Gates Overlook to Raptor Ridge

Ward, Sue, Peggy, Steve, Chris, Lisa, Linda, Al, Rich

Ten Senior Trailblazers met on a rainy morning to begin another hike in the Chuckanuts, this time starting from Gates Overlook and hiking down the Rock Trail, to the Lost Lake trail, to Raptor Ridge and back the way we had come. I think I can finally use a saying I heard awhile back: "it was a DRY rain" because we didn't get any, again! Although it rained all night and we had lots of muddy sloppy trail to navigate, none of it came out of the sky on us.

Leaving the Lost Lake Trail for Raptor Ridge

There weren't a whole lot of possibilities for pictures today, since it was dark and overcast most of the day, and I ended up taking fewer than usual. It was also quite windy in spots, and when we reached the ridge, it was blowing and dark and very unappealing as a spot to stop for lunch.

Raptor Ridge today in 20-mph winds

Nope, that's just not going to do. We got down out of the wind a little and decided that maybe we could head to Lost Lake for lunch, but since that would have added a good distance to the hike, we decided to make the best of it and simply find a place out of the wind.

Our not-so-scenic lunch spot

As we were hiking down from Raptor Ridge, we ran into a young man, Daniel Probst, who stopped to chat with us for a bit. He's excited about his work on a trail that goes from Bellingham all the way to the top of Mt. Baker. I found an article about him and the trail on the Mt. Baker Experience Magazine. It turns out last year this young man and two others ran the entire distance from Bellingham to the Mt. Baker summit in 48 hours and 17 minutes! I thought he looked very fit, but that is an understatement. He also took a picture of us, which he shared with me on Facebook:

Look at those bent trees: am I hallucinating?

And then we returned to Gates Overlook, and by this time we had some sun breaks. It looked like Bellingham was also enjoying some sunshine. The temperature was mild and the day was fine. We covered just under nine miles and really enjoyed the dry rain.

Gates Overlook in the afternoon

As you can see, the sky had changed to more benign clouds than we had at Raptor Ridge, and as we made our way back to the Senior Center, we saw plenty of sunshine. A fine day with just the right blend of adventure and companionship. I am including the following picture of the sign at the Overlook for my friend Stew, who likes maps. This one at least tells you what is out there in Bellingham Bay.

A little information about our park

And this concludes another Thursday hiking around in the beautiful mountains where the Trailblazers spend our winter months. Today felt like spring, with everything budding out, reminding me that it won't be long before we head back up to the High Country!
:-)