Thursday, December 8, 2011

Pine and Cedar Lakes

Eight Senior Trailblazers headed up to the Pine and Cedar Trail in our usual winter stomping grounds, the Chuckanut trail system. I have loved learning about these hikes, but now I am beginning to know their good and bad points. This one heads very steeply up an old logging road for the first mile or so. I tried to get a picture that gives an idea of HOW steep. This is the best I got. The sun wasn't shining because of the fog, but we knew that eventually it was supposed to be clear.
The humidity and cold temperatures made it difficult to stay warm when we weren't moving. Once in a while the sun would break through the fog, but then it would move back in. As long as we kept going uphill, we were quite warm.
By the time we got to Cedar Lake, we saw that it is beginning to freeze over for the season. I thought this picture of the logs and the ice (and what seems to be possible sun breaks) was rather pretty. It was only 10:00am by the time we got here, so we took a loop around the lake and headed over to Pine Lake. Marjan was caught in the sunlight in this picture and a fortuitous ray of the sun centers perfectly over her head. You can see that the ice in the lake goes all the way across.
We kept seeing what we thought was a fungus growing on bare fallen branches. In the picture below, looks soft and fuzzy, doesn't it? But it's ice! It's called angel hair hoarfrost, I believe. When we tried to touch it, it melted. I took several pictures of it, but this is the clearest one I captured, and it could still be a little better. I was on the ground with my camera, using the macro feature, and by the time I finished taking several shots, I was getting cold. I just had to hope I got a decent picture.
We decided to add an extra mile or so to the hike and headed over to Raptor Ridge. It was almost lunchtime by the time we got here, and lo and behold, the SUN came out and the last of the fog left the scene. I had a chance to catch four of the group enjoying the sunshine.
Behind them, you can see the fog finally blowing away. Although it was sunny, it never got warm, so our lunch wasn't all that leisurely. There are winter days here in the Pacific Northwest when we have both, but today wasn't one of them. The nice part is that it was DRY, and that's always a plus at this time of year. In fact, my new fancy raincoat is beginning to get a reputation for being magical: it's keeping the rain away. Wouldn't that be great? No, I'm sure it will be getting a chance to show its stuff. Just not today. Before the day was over, we had covered almost eight miles and 2,300 feet up and down. A good workout.
:-)

26 comments:

  1. It's a completely different world up there in those magestic mountains !
    You wouldn't have much room for error on that trail, and yes so steep...
    Fascinating about the ice, looks like candy floss almost.
    What a wonderful way to spend your day, a little bit of paradise with friends.
    Thank you for sharing it with us.
    ~Jo

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMGosh! That picture of Marjan is just magical with the sun rays over her head. Ice crystals on the pine needles and that hoarfrost! Wow!

    But what got me to giggle was your magical raincoat!! Who knows? Maybe it is like a dry luck charm? LOL!

    I so enjoy the pictures and descriptions of you trailblazing adventurers! I take it you will hike all winter, too? You live in such an amazing place. :):)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enjoyed all your photos, especially the hoarfrost. Really interesting stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  4. very cool...hoarfrost is very cool..it creates some really cool structures...nice shot of the green as well...

    ReplyDelete
  5. You did a good job photographing the hoarfrost. Magnificent! First time for me seeing this sort of thing. I like how you keep adding miles to your hike. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The ice made me shiver with cold, and then I read that you had to get on the ground to capture that photo of the angel hair hoarfrost. I'm impressed! It is very nice. I hope you had a nice hot cup of tea when you got home.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Whew, I am tired out after that hike. What wonderful photos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Quite shock for me to see"no snow" even though in my head I know the coast is mild and seldom has snow.
    Funny how many trails start out on old logging trails and guess what they always seem to be steep.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks like all in all it turned out to be a pleasant day. DJan, I am absolutely amazed at the hoarfrost. I thought I had seen most all of the varieties but I have never seen this one. It is beautiful, I'm glad you got a macro.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh. The hoarfroast (which I had read about and never seen) and the lake freezing were just magical to see. Thank you so much for taking me/us on your hikes.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That angel hair hoarfrost is so amazing looking. I'd love to see it for myself. It looks like a very refreshing, fun trip. I'll bet it smelled great there.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love those photos that show how things are just beginning to freeze... magical!

    It's wonderful you guys got a sunny lunch! And I'm inclined to believe in your magical rain jacket! ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, glorious, glorious views and what a hike. Yes, I can 'see' the steep incline of the hiking trail. I'd be huffin' and puffin' all the way up. In fact, I probably couldn't handle the elevation any more what with living so long at 15' above sea level. And foggy? I LOVE fog...even a wintry, cold and icy fog.


    Friday Fragments

    ReplyDelete
  14. Loved the photo of the angel hair hoarfrost, it was amazing...I would have been so excited to have seen that in person. It was beautiful, thought it was a fungus for sure! Lovely capture of the sun ray too!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful. I enjoyed the pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  16. LOVE the pic of the angel hair!! I have never seen anything like this before!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Loved the light centered on Marjan's head. Never saw angel hair "ICE" before - astounding photo. I truly enjoy your photos and once again DJan has topped my list in Paradise. Thanks for sharing your magical ability.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Djan, check your comments as the spam weirdo has struck again. Also make sure the new Blogger anti-spam settings have been enabled.
    Love this post, the fabulous photo of such delicate frost and your great efforts- brava!

    ReplyDelete
  20. angle hair frost!
    it's beautiful
    like the cotton candy of nature

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a dedicated hiker as well as photographer you are. Getting on the cold ground to get the best shot of the angel hair ice goes above and beyond, but boy, am I glad you did. I think it is a great picture and I would like to see that in person.

    Walking in cold is bearable, but cold and wet is no fun. So I am so glad it did not rain on your hike this time.

    ReplyDelete
  22. DJan---I just wanted to comment on your comment to Teresa Evangeline. I have the same kind of thing happen to me as what happens to you with a friend who turned away. I think that I am done with her, no more thoughts during the day to torment me and then wham!!! out of the blue she appears in one of my dreams and I have to deal with it all over again. It has only been 2 years for me but you say you have been dealing with it for about 10! I guess it never ends does it!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Great pics as always, DJan. It seems these places you hike have intriguing names - raptor...for instance. 8 miles. My legs hurt for you!

    ReplyDelete
  24. You're my hero, DJan. Hey, I've seen that ice before, but I didn't have a name for it. And I've never been able to take a picture of "steepness." Although I have tried. One of these days I'm going to come your way and knock on your door and say "take me somewhere." (On the ground.)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Your angel hair frost is very pretty! Great hike again..soon you will know all the ins and outs of all these trails.
    Thank you always for your comments and for your prayers this past week..I appreciate them:)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful images, DJan. I love the sun break and the hoarfrost. I've never seen anything quite like the latter.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! If you see a word verification box here, just ignore it. I don't use the darn thing and Blogger is trying to get us to use it, I guess. Ignore it and your comment will still appear.