When Bose went fully remote in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, I started dreaming of living a lifestyle where I can travel and work at the same time. At the time, my sister was living full-time in Seattle and had a spare bedroom. So once the initial wave of the virus ended, Dale and I packed up my car and headed West. We took 10 days to drive across the country as safely as possible and landed in Seattle in early August, 2020.

For 2 years (mid-2016 to early-2018), Kristen and I lived together in Rochester. It was nice to cook dinner together, decorate an apartment, and do uneventful things like puzzles and watching movies together. When we moved apart, it felt like one of us was always on vacation-mode whenever we saw each other. I missed being able to do the normal, everyday things together, so spending 4 weeks in Seattle together was something I was really looking forward to.

North Cascades National Park, Chain Lakes Loop

During the first couple days, Kristen, Dale, Cora and I got up early to drive to North Cascades National Park. We were all hungover and sleep-deprived from the night prior, but we were determined to check out this area that none of us had been before. It was a gray and rainy day, but that seemed to amplify the colors of the wildflowers. 6.5 miles and 1,800 feet of elevation later, we were happy to complete the adventure and get back home to take a nap.

Navaho Peak

The next weekend, the Seattle crew (Kristen, Graham, Cora and I) decided to meet the Bend crew (Maddie, Ciaran and Harper) in the middle to hike Navaho Peak. The weekend start eventfully, with Graham’s brand new truck getting side swiped causing his mirror to fall off. Needless to say, Graham was not happy that I filled in as driver. We met Maddie and Ciaran at a lake near the start of the trail where you can drive out onto the sand and camp. We caravanned down to the beach, with me in the lead, only for me to get stuck. With the help of everyone pushing, I was able to successfully get unstuck without too much trouble, other than Graham commenting that that wouldn’t have happened if we were in his truck. We setup camp, made dinner, had a fire and tried to coax Cora to swim.

We got an early start the next morning. We had a 6.5 miles and 4,000 feet of elevation to complete with temperatures expecting to get to 90 degrees. The hike started slow, as this was Graham’s first backpacking trip and he made it known that he was not having a good time. Cora and I spent most of the time in the front, often stopping in the shade waiting for others to catch up. Fortunately, we were able to drop our packs around the 5 mile mark at our campsite and continue to the top with just daypacks. We setup camp, rested for an hour or so, and then continued to the top just in time for sunset. The summit was breathtakingly gorgeous, with views of the Enchantments. We were all in awe while Graham pouted saying it wasn’t worth it. At dusk, we made our way back to camp just in time to make some dehydrated meals, do a whiskey shot and head to bed exhausted from the hike and the heat.

We packed up and descended back down the next morning. While the rest of us loved the hike, I don’t think Graham has any backpacking trips in his future.

Olympic National Park

A couple weeks later, Kristen and I decided to camp in Olympic National Park. On the 3 hour drive to the park we realized we forgot to pack the grill so we stopped at a Lowe’s and bought a grill, which we didn’t realize until we arrived at the campsite, the grill required assembly. I ran back out to buy a screwdriver, but by the time I got back to camp Kristen had started a fire a we decided to cook on the fire. It was raining that night, so we spent most of the night in the tent drifting off to Taylor Swift.

The next morning, we went up to Hurricane Ridge, an area that’s now closed in 2023 due to the lodge burning down. We completed an 8 mile loop that brought us to Grand Lake and had stunning views in the valley the entire time. Once again, the windflowers were bright and we were surprised to have the trail mostly to ourselves! This is also the trail that earned me the nickname “Cinnamon Bear” as a women came around a bend and mistook my hair for a bear.

Mt. Rainier National Park, Sunrise Area

Shortly after the Olympics, Kristen and I did a day day trip to Mt. Rainier National Park. We drove the the Sunrise Area of the park and completed a couple short hikes in that area. It was chilly and windy, but we had brought out JetBoil and cooked a warm meal over a beautiful lookout. We had been to Mt. Rainier with our parents when we were kids, but I didn’t remember too much from that trip, so it was nice to return with my sister. We hiked, talked about relationships and what we wanted in the future.

The Enchantments, Colchuck Lake

Earlier in the summer, Kristen hiked the entire 18 mile Enchantments hike and it looked stunning. So during my last weekend in Seattle, while Kristen was working, I drove to Leavenworth on my own. I car camped Friday night, forgetting that their was a fire ban, I bought firewood only to get to my campsite and have the realization. It was a quiet night, hammocking and going to bed early.

In the morning I packed up camp and headed towards the trailhead. It was completely packed, but I somehow managed to get a parking spot right near the start of the trail as someone was just pulling out. I hiked about 4 miles to the crystal blue Colchuck Lake, the first lake in the Enchantments. I walked around to the far end of the lake to get away from everyone, made my lunch and took in the views. Being alone, I decided to turn around at that point, but I would love to return to hike the full trail.

Badlands National Park

At the end of my Seattle adventure, Dale flew back to drive with me back across the country. It was a whirlwind 5 days of driving, camping in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the Beartooth Mountains in Montana, then a straight shot back East. The only fun stop between Montana and Boston was a picnic lunch and drive through Badlands National Park. It was a great way to book end the trip, having started this trip in the similar landscapes of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.