Thursday, September 19, 2013

Lake Ann ends summer 2013

First view of Lake Ann today
Today, thirteen Senior Trailblazers headed up the Mt. Baker Highway to hike to Lake Ann. Actually, ten Trailblazers and three guests: Carl, Jonelle's friend who goes home tomorrow, a new hiker Bob who hasn't yet joined the Senior Center, and Karen, a friend of Rita's who is visiting her. So off we went from the parking lot on a beautiful day with lots of sunshine.
Rita and friend Karen (plus boots)
The first time I hiked Lake Ann, I asked why it's considered difficult, since it's just eight miles round trip and somewhere around 2,000 feet elevation gain and loss. I was told it is because it's uphill both ways. Truth is, you descend about a thousand feet into a valley, which you cross before starting up another thousand feet to reach Lake Ann and the back side of Shuksan. And then you head back, with the uphill at the end of the day.
Lots and lots of rocks to cross
It's also pretty rocky, with plenty of difficult-to-maneuver boulders. But today we were making really good time, having crossed the valley and started up the final push to Lake Ann, when suddenly we noticed that five of our number had fallen behind. We waited quite a while before finally sending a delegation down to find out what the problem was. It turned out to be a "wardrobe malfunction," since Karen had not used her hiking boots in a couple of years and on these rocks, they began to disintegrate. The soles came right off from instep to heel. Carl had some duct tape, so he tried to make the boots good enough for her to use, at least for a short distance. That's when we all got back together.
Karen's boots getting doctored
Fortunately, Diane had an entire roll of duct tape in her pack, and she donated it to Al and Carl, who put almost all of it on Karen's boots. This took close to an hour of total time lost on today's hike, but we gamely continued on, until we got to our lunch spot and Lake Ann (see first picture).
Doug in front of the Lower Curtis Glacier on Shuksan
Once you get to Lake Ann, you also get to see the beautiful Upper and Lower Curtis Glaciers on Mt. Shuksan. (Note: I am having a terrible time trying to get pictures into Blogger tonight. Sometimes the magic works, but mostly I'm getting error messages. Therefore, I'm going to be brief from here on.) Once we had lunch, we decided to walk around the lake, which we only did once before, when there was an actual beach around the lake and not lots of snow. It was really lovely. Here (I hope) is another picture.
Lake Ann, Shuksan and Upper and Lower Curtis Glaciers
(Aside: I finally left my browser and went to another one, because nothing was working, and now maybe I can finish this post!) Anyway, here's a picture I got of Mt. Shuksan and the glaciers taken when we walked around the lake. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but we did lose some time because of the boot situation. However, Karen did make it back to the cars with her boots plus duct tape.
Heading back down
It was just about the most perfect hiking weather anybody could have asked for today: a light breeze, sunshine, cool temperatures, and time enough to finish our day. The sun is down now, and Sunday brings the first day of fall, but today we had the perfect ending to a fantastic summer in the Pacific Northwest. I just hope we have a wonderful fall season, too. Sending blessings to everyone!
:-)

27 comments:

  1. Oh Jan...
    Is it OK that I'm jealous as I read this? I hope so... because I so wish I could see these beautiful scenes for myself. I've never seen a glacier. I always want to, and perhaps one day I will.
    These are wonderful photos.
    I especially love the shimmering light on Lake Ann in the first photo.
    You should publish your photos.
    I mean it. You are an amazing photographer.
    And....3 cheers for duct tape!!
    Where would we be without it!
    Hugs and smiles,
    Jackie

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  2. It's very difficult to maneuver through boulders. Not fun at all.
    Now the boot deal cracks me up. I had a boot fall apart because we were in very boggy conditions. The sole came off and how did we fix it? You guessed it. Duct tape!

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  3. Once again Duct tape rides to the rescue. Glad to hear the boots held until she was back to the car.

    Everything looks so beautiful. I love your first photo of the sun on the lake. I hope the good weather continues in your area for awhile.

