Back to the mountains

Mountains, sky, clouds

It was only two weeks ago that I went with the Senior Trailblazers to visit Ptarmigan Ridge. Because the weather decided to stay nice, and our scheduled hike was a long drive away, we broke into two groups: one went to Ptarmigan Ridge to allow those who haven't yet enjoyed it this season, and the other went to Ridley Creek, another long drive and not one of my favorites. So I decided to do it once again, and what a beautiful day we had! Eight Trailblazers drove to Artist Point and set out in temperatures just a few degrees above freezing.

Ice crystals

This closeup of ice crystals show what we dealt with in the morning, lots of ice and slippery footing to begin our adventure. The sun reached the majority of the trail, and the only places that were difficult were where the sun hadn't yet reached.

Cathy, me, Jim, Victoria, Chris, Al, Judy, Melanie

I just this minute received this wonderful picture from Cathy, which was taken by a passerby, of the eight of us. We had hiked three miles to the overlook, before we started across the trail towards Mt. Baker.

Judy, Baker, Melanie

At the beginning of the hike, we had this view of Mt. Baker, which seems far in the distance. But after hiking several miles towards it, we get much closer indeed. By the way, Judy is a new hiker with us, and I'll bet it won't be the last time she joins us.

The same three at our lunch spot

When we stopped for lunch, the clouds had moved in and gave the entire day a much different feeling than our cloudless visit of two weeks ago. Plus all the incredible colors we saw then have become muted. Winter is moving in quickly.

Me in front of Baker

Melanie took this picture of me at our lunch spot, and I like it very much. It was not long after she took it that we began our trip back, covering the same trail we took to get here. All was well, until a short time later, I took a fall on the trail, hitting my left knee on a rock. It hurt so badly for a few moments that if Victoria hadn't caught me, I would have tumbled all the way down into the valley below.

Once I regained my wits, I realized that I would need to tape my knee with an Ace bandage in order to get back down the trail. Victoria taped it (she is an occupational therapist) and I struggled down the trail, with the help of Jim, who carried my pack the entire distance back, so I would have as little stress on my knee as possible. I carefully hobbled down the trail with my taped knee.

Mt. Shuksan today

And then, as if by magic, the sun came out to light up Mt. Shuksan, giving me a chance to capture what I think is the best picture of this glorious mountain I've ever taken. The mixture of clouds and light make it look (to my eyes anyway) like something taken by a professional!

Now I am home and have discovered that nothing is broken in my knee, and a few days of R&R should make it good as it gets. We covered more than eight miles today, and went almost 2,000 feet up and down. Nobody is happier to be home than I am, and I must say that the wine I've almost finished has helped me appreciate what a wonderful day we had together. Thank you to all my friends who helped me today.
:-)