Artist Point snowshoe

This past weekend Al sent around an email to the Trailblazers to see if anybody wanted to go up to Artist Point with him today from the Heather Meadows parking lot to "snowshmush" as he called it, and he was right. With all the warm weather we've had lately, the plentiful snow was the consistency of sno-cones. We strapped on our snowshoes and went anyway. Nobody showed up except me, so just the two of us went out for one last visit to the area before the summer season.

Here you see Al messing with his new camera as we get started. We intended to head up to Huntoon Point, our usual snowshoe destination, but once we had navigated Cardiac Hill and made it to the ridge, we decided to head towards Table Mountain, just for a change of pace. It was slow going through the soft snow, making it much harder than usual. But the scenery was spectacular, not a cloud in the sky, very little breeze, and temperatures in the sixties.

Al took this picture of me with beautiful Mt. Shuksan in the background. I never tire of looking at it, and thanks to the many hikes taken with the Trailblazers, I've seen it from several different angles. Artist Point is the starting point for many of our summer hikes, and I was hoping I could find a picture of the parking lot at the end of the road to Artist Point, which doesn't open until the end of July, usually, but here's what it looks like today.

Underneath that mound of snow in the middle of the parking lot is a bathroom that will probably not even be visible until right around the summer solstice at the end of June. Two years ago, the road to Artist Point never did open because there was so much snow. Hopefully this year we will get to enjoy some of our favorite hikes once again. If the warm weather we've had the past two weeks continues, there will be no doubt!

But, as you can see here, there is still plenty of snow that needs to melt before the flowers at this altitude will be able to bloom. The bloom today is all in my pink cheeks, although I slathered on the sunscreen liberally. The incredibly fine weather will continue around here at least until the weekend, and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest. Not to mention how happy it's making my garden!
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Senior play date

Al taking a picture of me taking a picture of Amy

Al sent around an email last week asking if any of the Senior Trailblazers might be interested in a snowshoe outing before the weather changes. Three of us showed up early this morning and spent the day in the High Country on snowshoes! We left foggy and overcast Bellingham and headed up the Mt. Baker Highway to find sunshine and warmer temperatures. It felt almost balmy, until a breeze picked up and kept us wearing our coats all day.

Taken at the parking lot with my iPhone

On the way to the meeting place, I realized I had forgotten my camera, and there was no time to go back for it, so I decided to make do with my iPhone camera. Al brought his camera, so these pictures are a mixture of his and mine. I was very pleased with the quality of the pictures I was able to get from a cellphone, but it doesn't have a zoom and makes decisions for me that I would not make on purpose. Not perfect, but WAY better than no camera at all.

We headed up to Huntoon Point from the Heather Meadows parking lot. We really didn't need our snowshoes, since it has been at least a week since it snowed, and we were mostly hiking on what is affectionately known as "Cascade Concrete." The only time it was serene and quiet were the few moments we were in untracked snow.  A storm is due any time now, which is why we decided to go today.

The sunshine left us as we saw a bank of clouds building, but we had magnificent views of our two favorite mountains. Here's Mt. Baker looking regal in the sun, a picture taken with my iPhone. As we continued our upward trudge to Huntoon Point, the snow became marginally better as we gained altitude.

Also taken with my phone, this picture shows Mt. Shuksan with Al in front, as we reached the point. If I had my regular camera, the mountain would look much larger because I would have used my zoom. As it was, I had to crop the picture anyway because my thumb was over the top part of the picture. I'll need to get better at this if I keep forgetting my camera. We sat down to have lunch, and one of our favorite friends, the grey jay (also known as the camp robber) showed up. I fed him a few bits of my trail mix and put together this collage. Pictures are all taken by Al.

You can click on the picture to admire it properly

I have done this before, putting some nuts in my hand and letting the jay take them. The feeling of his little sharp claws on my hand is interesting. He wasn't going to let go or leave until he had crammed every last bit in his beak. I watched as he picked up one, two, three almonds, stopping for a moment to pose for the camera before taking off.

