Late for a very good reason

Mt. Shuksan, taken today from Chain Lakes Trail

The reason my Saturday post is so late is that I decided to join Al and three others for a Saturday hike into the High Country. Because of the good weather forecasted for today (and it was really nice), and because the days are very short at this time of year, we met at 7:00am and headed up to Heather Meadows to begin our hike at Bagley Lakes. The road all the way to Artist Point is already closed for the year, meaning we would start at a lower elevation and make our way around the Chain Lakes loop, finishing a bit later in the day.

Al and Lisa, Mt. Shuksan behind

We started out before 9:00am after a fairly long drive to the trailhead. It was mild and overcast, although we hoped it would clear before too long. As you can see here, the sun was shining on us as we made our way to Herman Saddle before hiking down into the Chain Lakes area.

Cloud formations over Mt. Shuksan

As we hiked ever upwards, we saw the sky begin to clear, and some amazing cloud formations over the mountains. I captured this one as I glanced back to see what was happening in the sky. You know it was windy over there, with these particular lenticular cloud formations. Where we were, we had a light breeze but little more than that.

Ice bubbles in a frozen stream

The trail, however, had quite a bit of ice as we walked carefully along. I was very happy to have my trekking poles to help me keep my footing. I don't think any of the five of us had a spill all day, because of them.

Magnificent Mt. Baker

Once we had reached the top of the saddle, we had a great view of Mt. Baker, and the clouds had cleared away as well. To have such a day on November 8, here in the High Country, was almost more than we could have imagined. The sun would come and go all day long, however.

An ice forest underfoot

Everywhere we stepped, we saw these frozen ice formations. Because it had been very wet and then got cold, these striations of ice popped out of the ground to make what seemed to be almost tiny forests of ice trees, covered with a layer of light snow. Sometimes little pebbles were on top of these as they froze, and they seemed to be suspended in space. Of course, this also made our footing a little slippery, so we had to be careful as we walked.

By the time we reached our cars again, we had traveled almost eight miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. After adding Thursday's hike, I think I am fair in saying that 17 miles and 5,000 feet is the reason why I'm feeling so tired. But it was a fantastic day, and I am happy to be home on a Saturday night with nothing to do but enjoy my well-deserved wine and dinner. I'll sleep well tonight, for sure!
:-)