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5/5/25 Fremont Peak Park |
“You’d have to be a squirrel to reach even that lowest
branch.”
Standing at the foot of a tree, he was looking straight up, a
stance that piqued my curiosity. When I asked what he was looking at, he said
it was just the sheer height of the relatively slender fir trees – so tall that
neither of us could see their tops.
A young man staying in the area to take care of his
grandmother, Isiah said he walks to Fremont Peak Park often to sit and think
among those tall pines. I told him it was my first visit to the park, which was
tricky to find even with Google assistance. Well hidden, this gem of a pocket
park’s main attraction is a spectacular, unobstructed view of the Olympics (see below). Isiah
encouraged me to come at sunset when that west view is even more spectacular.
He said now that the sun sets so late, neighbors come by with wine glasses in
hand to soak up the golden hour.
His favorite time, though, is right after sunset when
color still lingers above the horizon, and Magnolia and Ballard shimmer below.
At midday, these round sculptures hardly cast shadows. Lines
on the ground indicate the solstices and equinoxes – a year-round sundial (I
plan to come back on the summer solstice). What struck me was that drawing
instructors should bring their students here to practice shading spheres. More
fun than the contrived tennis ball setup most instructors use.
My exploration of Fremont Peak Park was the result of
reading about it in the Seattle Stairway Walks book. Yes, it
involved some stairs – but only 77 this time (nothing compared to last week). More arduous were all the non-stepped, very steep hills in that
part of Fremont/Phinney Ridge. Just like the Street Trees of Seattle
book helped to guide my fitness walks last summer, I’ve decided to use the
Stairway Walks book to do the same this summer. Most routes described in the
book are fairly long (5 miles or 2-plus hours), so I don’t intend to do full
routes as written. I’ll break them up into shorter routes to suit my available time
and, of course, sketch potential.
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One of the best views in the city of the Olympics -- a well-kept secret! |