Gates Overlook via Chinscraper

It wasn't a sunny day today, not at all. We never saw any sign of the sun, and a light rain fell most of the time we were hiking. This is the kind of weather we expect in February, not days and days of sunshine, so nobody was disappointed. In fact, eleven Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center and carpooled to the Clayton Beach trailhead. We walked up the old logging road until we got to the well-named trail known as Chinscraper. The picture does no justice to show you how steep it is. But we slogged uphill until we got to Gates Overlook, where there was no view at all.

Steve is pointing out what they would be able to see if it were not socked in and raining. Holly (in the red) had never been here before, so I suspect she'll want to come back one day and see what she is missing. You look out over Bellingham Bay from this spot. Sometimes we have lunch here, but today we were early, a little after ten, so we decided to trek on to Fragrance Lake, where we often have our midday break.

It is always green and lush in the Pacific Northwest, all year round. That's one thing you get from all the rain, and I really didn't mind the light on-and-off rain that fell before we got to the lake. We were all prepared with proper rain gear, and several hikers had worn their rain pants, which usually act as a deterrent to the rain, a Trailblazer superstition. They cause the wearer to overheat and the rain often doesn't materialize. I carried mine in the bottom of my pack and never felt the need to put them on.

You can see from the light raindrops on the lake that it wasn't a downpour. At least not yet. When we were on the ridge, a strong wind was making us feel pretty cold, but by the time we reached the lake, it was relatively warm and we had a very nice lunch break. However, when we started back to the cars, the rain increased in intensity and we trudged in a fairly steady rain all the way back down. One of the hikers pointed out this amusing nearsighted fungus to me, so I snapped the picture. It was not one of our group who did this, and I'm hoping the glasses were brought up there just for this purpose. There didn't seem to be prescription glass in them, or any glass for that matter.

By the time we returned to our starting point, we had traveled nine miles or just a bit less, depending on whose GPS you wanted to believe, and ascended and descended 2,150 feet of elevation. I'm plenty tired, sitting here writing the post, and tomorrow I'll be heading to Seattle to see the annual Flower Show. Of course you will be seeing the pictures. Until then, I wish you a warm and dry day!
:-)