Thursday, February 4, 2016

Another day without rain

Steve, Carol, Roger, Chris, Rich
The weather was supposed to be rainy at least in the early afternoon, but eight Senior Trailblazers set out from the Senior Center to hike up the South Lookout Mountain trail anyway. We've done it a couple times before, always in May, so this is the earliest we have done this hike. It's not one of my favorites, because the seldom-used trails are very steep in places and rather challenging.
First signs of snow
We knew we would be climbing steeply throughout the hike, which starts near Cain Lake and then goes pretty much straight up (a total of 2,500 feet of elevation gain and loss) to the top of the mountain. And yes, there it was: the snow that probably fell last night while it was raining in Bellingham.
The light fog came and went
We climbed through dense forest until we reached the road that heads to the top of Lookout Mountain. As you can see, the snow was much deeper as we got ready to leave the safety of the trees.
Just before we came out of the trees
With the iffy forecast, we didn't think we would have a view at all, but instead, we had magnificent views of Mt. Baker and the Twin Sisters. Down below us you can see Cain Lake where we began our climb.
The mountains, lakes, fog and trees galore
Wow! That is just one of the most beautiful sights, on a day when none of us expected any view at all. Not only was this unexpected (where was the rain?), but we were fairly confident that any rainfall was not imminent. After all, look at that sky!
A short hike to see what view we might have in the other direction
After a short climb along the road, this picture was taken looking 180 degrees from the last picture, when we were looking at the mountains. This view was overlooking Lake Samish and the interstate that travels between Bellingham and Seattle (I-5).
Lake Samish
We could hear the traffic, even at this altitude, and since it was now after noon, we decided to have lunch here, just out of the breeze. As we made ourselves comfortable and enjoyed our lunch, the fog moved in all around us. Suddenly we had no view at all. As we gathered up our stuff after lunch and began our downward descent, none of these vistas were visible at all. Just dense fog.

But no rain. Covering just under eight miles and all that elevation gain and loss made me feel pretty darn tired as we reached the cars. Another wonderful day, and you will not be surprised to learn that, as we started back to Bellingham, the rain clouds opened up and simply poured! We were inside our warm and cozy cars, smiling to ourselves and congratulating one another at yet another day without rain!
:-)

20 comments:

  1. You guys escaped the rain again! What pretty views! Enjoy your evening:)

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  2. We kept the rain down here long enough for you to get your hike in, then we sent it north.

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  3. Your group goes on some pretty amazing hikes compared to the ones that folks in the local senior center here in Nashua, NH take. I am a first-time visitor having dropped in from Red's Hiawatha House.

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  4. It always amazed me how rain turned to snow at higher elevations.

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  5. Looks fantastic. Be careful on those slippery slopes!

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  6. So glad you didn't get rained on! Lovely hike.

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  7. You must have some sort of magic hotline to the weather gods!

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  8. Those views and another dry trek are a suitable reward for your determination and perseverance.

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  9. I was just thinking - do you wear additional safety hikers spiky boots(not sure what to call em) when you are in slippery areas like this, because some of that steep climbing would be very, very slippery indeed. I simply love those last two photos with the long cloud, especially the photo with everyone looking at it. Beautiful DJan, just beautiful.

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  10. You deserved to be tired. What a trek on a winter's day. Beautiful photos. Always interesting how the weather can alter views in such a short amount of time.

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  11. I can't imagine your good luck sometimes. Another day without rain and then you get it when you are driving back home.

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  12. You guys have been awfully lucky as far as the rain goes lately. What beautiful views! :)

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  13. You must be on the good side of Mom Nature. She let you have a nice climb, great views and only blocked you out on the return. She likes you.

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  14. you had another wonderful day! the views are so beautiful - especially good since you didn't expect any at all. :)

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  15. Your luck held once again. I like the photo that shows how small you hikers are compared to the ancient trees.

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  16. Straight up indeed. I did something like that once carrying a canoe on a circle route in Ontario. Once! And I was in my mid forties....:)

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  17. The images are spectacular today D J....by that I mean, the viewer [Like Me] can actually see the incline and depth of your hike! Wow...a real work out. Perfect weather...and such a wonderful piece of beauty at the top!!

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    1. PS....the temp the day I said the wind was so cold, was in the 40s with the wind chill factor added in, it was feeling like low to mid 30s. Then, coming off the water as it was, made it cut to the bone!!!

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  18. I'll bet Red was especially impressed with the photos you posted on this page. You always get such breathtaking views.

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