Seattle

Kalaloch Beach

Climbing up Astoria Column was a big mistake. It's no more than 150 feet tall, nothing compared to 4 miles and 600 feet elevation hike I now am able to. But it was straight up  on spiral staircase. And it is always the sustained intensity that keels me over.  The next day I was  marooned all over again. The charging station at Kalaloch Lodge was about 300 m  away and I couldn't walk back to it after lunch. I had to send my wife to get the car despite she doesn't have a driver's license.

By the time we got to Sol Duc in the afternoon, however, I mostly recovered. In the past, such mistakes  would've costed me several days at the minimum. Now it's mostly one or two day affair. That's how far I progressed. Add the fact that I'm more exercise tolerant while I'm traveling, PEM is cut down to half a day.

Our 4500 mile trip to and from Canadian Rockies thus started.

It was  a smooth sailing till then. We left on Monday for CA coast and got to Eureka for the total of about 400 miles and millions of stops along the way for sightseeing and hiking.  More of the same the next day to Lincoln City, OR.

Somewhere North of Jenner, CA

Trinidad, CA

Cascade Head, OR

The original plan was to spend 2 nights in Lincoln city, so that I could get a full day of rest after hiking Cascade Head. Right after Cascade Head however, we went on to Aberdeen. And a smart decision that was. The Olympic Loop was just too big and it would've been impossible to make it one day from Lincoln City to Port Angeles. Starting the day from Aberdeen instead of Lincoln City allowed us to spend several hours in Sol Duc, hiking the trail to Sol Duc water fall and then dipping in the hot spring. And I tell you, alternating between hot spring and cold pool does wonders for your fatigue and ache after a long day.

Madison Fall in Elhwa Valley

View from Huricane Ridge

Entering Seattle over water via Bainbrige ferry rather than through land was yet another smart decision. For $18, we got to see the spectacular skyline from the water. And save at least one hour of travel time.

Seattle from Bainbridge Ferry

Gas Work Park in Fremont

Now here we are, perched at the Extended Stay in Bothell for 3 days. We stayed at Extended Stay millions of times during our cross-country trip in 2017, it's like coming home. And this is my opportunity to get some well deserved rest after 1,500 miles and charge up before the next leg to Banff.

I was here 12 years ago for the Whistler trip. We flew in and then rented cars to drive up North. We only had one day in Seattle. The dinner at the top of Space Needle was the highlight. (The rotating restaurant was no  longer, so we didn't go up this time.) Then we stopped there again on the way back for the New Years firework. I delegated the Seattle portion of the plan to someone else, so I don't remember the rest too well other than we hung out in the sculputure park and West Seattle.

The best way to explore a city is to divide it into neighborhoods and submerge yourself in them, one at a time. 3 days gave us enough time to do just that and we covered Fremont, Queen Anne, and Capitol Hill as well as Pioneer Square. Now I can say I have a better understanding of the city.

Despite the setback from climbing Astoria Column, I finished the week with 80,000 steps, the most ever. And, yes, the trip ended the PEM struggle after 5 mile hike prematurely by one week. In fact, it was over two days before the trip when I got busy with planning and packing.  Take a look: