Cool Thursday

Warrior Three

 Five years ago, before the Pandemic that caused my favorite yoga studio (Yoga Northwest) to close, I won in a raffle a half-hour private session with Denise, my favorite teacher. She taught me how to do a version of Warrior Three, seen in the picture above, taken back in 2019 at the now defunct studio. It isn't exactly easy to do, or to get into it, but I was determined to learn the pose. As you can see here, I did manage to at least, if not perfectly, get into the correct position. The hanging straps, I thought, added an interesting backdrop. Denise took the picture.

The reason this picture came to mind is because I took a different yoga class today at the Senior Center where I have been attending a class every Monday for awhile. Now that  am no longer hiking regularly on Thursdays, I was also available for the class today. The teacher, however, was a substitute, as our regular teacher is sick with Covid.

It turns out that Dani, the sub, was also a student at Yoga Northwest for years. We chatted about our favorite teachers and how much we still miss the place. She teaches regularly at some place I have never heard of, but I was thrilled to have someone who knew the kind of yoga I practiced for years. And she will soon be teaching twice a week at the Senior Center, starting next month. She supplies poses that are more advanced than Mary, our other teacher, provides. So I figure I'll be changing classes soon. I still enjoy Mary's classes, but I feel much more worked out after today's class than I usually do. It will be nice to have a choice, and there will be many more classes to choose from. The two available classes are always full in no time at all, and you have to sign up weeks in advance. So, I am happy about this new wrinkle in my exercise routine.

 

Trail to Excelsior Peak

Today the Senior Trailblazers are hiking this trail, and I did briefly ponder whether I should go or not, since the temperature has cooled down drastically, and I do think they will have no problem with the seven or eight mile hike with a couple thousand feet of elevation. I probably would have done just fine, but for the first time since I decided to stop going on the Thursday High Country hikes, I didn't feel wistful that I should be there with them. Instead, I had a wonderful yoga class!

I had purchased that hat which makes me a lot like I belong in the French Foreign Legion, to help keep myself cool. It didn't work all that well, but then again, my age is beginning to make me look forward to some new activities. Being an octogenarian is challenging but also interesting. I am intrigued by those new neck fans that I see on Amazon. I will probably try one out next year. Life is good!

:-)

:-)

Whistle Lake

Thanh at Whistle Lake

Today fourteen Happy Wanderers from the Senior Center's hiking club met at the Senior Center for a more than half-hour drive to the Whistle Lake trailhead in Anacortes. We took four cars, so it was quite comfy driving there on a foggy morning with almost chilly temperatures. Thanh was one of the passengers in my car, and hopefully I will now be able to remember her name. It's pronounced "Tahn," so I started calling her "Tahnny" to help me recollect what she is called. I've never been good at remembering names that I don't hear all the time. She's a sweetheart and deserves better. I know she doesn't look it, but she's in her mid-sixties, with grown kids.

Today's leader, Joe, walking ahead

After awhile, the fog began to lift and we had quite a bit of sunshine on this pretty wooded hike. If it weren't such a long drive for around a five-mile trip, it would be visited more often, I suspect. The temperature was perfect, on the cool side but not at all frosty as we ascended and descended around 1,500 feet of elevation.

Pretty mushrooms

Since we've had a little rain in the past few weeks, we were also treated to many different varieties of mushrooms. Nobody wanted to take any home, and we heard some stories about poisonous ones that look completely innocent. Nope, I'm not interested in picking any.

Our lunch spot

We stopped for lunch at a place where we could see the lake. One person was bitten by something, not sure exactly what, but she was given a Benadryl and the wound, which swelled up quite a lot, was slathered with some medication and watched carefully as we headed back. It did go down and hopefully she will be okay. We don't know what bit her.

Enjoying ice cream

At Joe's suggestion, we stopped at the Lopez Island Creamery in Anacortes for some well-deserved treats. This is becoming a definite must-do stop before going back to Bellingham. It doesn't get much better than this: good food, good hike, good company, and lots of camaraderie without even the littlest bit of politics intruding into our day. 

Now, however, it's almost time for the presidential debate, which I will watch and hope for the best, whatever that means. Hope you're having as good a day as I am.

