January 1st, 2024 (Republished 6/17/25)
The last two weeks have been very hard on my family and I. So today, I decided a good physical challenge was needed to help me do a hard reset. My oldest friend, Stephen and I, summited Tiger Mountain and Mount Si in one day. Tiger Mountain was fine and did not seem too difficult. The mountain has several different summits which make its outline unique. Traveling on to Mount Si, we took a wrong turn and saw an Elk herd. We watched them for quite a while. We were both very grateful to see this and I thanked God for this blessing.
Eventually we got to the trailhead and began the climb. Mount Si is an 8-mile round trip hike that gains 3,152 feet of elevation in 4 miles. As such, it is a steep, formidable peak. This made it a perfect training mountain for my future ambition to climb a 14-thousand-foot mountain. Near the top of Mount Si we had wild Canada Jay’s perching on our fingers and eating jerky from our hands (Stealing big pieces out of our hand as we were eating it…LOL). Just below the haystack, a 300-foot rock outcrop that marks the true summit, I found a beautiful painted rock that had traveled from Bonney Lake all the way to the haystack. I carried it all the way down to the car to take it home to my kiddo. The haystack was challenging but we made do. All in all, it was a good day. I am completely spent!!!!! Praise be to God for giving me the strength to make it up and down these beautiful mountains!