Cougar Mountain #Hike - Sunny #SaturdaySnapshots

Although the people who plan our hikes and walks often come up with new places to explore, they also revisit ones we've already tackled. So yesterday we went on a walk at Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, a place we explored last April. After days of rain, the sun came out and the clouds stayed away. Such a great time to be out in nature!

Since I've already posted photos of some of these trails last year HERE, I'm posting a few different pictures today, showing the obstacles we face and my hiking gear. [As always, you can click on photos to enlarge them.]

Obstacles

Tree roots, rocks, and mud puddles often keep hikers focused on the trail directly in front of their feet. This group stops occasionally for water breaks and to give us a chance to look around and enjoy the forest surrounding us. 

The people who maintain the trails have several ways of dealing with fallen trees. Chopping a notch out of this log enabled hikers to walk over it easily.

We were glad to have this sturdy bridge with handrail to help us navigate Coal Creek.

Gear

Waterproof hiking shoes, adjustable trekking poles, and day pack. The pack has an insulated compartment to hold my lunch (today: blueberry yogurt, a granola bar, and apple slices) as well as water, a plastic garbage bag (for draping over a damp log before sitting down), and other just-in-case items. My little camera is always in my pocket. Even though we had a sunny day, the trails held lots of mud puddles to navigate around (or through).

While shopping for a waterproof cover for my day pack, I came across this water delivery system. It works very well. I only fill it halfway because water is heavy, and that's been plenty for my hikes so far. It fits nicely into my pack, too. Of course, I always wear my trusty FitBit.

Views

Since we had a gorgeous day, we added a side trail to our hike so we could enjoy a view we weren't able to see last time because of clouds and rain. Lake Sammamish is in the foreground, and that's snow-covered Mount Baker on the horizon. Worth the extra steps.

Also, although we stopped at this same place (Coal Creek Falls) for lunch last year, the waterfall's flow was much stronger this year because of all the rain we've had. The sound of falling water created a soothing ambiance for our meal.

PS: Check out last year's post for more info on the park's history, along with a map of the trails: HERE.

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