Thursday, May 3, 2018

Lizard, Lily, and North Butte

Mel and a couple of our destinations
Fifteen Senior Trailblazers showed up on a very sunny and delightful day to head up the Upper Trailhead on Blanchard Mountain to Lizard and Lily lake via the North Butte trail. Once we get to this sign, if we head to Lizard lake, we can then take the North Butte trail and afterwards make our way over to Lily. So we bagged them all in a loop hike.
Our sun-dappled trail
Nobody seemed to mind the lack of rain (ha!). We had a few high clouds at times, but mostly it was a day with a perfect temperature around 17°C (65°F) with a light breeze or completely calm.
Calm Lizard lake
First we went to Lizard lake, which has a beaver dam and plenty of signs of beaver activity. I tried to get a picture of their dam, but it didn't turn out very well, so you'll just have to see what we saw today: no breeze, with a bald eagle that was on the other side of the lake. I couldn't capture him at all. He was there, though, I promise.
Mt. Baker just barely visible
There are two viewing spots when one makes the journey up the North Butte trail. This one gives you a lovely view of Mt. Baker, but when I took this I was very close to the edge of a steep drop-off, leaning out to get this much of a view, so the trees in the foreground couldn't be avoided. You can see the dark cloud overhead, which dissipated by the time we climbed up to the actual rocky butte.
What a butte!
Here we are at our lunch destination, with a magnificent view looking out over Samish Bay, enjoying a relaxed half hour in the sunshine. There were others who aren't in the picture, but most of the Trailblazers are visible here. Steve was with us for the first time in awhile; it was so nice to see an old friend on the trail again.
Lily pads in Lily lake
Then we went down the trail to Lily lake, where I tried to capture a few new lily pads and a reflection in the lake, showing how sunny and calm our day was. I've been here when it was windy and cold, but that wasn't today; it was just about perfect, as I've said already.
Two trillium
And today we saw so many trillium, all in bloom and smiling at the sun, it was simply delightful. I suspect we saw a millium trillium. Then it was time to return to the cars via Max's Shortcut (which never seems all that short) and a total distance of just under nine miles and around 1,900 feet elevation up and down.

Now that my glass of wine is half consumed, and I've got my feet in my comfy slippers, I reflect that this was one of the finest Blanchard Mountain excursions I've experienced in a long time. A little bit of all the best parts of living in the Pacific Northwest.
:-)

15 comments:

  1. Nine miles is a bunch! But all pleasant on this great PNW day!

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  2. What a super time! Comfortable hiking weather. Great views. Lots of good company.

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  3. Uh oh... You've been hit by that jorjorbeth spam too. It also attacked my blog. There was another one that got on my blog when I was in Europe too. Doggone it!

    So glad you had such a lovely hike, DJan. The glass of wine is well deserved.

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  4. It looks like a truly blissful day. Thank you for sharing some of the beauty (and none of the exertion).

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  5. I always enjoy the walks you take me on Jan. The sunny days are my favourite ones though. That walk was spectacular!

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  6. That looks like a wonderful area for a hike!

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  7. Glad you had good weather! Another wonderful hike.

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  8. The huge smiles tell it all. I was intrigued by the anteater,armadillo,?shadow.

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  9. You sound in the best mood! Looks like the perfect hiking day, indeed! :)

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  10. What a great day with no rain! Love the Trilliums...ours will bloom in about three weeks:)

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  11. It sounds like you had a great time with your friends.

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  12. Nice photos, but be careful ... don't lean over too far at the edge of those steep drop-offs!

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  13. Quite the long hike, but so much to enjoy along the way.
    Those Trilliums are gorgeous, and Lizard Lake never disappoints :)
    Thank you for sharing the beauty.
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  14. Indeed! A sunny day. Everyone looks happy about it. I've been happy with our weather here too. 80 today. Spring has arrived in Minnesota.

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