Day 21: Issaquah-Preston Trail - there and back

Highlights:

It’s time again for a seven-day check in.  After the first 21 days, I would have walked 321 miles (really walked 334), from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Astorga, Spain.  I have completed just over 60%  of my faux version of the Camino de Santiago.

Today’s goal was lofty - 19.6 miles, which would have taken me from Villar de Mazarife to Astorga where I would have imagined the excitement of a medieval joust in Hospital de Orbigo, visited Roman ruins and a chocolate factory in Astorga.  I completed 14.5 miles (drawing once more from my substantial bank account of overachieved miles) and found another new trail which runs parallel to the picturesque I-90 highway from Issaquah to Preston.

I felt strong and refreshed as I started out today.  I attribute two causes:  1) I took a generous two days off  and kayaked with my friend Carol one day, and did a road trip to the amazing rival to Mount Rainier – Mount Baker with my best buddy Don on the next; and 2) I was guided in a splendid Iyengar yoga session with my friend Glenda via zoom in Victoria, B.C. before I set out this morning.

Because I got a later than usual start and had 17 miles in “the bank”, I started the walk thinking of this as a “throw away day”. But before I knew it, the magic of the Camino started to happen and I was engaged in the experience once more.  I struggled to find this trail's poorly marked trail head.  I asked a young couple and they said they didn’t know of it but a few minutes later, they ran after me (“Ma'am, Ma'am!”) and gave me incorrect, but well-meaning information.  I used a combination of google maps and logic and was pleased to finally find the trailhead and begin on today’s journey.  One of the online trail guides had mentioned that the trail head was near a "Red Caboose". I felt obligated to put that in my photos when I saw it. 

I had read that this trail was noisy because of the adjacent highway.  I found the sound more like white noise – soothing like waves,  for walkers, hikers, and bikers as they navigated yet another well- groomed trail carved out through the roadside forests.  This highway has always been  one of my favorites because it brings travelers closer to those Cascade mountains that I gushed about on Day 20.  You will see the greenery and distant mountains in photos below.  Along the path, I found three orange, rather unattractive (but again well-meaning) sculptures that I captured so that you can critique them as well. 

When I reached the end of the trail – the small town of Preston, I realized that, with the exception of Day 1, when I ran into old work friends and stopped at a Starbucks in Kenmore off the Burke-Gilman Trail, I have not stopped to rest on any of my other walks.  I suspect that the real Camino will afford me more opportunity to explore stops on the way, but I decided to get a cold drink (Ah, my new best friend, Sugar Free Rockstar) at the local general store and sit on a bench (no people around me) until I felt ready to start the road back. 

Today’s walk felt easy and fast.  I found myself reflecting on how the automatic muscle memory that drives me putting one foot in front of the other seems to be stirring up the creative side of my brain and the optimistic side of my heart.   On these walks, I find myself feeling safer and more connected in this world in a time where lots of things don’t feel safe or connected.  Putting on masks as travelers approach each other has become part of a respectful ritual that seems to have more gravitas than a simple hello.  I found myself moved by the image of an older gentleman quietly walking alone through the sun-dappled cathedral-ceiled forest ahead of me on this afternoon's trail. 

Tomorrow, I am excited to do my first pilgrim walk with a friend – Gail, whom I’ve known for many years, both in Toronto and here in Seattle.  We will start at the famous Ballard Locks (Visitor Center closed for Covid) and head to the Golden Gardens Park and return.  Then I will finish off the Burke-Gilman trail, from the Locks to the iconic Seattle Fremont Bridge.

Yes, today was another ¡Buen Camino! 












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