Misty day on Anderson Mountain

Old tree stump covered with moss

Today eight of the Senior Trailblazers headed up to Anderson Mountain, a short drive south of Bellingham, instead of going on our scheduled hike, because of all the new snow. Nobody was ready to drive up slippery snowy roads to hike on an unspecified amount of snow. At 5,000 feet where we were originally headed, it has rained more than 7 inches in three days! So off we went to Anderson Mountain. The weather was supposed to be really nice.

By midday we were still in fog

This hike sometimes gives us some nice views, but not today. We kept hoping that any minute the skies would clear, as they were beginning to when we left Bellingham. But it was not to be. We got good exercise and visited with each other, and on the positive side, it never rained, even if we didn't see the sun. There was evidence that it had rained in this area quite hard recently, but since it was much lower in elevation, there is not yet any snow. The first time I hiked this area, way back in 2009, we did have snow and rain, and you can read about it here.

Diane and Jonelle

I didn't have many wonderful things to take pictures of, so here you see two of the seven women who accompanied Al on the hike today. The fall colors also are much in evidence behind them. Part of the hike today was on old logging roads, but we did have some areas that were overgrown with brush, some of which were blackberry bushes. Al had a run-in with them on the way up.

Halloween costume? No, blackberry bushes

We stopped to take care of Al's wounds, since he had at least a half-dozen punctures that just didn't want to stop bleeding.  Fortunately he carries a first aid kit, and we managed to get him patched up, and then he donned a long-sleeved shirt. We kept going until around 12:30pm, when we stopped at an old log for lunch. There was no view anyway, so we just found the best place we could find to sit for a quick lunch.

Me, Amy, Diane, Rita, Peggy, Karen, Jonelle, Al

I used the self timer to get this shot, and the angle makes me look to be three times the size of Al, but I decided to use the picture anyway. It shows the group who had a great workout today of about ten miles, even if there wasn't much to look at, especially when compared to the last few weeks in the High Country.

Our only view during the hike

Just as we were returning to the cars, we got a quick view as the clouds lifted a bit. We had speculated that it would clear up just when we finished our hike, and guess what? That's exactly what happened. As we drove back to the Senior Center, bright sunlight made its first appearance of the day.

Maple tree at Senior Center

By the time we pulled into the parking lot at 3:30pm, the clouds were gone and this beautiful tree gave me a chance to take a brilliant picture to add to our day's adventure. We had a great time, even if it wasn't beautiful, and we got some exercise. I'm feeling pretty satisfied right now, as I raise my wine glass to another successful hike!
:-)