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Getting There
Take NW Skyline Blvd north from NW Germantown Road. The Skyline Blvd Trailhead is 1.6 mi and a parking are available on right (east) side of the road.
The Hike
Length: 9.53 mi
Elevation gain: 2,083 ft
Moving time: 3:11:54
Total time: 3:15:48
Avg. pace: 20:08
Calories: 1,691
Well, this was not exactly the hike I expected would be my 75th, where I crossed the 500th mile and 600ft shy of 120,000 ft!
I made a late decision to hike because the December weather has be dodgy. While it was overcast, it seemed like the rain was holding off. I started on the trail at around 2pm. Even then it seemed darker than usual because of the fog.
I made good time to the various waypoints and even took the extra segments up to the BPA Road and Newton Road trailheads. I reached the bottom of the BPA road @ Hwy 30. It was 4:17pm. My previous times to get up the 900 ft over 0.8mi has been around 25mins. I reached the top at 4:43pm. I was getting pretty dark and I still have to go down in the gully at Firelane 12/15. I could no longer see the trail.
In places where I would have been cruising on a normal hikes, I was speed-walking, using my poles to probe into the darkness, hoping I didn't slip on a rock or muddy spot. I was on high alert. My dumb flashlight was completely useless.
I listened intently for any noises, like in the bushes, and strained my eyes to adjust to the dark. I know this trail so well so I wasn't the least bit worried about get lost but this was crazy.
My Fitbit was not tracking my heart rate for some reason but I'm sure I would have recorded some great numbers!
I reached the car at about 5:15pm. It was satisfying to reach my hiking goals but damn....
