A really wonderful day

Trailblazers heading up the Goat Mountain trail

Fifteen Senior Trailblazers met to explore where we might go today, our first sunny and non-rainy Thursday in more than a month. We decided to head to one of our favorite places, Goat Mountain, up the Mt. Baker Highway. This picture was taken on the trail right after our first shedding of coats. Although it's November, and we were already up in elevation by a couple thousand feet, it was amazingly warm.

Up the trail we went

I saw these leaves on the trail under a deciduous tree, but most of the trees on this trail are evergreens. As we hiked upwards, we were reminded of the incredible amount of rain this area received during October. I've never seen so much moisture on this trail, and the streams we crossed were swollen and roaring. I like to think of this 3-and-a-half mile trail as having three parts: first through a lovely wooded forest, then through a wet and marshy section, and the final one in the meadow that takes us to the overlook, our destination.

Logs of mud

As we climbed in altitude, we got more and more muddy places to cross, but onward we climbed, until we reached the final third, the ascent through the meadow. Very steep.

Climbing through the meadow to the overlook

Although when we started the hike the skies were clear, because of all the moisture in the atmosphere as we climbed, we saw plenty of clouds among the periods of full sunshine we enjoyed. When you're climbing uphill, you don't mind clouds because they keep the temperature down. It was actually quite perfect hiking conditions.

Doug and Ellen in front of Mt. Sefrit

And then we reached the overlook, our lunch destination. You can see there's a little snow underfoot, but I suspect most of it is gone because of the warm rain that has been falling up here for some time now. Time for lunch!

Our lunch spot, and Mt. Baker is hiding behind those clouds

There was a little breeze, but nothing we couldn't handle as we settled in for a nice lunch break. The clouds came and went and I tried to capture Mt. Baker when she would allow a little peek of her summit behind the clouds, but it wasn't easy. You can see, however, we had a nice place for our rest spot.

Doug enjoying the view

Here's Doug enjoying the wonderful view while we stopped for lunch. I think those clouds were nothing short of amazing. In the picture below, looking out at Mt. Sefrit, Peggy and Richard are also enjoying the view.

Peggy and Richard with Mt. Sefrit behind

And reluctantly, we realized it was time to start back down the trail and retrace our steps back to the cars. It had been a wonderful trip to one of our most favorite spots, with some of our favorite people. Before we started back down, I captured this picture of Carol.

Dear Carol looking glamorous

Although she might not like it, I simply love this picture of her and after I finish with this post, it's going on Facebook, whether she likes it or not. That is Mt. Sefrit on the left and Mt. Shuksan on the right. We covered seven-plus miles and almost 3,000 feet elevation gain and loss before we got back to the cars. It was a wonderful late-season trip to the High Country, one I will not soon forget!

:-)