Today was miraculous

Mt. Shuksan, with clouds above and below

Oh boy, it was really a very special day, for several reasons. To start with, I honestly hesitated about going this morning, since there were heavy rains and flash flood warnings predicted for the entire region, and the possibility of lightning strikes and seriously inclement weather for the High Country. Ten hardy Trailblazers showed up at the Senior Center anyway to give it a try. I thought the picture above that I got of Shuksan would probably be the only one I would get all day long, since I expected those dark clouds to open up and give us plenty of chances to test out our rain gear.

Heading up to Herman Saddle

The forest ranger met us at the beginning of our hike and cautioned us about the weather that was projected to hit the area starting around 11:00am. Lots of lightning and rain and wind. But we went anyway, and guess what? None of it happened. As you can see in the above picture, we had donned our rain gear because we thought the first fat raindrops that hit us around 11:00am were just the beginning. But that was the only rain we had all day long!

All ten, with Shuksan behind us at Herman Saddle

By the time we got to the saddle, which is a pretty steep upward climb, we grabbed a quick snack before heading down into the Chain Lakes area. This is a loop hike; we hike up to the saddle and then downwards before beginning our trek back up to Artist Point. Before long, we were a bit surprised to see that the skies were beginning to lighten a bit.

Mt. Baker in full view as we descended

Hmmm. This is NOT what we were expecting, but we were very happy to have this wonderful weather. It was perfect hiking conditions, with a nice cool breeze now and then, and an incredible abundance of ripe blueberries along the trail. We stopped at Iceberg Lake for our lunch spot. Nobody had to rush to put on warm clothes, since the temperature was just about perfect, and did I mention it was not raining?

Iceberg Lake was calm and clear

We started back up the trail, ascending gently until we got to the top, with the skies having cleared enough to give us beautiful views of Mt. Shuksan once it came into view again. We were finally beginning to believe that we might make it all the way around our eight-mile-long hike without having to deal with weather as well!

Rita, Steve, Amy, me (and Mt. Shuksan)

By this time we had been treated to an amazing amount of sunshine, as the clouds came and went while we finished our climb to Artist Point. Once we got there, we knew that we would need to begin a steep descent on the Wild Goose trail to get back to our cars, but before that, we were treated to a whole lot of blue skies with a gentle breeze.

Sunshine and Mt. Baker wearing her "hat"

The biggest slowdown on our trail today was the necessity to stop every now and then and sample the abundant blueberries. They just kept on tempting me, and I have absolutely no ability to ignore such amazing tasty little treats that were right there, a short reach from my fingers.

Wild blueberries

In another week or two, those green leaves will turn red, the berries will be even sweeter, and I will be unable to resist their siren call yet again. Today I managed to eat probably a cup or more of these tender treats, and next week I'll be back for more. It was a wonderful, magical day. By the time we returned to our cars and piled in for our trip home, we all agreed it was a miraculous day, since we expected to be tested in many ways, but instead we just had a fabulous time.

Now I am home, finishing my glass of wine as I post this, beginning to think about dinner and all the good food that Smart Guy has prepared for me. Miracles never cease, it seems!
:-)