It was a wonderful day spent in the mountains a mere hour or so away from town. Thursday the rest of us will gather for a hike that is predicted (again) to be in rain.  But I don't really mind; I had today in sun, clouds and snow, and Friday I'll be in Florida!
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Sunny day on showshoes

Al sent around an email to the Senior Trailblazers last week suggesting that we might take advantage of the incredible weather we've been having here in the Pacific Northwest and get out for a snowshoe adventure. The snow fell more than a week ago, and every day the avalanche danger has been less, so today, Monday, five of us took him up on his offer and drove from Bellingham to the parking lot at the far end of the ski area to start up to Huntoon Point, a place I've visited a few times before. In the picture above, you can see the end of the road to Artist Point, with a stop sign and a little bit of snow. Nowhere to go from here, take my word for it, except to strap on skis or snowshoes and head into the wilderness. So that's what we did.

This is Amy, the other woman on today's trip, all decked out and warm as we headed up Cardiac Hill. We've all been up this way before and know that we know we will cover a fair amount of elevation in a short distance. The day was perfect, a light breeze and sunshine that just wouldn't stop. I had slathered on the sunscreen and Mike frantically pawed through his pack looking for his sunglasses, which he apparently left at home. Fortunately, Amy had an extra pair, and we were just fine after that little glitch. Cardiac Hill goes straight up for quite awhile, but we all managed pretty well. Here's a picture of Steve leaving the rest of us in the dust.

That tiny black dot, that's Steve following a well-traveled snowshoe track up to Huntoon Point, where we would have lunch. The day was so perfect that we decided to spend a bit of time exploring around the area and checked out some snow pits that must have been created by a class, teaching people how to survive if they end up in the wilderness unexpectedly.

On the way to the point, Al took this picture of me in the foreground and Mt. Shuksan in the background. It's one of the most beautiful mountains around here (I've taken many pictures over the years), but I wanted to show how incredibly SUNNY and bright the day was. My new transition lenses worked perfectly, BTW. We met a few others on the way, but I'm sure the numbers are way down from the weekend. The only thing we had to deal with was plenty of snowshoe, snowboard, and ski tracks from people who were in this beautiful place before us.

My new camera caught this picture of Mike with the sun behind him, lighting up his hat and pretty red pompom during our lunch stop. We are at Huntoon Point and the only disappointment was that Mike hoped that the grey jays would visit us so we could take picture of us feeding them from our hands. He brought the bird seed and was waving his hands in hopes of enticing them to join us for lunch. But it was not to be. We did see some ravens circling and playing in the wind currents, but they didn't care to join us. It wouldn't have been the same, anyway.

When we headed back to our car and our journey home, I got this picture of Amy and Al, with Shuksan behind them, not to mention the continuing beautiful blue perfect skies. We didn't cover much distance, considering, a little less than five miles on snowshoes, but it seemed much farther. We did ascend and descend around 1,800 feet of elevation in those miles, which helped to make the day into a good workout. With the sunshine, the company, and the delight we had in being outdoors on such a beautiful day, I'm definitely not complaining.
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Finding the time to post

Boy, I'll tell ya, it's been hard trying to find the time to get this post finished. I started to post this yesterday after our wonderful showshoe trip into the Mt. Baker area, but since we didn't get home until after 4:00 pm, I was famished and then got lost in the news coming out of Egypt. Now it's after 1:00 pm the following day, and I just now got a chance to settle down and write a bit.

Seven of us Senior Trailblazers answered Al's call about possibly going up to the High Country on Tuesday, with the weather forecasted to be clear and cold and, as you can see, we were happily snowshoeing on some rather pre-recreated snow. I think it snowed up there on Friday and the weekend warriors came out in droves. The snow was much more of the Cascade Cement variety than we had last time, but the sunshine was very much appreciated, and we enjoyed every second of the day. We headed up to Huntoon Point for lunch. We found that someone had carved a nice snow seat so we could all sit around and chat. Our old friends the gray jays showed up for lunch, too.

