[Walkabout Roundabout]

Hey SAS, that's a sassy question. Can't you be more specific? Since a double foot bed weighs an extra 1.7 oz, and the weight on feet is 6.4x what it'd be if on your back, it's like carrying an extra half pound on your back. I'd say gopher it if your feets likes ya. Now let's discuss this loop idea in more detail. Anyone have any cool figure-8 "loop" trips? I did one a couple years ago: start at the Cathedral Pass trailhead, hike to that pass then to Deception pass. Now hike towards Deception Lakes until you hit the junction that drops down to the Deception Crick trail. Then up that trail to Deception Pass. Then down past Hyas Lake to your waiting rig. But wait, the above can be extended into a figure 8 and a half (also known as a figure 12 trip). Go to Deception Lakes, then take the trail to Surprise Gap. Climb Surprise Peak!!!! and be surprised that there was a lookout there many moons ago. Then continue the ridge to Pieper Pass. Hike the PCT back the afore mentioned junction. If you do it right, you'll have an outstanding Figure 12 trip. Or... extend the figure 12 trip to a Bakers Dozen trip by ambling to Sparkplug Mtn and back. This last "loop" is more like a sperm, or a Greek Phi, or any of the letters P, d, Q, (as in PDQ and Bach trip). Or Greek rho, q, p... there are many ways of describing such a trip. Then there are the U shaped trips, which require hitchhiking or car shuttle. Then letter T trips with a sideshoot there-and-back. Some trails with lots of switchbacks are letter W trips, or Z trips. Getting lost in the woods can be a letter O trip. As can be plainly seen, there are lots of types of trips. Try to tag the whole alphabet (both Roman and Greek) in a summer, and you'll be the hero of NWhikers.net!!!

[Captain Trips]

How about the Quinnalt loop - up the enchanted valley, up the O'Neil pass trail, walk by Heart lake, down to the Duckabush river, up to Home Sweet Home, hike down the Skokomish trail, hang a right on Six ridge trail then back to the road on the Quinnalt river. Some years back, a group of mountaineers got lost on the Six Ridge trail trying to complete the loop. DR

[polarbear-]

I think a good loop would be to go HL, ML, MD, CL, PP, SL, and back to parking lot. Another good one is the Naches Peak Loop Trail. Hike clockwise so you can see Mt Rainier without always having to turn your head. The Figure 8 hike referenced above is very practical in that you can stow a cache at the cross roads and thus loose some weight over half of the trip. Do not try and do the Wonderland Trail as a Figure 8. Some hikes are just better not done as Figure 8's. Also, Figure 8's should be done only if they are north-south variety. If they are east-west, you may end up circling infinitely. A rather mundane circle hike is Start at Go, go to Baltic, Reading, Connecticut, New York, Kentucky, Ventor, then proceed very cautiously to Pacific, Park Place, Boardwalk, then back to Go. By shoe, car, train, bathtub, or iron, it is a good one.

[Man O. Polly]

Hey polarbear-, oh programmer of c++, you seem to have a monopoly on loop trips.