Urban Hiker: The Lake Union Triangle
Maybe it started when we found out the Urban Hike domain is actually owned by a Pittsburgh group. Pittsburgh, we thought. Huh.
In a burst of civic rivalry, we decided to go hiking around Seattle. (Also, blogging makes you fat.) For the first time out, we decided to walk around Lake Union, because it's much, much smaller than Lake Washington. We prepared for the hike by knowing, roughly, where Lake Union is and walking down Capitol Hill in that direction.
In case there was rain, we brought along a waterproof jacket. It was cloudy and gray, and plus the weather icon on our home page had predicted rain. We turned left at the Silver Cloud and headed in the direction of the Center for Wooden Boats, which is just past the greasy fried-food smell wafting out of Hooters.
There's a little park down that end, and it contains some geese with downy goslings in tow. We were glad to catch them while they're little, before those bastards from Winged Migration show up and it's all coke and strippers. Hollywood, man.
A rain squall blew south down the lake, and as we rounded the southwestern corner and headed north, the rain hit us in the face. That was fun for about two minutes. Otherwise, the western side of the lake is a great walk, since there's a pedestrian walkway for most of the trip up to the Fremont Bridge. We passed a shitload of yacht shops, the place that rents kayaks on that side of the lake, and rows of houseboats.
Crossing Fremont Bridge we were dodging bicyclists when we discovered a) our pockets were rain-collectors, and that b) we shouldn't have put our camera in them. (Household tip: to dry your camera out, try your toaster oven on its lowest setting.)
After the bridge, we bore right and walked through Adobe's campus, before taking North Northlake Way to Gasworks Park. This side of the lake is less sidewalked, but full of views. We had visions of steaming bowls of chowder at Ivar's, but kept on. We were pretty sure if we stopped once, given the weather, we'd stall out entirely.
We took the University Bridge for the final leg on this eastern side of the lake. View-wise, we were impoverished marching down Eastlake Avenue with few lake glimpses. On the other hand, if we'd wanted a massage or chiropractic adjustment, we were in the right place. We were just happy to be back on sidewalks again and heading home. The rain was still pelting and our hands were numb.
At East Howe, we sighted the I-5 Colonnade Park beneath I-5, and made our way that direction to take advantage of their stairs leading to the stairs back to Capitol Hill. Running from Lakeview to 10th Avenue, the Capitol Hill stairs climb steeply, and after a little over six miles (thanks Google Maps hack) of walking, we took them slowly. Our verdict on the hike: probably quite a bit of fun on a sunny day, a good walk over mostly flat terrain. The stairs are optional.
