Chuckanut Ridge 2017

Linda pointing out where we are on the mountain

I knew it would be a tough hike today, since I've been on it before, and I was reminded that when it is labeled "hard" and 11 miles that I would be hurting before the day was done. I didn't expect twelve Senior Trailblazers to head out today, but the mild and dry weather was part of the reason, I suspect, that we had such a good turnout.

Moss in sunlight

We started out before the sun was over the mountain, and this picture was one of the first I saw where the green moss was lit by the sun. We started from the North Chuckanut Mountain trailhead and walked up the Hemlock trail until we met the trail that takes us up to Chuckanut Ridge. If you want to know more detail about the hike, it is available here.

Mt. Baker from our first viewpoint

When we first started out, the skies were overcast, but they cleared up quickly, giving us one of the best first views I've seen of Mt. Baker. We continued our hike along the ridge, which is quite exciting in places, with sheer drop-offs as you traverse it. Some were experiencing it for the first time, but I've done it in rain and fog; today was perfect weather.

Victoria bathed in sunlight

I caught this picture of Victoria and thought, when I took it, that the sunlight would spoil the picture, but it turned out wonderfully. We were on our way to Gates Overlook for lunch after hiking more than five miles with plenty of ups and downs to deal with.

Enjoying lunch at Gates Overlook

We reached Gates Overlook right about noon and were quite ready to stop. That's my blue inflatable seat on the right. It wasn't warm exactly, but it was so pleasant to stop and have a bite to eat before heading back down on our return trip.

Jim, Ward, Al, Ellen, Mike, Victoria, Linda, Peggy, Jay, Kirk, Rich

You can see from the group that it wasn't so awfully cold that we were huddled in all our warm clothes, but as usual when we have stopped for lunch and eaten, it took awhile to get back up to true warmth, when you need to start to shed clothing. On the way back down, we saw this interesting tree setup:

Split tree

We wondered how it happened that this tree was split right down the middle by another one. How did it start? Probably the wind initiated the scenario, but there was no junction in the split tree that indicated how it all started. It made for some good conversation, though.

Samish Bay on our return trip

We stopped for a quick look at Samish Bay on the way back to the cars. The sun was long gone, with the sky overcast again, but still it was a lovely view of the bay. After admiring the view, we continued our long trek back. Before it was all over, we had covered 10.5 miles and climbed and descended 2,900 feet (900 meters) of elevation. Needless to say, there was little that wasn't either climbing up or descending downward on this hike.

What amazes me is that my knees seem to be in rather good condition, and the only thing that is really tired is the rest of me. We are almost all of us septuagenarians, and we did fine! That is the very best part of spending time with other like-minded old people: we all want to keep doing this for as long as we can. Another great day!
:-)