Monday, May 13, 2013

SBW 2013: Pink and Red

Seattle, WA

I'm trying to do six beer hikes for Seattle Beer Week. (See this post for more info on what the route colors mean.) With two of the longest ones out of the way (Pink and Red), I'm starting to feel like I might be able to do this. I hope my body holds out.

Here are the maps, a short recap of each hike, and some pictures. Enjoy:

PINK
East Ballard - Fremont - Wallingford - Green Lake - Greenwood


View SBW 2013 UBH #1 (Pink) in a larger map

Opening night once again brought perfect weather (5th year in a row). Mandy, Link and I began at The Dray.  I thought this fitting because, if I am able to complete all six hikes, I'll probably finish the last one right where I began. From The Dray, we picked up Chris at the newly opened Sixgill, made the short walk to Fremont Brewing for the official Opening Ceremony, climbed up to Bottleworks, stopped at Burgundian, and then took a long stroll along the east side of Green Lake just after sunset. It was beautiful. We arrived at Naked City -- our final stop -- just in time to see the Beer Week Bus pull away, probably headed to their final stop, The Pine Box. The hike ended up being about 8 miles.



RED
Downtown - SoDo - West Seattle


View SBW 2013 UBH #2 (Red) in a larger map

Sunday, Chris, Link, and I tackled the longest of my planned hikes: Downtown to West Seattle. (EDIT: the Purple hike, done later in the week, actually turned out to be a bit longer.) Just before we met up with Chris at Pike Brewery, Link was suddenly attacked by a large Akita right in front of the Pike Place Market. It was a terrifying scene that's still haunting me a bit. Lots of screaming (by Link and onlookers). The dog's owners and I were eventually able to pry the crazy bitch off of Link's neck, but not before she drew blood from one of her owners' hands and lunged again for Link's hind quarter. Somehow, Link escaped unhurt and was able to do the full beer hike with no trouble. Tough little fucker, that Link.

Tough as nails

When Chris arrived at Pike, Link wagged his curly tail and gave him a warm little tap dance greeting. It was then that I was sure he was OK. I was sitting down at the bar, within sight, trying to calm myself with a Morning After Pale. I trembled a little as I told Chris the story. We decided to finish quickly and get hiking.

After a quick stop at Rain Shadow Meats for a delicious sandwich, we headed south to Schooner Exact Brewing for a pint before the long, scenic hike under the West Seattle Bridge. You almost never see other hikers on this section of the Alki Trail. That's good, but surprising because it really is a gorgeous hike.

The forecast rain never came, but it was muggy. By the time we got up to Copper Coin, we were spent, sweaty, and thirsty. From Copper Coin, it's an easy, flat hike to Beveridge Place. We stopped into The Beer Junction along the way.


Tomorrow, I will probably tackle the Teal hike. I'll give Link the day off. He deserves it and most of the places are not dog-friendly anyway.

Cheers.

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