We didn’t go on our weekly hike on the same night as we have been – that day we learned my husband’s company was being sold and he went out to lunch with the group of people he works with. So we decided to put it off a few days. We ended up going on the 4th of July.
We went mid-morning after my husband took the oldest 3 to our church’s annual 4th of July Breakfast. We left when they got home. We noticed lots of people riding bikes on the way up the mountain. There was some bike club ride that day! At least the traffic was very light.
4th of July this year was surprisingly overcast. At least the clouds were high! We could still see the mountains in the Cascades and even Mt. Hood up to the North. There were low clouds over the coast, so we couldn’t see the Ocean, but we could see above all the clouds at the coast!
This is one of my favorite hikes and we try to do it once a year (or at least every other year). It is not a difficult hike and the view is excellent for little effort! As my kids say, “The car does most of the work!”
The path is fairly steep to the top though – so don’t think it is going to be a super easy hike. However, if a two-year-old can do it, it is not that difficult! The kids kept looking for benches on the way up – there are none – so they sat to rest on the picnic table when we got to the top.
There were lots of wildflowers and butterflies out. Also lots of honey bees – Mmmmm…. Honey!
We probably spent a little over an hour, round-trip. Including the time at the top! Kid #5 got out of the hiking backpack and tried to take off down the mountain by himself. Luckily, #1 is faster than he is and caught up to him. He eventually decided to get back in the hiking backpack.
If you want a hike with spectacular views with a little effort, Mary’s Peak is a fantastic hike! We love it…
