Today I had a great run along the East Lake Sammamish Trail which is literally 2 minutes drive down the hill from my house. The rail-to-trail runs from Issaquah to Redmond over 11 miles along the shores of gorgeous glacier-carved Lake Sammamish with views to the Issaquah Alps and Mount Rainier. (The photo below from the City of Sammamish website).
There is quite a bit of history with this trail as it took nearly a decade to overcome opposition of a public trail from wealthy home owners who never owned the railbed but objected the trail idea nonetheless. Their claims never really had any merit but it took a lot of money and a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to finally quell the resistance. The trail was finally opened last year but it took me until today to run this great soft surface which is so conveniently close to my house. Today was also a beautiful crisp winter day with bluebird skies, glistening snow-capped mountains, and a temperature around 40 degrees. I ran for 75 minutes (around 12 miles) and felt pretty good. Yesterday I also had another good run at the Redmond Watershed Preserve (68 minutes, 11 miles).
2007 was an awesome year and I look forward to more fun in 2008!
Happy New Year!!
Leor Pantilat's Adventures