Jason picked out an incredible hike for us today.  We hiked the Sauk Mountain trail in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.  It was another brutal drive up a forest service road to get to the trail head, but not as bad as the road outside Mt. Ranier.  From the trail head, we hiked up the mountain through a wildflower meadow.  The views were incredible the entire trail and the wildflowers and butterflies were gorgeous.  We saw buttercups, lilies, paintbrush, phlox, and columbine.  As we neared the top, we saw heather.  There were so many flowers and I have no clue about the names of most of them.

By the time we got to the top, I was done in.  I definitely need to get in better shape.  Nevertheless, we made good time so I guess there is hope for me.  The views from the top were amazing,  We could see Mt. Baker, Puget Sound, and east and south to the Cascades.  We could barely make out Mt. Ranier through the haze.

I give Jason a lot of credit for picking great hikes and not killing me in the process!!

I thought it would be hard to beat my favorite hikes which include a hike on the Oregon Coast and the trail to Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park.  When we started our hike today, I immediately placed it in the top three hikes.  Upon reaching the top, it moved to first place.

The dogs got wiped out on this hike.  It was half the distance as yesterday but more than twice the change in elevation.  Jason thinks the dogs weren’t getting the mountain breeze close to the ground and we were in the sun the whole way.  The dogs probably got a little overheated.  We met a couple that was hiking with a Golden Retriever and made it all the way to the top, but the dog was having trouble on the way down.  They were helping him walk and kept resting him and giving him water along the way.  Jason thinks the dog may have been hot.  That dog will likely fall asleep as soon as he gets in the car.

We have so many fabulous pictures, it was hard to choose.  I posted several on flickr and put some favorites below.

Today, I really could have used my lens that is in the repair shop.  Regis took all the pictures.  His little camera does a great job!

Jason agreed to leave Coco with us for a couple weeks.  It will be good for Dart and we enjoy her.  She is an amazing little dog.  She is skinny but very athletic.  She is very friendly and gets along with everyone.  It will be fun to have her for a few weeks.