An Outside Kind of Day

If you read Outside Magazine, they often feature Outside weekends. These are packed, multi-sport affairs at some awesome destination and include sampling local food and craft beers at some hip joint.

Yesterday, I managed to pack an Outside weekend into a day.

My morning began with a meeting with my supervisor. The weather was overcast, dry and mild, so I packed my laptop in my pannier and pedaled to a local coffee shop–our meeting spot.

We reviewed this week’s work and discussed upcoming projects over our morning java. My caffeine beverage of choice was a double-shot soy latte. Mmmm!

Our meeting wrapped up a little before noon, so I decided to take the scenic route back home. I pedaled along the shores of Puget Sound, taking in the sounds of ferries, seagulls and passing conversations of pedestrians. The air was fresh and held a hint of saltiness.

I made the climb back up to my neighborhood, stopping at a quiet viewpoint. There was too much cloud cover to see the Olympic Mountains but I did get views of Bainbridge and Blake Islands.

It was back to work for a few hours until Steve arrived home for the day.

“Let’s do something,” he said. “What do you want to do?”

“Let’s go to the mountains,” I announced.

We grabbed our nordic skis and packs and took off for Snoqualmie Pass where we were greeted by sunshine and warm temperatures. Excellent choice! I donned my sunglasses but left my jacket and gloves in the pack.

The snow was soft and, in spite of the rain that fell earlier in the week, pleasant to ski. We went swish-gliding down the trail.

We traveled quietly, stopping frequently to take in nature. The air was fresh and scented with trees. Birds entertained us with a chorus of chirps and songs. The sun warmed our faces.

We skied for several hours and only encountered one other couple on the trails. That’s a rare experience in this winter recreation corridor heavily used by residents of Pugetopolis.

In no hurry to return to the city, we swung into The Commonwealth at Snoqualmie Pass. We snagged seats with a window view of Guye Peak and Mount Snoqualmie, chowed on some great pub fare and quaffed some tasty locally brewed Dru-Bru. It was the perfect ending to my Outside day!