Trailblazers go rogue

Peggy, Mike, Heather, Kirk, Chris, Sue, Linda, Ward

We had no leader again today, and nobody was exactly thrilled about driving more than a half hour to walk in the rain at Deception Pass, which was what was on the schedule. I had in mind that I'd join the second group today, but then heard from Chris that maybe our group would decide to hike somewhere closer to home. I headed down to the Senior Center to see who showed up, and here are the culprits, plus me behind the camera.

We decided to drive the much shorter distance to the Chanterelle trail near Lake Whatcom, since we didn't have a sign-in sheet, and it was pretty much up to us what we would do. Rain was in the forecast for either location, and this hike can be shortened or lengthened depending on how we felt.

Moss and ferns growing right out of the tree

We do live in a very wet part of the country, and these scenes of licorice ferns and moss-covered trees have become a familiar sight to me, but I am still not so accustomed to it that I don't still love to see and share these scenes with you.

Snow on hills, Lake Whatcom behind the tree

The Chanterelle trail leads to this viewpoint, and I tried to capture both the fresh snow on the opposite hillside and the lake below us. We climbed to this point and decided, since it wasn't raining yet but snowing lightly, that we'd continue on for awhile until we were ready to turn around.

First snow on the trees

As we climbed, the snow continued to fall, a distinct improvement on rain. It's funny how much less daunting a few snowflakes are than a similar amount of precipitation in the form of rain. By the time we reached the power line section of the trail, the ferns were covered with snow.

Ward and Linda in front of white ferns

Moisture in the air makes these power lines sing. We were treated to loud buzzing and humming as we crossed under them, almost sounding like a roaring waterfall. Sometimes they are quiet, but not today.

This was our turnaround point

By the time we had climbed into the open areas, the wind was strong and the snow kept falling. We decided to turn around, giving us somewhere between 6.5 and 7 miles of hiking by the time we reached our cars. We stopped for a quick lunch at the viewpoint, but as usual when we stop, we began to get chilled so we hurried on back down the 2.5 miles of the Chanterelle trail.

Heading back down

We were back to the Senior Center not long after 1:00pm, making a short day for us, and by this time the rain was light but steady, with no sign of snow in the lower elevations. I'm very glad I went; the day was enjoyable and the company, as usual, was perfect.
:-)