Fun fun fun: the great outdoors

The Northwest is very beautiful and there is a bunch of fun outdoors stuff you can do, some not very far from Seattle. It's no wonder REI (a compnay started by Pacific Northwest mountaineers) has its corporate headquarters in Kent (right next to Seattle).

I've been on one day hike so far:

Denny Creek trail to Melakwa Lake

Melakwa Lake

This a 9-mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of about 2500 ft. The whole hike is really beautiful, and the lake is definitely worth the work you'll have to do getting up the last mile or two of the trail. In fact, it's very tempting to go for a swim once you finally reach the water, and if you're silly like Dana & I are, you'll actually jump in. The pictures I took really don't do it justice; go see for yourself.

It's only about 40 mins. out of Seattle going East on I-90, and the whole hike took us about 5 or 6 hours, so it's definitely possible to do it in one day.