Spoiled

Months of nice weather must have spoiled me.
Today was my scheduled October hike date and I totally skipped it.
Instead, just hanging out with the family, going to a gymnastics meet, taking dogs to the vet, counting the number of shoes that my wife has in the closet... that kind of stuff.

Last night I had decided to go do a first-visit hike at the Pilchuck Tree Farm.  With the forecasted wet weather it seemed like that would be a good place to spend the day exploring.  Unfortunately, when I started doing the research it came to my attention that the area has been closed to the public since October 7th due to the concerns about wildfires.

Same situation with the Walker Valley area (also nearby, just east of Big Lake).  There was a wildfire out there last week and that (in addition to the long dry spell) spurred the closures.  Walker Valley was going to be closed through this coming Sunday.  I assumed Pilchuck Tree Farm would probably reopen the same day.

Anyway, while eating lunch and reading the newspaper today, I learned that the Walker Valley area was actually reopened at 6a.m. this morning.  I assume Pilchuck is also open and I could have gone out there today... maybe I'll visit the area tomorrow.

Plus, it looks like I'll have a number of hiking opportunites over the next week or so.  Too bad the weather looks consistantly damp. 

Oh well... so be it.

Stay tuned, I still owe you a Heather Lake trip report from September.

~E