Do you know why Mount Si is famous? Mount Si is located near North Bend, Washington and is where the 90s television show Twin Peaks was filmed. Vibram Five Fingers fan Kevin recently hiked up Mount Si in his KSOs and took these beautiful pictures.
Kevin says:
It’s a four mile hike to the top, and you are rewarded with a nice view over the Snoqualmie Valley area. Out in the distance, if you look closely, is Mount Rainier. During the hike, I encountered another VFF enthusiast wearing brown KSO Treks! I also stopped to answer questions about the VFFs from a few other hikers along the way, so hopefully we have some more converts! Oh, and I found an evil squirrel on the way back down.
Kevin also mentioned many health benefits from wearing his Vibram Five Finger KSOs:
I’ve been an avid VFF user for over a year now. I always used to have knee and ankle issues, as well as frequent bouts of shin splints when running in shoes. This led me to almost totally shut down my physical activity and balloon up to almost 240 lbs. Since converting to VFFs, I’ve made my way back down to 175 and stayed there, without enduring the pain I subjected myself to before. I use them for running, hiking, weightlifting, and running errands. It’s pretty safe to say that I love the FiveFingers! 🙂
Oh, and about that squirrel…..
After close examination, we have to agree with Kevin.
4 replies on “Hiking Mount Si in Vibram Five Finger KSOs (Do you know why Mount Si is famous?)”
Here’s my Mt. Si story: A few years ago (pre VFFs), I lived in Seattle. One beautiful spring day, I ditched work to climb Mt. Si. I got a late start, and it was late afternoon by the time I reached the summit. While admiring the amazing views at the top, I spotted an old golden retriever wandering around making friends with the other hikers. I asked, but nobody claimed him. I gave him a Cliff bar and some water, both of which he devoured. It was starting to get dark, but I didn’t want to leave him up there, so I got him to follow me down the trail. The old dog ambled along for a while but started to slow down and eventually stopped. It was almost dark, and I was worried about him. I decided my only option was to carry him, so I hoisted him up and carried him across my shoulders at least halfway down the mountain. At one point, I stopped to rest and the dog walked a bit. The Mt. Si trail is full of switchbacks, and the dog decided to take one. He crashed through the darkness and bushes to the trail below. Then he did it again. I had to run along the trail to keep up with him. When we finally hit the parking lot at the bottom, he vanished. I called and whistled but couldn’t find him anywhere. I had been worried about leaving him on the mountain, but now I was worried about him getting hit by a car. I ran to some nearby houses, and knocked on a couple of doors to see if anybody had seen the dog. After a few tries, a man answered the door and listened to my story. He said “You mean Jake? He lives at the bottom of the mountain and climbs up every day.” The guy said Jake knew the trail better than anybody. Needless to say, my jaw hit the floor.
I still get the karma points, right?
I am looking forward to my next hike up Mt. Si. This time, it will be with my VFFs and my son. I can’t wait!
Hey, Mount Si! I actually went on my first VFF hike last week to Rattlesnake Ledges (across the valley from Si). It was great to run all the way down with no shin pain. Huzzah!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snutur/4526134527/
Wow the pics of this are amazing and your story sounds similar to mine. I was constantly getting shin splints and knee aches because of my long distance running in Highschool and sports and what not. Never again with my VFF. I wear these things everywhere. I wish i could do that hike. I love me some hiking especially with an amazing view like that.
Aaron, that story is pretty awesome. Good for you for helping a dog out.
Love the story and especially the squirrel picture 🙂 I have been going back and forth between hiking barefoot and with my 5 Fingers. Did a 5 mile barefoot hike to toughen up the feet last week which was great. I love the feel of the 5 fingers too. I have the KSO’s and the Classics. I should start wearing mine to work too! Right now I have been wearing SoftStarShoes for day to day wear which I love too.