Western Washington is known for its incredible hikes. You can’t throw a latte around here without hitting some kind of trail head through our mountains, rain forests, or coastal areas. And yet, for a dazzling urbanite like me, it’s difficult to get too worked up about it. I enjoy a good stroll through the wilderness every now and then, but I’m not really up for anything more than a half-day outing at best. I’ve had to toughen myself a bit for Ray’s sake (he loves to hike, and I want him to love to hike), but I have to resign myself to the fact that I’m just not “outdoorsy.”
Today, though, we tackled the most interesting trail I’ve ever seen — a 2.3 mile decommissioned railroad tunnel at Snoqualmie Pass about an hour east of Seattle.
The old tunnel is utterly devoid of light. Water drips (and sometimes pours) from the vaulted ceilings, echoing throughout the chamber. Alcoves filled with old electrical gear line the walls and contribute to the overall sense of decay and abandonment. The trail is somewhat popular and supports biking as well as foot traffic, but when we arrived, we were the only ones venturing into the darkness, and when we turned off our flashlights, we could see only the faint blue speck of daylight from the distant mouth of the tunnel. Ray had Fungus the Bogeyman on his mind and remarked that the tunnel would be a good environment for a Bogey — dark, wet, and quiet.
Ray was a trooper, as usual, and trekked the half-mile to the entrance as well as the entire length of the tunnel, which seemed to go on forever. The goal of today’s mission was, of course, one of Amy’s coveted Geocaches (her 300th), which we found hidden in a dead stump about a half-mile from the western mouth of the tunnel. Ray finally petered out about halfway into the return journey, which means he logged about 6 miles on his tiny legs before we heard the first complaint. Amy and I took turns carrying him most of the rest of the way, which increased our workout considerably.
Maybe if I believed in a god I’d have more appreciation for natural beauty, but give me a good man-made structure — a feat of engineering — and I’m happy.
Comments
Hi. Sounds like a great hike. Ray's definitely my nephew, because hiking is one of my favorite things to do!
Not to quibble, however, but isn't Snoqualmie Pass EAST of Seattle? Last time I was there, there was nothing but water, islands, and the Olypmic Peninsula to the west. Then again, that was over twenty years ago, so maybe things have changed... Blame Bill Gates for that, huh?
Posted by: arrmac | July 30, 2007 11:46 AM
Author Comment
D'oh! I always do that WRT east/west. With north/south I have no problem, but I just have some sort of brain block on the horizontal axis. Thanks for pointing that out.
Posted by: Jim | July 30, 2007 12:04 PM