Fifty shades of green

Muddy trails, mild temperatures

Fifteen Senior Trailblazers hiked from the Lost Lake parking lot to Burnout Point on a day when rain was forecast for the entire day. When I started out from home, it was in a steady rain that I figured would last for the entire day. Fortunately, we had plenty of moments when the rain was light, even nonexistent now and then. And it was so green! I was amazed that within the month since we were last on this trail, green has sprouted from every corner.

Richard and his umbrella setup

Richard is constantly trying to find a way to hike and stay dry using an umbrella, along with trekking poles. Here he is showing us his latest contraption. I was impressed with how well it seemed to work.

Wide trail, with mud and mist

This particular hike takes us from wide trails like the one above, to regular one-person width. They were all squishy, whatever their width. It was evident from all the puddles that it's been raining up here quite a bit lately. The temperature, however, was mild enough that I didn't even need to wear gloves or a second layer. At least until we reached Burnout Point.

Most of the group at Burnout Point

At the top, the wind was blowing and the rain had not stopped. I apparently managed to cut Steve out of the picture on the right, and of course I'm behind the camera, but here are all the rest. It was cold enough for us all to put on more clothing and, even though it was just a little after 11:00am (we've stopped for lunch on other hikes not much later than that), we decided to head down to Fragrance Lake for a noontime repast.

Red currant at Burnout Point

We even had a view, more than I thought we'd have anyway, of Samish Bay from the top. And the red currants are in full bloom. Spring was showing its abundance everywhere we looked.

Trillium and wet leaves

I even got a decent picture of a trillium beside the trail; this meant I had to kneel in the wet brush to capture this, but it was worth it when I saw the detail. My iPhone 7 does a great job!

Fragrance Lake

The lake was a little dreary looking today, with the rain and lack of sunshine keeping it from showing how pretty it can be. Richard took a dip while the rest of us enjoyed a leisurely lunch. But then the rain picked up, and we decided to head on back to the cars.

Our three hunchbacks

I asked these three, Frank, Mike and Kirk, to let me take a picture of them from the back looking like some deformed Sasquatches as we started our return trip. They have ponchos over their backpacks, which is what was causing their unusual shapes.

Everyone was in a very good mood, and as we chatted about movies and books to share with each other, the miles melted away. We covered eight miles today, with almost 2,000 feet up and down. It was an excellent day, filled with laughter and mud as we made new memories.
:-)