Frigid Blanchard Mountain

On the trail to Lily Lake

Do we look cold? Fifteen Senior Trailblazers showed up for a very chilly hike from the south side of Blanchard Mountain to Lily and Lizard Lakes, along with a stop at the North Butte lookout. The temperature today never rose above freezing, and the overcast sky when we started out meant that we were all a little worried about whether we would be able to stay warm.

Ice bouquet

All along the frosty trail, we saw this frozen ice that had extruded up from the ground, ice crystals giving us every indication of how cold it was. There were several places reminiscent of bouquets of flowers. We don't usually see this sort of thing, since we only had a few days last year when the temperature got as cold as we've had for several days now. With many more ahead.

Lily Lake

By the time we reached Lily Lake, the first of our stops, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds. Although at this time of year the angle of the sun is quite low, there were a few spots where we began to cast a shadow. The lake is mostly frozen, but it doesn't extend very deep.

North Butte

By the time we had reached the high point of today's hike, North Butte, the sun was out! Although it wasn't very warm, there wasn't even a little bit of breeze, so we decided to go ahead and have lunch, even though it was just a little after 11:00am. Every other place we might choose to stop afterwards would be in the shade and very cold. We also enjoyed the view from this spot, looking out over Samish Bay.

The view

We weren't sure whether we would be able to navigate the rocks to get up this high, because ice and snow were everywhere that the sun didn't reach. But we managed; however, the return trip back down the steep rocks was a bit dicey. We took our time, and as soon as we left the warmth of the sun, it began to get really cold and uncomfortable. Several of us had the water in our hydration tubes freeze right up. Yes, it was that brisk!

Ten of the fifteen

The last part of the seven-mile-long hike was on a road, and at one point we had a nice view of Mt. Baker (right over Doug's head). Although the picture quality isn't perfect, I used my camera and never tried to use my cell phone because I would have had to remove my gloves, and I wasn't willing to do that! Other than the temperature, it was just a lovely day. After we returned to the cars, Amy pulled out three candles to place on her homemade cupcakes to celebrate the three December birthdays: me, Fred, and Carol. I learned that Carol was born on Christmas Eve, which explains her name.

All in all, it was a great day with wonderful friends. When I got home I learned that our TV had finally bit the dust, so I headed over to Best Buy for a replacement. Smart Guy is busy setting it up while I write this post. Although our old TV was only six years old, I was completely floored by the advancement in technology and the reduced cost! I guess you could say this has been a pretty darn good day after all.
:-)