Oyster Dome

Heading up from the highway to Oyster Dome

We were scheduled to head up the Mt. Baker Highway today and make our way up Hannegan Pass. After an all-night rainstorm and rain early on, eleven Senior Trailblazers decided instead to change our hike to a local one. Oyster Dome is a favorite, although it didn't look as though there would be much view. But it's a real workout, gaining more than 2,000 feet and with lots of other ways to lengthen the hike if one wanted to.

First chance for a view

After hiking uphill for about a mile, we reach a nice little overlook, where you can look out on Samish Bay. It wasn't until we reached this spot that we were pretty sure it wasn't going to rain on us. Lots of drippy trees did get us a little wet, but we didn't let that deter us.

Our first view

Although this is somewhat of a loop hike (or as Al calls it, a lollipop), we would come back to this spot on our way back to the cars. Even though it's very lovely, on our way back, it would be even better, since unbeknownst to us at the time, the skies would brighten.

Lots of maidenhair ferns

We crossed several streams, which were flowing merrily along, after all the rain we've been having. I took this picture because I love these ferns, and I thought it made for a nice scene, with Melanie's purple rain jacket adding a bit of color.

Lily Lake

We decided to skip the final push to Oyster Dome, figuring there would be little to no view, and took the trail to Lily Lake instead. It was smooth and quiet, and although it was a little bit on the early side, we decided to go ahead and stop for lunch. A first lunch, anyway. Some would save their lunch for Samish Overlook.

Today's motley crew

We gathered in our usual spot, sitting on the wet benches and having a nice snack (or lunch, if you were like me and already hungry). From here, we hiked to Samish Overlook, which is an alternate starting point for the trip to Oyster Dome. We always do the harder trek up from the highway, partly because we want more distance, and also several people would feel we cheated a little.

Samish Overlook

By the time we reached the Overlook, the skies had begun to clear, and we sat in this lovely area, munched down our remaining lunch, and basked in the sunlight. Nobody was in a big hurry to head back down the steep trail, so we took our time.

Blue skies!

This is what we had on our return journey: beautiful blue skies, sunshine galore, and an early end to our hiking day. When we take the long trip up into the mountains, it adds around three hours of travel to the day. Today, we were back to the Senior Center early, with lots of daylight still to come.

And now, as I finish my post and relax in my easy chair, I'm glad I went. There were a few moments towards the end of the steep downhill that my knees were complaining, but I was careful to watch my step so I wouldn't fall and re-injure anything. We covered almost nine miles and 2,200 feet of elevation gain and loss. Another wonderful day!
:-)