Thursday, October 27, 2016

Oyster Dome in reverse

Ellen dressed warmly, and Mikey dressed in his regular outfit
Today nine Senior Trailblazers showed up on another rainy day, with no idea where we might go for our Thursday hike. Obviously the original destination in the wilderness was not going to work out, since even though it was forecast to be rainy in town, it was forecast to be more so in the High Country. We finally decided to head up to Oyster Dome, a regular winter hike, but this time do it in the opposite direction from usual, since it's a nice nine-mile loop.
Samish Bay Overlook
Usually we arrive at Samish Overlook towards the end of our hike, but this time it was early. As you can see, we didn't have wonderful weather, but it was only windy when we were in open areas like this one; the rest of the time we were in the trees snd sheltered. Plus we didn't have much of the "r" word, just the occasional mist.
Linda with a giant maple leaf
At this time of year, the trail is covered with golden leaves everywhere, and the giant maple trees shed these amazingly beautiful ones. We have to tread on them, but they didn't seem to mind. Sometimes we thought we might need to don our raincoats, but we only used them for warmth when it got windy.
Leafy carpet
By the time we reached Oyster Dome, it was a few minutes past noon. The view from the Dome is always nice, but although it looked quite lovely, it was too cold to stop, so once we admired the view, we went back down to a place out of the wind.
View of Samish Bay from Oyster Dome
Once we had our lunch, it was time to start the final push back to the cars. There is only one section of the trail that we cover twice, so it was fun to see the Oyster Dome trail from the other direction than we usually take. It almost seemed like a new trail.
Mushrooms growing in an old tree stump
These mushrooms are growing all around this old tree stump, and inside it as well. We admired it for a few minutes before resuming our descent. I am sorry that the picture doesn't do it justice. Some of those little mushrooms really did look almost lime green.
Looking up at the canopy above us
At one point, I looked up to see the beautiful canopy of trees that we walked under today. And as I said, we never had much precipitation to cause us concern. We covered around nine miles and almost 2,000 feet of elevation, and after not knowing what to expect, we were all pleasantly surprised by the fine day we had. Returning to town, I noticed large puddles, making me think we were again protected from the rain by our guardian angels. And choosing just the right trail for the day!
:-)

16 comments:

  1. Amazing pictures today, Jan. I especially liked the last two.

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  2. the higher the elevation the more likely for precipitation. It's good when you can reverse the direction of the hike.

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  3. I am so glad I don't have that large of leaves in my yard! Beautiful views again today on your hike, I wish I knew more about mushrooms or Fungi! I find them very interesting:)

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  4. Looking up through that canopy has made my heart sing. Thank you so much.

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  5. I love Fall leaves! Great picture of those giant maple leaves on the trail. I may have to use that as a screen saver pic! And I like that canopy shot too.

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  6. That's a beautiful canopy of trees.

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  7. laughed at the juxtaposition of outfits. :) LOVED the giant leaf! and such a beautiful view 'up'. thank you!

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  8. Another beautiful hike! Love those mushrooms. You lucked out again in the rain avoidance department.

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  9. Those large leaves are amazing!! You were protected from the rain once again. :):) Love the great shots of the mushrooms and trees.

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  10. Sure hope Ellen and Mikey aren't married. What drastically different body temps they have:))
    Loved that canopy shot. Artistic.

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  11. That is one huge maple leaf. I'm wondering if the trail was slippy with all those leaves. You cover a lot of mileage even in inclement weather, though this day you were lucky, and it didn't pour.

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  12. Love the giant maple leaf! I've never seen one that large here in the northeast. And i love the photo of the canopy of trees. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. It makes me feel like I am there :-)

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  13. Love, love LOVE that canopy perspective!!! Unique, and beautiful.

    My gosh, seems to me 'giant' is a lame word for the maple leaf.........more like colossal!! Wow.

    Love the contrast of the shorts and the woolies in the first photo.

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  14. 9 miles? Goodness! You probably logged in 30,000 steps! Wow! Thank you for sharing all that you see. Those giant leaves are awesome.

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  15. That is one huge Mapleleaf....WOW. There is a green tinge to the mushrooms, so I am sure there was more green, the closer one looks. Your last photo is amazing....its like the trees and sky never end. Really great shot and good to hear the rain did not come. Folks around here have gone suddenly from fall jackets to toques n winter jackets.....and in a matter of days filled with heavy rain and high winds....all those pretty leaves have gone....sigh.

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