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  4. What a beautiful hike! And your photos are wonderful! thank you for persisting in posting them.

    Duct tape saves the day, again!

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  5. Another day in paradise!
    Just gorgeous, DJan.
    And the boots will make it all the more memorable. :)

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  6. Beautiful post - and I am smiling so much at the ingenuity in becoming temporary cobblers. Brilliant. I hope that Bob joins your intrepid group - and cannot imagine how he could resist.

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  7. Only 8 miles??? Ack! 8 miles on flat land is a challenge for me. You guys are in amazing shape. I thought only shoes in Hawaii came apart like that. You were certainly rewarded with amazing sights. Loved your photos!

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  8. Wow, thank goodness for the duct tape. What would have happened to her if there were no tape, I wonder! Beautiful photos, DJan.

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  9. You were so close to that glacier, it makes me really envious. What a beautiful walk to finish the season. I am in the process of looking for new boots to buy, maybe I should forget the expense and invest in some duct tape.

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  10. Just stunning scenery and this last hike of summer would make it even more special to remember with the Duct Tape situation. My Dad always carried two rolls of duct tape in his pack when he went hunting and I asked him why one day - he replied - "If I ever fell down and broke something, I could make a splint and still get home" - OK - Dad would say you can always get out of a situation if you have a roll of duct tape handy by. Loved the duct tape story DJan and what a notable giggle for end of summer hike, Eh. :)

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  11. What a great place, and great photos. I love the first one of the lake itself. And the glacier photo reminds me of a walk we did to Mount Edith Cavell in the Canadian Rockies nearly 30 years ago - that blue colour in the ice. Your hikes always inspire me. Sorry you're having technical glitches too!

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  12. Duct tape--never leave home without it. Funny but I've never thought to pack it when camping or kayaking. You have changed that.
    That rocky stuff looked impossible and impassible.

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  13. i bet she felt terrible delaying everyone on the hike! but that pic of the duct tape operation is hilarious!

    so glad you had good weather and got to fit it all in. :)

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  14. As a Canadian, eh, I know that Duct tape is the solution to just about everything problematic. So I'm not surprised it works on hiking boots, too!

    Sounds like you had another wonderful hike. Good for you for getting out there and climbing uphill both ways. I'm sure next summer will see you hiking again.

    Blessings and Bear hugs.

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  15. What a beautful place to walk!
    Greetings, RW & SK

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  16. Wow, what is it about glaciers that makes them so awesome? Another memorable trip; thank you for sharing in spite of problems loading your photos!

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  17. I too love that picture of the glacier! Having just seen my first one on our Alaskan Cruise last May, I'm still in awe of them and find them beautiful. Thanks for sharing, DJan. That looked like a wonderful hike.

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  18. Perseverance pays off on a beautiful day and destination...:)

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  19. Good ole Duck Tape!! Awesome pics as usual! Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Such beautiful places you guys visit! Glad the duct taped boots survived the rest of the hike--LOL! Going up hill at the end has to be exhausting! Looks like perfect weather, though. :)

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  21. Just gorgeous photos, boulder, duct tape and all! Happy autumn to you, DJan.

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  22. Well, shoe goo wouldn't have worked 'cause when you apply it, you have to wait 72 hours for it to cure and adhere...lol...good thing the duct tape came to the rescue.

    What beautiful scenes. I LOVE the first image best. So pretty and sparkly the lake is.

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  23. what a cool blend of textures in your walk...from glaciers to boulders as big as the hiker...that was a cool perspective shot btw.....cool lake too...ha....duct tape, you all should do a commercial it...that was cool...

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  24. What fantastic views. And a great duck tape save!

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  25. Duct tape saved the day for the group, lol
    I was impressed by the beauty of the area you went to and by the determination of the entire group to enjoy a most splendid day!

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  26. Beautiful views once again and such a pretty day! Yeah for duct tape! :)

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  27. Ahh, the glaciers. Love 'em. They are so beautiful.
    xo jj

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