On August 14 of this year I took a day hike up Blackjack Ridge Trail here in Washington State (trail #1565). I took a lot of pictures, mostly of rocks and trees, and will be uploading more of them in the following days. I'm mostly trying to avoid dropping 39 photos into your devwatch list all in one day.

The hike was long and steeper than I remember. It had just rained that morning, so all the plants overhanging the trail where wet and did a decent job of making my pants wet and muddy. Thankfully, only the first mile of the trail was partially overgrown. The trail obviously doesn't attract much traffic; I was probably the first person to walk that trail it several months and it didn't look like any Forest Service personnel had been up there in over a year.

Despite all this, it was a decent hike. Albeit a bit too long and steep for a day hike; although, it'd be even worse as a camping trek). The view from the top would have been a bit better during clear weather (the following day ), but the low clouds provided their own unique effect (as you'll see in my future uploads).

Overall, there are similar hikes available in the Cascade mountains that are better tended, but if you are the type who likes solitary hikes with no one else around to intrude on the wilderness this hike almost ensures that you'll have the entire mountain to yourself.