What to do when you cannot travel or are locked down due to COVID-19?  Find a local place to hike!

I decided to write a local travel blog entry today since it has been months since I have been able to travel out of state!

Today we decided to go explore and hike Cougar Mountain.  It is very popular because of its size, easy access and the large number of trails.  Parking can get quite full if you do not arrive early (before 10 AM) on the weekends.

You may ask, what is so special about this site?  Since it is Independence Day in the United States, it was completely appropriate to explore some of the Cold War history of the Seattle area.

You see, Cougar Mountain was one (of several in the Seattle area) of the Nike Missile sites protecting the military bases and critical defense industries during the cold war.

You can actually run and hike over the entire area which contained radar, command and control and underground missile batteries.  This is the remains of the original administrative area.

If you are adventurous, you find some of the original fencing and barb wire that restricted areas of the mountain.

Now, it is important to call out that not all trails and areas are safe to hikers.  Cougar Mountain used to have mines and some still do collapse and cave in.  You have to choose your routes carefully.

Some may say that these cave ins and toxic gases are not from mining, but are are radioactive remains of the ancient missiles that were Broken Arrow incidents and the materials were not cleaned up.  Conspiracy theories are wild on this one, but I digress.

Nevertheless, we were masks to avoid the gases, radiation or risk of COVID-19 viruses being spread from all the people that refuse to wear masks for some reason despite being in large groups.

Without question, this is a great place to hike and enjoy a morning or afternoon getaway.  The Cold Creek Falls path and stop may be one the best despite being quite small. It is a great spot to target, but be ready, the trails up and down are quite steep and not for the faint of heart.

If you like this one, check out the following week post going to Kendall lakes.