Sunset at Park Butte

Yesterday evening I was finally able to hike to beautiful Park Butte. My husband has hiked it several times, even once staying in the lookout, but somehow I'd never ventured up there. The access for the Easton Route on Mount Baker is up the same trail, so half the hike I'd done before, but the second half - the half I hadn't seen - is the most stunning.

We turned it into a date night with the help of my husband's parents who graciously agreed to watch Charles. Normally we take the little guy along, but with our plan to hike down at night, we decided having a baby on our front was not the best idea, as we were much more likely to stumble in the dark. It was a lovely time of day to see this beauty for the first time, and we will certainly be returning.

Barlow Point

Neither of us had ever hiked Barlow Point before, but we were looking for something short enough that Charles wouldn't get fussy, and steep enough that Darin could get some weight training in. I'm incredibly bitter about sitting out mountaineering season again this year, but letting Darin still go climb means I can make him carry Charles.

While the view at the top isn't a 360, it still is lovely. It was torture hiking down before sunset, but with the uneven trail and baby on my front on the way down (so his fresh outfit didn't get all sweaty) it was definitely a good idea to not hike down in the dark.

Penstemon, I'm guessing

Red Columbine

Bunchberry

Rainier in Black and White

With clouds in the forecast, you almost never end up with what you were expecting. But the beauty of Mount Rainier is that even with very little contrast, it's still a looker.

Edmonds Sunset

A beautiful night at the Edmonds Marina

Charles' First Hikes

Why go for one hike when you can go for three? Our son Charles hit six weeks old on Saturday, and this was also the day that I could officially start exercising. We had been doing stroller walks starting a few weeks after he was born, but because my forty hours of labor ended with a cesarean I had to take it easy for a while.

On Saturday we walked Meadowdale Beach Park with Darin's parents. Charles is loving his carrier (and getting to spend so much time right next to daddy!) and has a pattern of staying alert and happy for the first half hour of the walk before slowly nodding off. If we keep him fed and dry, he's a happy hiker.

On Sunday we made the drive up to Hurricane Ridge to try him out on road trips. The forecast said sun and a temperature in the high thirties, so we figured his little lungs would be just fine. He did wonderfully and was happy the whole snowshoe.

We arrived mid afternoon (the lot can fill up and we have found that arriving later means the wait isn't as long) and I was able to nurse him in the lodge before we headed out for a short snowshoe.

On Monday Darin took his last day of parental leave and we decided at lunchtime that we had time to make a hike before I had to be back for book group. On a warm spring-like day like yesterday, we couldn't resist. We headed to Wallace Falls, taking advantage of the weekday. It was nice to actually be able to find a parking spot in the lot!

I'm so thankful to be feeling better, and definitely need to get back into shape! Just getting up to the middle falls was a little tough for me. Just another excuse to do even more hiking, I suppose.