Chuckanut Ridge 2016

Starting up the Chuckanut Ridge trail

Before I tell you about today's not-very-wet hike, I want to start with the meaning of the word "Chuckanut" since it never fails to be mentioned in the comments. It is a Native American word that means "beach on a bay with a small entrance." We have a wonderful labyrinth of trails in Chuckanut Mountain Park, and one of the most challenging hikes we do every year is the Chuckanut Ridge trail. Before we finished, we had covered more than 11 miles and hiked up and down around 2,700 feet (823 meters) of elevation. No wonder I'm tired!

Ten Senior Trailblazers did the ridge today

Ten of us met to hike the ridge this morning, even though the forecast was for rain, which is expected to get heavy by this evening (when we would be safe and warm in our homes, hopefully). This ridge trail goes steeply up and down, meaning we climbed the same elevation over and over again. The rain, however, held off for most of the day, although it threatened with a sprinkle or two. We never saw the sun but had better views that we expected.

Looking southeast from the ridge

By this time of the day (around 11:00am), I expected to be ensconced in rain gear, but no, a few clouds in the valley and overcast skies were all we experienced. It was lovely hiking weather, so we headed over to Gates Overlook for lunch. Still no rain.

Bellingham Bay from Gates Overlook

Last time we were here (a few weeks ago), it was soggy from previous rain, but today we were almost dry. A Pacific Northwestern kind of day, for sure. It wasn't wet exactly, but not dry, either. One Trailblazer said it's just the right kind of day for ironing. It made me think of my mother's long-ago coke bottle with a sprinkler head on it for dampening the clothes for the iron.

Enjoying our almost dry lunch break at Gates Overlook

That's my pack in the foreground with the rain cover added, just in case. But as you can see from the way everyone is dressed, it wasn't exactly pouring down rain. We were almost warm and almost dry, not a bad way to have lunch on what was supposed to be a washout kind of day.

Mountains and clouds to the east

As we began our return journey, it was an unexpected treat to get a glimpse of Mt Baker and the Sisters on the skyline to the east. More fluffy clouds in the valley now, but nobody was complaining about the weather at this point, just the long trek back to the cars. I began to tire but there was nobody to carry me out, so I just put one foot in front of the other.

Trees with tutus

When we were almost back to the trailhead, I saw these trees with the ferns coming out of them, making me think of flounces or tutus. Peggy said these are licorice ferns, and they certainly make the trees more interesting, don't you think? A very Pacific Northwestern-y sort of look. All in all, we had a great day, and the rain (which you notice I haven't mentioned yet), stayed away until pretty much the end of the hike. By the time we reached the cars, it was noticeable, but not very heavy at all. In fact, nobody had even put on their rain gear, just rain hats and smiles.

And now I'm resting in my chair, happy about the day's activity, with my wine still at hand and nowhere to go but horizontal for the rest of the day. It was a wonderful day!
:-)