With 3,100 feet of elevation gained in four miles, local hikers say Mount Si is the perfect local trail to train for more strenuous adventures such as the Wonderland Loop, the PCT, or living in an increasingly more ubiquitous four-story townhome.
“The peak view of Mount Rainier is even more satisfying knowing you brought a basket of clean laundry up with you,” says Ben Woczek, Mountaineer guidebook author of Day Hiking Your Dumb Boxy House. “It’s important to simulate situations you’ll experience in your townhome before you embark on owning one. Each hike, either my wife or I make sure to leave our phone in the car so we can rock-paper-scissors who has to go back down to fetch it for our summit selfies.”
Getting fitness ready for townhoming is worth it, says Woczek.
“A lot of sweat goes into being strong enough to climb to your rooftop deck at sunset and watch those stunning views of someone struggling to parallel park into the last street spot before realizing it’s a hydrant space,” says Woczek. “And there’s nothing like trail running to get you ready to fly down three flights of stairs in time to catch the Amazon driver before they give up on your bell.”
At press time, the couple was laughing to each other about the two-story home posers training on Little Si.
