Back to the Chuckanuts

Our choices from the North Chuckanut trailhead

Ten Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center to discuss whether or not to head into the High Country today as scheduled, when nothing was expected for the entire day but rain, and lots of it. Reluctantly, we decided to stay close to home and do the Madrone Crest trail in he Chuckanuts. It was already raining when I left home, and although it was quite warm, I figured I'd better take all my rain gear, just in case.

Frank and Rich, a study in contrasts

We had a new hiker join us today, Frank. He is dressed completely in cotton, with no rain protection. We talked about what we expected to happen today, and he was comfortable without wearing anything more. On the other hand, Richard took the opportunity to try something different to stay dry: a clear umbrella hooked to his left shoulder with a long stick, so his hands would be free to hold his trekking poles. Along with his rain skirt, I think he might have been one of the drier hikers today.

Jim, Peggy, Melanie, Rich, Chris, Carol, Jay, Frank, Al (and me)

Although the rain was light, it mostly continued steadily during our hike, but the warm temperatures kept any of us from being too uncomfortable, even though I did get pretty damp under my raincoat. Whether it was from sweat or rain, it made little difference.

Can you see Al?

As we made our way to our destination, I thought this natural arch would make a good picture, but when I looked at it later, Al is almost not even visible in his rain poncho of the same color as his surroundings. Can you see him? Someone suggested the title of "Where's Waldo?"

Misty forest

The rain also gave me another chance for a magical forest shot. I love the way the mist softens the edges of the world. It's almost better than when I take off my glasses, since being nearsighted the world gets much less defined when I do that.

Madrone Crest trail

By the time we had reached our destination, the "viewpoint" at Madrone Crest (obviously the view was lacking today), we decided not to sit down and have lunch but start back, going by way of Huckleberry Point and maybe have a quick snack there. That's just what we did, because other than maybe an hour when the rain lessened, we enjoyed rain the entire time.

We covered somewhere around eight miles and 1,700 feet up and down. Not bad for a rainy day in the Chuckanuts. Maybe next week we'll be able to get into the mountains. I'm more than ready, but today wasn't the right time. We had a really good day in spite of the weather, and nobody melted.
:-)