People are scaring me about Seattle... (Olympia, Sammamish: fit in, coupon, rental)

[alexxiz]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

You do realize all of WA isn't exactly wet? If you don't like "wet" camping, then don't camp in Western Wa. Also there's a saying around here: "No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing."


Haha.... If it was I'd be glad because that would mean we have a "real" autumn. No... it's more of Evergreens just about everywhere w/ a few here and there of those trees that lose their leaves. Its still predominantly green. Even the grass, probably the greenest it'll be all year.

Yes, apparently it takes only 3 hours to get to dry areas.. didn't know that grass stayed green there in winter. I saw some videos of snow storms in places like Olympia and Concord... was pretty rough looking, there was even a vid of a house being destroyed by a small snow avalanche in Concord, which isn't even the mountain--one hour East from Seattle. And then, to actually get to dry areas in winter and fall, wouldn't one have to drive on a pretty dangerous snowy/icy road requiring a 4 wheel drive (I don't have it)?
As to bad clothing--for me it's bad weather not clothing, because my hands get cold and stiff no matter how many mittens I wear in cold weather....and I still can't figure out how to get into the tent when it's raining even if you wear goretex--one seems to need a huge tent with huge vestibule to hang the raingear to be able to get inside the tent without bringing the rainwater in...plus, the flowing water, that flows around and under the tent vestibules, this is not tolerable....I heard of people digging trenches around tents to keep the water away. Then, when it's time to leave the camp--it's beyond me how one can pack the sleeping bag into the car without getting it all wet. I mean ultimately it's going to be all hanging around drying up and if you have a small studio apartment it's not going to be easy.
I just spent a couple miserable days camping in the heavy cold rain and drizzle both this summer--during which I nearly cursed the day I was born--you pretty much end up being trapped inside your tent, too bad if it's a small one--to get any food or get to the restroom, you have to get out in the rain--then have to eat while rain is pouring all over you, and your food inside bear box gets wet as well because rain drops get inside when you open the box--fire is not really feasible, so hands get terribly cold unless you use chemical heat pockets all the time--you're lucky if you can go to some place where you can get a hot tea and warm up for some time... then, there're pools of water everywhere, under your tent as well and grounds stays very wet for a long time, so can't just sit down on it. Now, if the rain is already going when you're heading camping, I have no clue how it's possible to set up a tent and get your bag inside it without it being soaked.

[Or3g0n]

Rain forest of pacific northwest:


Mt. Rainier is in the background from Seattle, it is over 70 miles in straight line between the city and the mountain. 70 miles! Air is so clean here much of the year, you can see the peaks in the long distance.


Wild native rhododendrons in the Cascades:


Olympic rain forest:


http://movingtoeugene.net/wp-content/themes/peaceful-rush-10/images/MtPisgah/MtPisgahInFerns1.jpg (broken link)

Old growth forest:














Western Washington is full of lush green ground, rainforests, evergreens, and the WATER! None of this would exist without the RAIN.

It is green YEAR ROUND.

[alexxiz]

Originally Posted by Or3g0n

Seattle is about 10 degrees below average in past one week and next 1-2 week due to record high pressure parked above the PNW. You know that Mt. Rainier is actually in the Cascades? You think it's supposed to be close and short? Actually no, it looks close because its a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE mountain. top 10 biggest isolated peaks (other than Lassen and Mt. Shasta) are all found in Oregon and Washington Cascades. They are FULL of GREEN mosses, evergreens, cedars, rhododendrons, ferns, and all of other evergreen plants in the rainforest of Olympics and Cascades.

Well, it was about 2.5 hour drive to Rainier according to google maps, but I ended up having about 6 hour drive. I did stop to get coffee, etc, and took smaller roads sometimes, but still.

[alexxiz]

Yes, I have a lot of my own pictures of WA forests... strangely, they look a lot like redwoods pictures taken in Humboldt county forests, ferns and all. I know that Olympic penninsula forests stay green year round... but then if you head to Cascades--it does get snowed over anywhere in the mountains, doesn't it? And is it really green like that inside cities? The videos I saw showed a lot of leaf-less trees--inside towns, I mean.

[Inkpoe]

From what you say about "wet" camping, honestly, I've never heard anyone's experience being like that. The trees also basically act as a canopy. My experience... I never actually experienced a drenched downpour camping and I've gone more than several times. As for the bad weather-clothing... some will say you're doing it wrong-- but that's an argument for another time.


