I am off for winter break and not traveling so I have this little game I like to play called, “How Long Can I Go Without Driving My Car.” It is similar to another game I like, “How Long Can I Go Without Buying Gas.” I last bought gas on December 6th and I drove last on December 21st so I am doing pretty well. Yes, sometimes this means relying on someone else to drive (carpooling to family functions) but most of the time it means riding my bike or using public transit. I do it while traveling, why not at home?
For example, my bestie Elizabeth was in Renton the days before Christmas so I took the light rail from Lynnwood down to Rainier Beach and she picked me up so we could hang out. She got to avoid the traffic of meeting me half way in Seattle and well, I avoided all the traffic. We spent some time checking out Campfire Coffee in Tacoma and then barbeque in Kent. The coffee was great and barbeque marginal but the day was perfect.
So yesterday when I wanted to get out for a hike in the less than ideal conditions, I figured I would try my hand at not using my car to do so. It was a high avalanche forecast in the mountains and a short window without rain. That meant something short and sweet, and in the Puget Sound area. How about Little Mountain Park in Mount Vernon?
I knew there was a bus that ran from the Everett Station to the Skagit Station. I could visit a few places I like in downtown Mount Vernon and get the most of my trip. So after some research on their website, I had my route planned out and I was ready to go.
For my journey, I would need either cash or the Umo app since Skagit Transit does not accept the ORCA pass I already have. It was pretty simple to download and add $10 to. It looked like my trip would be about $6 but I decided better safe than sorry I hadn’t added enough. All the incentive to take a second trip, right?
My first step was to walk about .9 miles to the bus stop at 14th and Broadway in North Everett to get on the 90x bus from Skagit Transit. It starts at the Everett Transit Station if that is the closest stop for you.
It took about 35 minutes to arrive at the Skagit Station in Mount Vernon, not bad for a bus ride (it had only one stop in south Mount Vernon).
Because I had a few stops to make before my hike where I knew I would pick up some mud, I left the station and walked downtown a few blocks away. I needed some supplies at Wild Fibers Yarn shop and I also wanted to check out the new owners at what was once Shambala Bakery and Bistro but is now Union Block Bistro.
After enjoying a gluten free late breakfast, I walked back to the transit station and got on the 206 bus that took me up the hill from downtown towards Little Mountain Park. The closest stop is at Jefferson Elementary School on E. Blackburn Rd and I arrived about 12:20pm as drizzle began to start. Full on rain was in the forecast at 4pm so I hoped to be down off the mountain and back to the transit station by then.
The park was still 1 mile away along Blackburn and then Little Mountain Road, there was sidewalk briefly and then just shoulder to walk the rest of the distance to where the park entrance is. The shoulder is wide in some places, not as much in others. I was glad I had my neon yellow bike rain jacket on. As a consolation for the shoulder walk, I did find a decent ballcap I can wash up and donate.
I would say if only counting my walking time since leaving my house and transit time, it was roughly 1.5 hours to the park entrance. Not too bad since I got some knitting done on the bus ride!
Now at Little Mountain, I used the facilities at the lower parking lot where the mountain bike course is and then took the Hop Connector up to the Rooty Trail.
My first goal was to reach the summit so my route was Rooty to Up Only to Drop Down to the North Viewpoint Trail. Yes, my heart was pumping because Up Quick and Drop Down do not mess around.
I reached the summit at 2 miles and 1 hour since getting off the bus. The clouds were low so no exciting views but it felt great to have made the summit without the use of my car today!
After using the facilities near the summit, I dropped back down on North Viewpoint to Ginny’s Trail to connect with Bonnie and Clyde for a swoop along the west contour towards the south side of the mountain.
I briefly contemplated a thru hike to the south trailhead but didn’t relish the idea of pavement walking along Hickok and Blodgett so I stayed on Bonnie and Clyde, hopped on the Ridge Trail to avoid the squiggles at the end and then down to the road switchback.
It was about this time I checked in the Umo app to see which bus I might be able to catch if I walked out now. It looked like I could leave and get out just in time for the 2:42 bus. Turns out Umo overestimated my hiking speed out of the park. From here I walked the road briefly to get back on the Rooty Trail and retrace my steps out of the park. All told, I got 2 hours of hiking in on the mountain.
It was then another mile back to the bus stop. This was a little exciting because I only had 20 minutes to catch the bus that was coming or it would be another 30 minutes until the next one. I may have done a little jogging at the end but it turned out the bus was about 5 minutes late so I had plenty of time. This is one of the challenges, I suppose, of using transit. Timing your routes on the trail so that you make it back to the bus stop roughly about when it coming by so you don’t have to stand around.
My trip ended up costing me $5 total because the fare cap for local rides is $3 so once I paid $2 on the 90x and $1 on the 206, it didn’t charge me for the 206 ride back to Skagit Station. The fare cap for the 90x (regional routes) was $6 so it was another $2 to take the 90x back home. The entire trip took me about 7 hours (1.5 hours was spent downtown) and was about 8 miles of walking/hiking. If I had driven, the entire day would have been about 5.5 hours but only 4 miles of hiking. But no knitting on the bus!
If I were to do it again, I would take my bike to avoid the road walking and give me more time for hiking in the park. Like most public transit buses, there are bike racks on the front of the bus and a few videos online to show you how to load and unload your bike. Other than that change, I thought it was worth the extra transit time to not put miles on my car and save the money on gas.
I will also add here that I recognize that for me using public transit is an option where for many it is either not available or it is the only option which makes it political. Public transit speaks to equity and climate changes. It is also being encouraged when possible as a solution to overcrowded trailheads. I hope by sharing my trip, it will bring more into the conversation about access to the outdoors and the future of our natural spaces. As I wrote on Maybe We Need A Few More Tourists On Public Lands, awareness is still needed.
Websites I used for this trip:
Editor’s note: there is about 20 minutes missing from my story where I tried to go into a side road off Blackburn before the park entrance to cut off some road walking. The map showed a service road that led into the mountain bike section I thought might work. Turns out there was development and private property signage so I gave it a pass and walked back out to Blackburn for .6 extra miles to my day.
And for those knitters out there, the beanie turned out amazing!
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Nice hat! Good for you on limited your car use. Where we live there is not much option for public transit, but I do try not to drive the 10 miles to town more than necessary.
Thank you! I think the most important thing is just being aware and making the best choices for where you are. For some, it is just consolidating trips or skipping unnecessary ones!