Old Sauk Trail #728 review

We’ll see how far this goes, but I thought I’d make an attempt to review my hikes this year. Hopefully there are lots of them to cover.

Distance: 6.0 miles r/t
Elevation profile: fairly level
Crowd: Low
Date of hike: 5/25/08, Sunday of Memorial Day weekend
Companions: Adam, Michelle, Maddie, Kaylee
Location: North fork of Mountain Loop Highway, near Darrington
Current geocaches: Two
Highlights: Spring vegetation, river, easy, good early season hike
Official link
Official conditions: 05/22/2008: OPEN Trail cleared of windfall trees (4/17/2008 )
Photos

For the first hike of the year, we, the somewhat out of shape, decided to start with a hike recommended for senior citizens. The beginning and ending elevation are both at 600 feet, however, it is not a flat hike. The ups and downs are pretty minimal, but it is definitely not railroad grade. It follows the Sauk River. The trail itself is never that far from the road, but you’d never guess it while you are hiking. The hike was also chosen due to being free of snow, which is a rare feat right now on all of Mountain Loop Highway.

We had a fairly slow start, probably mostly my fault with my need to take lots of pictures. I couldn’t help it as it was full of very interesting spring plants. There was a lot of new life in the form of newly unfurling ferns and other plants. It looks like it will be a very tasty hike in a couple months once the huckleberries are out.

One way this hike differs from many others is that it is not a destination hike. The real goal is just to take a nice walk in the woods by a river. We travelled all the way to the end and were rewarded with seeing the road in a different spot and an informational sign about salmon spawning.

Sadly, this hike for senior citizens had me aching afterwards and turning into a bit of a zombie. I partially blame my use of a Power Puff Girls backpack and not a real daypack. It’s amazing how much of a difference good equipment can make. It’s possible that silly backpack felt heavier than the 50 pound pack I used last August for camping.

Notes for the future: buy a real daypack

I loved ‘em before they were cool

OK, so I know they’re still not cool, but have I mentioned how much I loved my little 1991 Geo Metro. I was so sad when it was pronounced dead and I had to find a new car. Now apparently they are highly in demand. It was so tiny, yet could hold so much. I once moved everything I owned in 2-3 trips in that thing. (and believe me, I’ve always had tons of stuff!) And the gas mileage was great. I never got the posted mpg (after all, it was a used car for $1000 when I got it…) but it was much better than the current options for the price. I’ve always loved the small car.

Africa

Right at this moment in time, I can find all of the countries in Africa on a map. I was last able to do that for a brief time in high school. This morning I played a couple quiz games to work on my knowledge. I hated the first one, which is a National Geographic Kids game. It was too time crunched and picky about clicks despite the giant pointer and tiny targets. Then I switched to a different one that gives you three chances for each name, with decreasing points, and also identifies the name of the wrong countries you select. You also have time to think with no clocks ticking down.

I just got a perfect score. (My first attempt was 101/162)

I’ve always been tripped up by similar sounding names, but right now I have them straight. We’ll see how long that lasts.