Fabulous Scott Paul trail

Blue skies and incredible views

Today nineteen Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center to drive the long distance down to Schreiber's Meadow trailhead and begin our hike on the Scott Paul trail. It was forecast to be sunny (it was) and hot (not so much), so when we got ready to carpool, Al suggested that we would stay with our car group and eight (two cars) would hike this loop trail clockwise, and the rest (three cars) would hike it counter-clockwise.

Steve, Ward, Linda, Rich, Peggy, Sylvia, Kirk
front: Chris, Carol, Mel (I took the picture)

Here's the group I was with, and we had a wonderful day in just about every way. Many of my fellow hikers had not done this loop hike before, and I have to say I think it's the only time I've actually seen the views, since it's been overcast or foggy on previous trips. That's Mt. Baker in the background, viewed from an angle I rarely see.

Checking out the view

I had heard that the view from this vantage point is pretty spectacular, and now that I've seen it, I have to agree. That is Mt. Shuksan on the left. Once we returned to the trail and began to hike again, we continued to have some pretty incredible views. As we hiked along, Mt. Baker would come and go from view, but suddenly I saw Carol behind me, with the mountain rising up behind her.

Mt. Baker behind Carol

With her yellow shirt and red visor, and the shadow on Mt. Baker, I thought this was a picture I will cherish for a long time, and you also get to enjoy it. Everything came together to make a wonderful shot.

Our lunch spot

When we finally stopped for lunch. we commented that not only had we not seen many people on the trail, we wondered where our "other half" might be. We thought we should have seen them by this time, but once we finished and started out again, not more than five minutes later we saw them finishing up their lunch! If we had had cellphone connections (which of course we didn't), we might have enjoyed our lunches together.

Railroad Grade from Scott Paul

As we hiked along, we were treated to views, such as this one, of other nearby destinations, such as the one called "Railroad Grade"because of the steep vertical moraine that makes it so distinctive. I've hiked it and what you see from here is the steep drop on this side, but there is one almost as steep on the other side, making it a walk on a knife edge. We could see people on it.

Lupine and mountains

The wildflowers were abundant, but not as much as I've seen in previous trips. It's such a beautiful place, but every season is different, and a difference of one week can make a huge variation in wildflower display. You can see plenty of lupine plants in the foreground, but the blooms are sparse.

Suspension bridge crossing

And then it was time for us to cross the suspension bridge across the raging stream below. I was already across when I took this picture of Sylvia crossing (we went one at a time), because it swayed not only from right to left, but up and down as well. Exciting!

After that, it was just a slog of a couple miles back to the starting point and our cars. My feet hurt but the incredible views, the amazing company, and the completion of our hike of more than seven miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss was behind us.

Me in front of Mt. Baker, taken by Mel

As I was riding back home in the back seat of Rich's car, I received this wonderful picture on my phone from Carol, which was sent to her iPhone by Mel. I frankly love it, and I can't keep myself from sharing it with you. It epitomizes the day for me, all sunshine, smiles and incredible views. Am I happy? You bet!
:-)