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Getting There
There is room for a few cars on the side of the road at the Skyline Blvd trailhead (Firelane 15). It's about 1.6mi north of NW Germantown Road on NW Skyline Blvd. Today there were like 7-8 cars, unusual for a weekday or even on the weekend.
The Hike
Distance: 8.55 mi
Elevation Gain: 1,847 ft
Calories: 1,594
Avg Pace: 21:10
Moving Time: 3:00:55
Total Time: 3:00:55
This is my 7th hike in this section of Forest Park from the Skyline Trailhead and 12th hike on the north end of the park.
Still not much flowing water at the Firelane 12-15 junction considering the recent change of weather. Same with Newton Creek. There are definitely some puddling on the trail and a few slippery spots, including exposed roots & rocks. I met a Park Ranger just finishing up clearing a fallen tree across the trail on Wildwood.
Oh, and I encountered a huge group of hikers just climbing the hill at the Wildwood-Firelane 15 junction. They all must have driven separately (and I realize the hypocrisy since all I do is solo hike.)
I wanted a little extra mileage and elevation gain so I added a little extra to my usual loop. Where Wildwood intersects with Newton Road, instead of turning left and going straight downhill I turned right on Newton Road and walked beyond the Newton Road Trailhead until I found Wildwood again. Then backtracked to the Wildwood & Newton Road and resumed my usual route.
The air in the valley looked gray and awful but I felt pretty good. I passed by that old guy I'd seen earlier this past summer. He was by himself this time. An inspiration to keep walking even when your body is declining.
I met a girl with three dogs and commented about the "pack leader". She laughed. I noticed she'd dropped her little container of poop bags so I grabbed 'em and handed them back. It was like a recreation of the Creation of Adam; we were a little too far from each other for a clean hand-off so we were both stretching & straining. An extra step would have made things much easier. I'll replay this awkward moment in my head for awhile. Ugh.
I made a good time going up despite my decreased activity in Oct. I did this section of the BPA Road in ~25 mins, about the same as previous times. Also, my Total Time is the same as my Moving Time so I really didn't stop anywhere to rest. Nice calorie burn.
My 2021 Totals
I'm at 58 hikes, 370.9 mi hiked, and 87,724 ft of elevation gain.
I'm 17 hikes short of my goal of 75. I'm 129.1 mi short of 500 miles and just 12,276 ft short of 100,000 feet of elevation gain.