I especially love this picture of Mike feeding a jay some of his dried cranberries. If you enlarge the picture, you can see that the jay looks like he's laughing, or maybe talking to Mike about his choice of bird food. We actually sat around and had lunch for more than a few freezing minutes for a change before we headed back down the trail. I asked Mike to take a picture of me feeding the jays, so he did.

Mr. Gray Jay was less than impressed with my pumpkin seeds. I had counted out my almonds and only had 24 for the whole day, so I wasn't inclined to share them with him, but I was surprised to find that he wasn't really very interested in the pumpkin seeds. You can see he's inspecting my wares and didn't come back for seconds. They are wonderful cheeky birds, though, and I truly enjoyed having them around. By the time we reached the cars, we had covered a little more than four miles and 1,300 feet of elevation. It sure seems like a lot more on snowshoes, I have to say. I was really tired by the time I got home.

Earlier in the week I placed an order for a case of Boulder Hot Sauce, because I was sent a bottle of the pricey but very tasty sauce by a good friend. I gave the owner my credit card number over the phone, and he sent me a nice little receipt for $59.53. This morning I got a call from him, with an apology for an accounting error. Someone entered the receipt as being for $5,953.00 of hot sauce! And guess what, my bank took it without question. It showed up on my bill this morning, and when I talked with the bank clerk, I asked her if maybe it didn't look a little suspicious that I had decided to buy so much of the stuff. Nope. It went through without a raised eyebrow, which makes me a tiny bit nervous. I'm going to keep a much closer eye on my account from now on. I have been issued a refund, but it hasn't shown up yet. I'll breathe a big sigh of relief when it does.

I just love this picture of one of the jays I took yesterday. He is looking quite coy, or maybe just posing for the camera. They do get a lot of visitors up there.

:-)

Snowshoes once again

We had such a great time last Monday on our snowshoe outing that our fearless leader Al suggested another one, to the same place, today (Tuesday of the following week) to take advantage of the snow that has fallen since then AND to beat the next storm on its way here tonight. I took the above picture from the car on our way up to the ski area, and we were almost there. We were joined by four neophytes who have NEVER before been on snowshoes, all of them Senior Trailblazers. Peggy told me she had an anxiety dream about it but it was really a wonderful day, although nothing like last week's sunny and warm trip.

Ward, Peggy, Linda and Maggie, first-time snowshoers

The wind was blowing and it was much colder as we headed up Cardiac Hill. Thirteen of us left the parking lot and began our hike. Since there was a lot of new snow, we had really wonderful conditions, even if we were nowhere near as comfy as last week. My hands and feet were cold for the first hour, gradually warming up from the exertion. However, every time we found ourselves with a brisk headwind, my body temperature went down and I felt the cold again. As we gained some altitude, the scenery was spectacular and completely different from last week's trip.

You can see all the new snow, as well as the lowering skies. We had no view of Mt. Baker today, and when it got to be noon-ish, we headed down off the ridge to get out of the wind and have a quick snack. My Camelbak water hose had frozen solid and no amount of sucking and blowing would dislodge it. I've simply GOT to get a better system. Fortunately I had brought some hot tea in a thermos, so I drank some and ate part of a sandwich before we headed back down to the stream bed on our way back to the cars. We ended up hiking around three-and-a-half miles, which we consider equates to regular hiking to be about two to one (in other words, it felt much more like seven miles without snowshoes).

The view of our favorite mountains was spectacular, even if the sun was hiding behind grey skies and the wind was blowing. After we reached our cars, Mikey Poppins discovered that his car keys were missing, probably falling out of his pocket in a snowdrift after a spill. We all fell at least once, but this one caused us some consternation. After loading everyone up in our cars, we decided to take a look at our options at the Beer Shrine and discuss how to fix the problem, leaving Mike's car in the parking lot. Here's Mikey, dressed appropriately for once, in front of the Beer Shrine's sign.

