Thursday, October 25, 2018

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.
:-)

13 comments:

  1. That hike sounds a bit more reasonable :-) It's a great time of the year to go hiking in the woods, leaf swishing and all. We are about to go off to Irene's track meet, and are hoping the rain will stay light.

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  2. So glad you were able to hike with your group. And I love those leaves!

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  3. I am so pleased to learn that your knee is not preventing you from hiking - and taking us along.

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  4. It looks quite foreboding on the ridge!

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  5. I'm surprised that you got to hike with the sore knee.

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  6. I am glad that this hike was a successful one for you.

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  7. So sad about the maples! Beautiful hike, though. I hope your knee held up well. :)

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  8. Love these photos!

    The mushrooms are priceless! The rock photo is beautiful!

    Your knee is healed!

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  9. Guess the acupuncture worked its magic. So glad you are back trekking through the woods. I know you missed it.

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  10. I'm gonna hafta go read up on this particular tree now, curiosity is calling me.

    Terrific hike & photos as always.

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  11. Pleased to see you are back out on the trails again. It looks a really nice walk for the Autumn.

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  12. Your knee must be better!! Yeah for you!

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  13. very sad about the Big leaf Maples...too bad they don't know why they are dying.

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