This was one of the first hikes we took. Evan and my brother had both never been to Paradise, so we headed into the park and up the mountain. Once there Evan and Sam and I split up, with them hiking up the Skyline Trail while I veered off onto the Glacier Trail.
It was a fairly steep climb for me at least, having just stopped smoking maybe three weeks before we took it. I noticed a lot of storm damage since the last time I'd been into the park. The view was amazing the entirety of the way. I could see three mountains in the Cascade range along with a dried up river, and miles upon miles of forest, as far as the eye could see.
The really neat thing about the Glacier and Skyline Trail is that they are fairly close together in certain places, and I was able to rejoin Evan and Sam for the long hike back down. Total time spent hiking/goofing off/meditating/knitting on the mountain: 5 or 6 hours, though either hike could be done in about two hours total by people who are in excellent shape.
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