Baker River

Today, seventeen Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center to coordinate our carpool to the Baker River area. It's a long drive, over 70 miles, and the day dawned clear and cool as we piled into four cars. I couldn't resist showing you this picture of seven of us at our lunch spot along the Baker River. You can see that even when we stopped for lunch, we didn't need to pile on the clothes because it was warm and sunny! (You can click any picture to enlarge.)

When we finally arrived at the trailhead, hauled out our gear and trekking poles (someone called them our "canes"), we started hiking on this enchanted trail, filled with lush greenery, some early flowers, and lots of shade and sun. The air temperature was just about perfect. We started hiking to Hidden Creek but had to turn around when we got there, since the bridge was out. We hiked back down to Baker River to have lunch. We had some wonderful views of Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan, and a new (to me) peak called Haggen Peak:

As we looked up at the view, the gentle breeze kept us from overheating, although it was the first hike in a long time where we welcomed the breeze and shade, since it was in danger of being HOT! In mid-May, I was amazed, but apparently these valleys often get quite warm. You wouldn't know it from all that snow, but we never saw any snow at our elevation and very little mud. We saw lots of streams emptying into the beautiful emerald-hued Baker River.

The green color of the water is apparently from glacier melt. The water was so inviting. The sound of fast-flowing water and the amazing diversity of huge old-growth trees, sun-dappled trails, and the laughter of my friends was enough to make me stop, smile, and take this picture.

We were gathering back together to make sure nobody got left behind or got too far ahead. In this picture, there is nobody who is not an actual bonafide Senior Citizen, and they were all just as happy as I was to be there, in the beautiful wilderness with each other, getting fit and having fun. This is not to say that we were not feeling our age, commiserating about sore knees or our latest efforts to keep ourselves healthy. It truly does help to have like-minded friends who are going through the same trials and tribulations as I am.

There were places on the trail filled with moss-covered trees and new spring leaves, making the most beautiful patterns in the sunshine. This picture caught my eye, and it almost conveys the beauty we spent the day enjoying. Almost, but not quite.
:-)