A day on the Salal trail

Starting up the Hemlock trail

It was supposed to rain today, so we decided to take a hike where we could turn around at any time, or extend if we wanted. It was Melanie and me, taking the Hemlock trail up to the Lower Salal trail, then to the regular Salal, and then back down the Hemlock. We could have made it longer by adding in a jaunt up the Huckleberry trail, but I decided to keep it short, to see how my lower back did with more than a thousand feet of elevation gain and loss.

Must be tasty

We saw lots of old trillium plants, and this one was certainly well chewed, for some reason. You can see the spent blossom remnants in the middle. It was pretty perfect temperature for hiking, on the cool side, and occasionally we felt a light mist but no real rain.

Melanie on the Salal 

It was really nice to see how beautiful and green everything is. Yesterday it rained most of the day, and a few puddles still dotted the trail, but mostly nothing stopped us from having a good time.

Lovely Lower Salal trail

It's hard to say enough nice things about this trail. Melanie took me on it earlier this spring, and I was pleased to learn that I am stronger today than I was before, and that the elevation didn't bother me as badly as I feared. It helped me to consider going on a bit longer trails in weeks to come.

Really big mushroom

We ran across an entire patch of these big mushrooms. Many of them had been munched on, making me think they are probably not poisonous. However, I am not willing to take any chances by tasting them myself. Anybody know what it is?

Namaské

I asked Mel to take a picture of me in my newest mask. Almost everyone we met on the trail was wearing one, although we were outside and probably safe. If someone didn't have one on already, they pulled it up as we passed by. Nobody wants to catch the virus, as it's beginning to surge around the country, and our own Whatcom County is not immune.

Getting exercise is a good way to keep my system healthy, and I truly enjoy these Thursday trips with my dear friend Melanie. I hope we can keep on doing them until our regular Thursday hikes can resume. We covered six miles and more than 1,000 feet of elevation. It was a really good way to spend four hours of our day. Hoping for more like this!
:-)