I live in Washington, in Sammamish, yet, I have never been to Issaquah’s Poo Poo Point. Issaquah is about 10 minutes down the road. I have been hiking for a while, yet it wasn’t until a sweet couple from my church recommended this hike, that it peaked my interest. Upon the visitation, I was truly inspired by the paragliders!
First seen from the east-bound highway, these little dots specking the sky (not to be confused with eagles, though, they are up there, too) are actually humans with parachutes, or “wings,” as they call them. They take off from the top of a mountain rising 1,850 ft., at the entrance to the Snoqualmie Pass corridor. It was fun to watch! With all the snow and cold temperatures I hadn’t expected to see anyone, but upon arrival there was a man just landing — giving me tips on lookout points.
It is about a 4-mile hike. There is also a 7.5 mile hike that starts at an old railroad track near Issaquah High School; I started at the landing point. Poo Poo Point is also the destination of horseback riders. It offers views of Mt. Rainier to the south, and of Lake Sammamish and surrounding territory to the east; the Seattle skyline rises in the distance. On a clear, sunny winter’s day, it is truly a photographer’s dream!
Throughout the hike I met 4 paragliders, all of whom were very kind. I exchanged e-mails with 3 of them, and will be sending photos to them shortly. Matt had paraglided all the way to North Bend on hot, long-staying summer thermals; visitors to Washington should visit Mark and Rebecca’s friends at a paragliding facility in Cashmere for introductory lessons. Cashmere is also home to Liberty Orchard’s delectable sweets — a favorite of mine.
Another reason I love hiking is you get to see great dogs on the trails — you know, the kind of dogs that are used to the outdoors, and EXPECT to go hiking with their masters! Yes, today I met Cola, Chipper, and Baxter, all of whom got their pictures in the paper, so to speak. I also met a very friendly 19-yr-old with beautiful, brown eyes, who, perhaps will land me a job in the near-future. Goes to show you that anyone, no matter how young, is wonderful and capable of great things!
While walking the uphill switchbacks that lead to Poo Poo Point, my love of the forest hit me hard. Perhaps it was because I had been MIA on Washington’s trails for a good month, due to weather, etc. But 3/4ths of the way up, the trails brought me back to my childhood — yes, I played in the forest ALL THE TIME. I was walking along, and suddenly I was with my neighbors, and we were researching the forest ground, finding a new place to build a fort (with scraps from the new house getting built on the block, of course!), and get this, naming crevices in the Earth, “The Big Toilet.” There were, goodness knows, maybe 3 of them, in the acres of land that lined our properties; it was truly a destination of make believe. Seeing as how the name of this hike references this natural reaction, I included the story!
My only complaint from the top—“Too bad you can’t see the ocean from here!”
Ashley Crane is on Twitter. Follow her at @WildAshC
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