June 11th, 2011 Mount Si

Distance 8 miles
Elevation gain 3700 feet
Highest elevation 4167 feet

Archana, Ajay, Chayya, and I headed up Mount Si on this cloudy but pleasant day.  I was worn down from many weekends of travelling, being sick all week, and losing some of conditioning I had gained.  Nevertheless, I carried my 25 plus pound backpack up the mountain with the encouragement of Archana.  Ajay seemed to enjoy the hike, he practiced his music, and enjoyed playful jeering at Team Bonda.  On the summit, we enjoyed sheera and bhel that Ajay made.

My feet and toes suffered badly on the way down.  That and the crowds made for a slow decent.  My boots need some tinkering so my toes don't bang so much on downhills.  Overall, a good experience, I need to step of the conditioning though!

June 1st, 2011 Poo poo point trail

Distance: 5.0 miles

Elevation gain: 1650 ft

Highest point 1850 ft

 

Headed up Tiger Mountain with Archana and both dogs for an evening hike.  Archana's jasmine rice bag was abandoned on the trail, luckily still safely there on our way down.  Chayya briefly went missing which gave us a scare, and we ended in the almost dark parking lot as the last two on the trail.  But we prevailed, no less...

May 22nd, 2011 Family Hike at St. Edwards State Park

The Kanjilals and the Kamaths hiked the beach trail and enjoyed a fantastic picnic.  In honor of Archana's birthday, Ajay made shevai and pathroda, enjoyed thoroughly by all.  The kids and dogs had fun running on the beach and did well on the hike with the exception of Neela's new found fear of slugs...

May 20th, 2011 Little Summit Hike on Mount Constitution on Orcas Island

While at Moran State Park for a family and extended family camping trip, we enjoyed an amazing hike with breathtaking views on the Little Summit trail of Mount Constitution.  I carried a decent load with all the picnic goodies.  We enjoyed chutney sandwiches while taking in the view of the Puget Sound and Mount Baker on this stunningly clear day. The kids all did great and seemed to enjoy as well.

May 15th, 2011 Rattlesnake Ridge

Enjoyed a very social, and after Mount Si, quite easy hike up to Rattlesnake on a rainy Sunday morning with Sandra and Archana.  Despite weather, and starting with an empty trail, we passed quite a few hikers on the way down.

May 8th, 2011 Mother's Day Madness

Trail: Mount Si
Distance 8 miles
Elevation gain 3700 feet
Highest elevation 4167 feet

Mount Si on a lovely day we were unfortunate to miss.

"Neither snow nor rain nor hail nor gloom of night stays these hikers from the (not so) swift completion of their appointed mountain ascents!"
-borrowed and adapted to our needs from the postman's creed. 

We tackled or rather got tackled by Mount Si.  While getting rained and hailed on the first three miles which in retrospect, went quite well, we were left unprepared and soundly whooped by the last mile of packed snow.  I, for one, thank my teammates, and the song "99 bottles of beer on the wall" which I sang in my head so my feet would keep trudging forward.  I had no gloves, hat, or hiking poles.  I made it to the top, however, with teammates Archana and Sandra and of course the loyal Chayya, who herself seem disoriented towards the summit.  Poor Reshma endured a spill, but remained upbeat, and friend, Sonia, survived despite lack of hiking boots!  Team Bonda, we may have been beaten down, but we survived!

April 27th, 2011 Hike of Insanity

Trail: Poo poo point
Distance: 5.0 miles

Elevation gain: 1650 ft

Highest point 1850 ft

Sandra, Reshma, Reshma's friend, Shalaka, and I ventured up Tiger Mountain on a Wednesday afternoon.  The hike started with a blustery drizzle which turned into a downpour.  We were then greeted by full out snow 2/3rd the way up.  Huge snowflakes, gusts of wind, made this hike quite the adventure.  I was soaked to the bone in my knit pants, and this motivated me the next day to buy water resistant hiking pants.  I felt like a true adventurer, hiking out in the extremes (extreme for me anyway)!