It’s still 2020 and the pandemic-/-climate change apocalypse just got even worse.

The West Coast is burning. Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area awoke to dark orange skies, as a thick layer of smoke settled over Northern California. (Smoke scatters blue light, allowing only red and yellow to reach the ground.)

It’s hard to overstate how really, terribly bad this fire season has been. In California alone, wildfires have blown through 2.5 million acres of land since the beginning of the year — about 10 times more than last year, and much more than 2018’s previous record of 1.8 million acres.

Meanwhile, in Washington state, fires erupted over Labor Day weekend, scorching 330,000 acres in just 24 hours. The smoke led cities across the West Coast to warn their residents to stay inside and keep windows closed to avoid breathing some of the dirtiest air in the world.

One of the reasons, of course, is climate change. High temperatures dry out vegetation and the surrounding air, making wildfires more likely to burn fast and hard. The fire season has also lengthened. What was once a four-month season has stretched to six or even eight months in some regions of the U.S., according to the Forest Service.

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The region’s top transportation board has endorsed a proposal for a network of trails stretching across the greater Washington region, from Frederick, Md., to Prince William County, Va., that would expand the amount of off-road bicycle and pedestrian pathways to 1,400 miles.

The extensive trail system would more than double the size of the existing network by adding 755 miles to the current 645 miles of trails, improving connectivity between neighborhoods and public transit, commercial districts and jobs.

Once the expansion is completed, more than 4 million people in the Washington region will have access to trails within a half a mile of their home. Trails would also be within reach of more than 2.5 million jobs and 136 of the region’s residential and business centers.

The 1,400-mile trail expands upon the vision laid out by the Capital Trails Coalition, a group of more than 60 nonprofits, business and government agencies that have been pushing for a connected multi-use trail system.

Having a complete interconnected network where you can get onto a low-stress facility within relatively short distance from your home and go to almost everywhere in the region will be really transformative.

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A new segment of King County Parks’ Lake to Sound Trail opened that will eventually connect Lake Washington to Puget Sound in 16-miles of paved trail.

The trail will connect five South King County, WA cities – Renton, Tukwila, Burien, SeaTac, and Des Moines. It also connects to four regional trails – Eastrail, Cedar River Trail, Interurban Trail, and Green River Trail — as well as three major transit routes: Link light rail, King County Metro RapidRide A Line, and the Sounder Tukwila Station.

“We are strengthening regional trail connections between South King County communities, making it convenient to walk, run, or bike to high-capacity transit,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “By connecting trails to transit, King County is making it easier than ever to explore the best places our dynamic region has to offer without having to sit in traffic or pay for parking.”

When completed, the Lake to Sound Trail and Eastrail will eventually connect Des Moines’ shoreline to Marymoor Park in Redmond, and will connect four light rail stations on the future East Link extension.

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Within an hour or two of downtown Seattle, you can be in desolate wilderness, hiking through evergreen forests with views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic range. The Seattle, WA area is full of great hikes, but some of them are more well-known and crowded than others.

The hike up Mount Si is hardly a secret. You can find half of Seattle here on sunny weekends, trudging the eight miles round-trip and sweating through a lung-busting 3,300 feet of climbing to a scenic outlook with views of Mount Rainier, the Seattle skyline, and the Olympic range.

Ebey’s Landing Loop is a 5.2-mile round-trip hike on Whidbey Island, located within a national historic reserve. To get there, take a ferry from Mukilteo, north of Seattle, to Clinton, then drive 29 miles to the town of Coupeville, where you’ll find the trailhead across from an old cemetery.

On the days you don’t have time to drive a ways out of the city for a hike, head to the Issaquah Alps, the name for the highlands near the town of Issaquah, 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. The area, which includes the popular Cougar Mountain and Tiger Mountain trail networks, can see a lot of people.

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Autumn is the time when many in the Pacific Northwest make the trek to the North Cascades to drive the Mountain Loop and North Cascade Highways in search of fall color, apple cider, and huckleberry jam.

But have you ever hiked to see a larch, a deciduous conifer? Unlike most conifers, such as cedar and fir, which are evergreen, the larch drops its needles in winter. But before that happens, they turn a vibrant gold.

Larch are at their peak for about two weeks, usually beginning in October. It can be tricky to catch them in their full golden glory before the needles drop, or they become inaccessible due to snowfall closing the highway.

About three hours from Bellevue, Washington the Maple Pass Loop hike starts at the Rainy Pass trailhead and provides stunning mountain and lake views. If you take the loop clockwise, you’ll get the steepest part of the hike out of the way when your legs are fresh. You can add a little over a half-mile to your trip to visit Lake Ann. There are also many other alpine lakes in the area for the seasoned cross-country hiker.

This is an area of rugged natural beauty that is awe-inspiring at any time of the year, but if you see the larches as they change color, it is pretty special.

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The Longs Pass Trail, on the east side of the Cascades Mountains Range, is seven miles round trip, with a net gain/loss of 2,100 feet. The pass itself is at an elevation of 6,250 feet.

