50 Hikes 'til Vegas

If you live in Bellingham you've probably done/heard of this hike it is by far the most talked about hike there is. I know when I (Stephanie) was up at Western it was a very popluar hike/ camping spot for WWU students. And on a nice day it is always pretty crowded. This hike can be accessed by driving out Chuckanut past Taylor Shelfish, youll see the cars parked on the right, the trail is on the left and starts out as narrow switchbacks.

This hike is 3.8 miles roundtrip to overlook; 6.5 miles to Dome. You can also go to the bat caves from this trail.  The elevation starts at160; and has a  high point of 2,025 feet. This hike is moderatley difficult at times. There are a couple of spots along the way that have steep tree roots to climb up and can be difficult. But once the top is reached this hike is well worth the effort.
 
For those who want to cut the hike in half theres parking at Blanchard Mountain  tghsi eliminates the switchbacks and dramatically reduces the amount of time it takes to reach the top. There are a couple of resting/viewpoints along the way however the best and by far most rewarding is at the top. Once at the top one can sit back on a large boulder, and take in the great views from this big cliff - the Skagit River Delta as it snakes out to sea; the  Olympic Mountains; the San Juan Islands! On this day we brought my  (Stephanie)s Dad, Ryder and Sarah packed her famous PB&Js to enjoy at the top, Ryder had a dog biscuit!

In late March we planned a trip to hike Mount Si. We've heard about Mount Si from all of our "Seattlite" friends in the past who said it was challenging, but not unmanageable. Mount Si is located in North Bend Wash. and is about a 4 mi. hike.

We left Bellingham aroun 9am and arrived at the mountain around 11:30 ish am (after potty breaks, snacks, getting lost etc...). After locating the parking lot it took us about 15mins to find a space, this worried us a little seeing how crowded the parking lot was that probably meant lots of people on the trail. Once we claimed a spot we headed toward the trail head. Sarah was struggling a bit having enjoyed one to many cocktails the night before (not reccomended).

We got about 20 ft before we were behind and in front of groups of people. This was consistent for the duration of the hike, which is mostly switch backs and high elevation (4,167 ft). So our reccomendation is if you want to do this hike leave early to avoid crowds. Overall it was an okay hike, not really worth the drive but glad to have completed it and a good experience.