Washington has a bad reputation for being perpetually rainy, but all that rain keeps our lush green forests happy! I often take our forests for granted, and have even been known to complain about hiking through the "boring trees." Every so often, I'm reminded just how lovely a quiet walk in the woods can be, and hiking to and from our work site for another trail work party with the Washington Trails Association on Saturday gave me the reminder I needed. The phenomenal views from a viewpoint the crew leader shared with the group certainly didn't hurt either! Since the trail we spent the day working is currently closed while new and improved trails to the summit are being built, we had the view all to ourselves, unheard of for any trail off I-90.  Once again, we had a great time, mostly digging holes then filling them up again and getting filthy in the process. 

This week in the wonderful world of reading, I finished reading a book recommended to me by a friend over a year ago - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I'm so glad she recommended it, and since starting the book, I've been passing the recommendation along to anyone who will listen! It started off slow, but once I made it through the first 50 pages or so, I absolutely couldn't put the book down. Each of the different story lines were so different and absorbing in their own way. If I hadn't had The Nature Fix (which I'm also loving!) to read for the June Alpine Trails Book Club hike, I might have read through the Cloud Atlas a second time right away. I'll definitely be re-reading it as soon as I get the chance!