Sunday, August 9, 2009

Tonga Ridge 8/9/09

I woke up this morning sore and tired. The long drive yesterday and the banged up knee were the main culprits. However, I also discovered that walking on the beach works muscles that aren't normally worked on a typical mountain trail, like the inner thighs and outer hip muscles. All that balancing on rocks and walking in sand really gives you a workout! The plan for today was to head up to Tonga Ridge off of highway 2, outside of Skykomish for a ridge walk. I had serious second thoughts about going out today. However, my goal of 75 miles for the Hike-a-Thon would be nearly impossible to achieve if I skipped today. Knowing that I packed my bag and was out the door a bit after 8am.


A trip report I read on the WTA site for this hike noted the gravel roads leading to the trail head were in remarkably good shape, and I would have to wholeheartedly agree with that. I encountered fewer than 5 potholes on the nearly 8 miles of gravel road heading to the trail. A real treat for me and I'm sure my car loved it as well. I reached the trail head a little before 10am and found several cars parked already. As a lone hiker, I don't mind knowing that others are already on the trail. It makes me feel a little safer.


With the sand from yesterday still on my boots, I hit the mountain trail (I love that in Washington you can hike one day on the ocean beaches and the next day find yourself heading for a point 4,000+ feet above sea level). The first part of the trail heads steadily upwards through the forest. It was definitely a climb, but not so steep that I had to slow my pace. At a mile or so you hit the ridge and the trees start to become fewer and farther between and with this, the views across the valley begin to open up. The views on the way up were mist shrouded ones as the low clouds clung to valley hills. But that didn't matter as the trail offered plenty of things to look at itself, mainly the wildflowers still blooming. (Doesn't the picture look like it could be someones garden path?)

By 11:45 I had reached my destination, Sawyer Pass. I thought about stopping and eating a snack, but here as with everywhere else on the trail, as soon as I stopped all I heard was the sound of buzzing. Mosquitoes, flies and bees were plentiful and as annoying as the mosquitoes were when you were moving, they were ten times worse if you stopped. Not wanting to be eaten alive anymore than I already was, I turned around immediately and headed down.


The clouds had burned off on the way down so I was treated with fantastic views across the valley. I was also treated to several different kinds of birds, some of which I could identify, like a robin and hummingbird and some I couldn't. The trail could be a bird lovers paradise. I was especially surprised to find two pheasants sitting on the trail as I headed down. They spotted me and took off for some trees before I could snap a picture. With the sun out on the way down I was very warm in my fleece and waterproof pants (I had thought it was going to be cool and rainy. Just goes to show the weatherman doesn't always get it right), but even though I had packed lighter weight clothing just in case it warmed up, I decided to sweat it out to avoid exposing any more of my skin to the mosquitoes than was absolutely necessary.


This was a good hike for my sore and tired body and I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of going. For anyone else considering heading up the Tonga Ridge, watch out for the thistle. It's growing thick and heave along side the trail and if you're not careful you could easily brush and hand or leg up against it's thorns. I would also suggest taking trekking poles. The trail isn't particularly steep, but I found my pair quite helpful on the ridge portion. In some places you need to navigate around large rocks in the path or roots. With the narrowness of the trail, having the poles to help with balance while stepping over rocks was very helpful.

Miles Hiked Today: 6
Miles Hiked this Month: 23.8
Total Falls: 2 (holding steady...)

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