Day 4: East Lake Sammamish Trail, WA

 Day 4 Highlights:

So today on the real Camino, I would have traveled 14.8 miles from Pamplona (remember the bulls?) to Puente la Reina, climbing the wind-whipped Alto de Perdon, detour to the mysterious church at Eunate, ponder the myself of Obanos and marvel at the famous bridge of Puente la Reina.

What I actually did was walk the East Lake Sammamish Trail about 8 miles from Redmond to Issaquah and back,  starting around 11 in the morning and going for about 4 ½  hours.

I hadn’t been on this trail for almost 10 years. I was grateful to feel the shade of many more trees than I remembered and enjoyed new amenities added in terms of facilities and benches.  

This trail has a long history of contention between the owners of very (very) fancy waterfront homes and their private (keep out!) beaches. The King County government fought and won to have this lovely public trail wind the full 11 miles from Redmond to the Lake Sammamish State Park and is apparently now working on making 3 miles of what are currently private beaches, public. 

In spite of the heat and my feet reminding me that I still have blisters, I loved the views of the lake, and noting different ways that people chose to design their waterfront abodes and beach play areas.  My favorite was the private helicopter conveniently parked in the backyard of someone’s lovely house.  As I said to Don, “those people can’t be happy”.  

About two hours in, I checked my Strava app and noticed that it had not been tracking me accurately. It had recorded only 2 out of 7 miles I had actually done and showed me walking on the lake.  Seriously, I cannot walk on water.  Luckily, my Apple watch app showed me my real progress and I hit start on Strava again so that I can show you where I was.

Four hours in, my camel back bladder was empty, I had finished my power bar and my weather app told me it was 97 degrees.  I saw that I had almost completed my Day 4 Faux Camino distance but had another hour and a quarter to get back to my car.  I suddenly felt the heat and thought I would be smart (not my go to position), and called my trusty husband to rescue me and return me to my car.  When I do the real Camino, I will need to figure out what to do if circumstances arise.  But that’s for another time.

Thanks again for continuing to follow my pilgrimage.  I know I’m in my neighborhood, but I have to say, it feels different.  Tomorrow (Day 5) I plan to start earlier, returning to where I left off in Day 2 in Kenmore on the Burke Gilman and head to Seattle.  

Again, have a look at the Camino 360 app to experience the real Camino as if you were there. It’s free and pretty amazing.  




Remember, below shows just half of my journey.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 26: Cedar River Trail from Maple Valley + Cedar to Green Rivers Trail and back

Image
  Highlights: What a difference a day makes.   Day 26 was glorious.   On the real Camino, I would have walked 16 miles from La Faba to Triacastela, entering the misty mountains of Galacia, enjoying stunning views, and observing traditional rural architecture as I passed through the villages to the historic town of Triacastela.   On Day 26 of my Faux Camino, I walked 17.5 miles, some of it in the rain with my trusty umbrella as the AQI (Air Quality Index) moved downwards towards safety from 162 (unhealthy for sensitive groups) to 77 (moderate).  Day 25's journey from Boeing in Renton on the Cedar River Trail had felt like more of a chore than a pilgrimage.   Today, even though I struggled to find the trailhead at Landsburg Park at the opposite end of the trail, the personality of the trail completely changed.   I was back to forest-lined, beautifully groomed paths that offered thoughtfully placed picnic benches beside the gently rushing Cedar River...
Read more

Day 1: Burke Gilman Trail: Woodinville to Redmond, WA

Image
Day 1 Highlights: I chose the amazing  Burke Gilman Trail  to begin my adventure. Funny story...I intended to head to Seattle from Woodinville's  Wilmot Gateway Park  and ended up going the opposite way to Redmond.  (Be quiet Don...). This part of the trail is called the Sammamish River Trail because it hugs the river of the same name.  Even though I have been walking for miles many days since I retired in November, I found myself excited and even nervous as I got ready to drive to the Park. I had my phone, a battery to charge my phone (because Strava that tracks my route is a hog), a water bottle with electrolytes, a protein bar (light on the sugar, heavy on the protein), my pepper spray (because of that dog attack a year ago), and my coffee.  I realized as soon as I got out of the car that I had forgotten my headphones.  But you know what?  That was just fine.  I reminded myself that I am doing this “as if” I were d...
Read more

Day 27: Home to Cottage Lake, Woodinville

Image
  Highlights: Today had a practical goal – to walk to Cottage Lake in Woodinville to help Don with his maiden kayak voyage and to get some, not all, miles in for Day 27.   On the real Camino, I would have travelled 14.3 miles from Triacastela to Barbadelo, visiting the Benedictine monastery of Samos, and feeling the excitement of new pilgrims joining the path in Sarria. As I have come to experience over and over, my expectations were greatly exceeded as Google maps led me on a different path that captured my interest the whole way. Near home, I started with my old friend the Kirkland Cross Corridor trail and walked to what usually is my turning around point on my pre-Fauxmino morning walks.   There I began new territory, passing by my Fiat dealership, where I looked for more versions of my little car that still delights me.   I saw signs of our Covid times with middle and elementary school signs that normally would be announcing meet the teacher nights.   ...
Read more