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

 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 with modern cabin-like homes on its bank.  I seem to have found the right foot formula today – just the right amount of moleskin, no heel cushion, compression socks and my new Skecher running shoes. The air was improving, and the clouds overhead were not smoke! 

I saw my first fellow traveler approaching and we started to prepare to give each other a friendly greeting when we both realized that we knew each other! We live miles apart and haven’t seen each other live for months. It turns out that my friend Michael lives in one of the lovely cabins on the river three miles from where I started today and was on his regular morning walk.  

The best thing about this chance encounter is Michael is a real Camino Pilgrim - he did full Camino de Santiago two years ago (which I had known) all the way to Muxia (pronounced Moosia), on the coast.  We were able to geek out with each other on foot problems, and the addictive nature of doing Caminos -- he completed a  “short one” of 250 miles in Spain a year ago in May with his wife, and plans to do the full camino again in 2022.  I could have stayed and talked with him for much longer but had to get on my way to meet today’s goals.

After meeting Michael, my step was lighter and my enthusiasm for the day’s journey was skyrocketing. It was hard to select from the pictures I took of the scenic shallow river flowing at different speeds alternating between a strong smooth current and rapids.

Five miles into the Cedar River Trail, I decided to change direction and follow the connected Green to Cedar River trail that took me beside the expansive Wilderness Lake to Maple Valley shopping centers. 

On this trail, I passed a large and beautifully forested frisbee course that reminded me of a similar one on Pender Island, B.C. where we lived a while ago.  On the Island, we learned that  that many played this popular course every Sunday morning after imbibing in some "B.C Bud".  The locals called this "going to Church". When we first moved to Pender, I thought religion was strong on the Island. 😏

The trail continued to be forest-lined broken up by tunnels decorated with community supported art and few fellow travelers.   After 3.5 miles, I reached urban Maple Valley and availed myself of a gas station pottie. While I was disappointed that there was not one pottie on today’s trails, I was happy to avoid  noisy roads.

The soothing sound of water accompanied me for most of my journey today as primordial-sized fallen maple leaves crunched under my feet.  As the clouds started gathering to dump some steady rain, I received an email from my long time friends in Ontario who gifted me the perfect official Faux Camino song: Edwin Starr – 25 miles…  I played it as I walked and was moved to pick up my pace and my spirits even more.

Today, I broke the 400 mile mark and continue to revel in how this experience is transforming my view of how I should spend my time - listen more, look more, expect the unexpected, and enjoy the journey.

Thanks for sticking with me.  Sunday, I plan on killing two birds with one stone – walking to Cottage Lake (only 11 miles from home and minutes from where we first lived when we moved to Seattle in 2001), where I will meet my husband and good friend, Carol to try out Don’s new blow up kayak.

¡Buen Camino!