Keeping cool and a new hiker

Six of the eight Trailblazers on the Keep Cool Trail

Eight of us Trailblazers met on a cool and overcast morning, a distinct change from the past few days, which have been on the warm side for those of us in the Pacific Northwest. There was even a 10% chance of rain when we headed into the High Country. Today there was a brisk cool breeze with clouds and sun, as we drove up to the Keep Cool trailhead. This is an old abandoned alternate trail to the top of Yellow Aster Butte. We had no intention of going the entire way, knowing that we would meet snow after a short time.

Mt. Baker hiding in the clouds

This was the only time I saw Mt. Baker all day, although we usually have a wonderful view of it as we climb higher and higher. This trail starts at about 3000 feet elevation and climbs almost a thousand feet per mile. At about 4600 feet, we began to run into snow, and then there was only patches of greenery, and lots of the white stuff.

The views were pretty spectacular

As we gained altitude, the views came and went behind the clouds, and we would be feeling rather cool in the breeze when the clouds hid the sun, then hot when it came out in full force. We would spend time in full snow, like in the picture above, and then it would become green again as we gained altitude. Finally we gained the ridge.

On our way to a lunch spot

Eventually we stopped for lunch and had some incredible views as we spread out our inflatable seats and had a nice repast. The breeze kept most of the mosquitos away, although they were pretty thick earlier, when in the brush. And then we headed down, some of us pulled out our trusty Yaktrax, pictured here. Since they simply pull on over your boots, you can walk in snow, giving you additional traction, and they don't interfere when you run into ground.

Jonelle's Yaktrax

What a difference they made on the snow! Although I had mine in my pack from Sunday's hike, I didn't put them on until I began to slip and slide more than I was comfortable with. And now I'll carry them much more often and use them on any snow that has any kind of slope. Yep, I'm a convert.

Peggy and Linda

Although only a few of us had them, giving additional traction on the snow, I think we all had a good time. As you can see from this picture, we needed to put on some more clothes when we stopped for lunch, and the clouds didn't ever allow us another view of Mt. Baker. But all in all, it was a very good day. We had a new hiker, who joined us for the first time today, Doug.

Doug

He is obviously a seasoned hiker, and he kept encouraging Al to go a bit farther than we might have liked. Even though I'm very glad we got to the viewpoint we reached, I was very hungry and wanting to stop for lunch long before we did. Al never needs much encouragement to continue upwards, but we did stop around 12:30, so everybody was quite pleased with our day's accomplishments. Although we didn't hike as far as usual (somewhere around six miles round trip), we had to climb more than 2400 feet in that distance, much of it on snow, so it felt much longer.

Mt. Shuksan

And all day long, we kept being treated with peekaboo looks at Mt. Shuksan, one of the most beautiful mountains I have ever been pleased to get to know from all sides. The summit is not visible in this picture, but it is still just simply beautiful and delights me nevertheless. So the day was a complete success, and we stayed cool on the Keep Cool Trail.
:-)