Hiking Rattlesnake Ridge

We stayed with some friends in Seattle this weekend. Saturday had fantastic weather! Michael made omelets for breakfast for everyone (I forgot to take a picture). Basically he made two omelets and each couple split them. Lots of veggies, some cheese, topped with sour cream and chopped tomato and a side of bacon. Delicious! My best friend Rachel drove us to Rattlesnake Ridge where the three of us hiked to the top! Here is a picture from the bottom before we started:

 The picture to the right is of us before we got to the trail.

It was a gorgeous day and everyone else came out to play too. The trail was packed. There was also Search & Rescue Teams in training along the way. That was interesting to see.

So the hike was apparently only 2 miles up but let me tell you, it was pretty steep! We stopped a long the way to rest and to enjoy the view.

I felt really good about the hike. I never felt like I was going to die. I definitely got my heart pounding but I was barely out of breath.

Here is a picture of Rachel and I at the top! The view was absolutely amazing! It was very scary as well--so I didn't want to get any closer to the edge!

I wish I could remember what the mountain range was behind us! Like I said earlier, there were sooo many people out hiking that it was QUITE the party at the top!

And here is the other side of the top:

We sat down to rest. Rachel shared some of her homemade trail mix (yum). Michael and I brought our protein bars (Luna for me, Atkins for him) but the breakfast had been pretty filling and neither of us felt like we needed the protein bars.

Here is a picture of my resting at the top:

We headed down and made it to the bottom much quicker and with no stops. 2 hours of hiking burned 826 calories for me! Now lunch time!