What a day!

Waterfall on the service road

Today was a very special day: Sixteen Senior Trailblazers decided to break into two groups, one which headed up the Mt Baker Highway in hopes of getting one more day in the High Country. The rest of us (nine) were thinking of going to Lost Lake, starting at the Lost Lake trailhead and heading up the service road for two miles before turning off on the Lost Lake trail. This waterfall is always different, but today it was looking especially beautiful.

Hmmm, what to do?

We got to the turnoff where we could either go up to a view, or down the trail to Lost Lake. As you can see here, Dianne is trying to figure it out. The sunny day made us unsure of what would be the best place to go.

This way would take us to a view

After some hemming and hawing, and being pulled towards the view, we decided to hike down the Lost Lake trail until we could see the lake, and then turn back around and head up this trail so we'd be able to enjoy the sunshine.

Heading back to the previous trail

That's just what we did. Here we are going back to get up to the Burnout viewpoint, realizing that we might get there a bit before lunchtime, but we could still enjoy an early lunch there.

Mt Baker from the viewpoint

Once we got there, it was a glorious view, with Mt Baker showing off, no clouds, and absolutely not a breath of wind. Although it was cold, it didn't feel like it at all, and we pulled out our lunches and enjoyed basking in the sun.

Melanie, Dianne, and me (taken by Angie)

I asked Angie to take this picture of the three of us, all in various shades of purple, in front of Mt. Baker. We lollygagged around after lunch, nobody wanting especially to leave, but we knew that just a short distance away from this view, we'd have a view of the San Juan islands, so off we went.

The San Juan islands in Samish Bay

It was another WOW moment. I've seen these views many times, but never so late in the year without a breath of wind or cold weather. We had already had lunch, but we had trouble tearing ourselves away from the view.

Just a couple more pictures

Then we finally decided to hike back down the trail and make a trip to Fragrance Lake. It was such a beautiful day that nobody wanted to hurry.

On our way to Fragrance Lake

Once we got to Fragrance Lake, we almost decided to skip taking a look at it and just head back to the parking lot, but I'm so glad we didn't. That full sunshine and no wind made for an amazing scene. It was almost like I was looking in a mirror.

Fragrance Lake reflections

It was almost surreal to look at. We only needed to descend to the trail for two more miles to get back to the parking lot, to complete a ten-mile day and 2,400 feet of elevation gain and loss. And here's a news flash: I just got some pictures from Chris, who went to the High Country with the others. They made it to the top of Yellow Aster Butte and had a wonderful day, too. Check out her picture:

Mt Baker from another view

It was a very special day in so many ways. The weather could not have been better, and the fact that it all happened this year on a Thursday, and that we took advantage of it, makes all of us smiling and happy that we are so fortunate to live here! My wine is almost gone, but what a day!
:-)