Thursday, March 6, 2014

Raptor Ridge from Arroyo Park

Hikers making our way through downed trees
We were nine today, which again amazed me. Since it rained hard all night long and the weather forecast was for more of the same, with a little break here and there, I wondered who in the world would be as crazy as me to join Al for today's hike in the Chuckanuts. It's our usual stomping grounds, nothing spectacular, and with rain much more likely than not: I'm not the only crazy person!
Diane in front of Chuckanut Falls
As we started out, all ready for the rain, some stray raindrops fell... and then stopped. I noted that the first hour of our hike was dry, as we made our way to Chuckanut Falls, where we figured there would be lots of water since we've had so much rain. We were right.
Tree, Chuckanut Falls, Kirk
I am always enchanted with the greenery we have here in the Pacific Northwest, and I asked Kirk to pose for me to make the picture even better. Notice how light it seems? Well, the sun actually came out, and the rain stayed away! We made it to Raptor Ridge, but even though there was no rain, it was extremely windy, and nobody was willing to stay for long.
Raptor Ridge
The clouds were low at this time, but they still held their moisture. We marveled at our good fortune and went to Madrone Crest for lunch. The weather was about the same as this, so I won't bother to add any more pictures of it. However, to get to Raptor Ridge, we took a new trail, the Huckleberry Trail, which is still in progress but seemed pretty nice to us. There is a viewpoint from the old part of the trail, which I have shown before.
Huckleberry viewpoint
At lunchtime I was moaning about my finger, which still hurts, and once Al took a look at it, he insisted that I see a doctor. Steve said that he never wants to hear a doctor say to him, "well, if you would only have come in sooner." So right then and there I called my doctor's office and have an appointment to see him (actually a physician's assistant) in an hour. I felt a bit sheepish saying it was for an infected hangnail, but they wanted to see me today. I'll keep you posted.

We hiked nine-and-a-half miles, going up and down around 2,300 feet, so it was a pretty good workout for all of us. When we were only a quarter mile from our cars, the rain started, hard and steady! It only made us laugh, because we were feeling incredibly lucky! A game we played as we stood in the parking lot, getting drenched, was to guess how far and how high we went. I vastly underestimated the number, by two miles, while one other overestimated it, but not by much. It was a very good day, and now I'm off to the doctor to have my paronychia examined, otherwise known as a hangnail.
:-)

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful photographs...and I'm so glad you had a great number to join together for the hike.
    I await news on what the doctor had to say about your finger.
    Sending hugs your way,
    Jackie

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  2. I kept waiting for the rain to come back here today, but although is is cloudy and windy there has been very little rain. I was able to take a tour of the yard this morning and get out for a walk this afternoon. That makes me a happy camper. I'm glad the rain mostly spared you too. That was a lot of hiking and elevation today!

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  3. glad you all had a great day and a good hike! i knew of a woman who ended up in the hospital and almost died because of a paper cut - it got infected and the infection traveled to her heart...so, your hangnail just might need a doc's attention. :)

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  4. What a magical day - and good luck on that hangnail. Hugs.

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  5. Somebody in your group must bring you good luck with the weather as you seem to have all kinds of hikes that turn out nice.

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  6. I'm glad to hear Mother Nature decided not to rain on your hike today. We had heavy rain last night but none today, a lot like there.

    Probably not a bad idea to get the hangnail checked out.

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  7. Great photos and looks like a gorgeous hike! Hope the hang nail thing turns out fine.

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  8. huckleberry viewpoint has a beautiful view...glad you are getting that finger checked and hope it is something simple they can fix...

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  9. You and your buddies are definitely intrepid trekkies! The view was worth it though. Raptor Ridge has a name alone that is intriguing. Good luck with your hangnail.

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  10. Hope it's nothing serious with your finger!!! But I think it's a good idea to have it checked if it continues to be painful for days.

    The scenery is gorgeous as always. But the cold, damp, wind doesn't sound all that fun.

    Love the waterfall.

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  11. Always beautiful views on your hikes. Do you still have a finger or did the doctor decide on a more drastic treatment for a hangnail?

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  12. Let us know how the doctor visit turned out. I had 2 infected toe nails and had to have several surgeries on each one plus take antibiotics. The infection lasted 6 months and was very difficult to treat.

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  13. Nine miles? I'm so impressed. I could bike nine miles, but walking it? My feet and knee would give out long before the second miles.

    Good luck with the hangnail. I'm certain it hurts.

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  14. Sure am glad you are getting that infection checked out. It has lasted way too long. Let us know how the appointment goes.

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  15. Those little things can really be annoying. Mrs T. had pinkeye last summer and said it was worse than two bout with cancer. As to the green Its's what I especially liked about the Olympic National Park. Went hiking/camping there with my boys some years ago and though much of the green looked vaguely familiar. Then I realize some of the giant shrubs and landscape plants were "summer annuals" we put in little pots....

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  16. I liked that Chuckanut name. You and your friends continue to amaze me. To me, these are once a season walks, yet you do them on a daily basis. You are definitely my hero. Sure hope the PA can get the finger all well.

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  17. I hope you had good results at the PA's office. Do you keep reinfecting it? OR has it just not healed...that happens as we get older..harder to heal. I am battling some hangnails now too..but it is a case of forgetting to use my Burts Bees Cuticle Cream for a few nights and a little case of the nerves which causes me to pick at my nails..bad habit for sure.
    Nice Hike! I love your green and always enjoy your hikes and hearing about them:)

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  18. Glad you had a great hike, but that infection is not handy. So to speak.

    Blessings and Bear hugs, DJan.

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  19. Oh, I hope the doctor will take care of it for you. You may need antibiotics or something.

    It is so amazingly lush there--even in the winter. I can never quite get over it. :)

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