Sunday morning I went for a little hike. There are two pictures that show the below and above photos. The top picture is from the Fire Academy, with Mailbox Hill in the background. The picture below it is from the top of Mailbox Hill looking down at the Academy. That was an amazing hike. From the trialhead it is 7.8 miles down and up. That doesn't sound like much but the incline was probably a steady 45%-50% until you got out of the trees. That is when the trail really starts to get steep. I couldn't believe how steep the trail got.
It was well worth the trip. It was amazing to be able to look over the valley and see Mt. Rainier in the far off distance. Mt. Rainier was one of the things I wanted to hike when I got here. Needless to say I didn't do enough research to be able to achieve that one this time. Snow capped the summit and quite a ways below it. One of the locals here told me you could a guide to take you up but not sure how long or how much that would take. I'm sure it's not cheap though. It had been quite some time since I have gotten that dirty and sweaty. It felt awesome!! A trip like that gets all of the bad juju out of the system and sure makes you feel more pure and clear your head. It was beautiful!!