Mukilteo Musings

Ok, I Was Scared!!

On Tuesday, June 14, Lucas and I kicked off our summer hiking season. Because of our lack of snow, we picked a trail that is listed as hikeable July to October and figured we'd have no trouble in the middle of June with snow.

The sky was cloudy and, I don't know, it was eerie. We were in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and no other human beings were anywhere to be seen. Instincts are interesting; I was uncomfortable. I have seen signs of wildlife my whole life in the woods but seriously this time I believe we were being watched. The first thing that unnerved me was coming across a completely shredded live tree with clear claw marks and it was fresh. I've noticed this type of thing a hundred times but never so recent. Our assumption is that a bear did this because they do that sort of thing in the spring when they are hungry and grouchy and the huckleberries are "bearly" out of bloom.


clawed tree base

Next, as we approached a lovely meadow, I photographed the scenery with Lucas and Apolo. Lucas says, "Ah, Mom, there is a big pile of Bear....you know what!" Of course, Apolo's instinct was to drop and roll so Lucas used his strength to keep 90 lb. Apolo from doing just that.


Apolo with his eye on bear scat

Not long after the shredded tree, I noticed some droppings or scat that seemed to be fresh right in the middle of the trail. It was about the size of pile that Apolo would make but there were no other people and no other dogs. We noticed the scat three more times--again right in the middle of the trail. A perusal of the internet after getting home convinced us a mountain lion (cougars weigh about 90 lbs as adults) made these little piles in an effort to mark his territory. YIKES!! I knew I was uncomfortable; I took out the metal pan I had brought for Apolo's water and carried it clinking against the dog leash. My Dad always told me that wild animals are usually more afraid of us than we of them, but that was in Montana. This is Washington where tons more people use trails and animals tend to get a little owly about humans invading their space.

We continued; it was gorgeous. Our plan was to find a spur off of the main trail and hike up to the top of Mount Sawyer. Views along this trail are supposed to be unbelievable but unfortunately, the clouds and fog kept us from seeing the full beauty. So now we just have to go back when the huckleberries are ripe--if the bears are willing to share.


Clouds obscuring view

The climb to the top of Mount Sawyer was 750 feet. Apparently, the cougar walked a little way up this trail as well. For some reason, perhaps it was the euphoria that happens when you exert yourself, but I stopped worrying about the Cougar. Maybe my instincts were telling me he decided to quit watching us. Being up high and able to see all around helped. Near the top, we found some patches of snow and Apolo went nuts.




Snow Puppy

The elevation of Mount Sawyer is 5490 indicated on a plaque attached at the summit by the U.S. Geological Survey. Lucas laughed at me a little. I spend all of my time at sea level but he has been hiking at high elevations recently in Utah and of course he has spent two years of his life at nearly 4000 feet in Montana. So, I was a little winded at 6000 feet after hiking straight up.


Apolo is reading the elevation marker


Me and my shadow

After we ate our lunch and realized it was freaking cold after we stopped hiking for a few minutes, we headed back down the trail. I just had this sense that the cougar was gone. The forest was misty and then it gently rained and it is easy to understand why everything is so lush and mossy.



As we drove away from the trail head, we had to slow down for a deer on the dirt road. Cougar food!! Shortly after that, we encountered the tree shredder--a young cinnamon colored black bear. Oh my, he was so cute!!! Especially from inside our comfortable truck.