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| Bob, Peggy, Karen, Linda, Al (and me behind the camera) |
Church Mountain, that is. When we headed up there last Monday, I wrote a post I called "
Church Mountain, Take 1." The plan was to go into the High Country to assess the situation for the rest of the Senior Trailblazers, and Al deemed the hike doable by most. But only six people showed up today, and boy was it a day to remember!
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| Crossing the creek |
On Monday we had "sun breaks," but today we had FULL SUN! I am sitting here writing this post with sunburned cheeks, even though I put plenty of sunscreen on them after we hit the snow. It was amazing to me to see how much snow had melted in just three days. I wonder what it will look like in a week or two after lots of sunshine. Here's where we had lunch today.
That's Mt. Baker and the Sisters behind us. I planted myself between the ladies and the gents while we enjoyed our lunch. You could just feel the incredible warmth of the sun being reflected back at us; I immediately pulled out my sunscreen and applied it liberally. Perhaps I should have done that when we started, but I knew we would be in shade until we reached the meadow (there really is a meadow underneath all that snow).
Al took this picture of me, showing Mt. Baker behind me, the sunshine, and my transition lenses as black as they ever get. We enjoyed our lunch without any need for coats, gloves, or anything to keep us warm; it was, well, pretty much perfect. On the descent, once we reached the shade, we were blinded for a few minutes before we adjusted to the dappled sunlight through the trees.
It could not have been much more perfect a day than it was today. We covered somewhere close to 7 miles, since we walked a bit farther on the snow than we did on Monday, but not much more, and the return trip was quick and painless, as we climbed and descended 2,600 feet of elevation. We were all happy to have been together, to have such a beautiful day, and only to have missed our companions who didn't join us today. I wonder if it was because it was the day after a holiday. Whatever the reason, I wish all of our friends could have experienced it with us.
When we reached the trailhead, I had to stop long enough to take a picture of the incredible profusion of wildflowers. Daisies, foxgloves, buttercups, clover, and more are all in this picture. Now that I am home and showered, I realize my garden needs to be watered! It's been two days since the rain stopped. Heading out right now...
:-)
I like the evidence of snow slides behind you. Yes, I know Mount Baker is awesome but so are snow slides.
ReplyDeletelove the 'meadow' where you parked and ate. and LOVE the profusion of blooms in that last shot. glad you had a great day, even w/ extra-pink cheeks! :)
ReplyDeleteThis post made me smile, DJan. Glad you enjoyed the sunshine and those wonderful wildflowers!
ReplyDeletewow it looks like a gorgeous hike....really cool on the snow...lots of gorgeousness to take in....i would go to that church twice a week...smiles.
ReplyDeleteThat's a church I could believe in.
ReplyDeleteSunshine! Yes!
ReplyDeleteWow what a lovely day. Even in the snow. ;) The mountain looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteWow, what gorgeous weather. After seeing all your cloudy, foggy hikes the sun was a surprise. I love the meadow with all the flowers.
ReplyDeleteSunscreen needs to be applied at least a half hour before you need it. Put on a light layer before leaving home and them again when you hit the sun.
Oh the white stuff...oh it's blinding me. I can see why your transition lenses went so dark. But oh so beautiful. The flowers growing wild and blooming so profusely...well, that's just downright gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good 4th DJan!!! Loved your garden photos below this post....burning a candle at both ends...well, that too cracked me up. And NOT where the match stick is either. [sorry 'bout that]
Wow! In just a few days it was quite different--so bright you got sunburned cheeks! Love all the wildflowers. Looks like a great day. Hope your garden wasn't too thirsty. :)
ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFUL day! And those wildflowers... wow! :o)
ReplyDeleteOh my lord, woman, that last photo is great - what a sight to see. Love wildflowers in such profusion. Church: that reminds me of Opus and his pals who attended church outside on a hill with wildflowers - the Church of the Blue Domers.
ReplyDeletegorgeous! We have never found foxgloves out in the wild and this week, while in the U.P. of Michigan woods, we found a patch! Amazing! I hope to go back in the fall and gather seeds to get some seeds to try in my garden.
ReplyDeleteThis walk does appear to be a great improvement over the one you did earlier in the week. It's so wonderful to live in the Pacific Northwest.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think there's some intriguing karma with you and this group of intrepid climbers. This climb is a church I would definitely belong to!
ReplyDeleteThis is all so amazing to me. I can't get over how you actually hike up to snow level. Those wildflowers are spectacular. I wish I could see them too.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the difference in the snow, from your last hike - WOW. Is there ever any danger of a slide when you hike in this area?
ReplyDeleteThe photos are indeed beautiful and the wildflowers I could look at all day.My most fav "hike" was in the French Alps, and we had prepared to all have lunch in our bathing suits(he,he) and the weather was appropriate. We wrote a log, all signed it and rolled it up, put in wine bottle and corked, and buried it in front of a large tree. Goodness knows where that would be today. I love reading your adventures DJan and love your photos too. Just feels like I am on the virtual tour with DJan n Gang n lovin' it :)
There are rewards for persistence. Your hiking club deserves a good experience for all the stuff you've endured on some of those adventures. The wildflowers seem to be very persistent also. Fabulous mountains.
ReplyDeleteSuch pretty views! The snow almost looks refreshing..forget I said that.
ReplyDeleteCertainly your soil should hold water for more than two days without watering..overwatering can encourage those slugs. When in doubt dig a test hole and see if it is damp at root level:)