We had fun playing in the rain

Today's group (plus me)

We are standing at the trailhead for North Chuckanut Mountain, here in Bellingham. We were scheduled for our last High Country hike of the season, but the weather has taken a turn towards rain and clouds, so instead Melanie suggested one of her favorites, a hike to Raptor Ridge from this starting point.

On the trail to Raptor Ridge

When we started our hike, it wasn't raining, but we were getting a few sprinkles now and then. When you're expecting rain, sprinkles don't really qualify. It did make for a few extra gear stops, however, trying to get it just right. Eventually we had some light rain, but it didn't deter us. Once we approached Raptor Ridge, however, the wind was howling, so we didn't stay long.

Tom braving the wind on Raptor Ridge

We even had the tiniest bit of of a view from the top, if you use your imagination, anyway. This was four miles from our starting point, but we still needed to find a nice place out of the wind and rain for lunch, so we kept going for awhile.

Local color

When I saw Joy in front of me with this dramatic rock behind her, I asked her to stop so I could get a picture. She took her hat off so I could capture all her great colors. Very pleased with the way it turned out.

Two happy mushrooms

Somebody decided to show that even mushrooms can have personalities, and that they can make strangers smile at their discovery. All of us with cameras stopped to save them for posterity.

Big leaf maple leaves

We kept swishing our way through big leaf maple leaves along the trail. I recently learned that something is causing these trees, which have the largest leaves of the species, to begin a die-off. You can read about speculation of what is causing it here. (Hint: nobody knows.)

Me, Tom, Heather

I asked Melanie if she would take a picture of me, so that I could also be present in the post, and she accommodated me with this one. We had a really good day, covering almost eight miles total and an unknown elevation gain and loss. It wasn't flat, by any means, but it was also not too difficult, and the rain was minimal. All in all, it was fun, and we ended up finishing early in the afternoon, so we still have lots of day left. It was a great way to spend most of my Thursday.
:-)