Yes, it's not only a brewery and pizzeria, but also a wedding chapel and beer museum. They have their own microbrew, and I can attest to the excellence of their IPA. We had a quick conference at the Shrine, and the drivers amongst us only had the smallest three-ounce repast (I was not one of them) while we decided that Mike's wife would drive a key to our meeting point and Al (blessed guy that he is) would then drive Mike back up the mountain to his car, while the rest of us all came home to our various spouses. As I am writing this right now, at 5:30pm, I suspect that Al and Mike are still not home from the day's adventure. As bad as Mike felt about it all, I hope he realized it could have happened to any one of us. It was a GREAT DAY filled with excitement and adventure!

Trust me, if you ever get a chance to experience the North Fork Beer Shrine's wonderful microbrewery, you will not be sorry. Until next time, stay safe and have fun! I know I am.
:-)

A day on snowshoes

Yesterday (actually last evening) I got an email from my hiking buddy Al telling me that the Mt. Baker Hiking Club was heading up to Huntoon Point from the Mt. Baker Ski Area parking lot, and did I want to join them, since he had room in his car? Well, I waffled about it for exactly five seconds before sending him an email back that I would meet him and a few others to carpool up to the meeting point. We knew that today was supposed to be the last day in a long string of sunny and cold days. More than twenty people showed up for this impromptu trek to the snow.

For my two snowshoe excursions last year, I borrowed Al's extra pair and as soon as they put some on sale at REI, I bought my own pair, but they were virgins until today. We headed out in the sunshine, up to the Point, and I found that (1) it's important not to snug the snowshoes too tight over your toes or they aren't going to want to warm up, and (2) they are wonderful and perfect! What else could have taken me into the beautiful wilderness with such amazing simplicity? Two of the people who came along today wore cross-country skis and struggled up the slopes while we planted one foot in front of the other, but boy did they ever cruise downhill! I do have a pair of cross-country skis in my closet that have not been used since skydiving took me away from Colorado's high country.

This picture of Shuksan and friends from our lunch spot showed the beginnings of cloud formation, although the clear, still air allowed me to have my lunch without even having to put on my coat. It was the most perfect day in the company of new friends, along with Al, Amy, Marjan and Frank (old friends from the Thursday group).

Amy is surrounded by sunshine, Mt. Baker is in the background, and as we headed back down to our cars after a four-mile snowshoe trek we discussed maybe stopping for a beer on the way home. I'm telling you right now: I am one of the most fortunate people in the Universe for finding this place to live. I never knew when I chose Bellingham for my retirement home that I would be so perfectly attuned to its alluring mountains, coastline, climate, and senior hikers. I pause for a moment to say thank you!
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No hike today

Instead of hiking today, I am nursing a cold I seem to have picked up in the past couple of days. It started out with a very scratchy throat, cough, and a general feeling of malaise. But I did think it was getting better, and I even made plans for the hike today.

But last night, I woke several times with a very sore throat and lots of congestion, making my desire to go along on the hike with my friends seem a whole lot less appealing. Plus the possibility of rain was the clincher, seeing as it would not be a good idea to make myself sicker. So I reluctantly stayed home and thought about my usual Thursday post and what I would write about instead of posting lovely pictures of my day's journey into the mountains. Today might be the last time for our visits to the High Country, as this front might bring enough snow for us to start our hikes around town. Today is our last scheduled trip up there anyway, but if the weather cooperates we might make it one more time.

I have to reluctantly conclude that my little one-legged chickadee has been recycled, as he has not appeared in the last two days. I suspect that the fluttering wing he needed to use to compensate for the recently lost leg was enough to entice a raptor to check him out. If by some chance he does return, I will rejoice and let you know right away. But the signs are not good.

On a positive note, however, I watched the miners in Chile yesterday, being pulled out of the ground and was able to celebrate along with the rest of the world at their amazing rescue. It was horrible to contemplate them being down here for several more months. The fact that everything proceeded with such speed and competence was an inspiration to me: a situation that seems entirely hopeless can actually have a good outcome, given enough ingenuity and perseverance.

