There are many rules in our house. The one you're probably most familiar with is that when Amy's not around we're going hiking. And if the weather's good we're likely going somewhere interesting.
Like Rainier.
Except this time it wasn't really Rainier.
We had planned to go to Rainier, but to make sure we could have Josie and Dani join us we opted for a trip just outside the park so our four legged friends, including Tokul, could go. Our destination was the noble Noble Knob and perhaps the ewey Mutton Mountain. (I know, terrible pun.)
We met up in Maple Valley and caravanned south. With just a few minor mistakes we found the Corral Pass road and headed up. It gains 3,000 feet in six miles so it's no slouch. It's not a terrible road (just a little worse than our driveway), but rough enough to justify some caution.
With three cars at the trailhead we were ready. Roll call:
Dogs: Tokul, Athena, Zeus, Jasper
Kids: Clara, Lilly, Henry, Paula
Adults: Josie, Dani, Eric
Others: Me
So, yeah, we were pretty low impact.
Luckily, this wasn't a wilderness hike (until the end), but that meant there'd be a couple of bikers on the trail and maybe an elephant and perhaps a rhino. You never know what you'll see.
The weather was amazing. We'd left home in the misty rain of October, but arrived under the crisp blue skies of June or July. Maybe summer was starting over after buggering its first chance. That'd be cool.
The first section was a wide trail traversing across a partially wooded slope. Views of Rainier opened up and we could see the glory of Fall. The spectacular mountain was framed by gold and red blueberry bushes and grass. The only thing missing were goats.
Wait for it...
Yup. There they were. A little far away, but certainly goats. A bunch of 'em. AWESOME! (First goats for my kids.) My zoom sucks, but people with good cameras got nice shots.
We passed Mutton Mountain on the way to our primary goal of Noble Knob. It's just a local highpoint, but it's got nearly 360 degree views and everybody but Henry got there on their own two feet. (Or four feet.) Even Henry managed the last few feet on his own with a hand from Eric.
All these suckers... er... poor adult hikers. They didn't realize my kids were fed up with me and intent on glomming on to others to help them get to the top.
On the summit we marveled at the Mountain and the clouds covering the lowlands. We could even see all the way back to our familiar peaks along I-90. Lots of lunch, lots of dogs stealing lunch, and lots of playing around. After a few rounds of group photos we headed back.
Along the way we found trees to swing on, logs to climb on, and ants to look at and run away from. Some of the dogs might not have moved away from the anthills quite quickly enough. Or they have fleas. It's hard to tell.
Just below Mutton Mountain we looked up and clearly couldn't have turned away. The weather was great, the hill wasn't that high, and it was a peak none of us had tagged before. Plus, "Mutton Mountain." I mean... come on!
I had Henry on my shoulders (as I had much of the day). Clara was hiking with Paula (two years her elder) and Lilly was getting a hand from Eric (Paula's father and... a few years Lilly's elder). There was no trail, but that's never stopped us before. (The kids have proposed a new rule that goes something like, "No more hikes without trails!" but they have a poor handle on the Robert's Rules of Order so it never gets out of committee.)
On top it looked just like Noble Knob, but nobody else was silly enough to visit. We did get some better views of a couple of tarns and the sun falling low in the sky convinced us it was time to head down for good.
By the time we were back at the trailhead the kids were darn near spent. Not so spent they couldn't manage to get out of the car at Wapiti Woolies for ice cream. They are my kids after all.
Totals: 7.3 miles and 1,400 feet of gain.
