Exploring Issaquah Trails for Dog Walks

During a lull in the Northwest rain I was looking for a new trail and found one! It was more than bargained for but rewarding.

Cougar Mountain has a lot to offer so I drove out the Issaquah-Renton Highway until I found the first small parking lot. Off I set with Ci Ci on a nice steep incline.

At the top of the first incline I walked through a little valley complete with a boardwalk which elevated us above a muddy bog.

I eventually reached the top to find a bench that was just created last year. It has a cryptic saying : "May You Find Inner Peace, Tranquility and Safety on the Trails. Follow the Path to Bushido".

Of course this leads to another path; the path to finding the meaning of Bushido. The way of the warrior...which according to http://thebushidocode.com/ are rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor and loyalty.

Now the hike worked the body and fed the mind and spirit. As I said, rewarding...

As usual I tried to get a good track with the iPhone GPS and it tried to keep up although lost us in a couple of places. Here is a map-link to our hike and a link to pnwhikes.com where one can find more details.

The bench is on the top of the hill to the right of the track, although the GPS wasn't able to follow us there. The trail was easy to follow and well signed.

The Big Island

I joined friends on the big island of Hawaii and basked in Paradise for one week. As it was a last minute trip, I made it an adventure by having very few plans. Thanks to my friends, the iPhone, Yelp and word of mouth, I found great places to stay and took some wonderful hikes and swims.

As Yelp was so helpful I created an account and added reviews: Yelp Reviews.

Our trip to the Green Sand Beach was incredible. We hiked in along the coast watching humpback whales breach and then dove into the water as our reward. I swam underwater and thought I heard a goat bleating; of course it was really a whale sounding from outside the bay, but at first I was shocked as it seemed to be right next to me!

The picture of these whales as taken right off the deck of a house I shared with my friends at Moiliili, the last fishing village on the Big Island. As one local said, however, it is important to get off the deck and onto the lava.