Hiking has a way of escalating itself, like a drug but it's actually good for you. I started out with day hikes a few hours long, now I'm doing 40 mile, 4 day hikes with 10,000 feet elevation gain. They still kick my ass, but I don't mind. Here's the best pic from my last one:

The first comment on this post made me guffaw:

Hmmmm

I must've blocked a real shithead. I highly recommend it.

A low cloud ceiling in the Cascades is always magic.

I saw one of these recently at Mt Rainier National Park!