Thursday, March 24, 2016

Annual visit to Burnout Point

Mikey, Peggy, Linda, Ward, Steve
We were a small group of six today, for reasons I'll tell you about in a minute. First, our weather forecast was again not exactly positive, and we knew it wouldn't be a completely dry day, but we hoped our luck would hold. It did; we had some rain, some wind, muddy trails, but nothing we couldn't handle. You might notice a Trailblazer in that picture we haven't seen much of lately: Mikey, who is hoping his health has returned enough for him to join us now and then. He hasn't been a regular for well over a year, so it was wonderful to see him. Al didn't join us again today, this time because of an arthritic hip that is acting up. I was willing to lead in order to set the pace.
Well worn sign
We start this hike from the Larrabee State Park parking lot and head up some steep logging roads to Burnout Point. On the way, Steve pointed out this sign to us, which shows frequent wear from cougars using it to sharpen their claws. Either that or marking territory to warn off others. It was quite impressive to see the deep gouges in the wood.
Looking out at Samish Bay
This is our first viewpoint and, as it turned out, the only one we had today. I've taken this silhouette picture before, but I never tire of it. As you can see from the clouds, we played tag with rain all day. We never had a downpour so we consider ourselves lucky. But it had rained plenty during the previous night, making our trail muddy in many spots. Once we reached the top, Burnout Point, there was no view and the wind was blowing, not to mention it was raining at that point. We hustled back into the trees.
Our trail
As you can see from this picture, it was rather damp, but our trusty rain pants and gaiters kept us (mostly) dry. By the time we were on the return trail, we weren't anxious to make the hike too much longer, so we skipped Fragrance Lake where we usually stop for lunch and found a nice place to hunker down for a quick snack to keep us going. Our "lunch stop" was brief and truncated in order to get back to the cars before any more rain.
Licorice ferns
I am always delighted to see these licorice ferns growing from rock crevices. In the foreground are sword ferns with the small pretty licorice ferns behind. One thing we have plenty of here in the Pacific Northwest are ferns of all kinds!
Trees that found a way
These tree roots that have found their way to the ground in order to grow, and even flourish, amaze me every time I see them. They were slightly wet and shiny when I took this picture, which still doesn't do them justice. This Fragrance Lake trail is well used, and I suspect these roots are often photographed.

About our small group: I got an email yesterday from Chris, telling me that she and Richard would not be joining us today because she fell from her bike yesterday, breaking her wrist. On the way back with five us of piled in a car together, I called her to find out how bad it is. Bad: she will have surgery tomorrow, Friday, as her wrist is shattered and will require a plate inserted to hold the bones together. It's her right hand, so Richard is having to do everything for her. She says she's going to have to teach him to cook!

So with Al absent and Chris injured, our numbers fell to a few hardy souls today. However, we had a really good time anyway, covering more than eight miles and more than 2,000 feet up and down before it was all said and done. It's still early enough that I've got to wait for wine o'clock a bit longer. Until then, I'll settle into my chair and relax!
:-)

19 comments:

  1. i'm so sorry for your friend's wrist break! hope surgery goes well for her! and i hope mikey will be well enough to continue joining you! loved the silhouette shot and those great ferns and roots! we've all reached 'burnout point' at some time in our lives - might just not have been as beautiful as yours. :)

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  2. Good for you setting the pace! Poor Chris I hope her wrist heals fast! :)

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  3. Sending healing wishes your way for Chris, I hope all goes well with the surgery.
    I'm amazed at those tree roots, they look almost prehistoric !
    Thank you for sharing your hikes with us, they always treat us to incredible vistas.
    ~Jo

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  4. Chris will be good in no time.
    I broke my right wrist, fell from a bike 16 years ago.
    broke my left wrist 7 years ago.

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  5. Cool that you got to be the leader. When You're a leader it definitely puts a different perspective on things. Have a great weekend.

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  6. Such a great trial. I love the ferns, roots and signs of animals. You are a hardy group of hikers.

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  7. Sorry for your friend's accident. Glad you had a good hike, though.

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  8. Those tree roots look exactly like the Cedars that grow out of the rocks around here! And at least your weather was a lot better than ours!

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  9. I am so sorry about your friend's wrist, and hope it heals quickly.
    Love those tree roots and that silhouette.
    Enjoy your Easter weekend.

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  10. Leave it to one of your hiking buddies to get hurt falling off a bike and not just tripping on a rug at home. You are an intrepid bunch.

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  11. Sure is pretty there. I haven't yet injured my self hiking. But a not long ago. My son and his father in law, with anther guy. The other guy broke his leg in several places. They did mange to hobble him out. But wish they called in a helicopter.
    Coffee is on

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  12. There is something haunting about that silhouette photo. And the roots of that tree...wow.

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  13. Hope Chris and Al are both better soon. Love the roots and ferns! :)

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  14. Too bad about those missing hikers. I hope they have a speedy recovery. I love that photo of the tree and its roots. Stunning!

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  15. Very interesting pictures DJan. Your diminishing group proves our susceptibility in old age and tells us to make the most of each precious day.

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  16. So sorry that Chris broke her wrist. Hope she is soon able to be active again and hope Al is back in his hiking boots soon.
    Smart of you to take the lead. That way you know you can keep up unless you pressed to impress:)
    Really liked that silhouette picture also.

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  17. I've never heard of those types of ferns. How awesome it would be to see them in real time.

    Hope her surgery went well today and she will be on the mend. By the way, men DO MAKE excellent chefs!!

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  18. I love the silhouettes on Samish Bay and I love the root photo. I love to see the roots and take photos, following the smallest root back to its beginning. We have many trees growing along cliffs along the shore of the bay of fundy and it surprises me how they stand tall year after year exposed like that. Have a nice Easter weekend. lol

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  19. I'm so glad you had such a lovely hike. But yikes! Poor Chris. How awful that she damaged her wrist so badly. That's going to take a while to heal.

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