Boulder Shelter June 26, 2020

Hike to Boulder Shelter

June 26, 2020

12 miles, 2,750 feet elevation gain

Guy and I got up early and drove up the Dungeness River to the trailhead, arriving about 8:00. It was a beautiful day, nice and cool in the morning underneath the big trees. 

 

We hiked steadily up to Camp Handy, where we stopped for a break and some trail mix. We explored the campsites a little bit. Two women and their four kids were camped along the river, singing in and playing games. Kind of sweet.

We decided to go a little further, and continued up the trail as it gains elevation. Stopped at noon for lunch. Afterwards I said to Guy, “I think we’re only about twenty or thirty minutes from Boulder Shelter. Want to try to reach it?” He decided to rest, and I took off for the shelter. It actually took me more like 33 minutes to get there, but I made it. It felt good to push myself and see if I could keep up a good pace on the trail. 

Meadow at Boulder Shelter

Looking out at the upper Dungeness River valley

 

I returned to Guy who was patiently waiting for me and we started back to the car. There was a nice breeze in our faces as we hiked down the valley. Go back about 4:00, home by dinner.

For this hike I bought new insoles for my boots to replace the worn Dr. Scholl’s insoles. The new ones seemed quite a bit better, with more padding under my feet. My feet were tired, but much better than last week’s hike up Mt. Townsend.

Mount Townsend, June 19, 2020

Mt. Townsend, June 19, 2020

Guy and I decided to try Mt. Townsend for our first hike of the year. Because of COVID-19, there’s not much to do around Silverdale, so it made sense to go hiking..

We left the house around 6:30 and got there about 8:00. There were quite a few other hikers on the trail. We started up the switchbacks in the cool morning. I felt kind of out of shape, and we took lots of short breaks. My boots didn’t seem to fit quite right, and I could feel a hot spot developing on my left heel. I adjusted my laces several times, but it still wasn’t really comfortable. 

 

The trail has a good surface and a wide tread.

I’ve been up this trail several times before, but I’d forgotten how the views start opening up about halfway up the trail. It was kind of hazy but we could see out across the sound. We were kind of slow, and lots of people passed us. Finally about 11:30 we arrived at the shoulder of the peak. Guy flopped down in the shade of a tree and rested. I decided to go the last little but to the top, and hustled up there. I could see the buildings in downtown Seattle.

 

On top of Mt Townsend.

Guy resting on the shoulder of the mountain.

 

I returned to Guy and we had lunch and took a good rest. I checked my feet and sure enough, I had a blister on my left foot. Put a blister bandaid on it for the hike down. Still had trouble because my toes were jammed up against the front of my boot and my toenails got pushed into my feet. By the time I got to the car, my feet were aching, my left knee hurt, and my back was cranky. I think I need to make some adjustments in my footwear.