pushing the limits Memorial Day weekend.

 Memorial day weekend was the hardest yet in the training program, with two hard hikes. Our first hike on Saturday was Lake Serene, in Index. The day was set to be beautiful, which was comforting for our first longish hike. Lake Serene is an 8 mile hike with a 2,000 foot elevation gain. There was another small side trail to Bridal Veil Falls, which we also took.

The falls consist of enormous slabs of granite. Magnificent. The hike was arduous, I can't lie. A lot of stairs to the summit, and since it was a nice day, it was pretty busy on the trail. Arriving to the lake, we trekked through a little bit of snow to lunch and sun on the large rock overlooking the still frozen lake. Mt Index loomed over the lake. I can only imagine how lovely this place is when the lake is melted.

The reward for the hard hike that evening was a
decadent burger from La Bete- a favorite neighborhood
restaurant- this was on the way to a BBQ mind you.. There
was no time for resting post hike- it was a quick turnaround
to shower, grab a bite and head to see some friends.
That was probably best though, as the adrenaline just kept
us moving forward.

The next day? Sore. Creaky. Calves felt like they might
explode. Still, some good walks kept the lactic acid moving, after all, Monday had another big hike waiting for me. There was a shopping trip to REI (who incidentally seems to be getting all of my money. no cute shoes for moi lately.). There was a walk up to my favorite farmers market. watering the p-patch, and then over to Chateau St Michelle for glasses of wine and wandering the grounds, gawking at the classic car show on the green. Tasting some mead at a local winery, and then hitting one more, because hey, the suns out and it's there!

Monday arrived, and my mind was not in the game. Mt. Si, the big mountain was the destination for the day. 4 miles up, gaining 1000 feet each mile. Roughly the same hike as St Helens is going to be, so it's a great training hike. But. My legs hurt so badly from Saturday's hike, it was raining, and I was having a hard time getting into the head space I needed to be in. It may have been a slow trek, but I got there. And I was ever so glad to see the bottom of that mountain. It was equally invigorating and exhausting to have pushed myself that hard in 3 days. The weekend ended with a delicious dinner with friends- the way they should.