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| Our walk today |
Mel and I are not sure where the rest of the Senior Trailblazers went today. I suspect they followed the rules and went up to Oyster Dome from the Chuckanut Highway. We decided to go by ourselves to the Hertz trail at Lake Whatcom. It's one of our favorites, and with the forecast for lots of wind and rain, we wanted to be able to turn around if we needed to.
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| Lake Whatcom when we started out |
As it turned out, we didn't, although it was definitely weather-y when we first took a look at the lake. One reason we chose this trail is that the wind was coming from the south, meaning we would be somewhat protected from the worst of the rain.
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| A carpet of leaves |
In many places along this gorgeous trail, we saw lots of leaves on the ground, making a beautiful magic carpet for us to walk on. There were, as we learned, a few rocks and even the occasional puddle underneath this carpet, but we were dressed for it and took our time.
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| Two fish getting frisky |
There are two bridges on this trail that cross over small streams that usually have, at this time of the year, fish returning to their spawning grounds. As we crossed one bridge, we saw these two fish, one male and one female (red arrows in upper left), doing what looked like acrobatics in the water. A park employee had just arrived and explained what we were seeing. He said that the female (the darker one) will get right up close to the male (the lighter one in back) and then she'll roll over on her side in some sort of courtship ritual. I know so little about this, but it was definitely fun to see all those fish contortions.
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| The wind and rain lessened |
As we started back on the three-mile-long trail, the rain and wind had lessened quite markedly. Now, though, as I sit inside my warm apartment, it's started up again and is now looking quite inhospitable out there. I do hope that the other Trailblazers were able to get up the trail and back down before the worst of the wind and rain hit.
In any event, I am happy to have had a very nice outing, with nobody any the worse for wear. It was a great day!
:-)
No injuries,no falls, beautiful area...soft carpeting on the trails, and best of all a free lesson on nature (like the pbs program).
ReplyDeleteYou two did well before the weather started working full force.
Love those carpets of leaves at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteI think we appreciate the outdoors more if we go out in some nasty weather. If we're prepared for inclement weather it's okay to be out.
ReplyDeleteIt looks and sounds wonderful. The fish (and a knowledgeable explainer) were a bonus.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you pointed out the fish or I wouldn't have found them. That was an unexpected treat. Glad you had the park employee to let you know what was happening. You salvaged a nasty day and made it special. Glad the winds weren't too bad.
ReplyDeleteOyster Dome, Chuckanut Highway, Lake Whatcom--you guys sure have a lot of colorful names! Anyway, very scenic pics DJan... I did see where your part of the country has a lot of rain in the coming days.
ReplyDeleteI love to shuffle through the leaves, such a unique autumn sound. Another great hike with a great friend. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteYou and Melanie picked a good trail sounds like for the weather. Seeing the dancing fish would have been fun for me.
ReplyDeleteYou are an intrepid hiker that's for sure. Good sights and good exercise!
ReplyDeleteRain or shine, you go out to hike. Very amazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your arrows since they weren't easy to see. How wonderful that you had the expert tell you what was happening. That is so interesting. I always thought it was just the female dropping the eggs and the male dropping his sperm over it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you had such a fun hike without getting too wet.
A nice outing enhanced by the fish and your encounter with an expert. I like it when something like that happens.
ReplyDeleteThe weather didn't dampen your photography. Nice pictures!
ReplyDeleteWow !!! absolutely fantastic blog. I am very glad to have such useful information.
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Fish cavorting! Yeah for nature! Glad to hear you had a good hike!
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