Recently I had to be in Seattle for work for about a week. I don’t do a lot of traveling for work, but usually about twice a year, I’m gone for multiple nights. While this was harder when the boys were little, it is still a challenge as our family schedule is set up for two parents, and my wife has to be to work before the boys leave for school. Luckily my parents frequently are able to help out, for which we are really blessed and grateful. Despite this, I’ve often felt a sense of guilt when I left and therefore would try to make my trips as short as possible. However, such a schedule meant that I would work long hours before I left in preparation for being gone, have an aggressive work/meeting schedule while I was out of town, and then have longs hours of work when I returned to catch up. All the while frequently having been in a place where I had never been before and having returned without seeing much of the city, let alone the natural assets that this new (to me) city had to offer. This year I decided to change that, and chose to make some the time for me after my work was complete.
I took an extra (partial) day after my work was complete and climbed Mt. Si, about 40 minutes west of Seattle. Really, my flight left in the late afternoon, so I took the entirety of that day for myself. Due to its proximity to Seattle, and the quality of the hike, I’ve read that it is one of the most popular hikes in the area. Knowing this, and needing to make my flight back home, I left early in the morning and made it to the parking lot by 7am.
While not the first person in the parking lot, the trail was lightly traveled starting out. and I saw fewer than twenty other people on the way up. The trail begins with a gradual grade and progressively becomes steeper.
The trail first winds through a lush, almost Jurassic, forest, past moss covered Douglas fir trees, and their forebears fallen on the forest floor. A fire burned the mountainside over a hundred years earlier, but trees still show the visible burns. The trail switches back and forth through the forest up the side of the mountain.
As I walked through this environment that is far different from what I am used to in Wisconsin, I felt an appreciation that I chose to put myself in the position to be enjoying this hike. The trail became steeper and the physical exertion felt good after a week in meetings. While I can speak to people, network, be social and the like as my job requires, I am in introvert, and truly gain energy through solitary pursuits and reflection.
The trees thinned and opened up, giving glimpses of the surrounding Cascade mountains through the tops of the trees below. Another push and I was above the tree line with views spreading around me to all sides, including Mt. Rainier.
Little did I know at the time, but I later found out that I never did make it to the top of the Mountain. Apparently it is a common mistake as there is a localized peak (where I stopped) followed by a dip which then rises to the top. That’s ok, though. The accomplishment wasn’t about “conquering” Mt. Si. The accomplishment was that I was there and put work and other obligations to the side for this half of a day and saw the natural beauty of a corner of the country that I had never been to before.