I have purchased a set of snowshoes so I can hopefully take advantage of the forecasted snow this winter. We have a moderate to strong La Niña in progress, which usually brings the Pacific Northwest more precipitation and colder temperatures during the winter. Although I am not looking forward to the moderate temperatures leaving town, I had so much fun using (and breaking!) Al's spare snowshoes that I had to buy a pair for myself. They look just like this picture, MSR Evo 22's in a nice sedate blue.

As you can see, today's snowshoes bear little resemblance to the old ones that looked to me a whole lot like a tennis racket, and using these strapped onto my regular hiking boots are very easy to use. If I have the chance to be in deep powder I'll need a pair of tails added onto them, but it's not that likely in this area. Last year we had what is affectionately known as "Cascade cement" and expect that to be more like what we'll have this year. But you never know.
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June snowshoe adventure

This is me yesterday, June 22, with three friends starting our snowshoe adventure up to Skyline Divide. We never made it to the top, but some people who are sweltering in the heat might get cooled off a little by looking at all that snow.

We hiked up from the trailhead about a mile before deciding to strap on the snowshoes we had wisely added to our gear. I still don't have any, but I borrowed Al's spare set. That's Al in the orange, with Marjan and Frank busily strapping on their snowshoes.

Al suggested to the Senior Trailblazers that we do this hike on Tuesday before the trip up to Church Mountain on Thursday. I won't be able to go on that one, since I've got a dentist appointment right in the middle of the day, so I was happy to be able to join three others on Tuesday. It is a fairly short hike (around two miles) to the summit of Skyline Divide, but we lost the trail in the deep snow and tried to make our way through the steep brush. While I was hanging onto a steep slope wondering how in the world I would be able to get back down, my water bottle came loose and crashed back down into the snow. I decided to join it, since clinging onto the side of a mountain with strange things strapped to my feet was NOT my idea of fun. Plus the weather had not cleared and all that work would not have given us a view.

As we began our descent from the snow, of course the weather began to clear a little. This is a view of Church Mountain across the valley, which the Trailblazers will attempt without me tomorrow. As you can see, they will not be able to get to the summit there either, since the snow is still quite deep. But it's sure beautiful. And we did have a great day, it didn't rain, even if the sun didn't come out in the Cascades until around 4:00 pm.

The flowers are beginning to come out in the High Country, though, as you can see from this beautiful waterfall at the end of the hike, on our way back down the road. It's a different world here, since you can go from sunshine and summer into winter in less than an hour. I love this place!
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Artist Point snowshoe

Today, ten of the Senior Trailblazers decided, instead of taking an easy hike in town to Teddy Bear Cove, we would head up to the High Country to the Mt. Baker Ski Area and snowshoe up to Artist Point, a two-mile hike up more than 1,000 feet. And that's what we did. I hadn't been on snowshoes for decades, so I borrowed a pair from our leader. They have changed a lot since I was using them so many years ago, and after getting them on and clomping our way across the frozen parking lot, we headed up from the ski area to Artist Point. It's a beautiful hike, and the day was gorgeous: high clouds, a little cold, but otherwise very exciting and scenic.

One problem was that when we started out, the snow was what is affectionately known as "Cascade cement," with us crunching across ice disguised as snow, but as we gained altitude, the snow got better and better. We also had two types of birds that visited us during our lunch break, many "camp robbers" or gray jays, and a huge raven. We also saw, in the distance, a bald eagle circling. (He never got very close, but was so  beautiful, circling high above us.) The jays will take food right out of your hands, or land on your head trying to grab it before it makes it to your mouth.

After lunch, we made our way back down the mountain, slipped and slid on the ice until we could get into our cars and make our way home. As soon as I walked in the door, I downloaded all my pictures, tired and happy, and feel very much like I will be excited to go into the High Country again on snowshoes, weather permitting. And here's the beautiful raven, who watched us with interest but was definitely not eating out of our hands!

:-)