Day 9: Lake Sammamish State Park along West Lake Sammamish Parkway
Day 9 Highlights:
I got back to full pace today due to the ministrations of
my husband on my blisters and the amazing gel heel socks that I tried out
today.
On the real Camino, I would have trekked 13 miles even, wandering
vineyard vistas, passing a 15th century stone boundary marker, and
would have found out why live chickens dwell in Santo Domingo’s cathedral. (Go
ahead, do a search on this and an hour later, you will have found many
variations of an old story that sounds like a great libretto for a super corny
opera.)
On the 9th day of my Faux-mino, I decided to
begin at the beautiful Lake Sammamish State Park that had me regretting not wearing my bathing suit for after the walk. Plenty of families were there picnicking,
swimming, kayaking, frisbeeing, etc.
Masks were evident everywhere and the signs make it clear that masks
were the price of entry.
You might remember that on Day 4, I walked the east side of
the Lake Sammamish in high 90s heat.
Today, I wanted to travel the west side of the same lake and potentially
reach my old workplace, Microsoft’s headquarters campus. For about 4 years of the 17 I worked for the company, I drove this route almost daily.
My plans suddenly changed when I came across a trail
that I had never suspected was there. I loved the 3-mile delightful round trip of switch-backed rolling soft
trails in the sun-dappled forest. My phone
camera lens wasn’t big enough to capture the panorama of gorgeous fir trees above and gigantic ferns below. The smell of toasted cedar needles and the
call of eagles (not visible today), reminded me of our time on Pender Island
(near Victoria, B.C.) and the many trails we hiked
there.
While back on the main road, I saw a little store (called “The Little
Store”) that I had passed on my daily commute and had always wanted to enter. Well, today I did. On my way back to the
state park, I went in and ordered an iced latte (a large because their washroom
was open), and a large piece of squash bread and banana bread to bring home for
later. I rested my tired self well away from others on a picnic bench outside
the store and appreciated the caffeine (3 shots) that would spur me on for the remaining 3 miles back to the park.
As I mentioned when travelling the east side of Lake
Sammamish, the homes and views on the west side are also spectacular, but beach
access is private, so it’s still look but don’t touch. This side of the lake has older, more established
residences and I noticed more gated homes and communities.
Back at the park, I remembered to turn off my Strava
app and to add in the ~ half mile where
I had forgotten to resume it when I stopped to check my bearings.
Tomorrow will be the first time I don’t do a loop. I plan to walk to my son and his wife’s home in Magnolia (a very hilly area of Seattle) from Kirkland, where we live. It’s 14 miles
Thanks for following along. More tomorrow and ¡Buen Camino!
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