Happy New Year! Walked the Discovery Park loops and beach trail Friday morning starting by parking north of the Hiram Chittenden locks and entering the park on the back side. You get all the extra views of the locks and add only a mile or so to the whole trip. Total mileage including coming over from the locks is just a bit over 5 and the only elevation gain and dropping down to the beach and coming back up. The one potential trail related issue is some ice so watch your step for the next several days until things thaw out. I suppose we are spoiled around here with beautiful scenery but the views off the bluff and beach are simply spectacular. Look south from the beach and Mt Rainier hovers over the West Seattle bridge. Look west and the rugged Olympic are now covered in snow. The view north is more Puget Sound islands and Mt Baker popping out above Golden Gardens. Not unexpectedly many folks were out but everybody was cheerful with the new year. Looks like many folks starting resolutions or trying out new hiking/walking gear santa brought them. Thanks in particular to the father and son who recommended a few photo tips - I absolutely will try them. What a beautiful way to start 2016.

At about 10 30am, on a project for work, we found a lost-looking dog running around near the Visitor Center and adjoining parking lot. Black with white chest, looked like a lab/shepherd mix maybe, wearing multi-collar and black headcollar. At first we thought he was with a runner who passed the VC and continued on, but the dog was further behind the runner than most pets are when they're out exercising with their family. The dog came around the corner about 30 seconds after the owner, and got hung up sniffing around the Port-A-Potty nearby. No one came back for him while we were there, but we managed to get the pup to the VC and the woman working there said she'd hang onto him for a while. Just wanted to write a quick trip report about it in case the owner's perusing this site!

A beautiful sunny afternoon, although the wind sometimes seemed cold. I walked the entire Beach and Highlands loop as described in the Hiking Guide. All these trails survived the recent heavy rain and winds unscathed. No blowdowns were evident today, and no significant mud. Most deciduous trees are bare now, their leaves gone after the recent storm. The south-side beach shows a lot of driftwood and pebbles, but not much sand. The beach north of the lighthouse has less driftwood, but a lot of sand remaining. It all depends on the wind, surf and currents. Mount Rainier was visible today, although hazy. The Olympics and Mt Baker were out too. Many robins, and an occasional towhee, appeared for me in the forested areas and meadow, and a few crows were around. Dozens of gulls swirled around, particularly over the north-side beach. As for native furry critters, I saw only a single chipmunk today. Two non-native rabbits browsed peacefully near the old church. It was a great day to be out.