Escape to Seattle 10-Sep-2021

After our hike at the end of August, wildfire smoke flooded into our valley and stuck here. Air temperatures were moderate but the air quality was pathetic, with the AQI well above 100 day and night and visibility sometimes reduced to a fraction of a mile. Sure, you could go outside, but your tight chest, burning throat, and stinging eyes suggested that was a bad idea. This was not, of course, even close to the suffering similar climate-related disasters – fire, flood, tornadoes, hurricanes, torrential rains – have visited on other parts of the country. 😪 Still, staring out at a swirling reddish-brown abyss day after day was getting to us. So we took what remained of our travel credits from the virus-wrecked year-that-will-not-be-named and flew to Seattle and fresh air. Yes, we were weak – but that first big gulp of fresh Seattle air was worth any dent in our reputation for tough & stupid. 😁

Our view from the Medford airport was essentially no view at all – just a nebulous gray horizon reminiscent of a low grade science fiction film.

As we climbed out of Medford, it became evident – because only the tip of Mount McLoughlin was visible – that the smoke layer extended to at least 9,000 feet (2,740 m). As we passed by Crater Lake National Park, we could see that the caldera was smoke-filled, with only Union and Crater Peaks and Mount Scott barely protruding above the smoke. We felt sad for the folks that came all the way to Oregon to see the lake and got this instead. 😕

The smoke hung on and on as a we flew north and didn’t start to ease until we passed Mount Adams. Seattle itself was smoke-free but a threatening brown film hung on the horizon to the east. The iconic view of Mount Rainier was clouded by smoke to varying degrees.

We had two full days in downtown Seattle and spent both of them walking around and breathing. Day One featured touristy stuff, with a de rigueur visit to the REI mother ship, along with stops at Elliott Bay Books, Filson, Outdoor Research, Nordstrom, and (of course) Pike Place Market. The city was much quieter than we remember it, with little of its often intractable traffic. The Market was probably the busiest single place but not packed like it was in the Before Times. But salmon were still being hurled back and forth. Masks were worn almost everywhere…

On Day Two, we sought to recapture a tiny bit of our hiking cred by actually hiking an admittedly easy, flat, paved trail – but one with big views. We walked over to Seattle Center (for an obligatory photo of the Space Needle), then down to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Paths in the Sculpture Garden took us into Myrtle Edwards Park. The park’s pedestrian path allowed us to promenade along Elliott Bay on what became a bluebird day with artistic clouds. Even on a weekday, it was busy with walkers, runners, bikers, odd characters (in addition to us), and dogs.

We landed back at home during a break in the smoke action. There had been a little rain while we were gone, which helped with the smoke and the wildfires spewing that smoke. So, for a day or so (but hopefully longer), we may be able to breathe freely outside. The days are shortening and the leaves are starting to turn colors and it would be good if these signaled the start of our rainy season – like they used to back in the day. What they signal these days isn’t so clear… 🙄

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