The well-marked and well-maintained trailhead is due east from the parking lot. It is a steady climb from its start in the cool forest of the valley. It slowly transitions to exposed rocky slopes filled with summer wildflowers.

As you gain elevation, the views to the north open up and reveal colorful rocks, avalanche paths carved into steep slopes, and some lingering patches of snow. Closer to the top, there are a few short switchbacks, and the view continues to expand. If you look backward over your shoulder, more and more of Mt. Rainier towers above the mountains to the west.

Before you know it, three miles has gone by and you cross some wildly colored talus slopes. Then you hit the bare, rocky crest of the windswept ridge and … voila – a knock-your-socks-off take-your-breath-away full-face head-on view of Mt. Stuart.

You can linger and soak up the majestic views, take a nap in the sun, or scramble up the ridgelines to the north and to the south to get a little higher.

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Hiking with a child won’t be the same as hiking with adults. The goal with kids is much more about the journey than the destination. Here are four basic ideas to keep in mind:

Modify your goals. You may not reach the end of the trail. You may not even hike a mile. Adjust your hike to the enjoyment and comfort level of children.

Pack patience and flexibility. If you see a frog dart across the trail, be prepared to stop and wait to watch for that frog to dart across the trail again. Use teachable moments to explore the natural world.

Know what features are ahead. For starter day hikes, choose short trails that do not have much elevation gain, but do have features like lakes, ponds or waterfalls along the way. Children are fascinated with water.

Dress for success. Check weather conditions and be prepared. Bring dry clothes, even if rain isn’t in the forecast, your kiddo is likely to find a way to get wet. (Probably in a creative way you wouldn’t expect.)

If you live in the western Washington area, here are six great hikes for kids…

Portland

Smack in the middle of town, Forest Park, Portland’s 5,200-acre urban wilderness, is laced with 80 miles of hiking trails. An hour’s drive to the south, in Silver Falls State Park, the 7.8-mile Trail of Ten Falls hosts ten waterfalls that trickle down steep canyon walls. Elk Meadows Loop, in Mount Hood National Forest, offers alpine flavor.

Denver

For most people, the capital of Colorado is all about getting some altitude, and the nearby trails don’t disappoint. Mount Bierstadt, one of Colorado’s most accessible fourteeners, and the famed alpine of Rocky Mountain National Park, are both within two hours of downtown.

Washington, D.C.

The nation’s capital doesn’t have a reputation as an outdoor town. A quick jaunt into centrally located Rock Creek Park—a 1,754-acre hardwood forest crisscrossed by 32 miles of hiking trails—is enough to change most people’s minds. Check out the Rock Creek Ramble, a creek-side stroll through a section of the park that was frequented by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Los Angeles

Look at a map of L.A. and you’ll discover that the city is surrounded by green, and that means great hiking. The 6.1-mile Mishe Mokwa Trail to Sandstone Peak, in the Santa Monica Mountains, offers a little elevation and big views of the surrounding mountains and coastline.

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They’re easy to spot this time of year in the North Cascades: lean, fast-moving hiking machines in their trail-running shoes, ultralightweight backpacks and a look in the eyes that says they have places to go.

It’s the annual migration of thousands of northbound hikers traveling the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexico border to Canada. Most of them began the journey in late spring, which means to reach their destination before the snow falls, they’ll need to average at least 18 to 22 miles per day.

Hence the look you get as they whoosh! past you on this well-traveled highway to heaven, their eyes clearly on the prize ahead.

“We call it the 10,000-yard stare,” said Katie, a spokesperson with the Skykomish Ranger Station. “And that’s kinda sad, because they’re coming into the most beautiful part of the Cascades.”

At this point, long-distance PCT travelers, or “thru-hikers” as they’re more often called, are just beginning to experience classic North Cascades hiking, with its signature glacier peaks and glistening, high-Alpine lakes.

Five years ago, 988 northbound permits were issued. In 2017 that count more than tripled to 3,496 permits.

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The Pacific Northwest Trail is meant to showcase pristine wilderness, but the portion that passes through Skagit County, Washington isn’t living up to the rugged nature of the majority of the trail’s 1,200 miles.

Hikers who walk the length of the trail spend months climbing mountains, scrambling over brush and dodging high tides along the coast as they make their way through Montana, Idaho and Washington. Along the majority of the trail in Skagit County, however, they find themselves walking along many miles of roadways.

After winding through Washington’s Okanogan National Forest, North Cascades National Park and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the portion of the trail that runs through Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties is largely on forest roads and state highways.

Having hikers on those roads poses safety risks and goes against the grain of the National Scenic Trail concept, which is to connect trails across the country that showcase America’s wilderness.

The problem is that it is difficult to stitch together a trail between the North Cascades and the Olympics using only public lands.

“It’s this matrix of private and state Department of Natural Resources land in Skagit County,” PNTA president Jeff Kish said. “We’re trying to replace what we have right now because most of it is just roads.”

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