:-)

Slacking off

Lake Ann

Well, many of the Senior Trailblazers are heading to Lake Ann today, one of my favorite hikes of yesteryear. It's an almost nine-mile-long round-trip hike up to this viewpoint and back. I was told the first time I did this one that "it's uphill both ways," and they are right: first you start by descending around a thousand feet in shaded forest, but once you get to the Swift Creek section of the hike, you begin an uphill slog through rocks and full sun until you reach the summit at 4,900 feet of elevation. You've been baking in the sun the whole time going up to the lake, after having left the forest behind at Swift Creek. We are experiencing probably the last really hot part of the summer; it sure was enough to make me look at my pictures and be glad for my friends, but also glad I decided to skip it today.

The lake and Mt Shuksan view

It is a simply beautiful hike, and the views of the back of Mt Shuksan and the Coleman Glacier are also stunning. I didn't swim in the lake, but I did take off my shoes, rolled up my pants, and waded in the water for awhile before we started back. I think I last made this trip before the Pandemic, and now I am not only older but not in as good shape as I was then. And I still remember how much I suffered on the uphill sections.

I planned to take a nice walk this morning after leaving the coffee shop, but by the time I got home and changed into cooler clothes, it was already hot, so I skipped my usual walk. I was going to say that I would "rest on my laurels," but after looking up the meaning of the phrase, I realize that it's more accurate to admit that I'm just slacking off, taking it easy today. I am not going to allow my Apple Watch to admonish me, since I think it's perfectly okay for me to park myself inside while relaxing in an easy chair and enjoying the coolness of the indoors.

But I do hope those young whippersnappers are having a great day. Each time I do this, stay home, it gets a little easier, especially since I had a lovely hike in the wilderness on Tuesday, when the temperatures were at least ten degrees cooler than today's. Tomorrow will be another hot day, but then it is projected to cool off to more normal temperatures, just in time for my Saturday walk with my friend Steve.

Today would have been my first husband's eighty-third birthday, although he's been gone for decades, I still think of him now and then and hope if there's something after this life, he's having a great day, too. In the meantime, I'm basking in my continued ability to feel such gratitude for all my blessings.

;-)

Horseshoe Bend

Sign at trailhead

Years and years ago, I came to this trailhead to hike along the Nooksack River to Horseshoe Bend. Since that time, the original trail, which was shorter, has fallen into the river and a new one built in the same general vicinity. Today, seventeen Happy Wanderers Senior Trailblazers carpooled from the Senior Cdenter up the Mt Baker Highway to this new parking area. It leads us to the new trailhead.

Cindy, today's leader

We started out along the Nooksack on a very well-maintained trail that took us 2.5 miles to a beach where we could have lunch. At first it was easy going, but a bit farther up the trail we encountered steep slopes and a bit of slipperiness. It didn't last long, but I managed to take a spill without injuring myself, fortunately.

Our lunch spot

The water was an interesting color, a little blue-green from the silt that comes from glaciers, I suspect. It was quite a nice little spot for us to rest and have our lunch. Nobody was in a hurry, and since it was still quite early, we spent some time enjoying the mild temperature and the little beach.

Another scene of the beach and Nooksack water

And then, as all things must end eventually, we packed up and headed back the way we had come. It was a little easier on the return, since most of the elevation gain (not much, really, maybe 200 feet) was less slippery on the return. It seemed much too quick a return.

Amazing roots running across this old stump

Never having been on this particular trail before, I was so happy to have found a short but interesting hike to visit in subsequent trips up the highway. And it is a delightful way to be out in the wilderness without going too far afield.

Pretty little mushroom village

I really enjoyed today's outing, and getting to experience a brand-new (to me) trip up the Nooksack to the beach. I would have liked it to be a little longer, but here I am, home and feeling quite rested even after today's adventure.

Huckleberries

Thanks to Thanh, who picked lots of huckleberries for us to enjoy, I learned about these pretty red ones, a little tart and a little sweet, but just delightful. This is only the little bit I hadn't yet eaten. 

Interesting tree and roots

It was another fine trip with my newest group. Many of them will be heading back up to the wilderness on Thursday, but I think I'll skip it, since it's supposed to get hot again and the hike is in full sun. My old bones will find something close by to get my daily exercise, but I'll be interested in how they all do. It is so great to have so much close by to enjoy, so I won't be sitting at home but out and about amongst my local haunts.

:-)