MT. ZION TRAIL #836 - May 17, 2006
by Pete Merrill

On a splendid mid-May day, 16 Walkie Talkies assaulted the east flank of Mt. Zion; it is believed that 12 of the members achieved the summit.

Mt. Zion is a trail few of us have climbed; I am quite certain it has never been on the W-T schedule before. It has an elevation of 4273 ft., which sounds like a formidable peak, at least for those of us who seldom ever get very far above sea level. Nearby Mt. Walker's summit, by comparison, is at 2805 feet but the difference is that you drive to the trailhead of Mt. Zion which is more than halfway to the summit; from Mt. Walker you start at the bottom (unless you want to drive up, of course).

So, the point I'm laboring to make is: the hike up Mt. Zion is 1323 feet; Mt. Walker is 2805 feet, which I have done two and a half times and never intend to do again. (see "Ordeal on Trail 894" elsewhere in these Archives). I just want the gentle reader to know that there was a time when I could do these things.

Betty Graves, my fellow super sweep and I made it about one quarter - she says one third - of the way up Mt. Zion before succumbing to "hiker's malaise," a disorder that afflicts some (not all) members of the octoganarian set. Its symptoms are revealed when, after you have been trudging uphill for 45 minutes and you go around another curve in the trail, look ahead and see nothing but more unrelieved upward grade, you begin looking for something to settle yourself on.

In my case that day I settled on a new personal philosophy, which is: "There is more to life than walking uphill," and for the rest of our Mt. Zion "hike" that day Betty and I sat on a fairly comfortable old moss covered log and observed the passing parade of hikers going to and fro.

Upward bound hikers tend to be uncommunicative, thoughts fixed firmly on the mission ahead; those headed downward, on the other hand seem more relaxed, willing to discuss matters of interest. Like the gentleman from Port Townsend who often makes the Mt. Zion trek as a limbering up exercise for the "big stuff" he does later. This morning was different, however. As he neared the summit he was startled to hear a pile driver working somewhere nearby. Puzzled, he stopped to listen and realized that what he heard was blood flow pounding in his temples. Needless to say he was startled and expressed the thought to us that perhaps he should rethink his preoccupation with this hiking business.

In my usual fashion in these situations I nod solemnly and offer my usual profound wisdom about how the years start to catch up with you, blah, blah, blah.

Betty Graves is different - probably a throwback to her days as a family counselor - she immediately asks questions about health, family background, lifestyles, etc. Before you know it she has elicited the dude's recent life story with all of its trials, triumphs and tragedies. I got the feeling that the guy was lonesome and the catharsis did him good. This is just a little public service we perform along the trail. We also met a talkative FBI agent in the parking lot and learned a good deal about him, which was enough excitement for one day.

We had our lunch in the warm sun on the picnic table and greeted the successful climbers upon their return; the last out were Charles and Valerie Johnson singing a lusty chorus of The Colonel Bogey March with lyrics too bawdy to repeat here. The climb can't have been too tough.

The Mt. Zion hike was led by Terri Saylor who led stretching exercises set to music before the group set out - a new experience for Walkie Talkies who are always ready to go as soon as they see the path.

Thad and Liz Thomas led an alternate hike on the Lower Ellinor Trail. It was reported that snow was encountered not too far up, which curtailed the trip.

It was a successful day with a stop for ice cream cones at Quilcene on the return trip.