Thursday, June 10, 2021

Maple Grove 2021

Kirk, Cathy, Melanie (and me)

 Today is the first day that the Senior Trailblazers gathered in the (still closed) Senior Center parking lot to carpool to a hike in the wilderness together. There were thirteen of us, and most of the group decided to make the journey up the Mt. Baker Highway to tackle the first attempt of the season on Church Mountain. But some of us weren't too keen on it, since rain was in the forecast, and there is still plenty of snow on the trail to the meadow.

So, four of us went "rogue" and headed off to Maple Grove instead. This is a long drive south to Baker Lake, but it's also one of the prettiest hikes around. Kirk just didn't want to walk on snow while hiking in possible rain, and the other three of us were very happy to hop in Mel's car and drive off to see what awaited us.

Maidenhair ferns

This lovely hike along Baker Lake is so beautiful, and has some easy challenges, but no snow, and lots of incredibly lush scenery. It's like being in a fairyland. One of my favorite ferns, the maidenhair, is abundant all along the four-mile trail. I could not resist a few pictures.

Me beside a magnificent old tree

I was simply amazed at the sheer size of this old tree, and I stood next to it so you can appreciate how gigantic it is. I'll bet it's hundreds of years old, and I'm glad it was spared from being cut down for its wood. Now it can be appreciated for years to come by many admirers.

Moss-covered trees next to lush greenery

As we walked along the trail, we enjoyed so many ferns, flowers, and plant life that it was truly magical. Although the place changes from season to season, it also has a sameness that brings joy to my heart. 

Baker Lake and hidden mountains

And then we were at the lake, which in past years has shown us wonderful views of Mt. Baker and Shuksan, but not today. Just low clouds and peeks of a view now and then. It was time for lunch, so we sat down at a picnic table in a light rain, just the four of us, before heading back the way we had come.

Turquoise lake below us

At one point we were some distance above the lake and could see its pretty color through the trees. I had hoped to capture the loveliness, but this is all I could manage. It's a very weak attempt, but perhaps you can use your imagination to embellish it a bit.

Bunchberries

There were lots of bunchberries, pretty little white flowers that are in the dogwood family. It is also called creeping dogwood or dwarf dogwood, and you can find all about it on that link. In any event, we finally made it back to the car and drove back to Bellingham, replete with eight miles of hiking (and even a little elevation), plenty of good conversation, and looking forward to another fine season of hiking!

:-)

18 comments:

  1. Your hike sounds like more fun. I'd take the ferns and moss and flowers to hiking through snow in the rain--LOL! ;)

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  2. It looks and sounds wonderful - and much better than trying to traverse snow in the rain.
    And WHAT a tree!!!!

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  3. The color of the water at the lake is gorgeous. And that giant tree could tell some stories!! I have a question tho, do any of you hikers find wood ticks on your bodies?

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  4. Love that pic of you and the old tree. It's huge... and you look like one of the 'little people' beside it.

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  5. It really does look like some sort of fairyland, we've got no such giant trees in my part of the country--DJan you look like a forest sprite posing for a visitors camera! That's a beautiful photo of Baker Lake as well.

    PS This is my third attempt to leave a comment--I've gotten a Blogger Error screen I've never seen before, let' hope third time's the charm.

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  6. That path through the ferns was so inviting. Looks like going rogue was the smart thing to do. Wow, what a huge tree. Imagine what it has witnessed.

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  7. Wow, that was perfect! The scenery is amazing!

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  8. You made the right choice. sometimes slogging through wet slippery snow isn't fun at all and can be risky at times. This area was beautiful and worth spending time.

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  9. Good hike! I would not want to walk on snow in the rain, either. So, this hike was manageable.

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  10. I don't think I have ever eaten lunch outside in a group when it was raining. You and your friends are real troopers!

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  11. Glad to read that you are getting out with your friends and doing what you love.

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  12. A wonderful trail and a magnificent old tree!

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  13. I love the hike you did today: wonderful ferns and moss, a grand old granddaddy tree, and Canadian Dogwood!

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  14. Ohhh…I so enjoyed the photos and your joy in nature. The old tree is magnificent. I wonder how many others have paused as you did? It would be hard not to. The fourth photo is gorgeous. Bathed in green. Ferns grow so quickly and fill spaces and my heart! Love the bunchberries!

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  15. The photos look a little bit like Jurassic Park!

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  16. What a gorgeous hike. That IS a humungous tree, DJan. Hmmm... Jurassic Park? Very true.

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