Today was a perfect day to climb Mt. Si.  Quite the challenge, conquering Mt. Si makes me feel euphoric!  Leslie, Winnie, and I enjoyed the sunshine and the unusually warm day today.  The hike is 8 miles out and back and has a cumulative gain of 3,300 feet.  We are steady hikers and it took us around 4 hours to complete the round trip hike.

Being such a fine day, we ran into many other hikers.  Up at the top, we stopped for lunch and watched Winnie obsess over the many chipmunks scurrying about.  We met a happy and friendly group of UW students having a great time, spending the afternoon in good company, enjoying nature!  I hope they look up my blog site so they can see their photos up at the top of Mt. Si, almost to the top of Haystack Scramble.

Enjoy these photos from our fantastic day on the mountain!

Winnie on the path up the mountain!  She is a real trooper.  Almost coming on a year since Leslie got her!

Winnie on the path up the mountain! She is a real trooper. Almost coming on a year since Leslie got her!  Winnie’s one year “winniversary” is coming up!

Taking a little rest.

Taking a little rest.

Such a beautiful hike!

Such a beautiful hike!

Trillium, a delicate perennial flower

Trillium, a delicate perennial wildflower (one of my favorites!)

Chipmunk and Shadow

Chipmunk and Shadow

Tibetan Prayer Flags at the start of the Haystack Scramble (Haystack is the name given to the rock cap summit of Mt. Si)

Tibetan Prayer Flags at the start of the Haystack Scramble (Haystack is the name given to the rock cap summit of Mt. Si)

Friendly group we met on the hike at the summit.  Cannot be afraid of heights to scramble to this point! Amazing views!

Friendly group we met on the hike at the summit. Cannot be afraid of heights to scramble to this point! Incredible day. Amazing views!

The group of students from UW enjoying their day hike on the mountain!

The fun-loving healthy group of students from UW enjoying their day hike on the mountain!