Its starting to sound like it's not other people scaring you about Seattle, but your own doubts and perceptions. I don't agree with a lot of the perceptions you've presented so far. If you have this much doubt, are you sure you even want to move here?

[Lamplight]

Wow, $70 is high for a hotel? When I drove here across the country, the cheapest hotel I found anywhere along the way was $85 per night, and I think that was in Wyoming. Most were over $100. Granted, I just had to take what I could get, but these were all just normal hotels, Comfort Inn, Best Western, etc.

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

From what you say about "wet" camping, honestly, I've never heard anyone's experience being like that. The trees also basically act as a canopy. My experience... I never actually experienced a drenched downpour camping and I've gone more than several times. As for the bad weather-clothing... some will say you're doing it wrong-- but that's an argument for another time.
Its starting to sound like it's not other people scaring you about Seattle, but your own doubts and perceptions. I don't agree with a lot of the perceptions you've presented so far. If you have this much doubt, are you sure you even want to move here?

Agreed! it doesn't sound as though the OP is at all enthusiastic about this possible move ... which pretty much guarantees a negative outcome.

[evergraystate]

Originally Posted by Or3g0n

Western Washington is full of lush green ground, rainforests, evergreens, and the WATER! None of this would exist without the RAIN.

It is green YEAR ROUND.

Yeah most of northern California is green year round with much fewer overcast, damp days. NorCal gets a similar amount of rain in shorter heavier burst rather than dragging it out 1/100th of an inch an hour for months and months on end. Pictures like that are not unique to western Washington. In fact anyone that grew up in the NorCal is quite familiar with the scene.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by alexxiz

Huh, organic blueberries for 99c a pound? Where's that? Sounds more like the 80s...


I thought much of PNW was actually looking like East Coast in winter--not green, but mostly vegetation without leaves with some evergreens here and there?


As to the time to get to Cascades... I remember driving from Mount Rainier (I realize it's not Cascades) towards Seattle and it took me very long time, hours and hours for some reason even though it looked faster on the map and it wasn't during peak hour. It appears that a drive to the mountains is about 2 hours away at most--without traffic--but yes I have no idea how the rush hour traffic is.

In the summer there are many farmer's markets, and that's about what you pay in summer at some of them, nice and fresh, just picked. We go every Saturday to the one in Issaquah.

We have mostly Douglas fir, Hemlock and Wester Redcedar which are evergreens. The grasses are green all year too, and only the maples, alders and cottonwoods lose their leaves, which provides nice fall color.

Snoqualmie Pass (Cascades ski resort) is only 20 minutes (70 mph limit on I90) from Issaquah, 45 from Seattle. On the back side of Mt. Rainier another Cascades ski area, Crystal Mountain is about an hour and a half.

[texastrigirl]

OP, it sounds like you are kind of psyching yourself out on this. What is drawing you here in the first place? You will definitely need to come with a good attitude and be open to someplace that is different than where you are leaving. If you aren't there yet, you might do an extended visit of a month in the winter to see how you feel about things. I had trepidation about moving here mostly because I wasn't prepared for it at all (hubby came home, said he had a great job offer, can we move and we were here a month and two days later...no warning) but I ended up loving it. And trust me, it's really different than where I came from and was very happy living. But attitude is everything in a move and it sounds like maybe staying put or considering another location might be where you are at?

I live in the Pine Lake area in Sammamish. It's Pine Lake Blueberry Farm that is 99cents a lb. Out in the Snoqualmie Valley (35 minutes from Seattle on I90 in no traffic) you can also find various farms to pick any kind of berries you want for a reasonable price.

Mt. Rainier is beautiful but it is NOT where your avg resident hikes on a regular basis. We live right near the Issaquah trailheads (Sunset Trail, PooPoo Point, Mail Post) and there are so many more great local trails. Issaquah has the "Alps" which is Tiger Mtn, Squak Mtn and Cougar Mtn. Not really camping areas but great quick or day hikes. That's still only 15 miles from Seattle. Rattlesnake Ledge, Denny Creek, Twin Falls, Mt Si, Little Si...all within 45 min of Seattle.

Good luck with your decision. I hope you find what you're looking for!