Mount Walker — Monday, Dec. 31, 2018

It was a sunny, chilly New Year's Eve day, and lots of hikers were on the trail. There must have been 20 cars parked at the gate when we started at 10:30 a.m.  We hiked up the trail (steep but in good shape) to the north viewpoint, where we had a good view of Mt. Constance, Mt. Baker, and lots of other peaks. Then we walked the road to the south viewpoint, where we had a view of Hood Canal, Seattle, and Mt. Rainier. We returned via the road, which is closed to cars in winter. Walking the road is longer than taking the trail, but it's gentler, and was a pleasant walk.  Hitting both viewpoints and returning via the road made the hike a total of 8 miles.