Because our scheduled hike into the High Country is still impassable, eight Senior Trailblazers who met at the Senior Center discussed our options for today's outing. The weather was gloomy with a 50% chance of rain, so driving for any distance at all didn't make a lot of sense. We decided to stay close to town and chose a pretty hard hike: Chuckanut Ridge. Several of you have asked about the origin of the word "Chuckanut," so I looked it up. It's a Native American word meaning "beach on a bay with a small entrance." To me, it sounds like something a squirrel would do (smile).
When we gained the ridge from the Arroyo parking lot, you can see we had little view of Bellingham, but lots of clouds towards the mountains made it obvious we had made a good choice for today. This trail is not an easy one, with lots of ups and downs, and the scenery for most of the hike was just what was in front of and around us.
The fog began to close in by the time we stopped at Gates Overlook for lunch. I haven't bothered to show you the view from the overlook, because there wasn't one. Marjan, today's leader, gave us options many times during the day to make it longer or shorter, but by the time we packed up from having lunch, nobody seemed to be inclined to make it any longer than the eleven miles (round trip) we would cover on our return. It might have been a smidgen longer, but both of our GPS people were elsewhere (Al is in Las Vegas in over 100-degree heat, and Fred had taken Monday off work for our snowshoe trip and decided to put in some work hours today).
By the time we started heading back down the trail to our cars, the sun began to break through the clouds a little, so we had mixed rain (enough to cause us to put on our rain gear) and sunshine. Cindy pointed out these little flowers to me, which she thinks are called foam flowers (or at least that's what I heard). They remind me of baby's breath, which florists use in bouquets. On the way back down, I couldn't resist asking Dan to let me take a picture of him with this sign:
I don't know who the original Dan was, but our very own Dan will be 78 years old soon, so I figured he deserves a traverse if he wants it. Happy birthday! Not to mention that he had no problem with our long hike and almost 3,000 feet elevation gain and loss. I learned today that he started hiking with the Trailblazers in 2000, when he was about the age I am now. Made me hopeful that I'll still be playing in the Chuckanuts with my friends when I'm 78!
:-)
The views ahead and around you were just lovely. So green and lush. And you were so right about that plants looking like baby's breath. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLike being in a magical fairy tale, one expects to see the cottage of Hansel and Gretel at the end of the forest trail !
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving us a glimpse into this serene and glorious world.
~Jo
P.S. Sorry about the deleted comment :(
It seems tht seniors who are active in such things as hiking skating etc. do amazingly well. Tonight we sang happy birthday to one of our bet skaters. He's 88 and abeautiful skater.
ReplyDeleteSo I wish you the best for hiking and aging.
Love those foam flowers! Looks like another beautiful hike and I got a kick out of "Dan's Traverse"--so cute! Thanks so much for taking pictures of your hikes and sharing them with us. :):)
ReplyDeletegosh all that green and mist...excited me...like mystery...just watch out for those crazy squirrels...they will brain you...smiles.
ReplyDeleteand so you shall!!! 78? a walk in the park. a piece of cake. etc. lol. I just loooove your expeditions, DJan.
ReplyDeleteThis all looks so beautiful and it's the absolute best thing for you healthwise in mind and body. I just went to an osteoporosis workshop and they said climbing up hills and walking are fabulous for bones. Add to that, that gorgeousness about you. Wow!
ReplyDeleteChuckanut? Sounds like the squirrel version of basketball.
ReplyDeleteEven with all the fog and no view the surrounding woods are gorgeous to me, I love all that lush green.
This group is flat out an inspiration. I wish I had a similar group to join. Oh well, my Baron is a good hiker and never says no or turns back. :)
ReplyDeleteWalking is good. Walking at elevation is better. I think it keeps the joints loose and that is good.
ReplyDeleteYGG!
ReplyDeleteChuckanuts--made me smile too.
Looks beautiful as always, and I'll bet the hike was just awesome.
Sounds like a good day and a good distance too. Can't wait to get back and join in the fun! I think it may be awhile yet though.
ReplyDelete11 miles back! Not round trip. Yikes. I don't know how you do it. But it was definitely mossy magic.
ReplyDeleteLove these excursions of yours! And I don't doubt you will be doing these treks when you're 95!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed my walk with you today (wink). It was a tad long but I made it! You have some lovely pictures to remind you of the day and I'm sure the wine tasted wonderful once you got home. The flora and fauna is so lush isn't it.
ReplyDeleteOur weather may be gloomy, but it sure is green all around. None of that searing heat and wild fires for us, so far any way.
ReplyDeleteAnother amazing hike, DJan.
Another great hike! Beach on the bay with a small entrance all gets translated to Chuckanut..very interesting.
ReplyDeleteFoam flowers are usually called Tiarella ( I hope I spelled that correct) Those tiny flowers could be them..the foliage was hard to see...at any rate they are very delicate flowers!
It is so green there..we are green here too..but don't have all the moss.
Yeah Dan..:)
Sounds like a wonderful hike. A bit longer than I could do at this point in my life and fitness, but beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI so admire you for getting out there on a potentially rainy day and an eleven mile hike. I have a hard time getting out on a sunny day to walk around the block.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are beautiful and inspiring. I'll try to head out the door in the morning :-)
Happy weekend, jj
When I clicked on your blog and saw all the snow I had to look at the date – 20 June – really? Here we have been in the 90s for a while. This coming week we’ll be around the low 90s with scattered thunderstorms every day, usually in the late afternoon or evening. They come fast, thunder, lightning, trees fall, electricity is cut, then the next morning it is beautiful, until it starts again, and sometimes we get tornadoes too.
ReplyDeleteMy husband had forgotten to take a book with him for our last trip so I bought him “The Help” which I had heard was good. He never had time to read it and now it is on the shelf. I’ll go and place it on my pile to read. Tell us how you like it when you are through.
It's inspiring to see someone still hiking hard trails in their late seventies. So cool.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the word Chuckanut, and am glad now to know what it means.
Seeing the beauty that you encounter and the friends you share with you will be going on for a long time. I think I should find me something eventful to push me into action and enjoy the nature around me.
ReplyDelete