Ode to Squak

Oh, mighty Squak
such a gentle little mountain you are,
green as Grendel,
enormous yet tame,
old but youthful,
in the aeons in which you have lived
witnessed the birth of stars,
and some of their deaths.
That lonely tower of brick
that rests atop you,
was a bright home, before
your resilience dissolved it,
into smithereens.
All that dirt in your body,
and the rocks that embellish it,
with the evergreens at your appendage,
make you something mighty,
precious and wonderful
to me.

Squak Mountain bears, as one might expect, a one-hundred percent similitude to Cougar and Tiger.  For those unfamiliar with the Issaquah Alps and the protuberances that make it distinct, read here.  Though, it stands apart from the two with its light foot traffic.  Actually, the foot traffic is so light that one may even consider it nonexistent.

I brought Tess, the 4 year old border collie, and Charles, the 4 month chocolate labrador here yesterday.    Charles had never left the vicinity of our backyard, and so his outdoor behavior was highly questionable.  Instead of jogging around the trails, like I usually do with Tess, I decided to leisure the trip with a gentle hike.  I parked the car on the SE May Valley trailhead and began the hike via Bullitt Trail.  The destination; Central Peak.  The dogs were kept entertained by the chuck-it launcher and several tennis balls I packed along.  There were no other hikers throughout the day, and so I offed their leash so they could run around, though not to the extent at which my eyes could not meet theirs.  Charles was an astounding companion on the trails, equal to Tess.  Without any prior experience on being off-leash, he did not wander off trail (even in spite of the several clearings we came upon) nor run ahead out of sight.  One hour passed, we hiked past the brick chimney then arrived at Central Peak a half-mile later, the area considered to be the destination for most hikers who come here.  After our return for lunch at the fireplace, we descended down a different, wider, steeper trail .  It was a good day for the dogs to get excellent exercise.

Here are pictures:

Snow on top

Pups on the Fireplace

Playing Fetch

Cairn

Tennis ball camouflaged in moss

Charles

Teresa

Me