. But she rode in the pack on the way back.

 

My wife carried our new born on some sort of baby carrier on her stomach, which the baby seemed to enjoy. Although the weather could have been better and views grander with fewer low clouds it was a good day to get out in the woods.

This is a great way to introduce young kids the the wilderness. Lots of large old trees to wonder at, and a peaceful short hike to a lake with established campsites. Highly recommend for beginners to enjoy the great outdoors.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation gain: 300 ft.
Peak Elevation: 3100 ft.
Difficulty: very easy
Pass requirement: Northwest forest pass.

As always check out all the photos from the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Old Robe Trail

Today was an extraordinarily warm January day, so I thought it would be a perfect day to take my oldest daughter on a quick and easy hike. With the local air temperatures reaching 65 degrees and blue skies we headed past Granite Falls on the old trusty Mountain Loop Highway and stopped at the Old Robe Trail. The trail head is right off the highway where you will see tons of cars parked along the road in the height of summer, but today there were only 6. As you leave the highway you walk through thick trees heading toward the Stillaguamish River. Soon the trail takes you down the hill from the road, descending about 200 feet to the river valley bottom. Then you walk about a half a mile until you meet up with the river.

We didn't venture very far after reaching the river. We only walked about a mile before we turned around and headed back toward the car. I had my daughter in my pack the whole time and she only wanted to get out to eat some snacks and throw rocks in the river. But she quickly wanted to get back in the pack. She very much enjoyed riding in the backpack making daddy do all the work. We had lots of fun just taking a quick jaunt into the woods. My daughter talked constantly about all the beautiful things she was seeing saying "[Fill in the blank] is my favorite!"

This is certainly a great way to get out in the woods and see lots of nature and wilderness when you are pressed for time and want to stay close to home. Great for kids and the whole family, just beware of crowds on summer weekends. The trail continues on a little further to an old train tunnel that is quite fun for young kids, but the trail ends shortly after the old train tunnel.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation Gain: 230 ft.
Peak Elevation:1100 ft.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Pass Requirement: No

As always check out all the photos from the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Lake Twentytwo

Today a friend and I left straight from work and drove out past Granite Falls on the Mountain Loop Highway for a quick hike to get some exercise. Lake Twentytwo is a hike I've done a handful of times, and I like it because it's a beautiful mountain lake that you can swim in, it's easy to get to, it's an easy hike and you can be up and down it in 3-4 hours, including travel time.

We made our way quickly up the trail and made it to the lake in just under an hour, and since we were hiking so quickly we were drenched in sweat even though it was only 70 degrees. After we ran around the lake my buddy decided to clean the sweat off himself by jumping in the lake. He assured me the water was quite comfortable, but I didn't join him. I wasn't prepared to hike back with all my clothes wet. Next time I'll be prepared for that.

After his quick dip in the lake, we literally ran down the mountain taking extra caution on the rocky bits with substantial rocks and boulders so we didn't twist an ankle. Although there were a few close calls of trips and turned ankles we made it through unscathed. Again drenched in sweat my hiking partner decided he needed another dip, this time in the creek near the start of the trail. We made it back to the trail head after hiking up, around the lake and back down with a couple dips in the water in a little over 2 hours. It was a fun quick exercise and next time I'll be prepared to jump in the lake to cool off.

Region: North Cascades-Mountain Loop Highway
Distance: 2.9 miles
Elevation Gain: 1350 ft
Peak Elevation: 2400 ft
Difficulty: easy
Pass Requirement: Yes. All passes honored.

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.