Kiyo and I ended our recent road trip by meeting our friends Maggie and Chelsea in the middle of Washington [state].
We camped out on a beautiful site in Cle Elum, and the next morning, drove about an hour to Leavenworth, a strangely Bavarian-themed town (who knew that real towns can come themed?) for breakfast at healthy café Good Mood Food. Maggie and I both got coffees and toasted croissants with eggs, scrambled with ham and cheese. Our croissants came with small side salads (lettuce, tomato, carrot, quinoa, dried fruit) which were tasty, but the dressing was a bit too sweet for my taste.
After breakfast, it took us about an hour to find the trailhead for the Lake Colchuck hike. It’s especially confusing because you actually have to begin hiking the Lake Stuart trail, and then about a mile and a half in it splits and the Lake Colchuck trail begins. The Lake Colchuck hike is 8 miles roundtrip and gains 2,280 feet.
The Washington Trails Association describes this hike as “a trail that even a dedicated couch potato could complete.” Let me just say, that is totally misleading! Chelsea, Maggie, Kiyo and I are all athletic, in our mid-twenties, and us girls all workout regularly. This hike is not for couch potatoes! We did the four miles to the lake in two hours and we were all pretty exhausted by the time we finally got to the lake. Our legs were a bit sore the next day too; but it was totally worth it!
I brought two of these 750-ml Camelbak water bottles on the hike and finished them both in the first half. Next time I will definitely bring more water than I think I need.
You know right away when you’ve hit the lake, because the beautiful turquoise waters peek out from the foliage.
We sat on the cliffs overlooking the stunning lake to eat our lunch. Mine was actually two snacks: a plum and zucchini bread I bought at Good Mood Food. I threw out half the plum, which was rotten, and that was really disappointing because I was pretty hungry at this point.
Kiyo and I split the delicious zucchini bread, which also had walnuts.
It was difficult to capture the beauty of our surroundings in a picture, but this was the closest I got; it was stunning!
We hiked down the cliffs right to the water’s edge, and all four of us jumped into the icy water. We laid on the rocks for a while, enjoying the sun and scenery. Little chipmunks kept running up to us, trying to steal some snacks! Kiyo and I chilled a can of coconut water in the arctic water while we lounged in the sun, and then drank it on the trek back.
I got hungry again on the way down so I ate a chocolate-peanut-butter Quest bar.
Back in Cle Elum (an hour drive from the hike) we were all hungry again. Maggie and Chelsea had packed themselves more food than Kiyo and me, so they were set, but Kiyo and I were in need of a snack before the next drive: an hour and a half to Chelsea’s parents’ house in Fall City. Cle Elum is a really small town, with few food options. We unsuccessfully tried to grab a slice of pizza and literally the only other options were Chinese food, burgers, or Dairy Queen. We went to Dairy Queen since it was the fastest option; I ordered a small fudge cookie dough Blizzard. The ice cream was delicious but I didn’t like the cookie dough; it tasted really artificial.
Back at Chelsea’s house, we all showered and then devoured tortilla chips and dips: hummus, olive tapenade, salsa and guacamole. Yum!
We each had a glass of wine and Chelsea’s mom served us a delicious homemade dinner: steak with horseradish sauce, white rice with soy sauce, steamed cauliflower and broccoli, and an amazing salad made with fresh herbs, avocado, grape tomatoes and mozzarella. After dinner, everyone else had gelato but I skipped it since I’d had my dessert before dinner.
Total estimated calories: 3,200*
What did you eat today?
*WOW, that sounds like a lot! But I burned an estimated 1,600 calories on the hike
Good Mood Food
Open: daily, 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Loction: 285 U.S. 2, Leavenworth, WA 98826 Phone: (509) 423-7788
Colchuck Lake
Location: Central Cascades / Leavenworth Area, Stuart Lake (#1599), Colchuck Lake (#1599.1), Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Leavenworth Ranger District
Co-ordinates: 47.5277, -120.8210
Tagged: appetizer, avocado, bar, beverages, Blizzard, bread, breakfast, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cheese, Chelsea Jones, chips, chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, Cle Elum, coconut water, coffee, cookie dough, croissant, Dairy Queen, dinner, dried fruit, egg, eggs, fast food, fresh herbs, fruit, fudge, gluten-free, Good Mood Food, guacamole, ham, healthy, herbs, hiking, horseradish, hummus, ice cream, Kiyo Egashira, lake, Lake Colchuck, Leavenworth, lettuce, lunch, Maggie Luckhardt, mozzarella, olives, outdoor activities, outdoors, peanut butter, plum, Quest Bar, quinoa, restaurant, rice, road trip, Road Trip 2014, salad, salad dressing, salsa, scrambled eggs, snack, snacks, soy sauce, steak, tapenade, tomato, tortilla chips, travel, vegetables, walnuts, Washington, What I Ate Wednesday, WIAW, wine, zucchini, zucchini bread
