Thursday, July 19, 2012

Back to Church

Fog at the beginning of the day's hike
Back to Church Mountain that is, two weeks after our first visits. Our Senior Trailblazer problem right now is having only a few hikes in the High Country that are not completely snowed in. Earlier in the week, Al and some other Trailblazers went up to check out today's scheduled hike and decided that it would be good to let it wait a bit, so seven of us headed up to the Church Mountain meadow once again. It's my third trip in less than a month, but the amazing thing is the difference in the snow levels.
By the time we emerged from the trees and reached the beginning of the meadow, where everything was under snow two weeks ago, now the false hellebore is beginning to emerge everywhere, and the sun was shining in an almost-cloudless sky. All these little plants you see here will be many feet high before we head up again. We could almost see the difference in them during the few hours we spent up there before heading back down.
We were in no danger of reaching the summit, or getting anywhere near it, as the trail disappeared under snow. We decided to keep going upwards until noon when we stopped for lunch, finding a nice shady spot on bare ground. The snowmelt during the last period has encouraged me that we will soon be reaching the actual summit of Church Mountain. The views we had were pretty stupendous, and here's the view from my vantage point for lunch.
Al is busy checking his GPS readings while the rest of us enjoyed our lunch. The areas on the ridge are beginning to sprout lots of flowers on the green slopes as they clear from the snow. Looking the other direction from here, we saw Shuksan and Mt. Baker framed through the trees. I must have a dozen pictures of both of them, but I think this one captured our amazing view of Mt. Baker.
We were perched on a ridge overlooking the valley we had climbed to get to this viewpoint. The light breeze coming off the snow was wonderful, cooling us as we ate and gathered our strength. When I walked over to find a better place to capture Mt. Baker, the air coming up from the valley was at least 15-20 degrees warmer! It was like stepping into a sauna. Our actual temperature was probably somewhere around 60 degrees F, but since we have been accustomed to much cooler temperatures, we felt a bit, well, hot. Once we started back to find the trail and head back to our cars, it felt very warm.
I saw my first glacier lilies of the season today. They emerge when the snow finally retreats, and they don't last long. I've gotten pictures of fields of glacier lilies in past years and hope to do the same this season, but for now this single lovely glacier lily will have to do.

All in all, it was a lovely day, with good friends, lots of sunshine (I'm glad I put on sunscreen before I left home), and pretty much perfect weather: cool at the beginning, not too awfully hot at the end. I look forward to at least one more trip up this trail, when we finally get to the summit, a really beautiful place with 360-degree views. We did make almost eight miles of the nine to the summit and back, and covered 2,700 feet of elevation out of the total 4,000 to the top. That will wait for another day. For now, however, I'm ready for a shower to wash off the sunscreen and bug spray!
:-)

25 comments:

  1. glad you donned the sunscreen! the lily is beautiful, as is that mountain view!

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  2. Your first trail picture reminds me of many trails I've been on. My favorite part was always the meadow above the tree line . Most mountains here are in the 8-10000ft range.

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  3. We had total thick fog this morning here in Fargo. Always seems a little otherworldly.

    That shot of Mt. Baker is just perfect! And the lily looks so delicate and bright. What a great day with friends. Glad you remembered your sun screen! Have a relaxing evening, my friend. :):)

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  4. It's hard to believe you could be having such a day as you describe while other parts of the country are suffering severe drought, over 100 temps, and invasions of grasshoppers. Makes you thankful to live in the PNW. That glacier lily is really interesting as well as beautiful. Sounds like a very good day.

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  5. oo beautiful glacier lily...and cool that you will be summiting soon enough...that pic of the mountain is awesome.....church in the wild...i could get used to that...smiles.

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  6. It must be nice to see fields of lilies, as you mentioned. That lone flower was very pretty. Love the views you photographed today.

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  7. DJan, I absolutely adore your first photo of the fog and dappled sunlight.

    Your views today are gorgeous. The 60 degree temperature sounds wonderful to me right now. It was in the low 90's here with high humidity late this afternoon. It reminded me of the East coast.

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  8. I was wondering about mosquitoes, and you mentioned bug spray. That would be troublesome for me. mosquitoes find me very attractive
    :/
    I would love to see this in full bloom!

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  9. Mountains are fascinating for their changes of scenery, weather, wildlife, etc., all within a single hike. Smashing photos.

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  10. Another eventful climb. But still not to the top. By time you can reach the top, it may be snowing again. It's all in the cycle.

    Thanks for taking us along, and for the delightful pictures.

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  11. Mountains are so gorgeous and the snow covered peaks are beautiful. It is a great contrast to the heat we have had this summer. It looks like a very rewarding hike.

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  12. ...having a view like that for a sit down lunch couldn't be any better in my opinion. What a difference in climate and air I'm sure as y'all made your way upward....

    The lily is gorgeous. Can't wait to see a whole valley of them in bloom.

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  13. The colour of the sky against the white of the snow is such a wow factor for me. Keep those pics coming.

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  14. Dear DJan, we are having such heat here--a real drought here and in other states--that it's hard for me to imagine that your mountains still have a snow cover. It was 106 degrees here on Wednesday and tomorrow it's supposed to go up to 108 with the forecast in the next few days of over 111 (that's the record.) Thanks for showing us those pictures of the blanket of snow. Just looking at them cooled me off!

    I know that you were climbing Mount Church. Do you ever climb Mount Baker? Or is that too tall?

    Peace.

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  15. That lily is gorgeous. It's amazing how resilient some of these plants are. Church in the wild - love it!

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  16. I'm beginning to feel familiar in your mountain hike surroundings. I've got to the point where I feel like 'I've seen that before' and I like it! You must feel the same each time you return to a favourite spot?

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  17. Mt Baker is stunning as is that Lily..my favorite color! It is great to read about your weekly hikes! :)

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  18. With a new computer and health issues under control it's great to be back among my blogging friends. Thanks for the kind words DJ. Love as always your mountain views. Ive got a few mountain hikes myself in the Bitterroots to be shared when I figure out all thenew icons.... :)

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  19. Seems so opposite of what we are living right now, humidity and heat, and you take a hike and have snow. Amazing. We won't see snow for a few more months.
    Your photos are a joy.

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  20. Wow.. such beautiful scenery but that first image blows me away. What an amazing way to spend the day.

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  21. What splendour you get to see as you trailblaze!

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  22. I can't get enough of your photos of hiking in the snow in SUMMER!!! It feels so surreal to me! Here I am, melting in the heat, and half a world away you guys are bundling up to keep warm while hiking...

    Beautiful photos once again DJan! :o)

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  23. What a gorgeous day! Thank you for taking us up your mountain for memories. I remember seeing those glacier lilies in Yellowstone. So sweetly pretty.

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