Lily and Lizard from Samish Overlook

Samish Bay from the Overlook

 Melanie and I decided to start our hike today from Samish Overlook, which would give us the opportunity to extend or shorten the day's adventures, depending on how we felt. Especially me, since the eight-mile hike we could have done, had we included Oyster Dome and the North Butte possibilities, might have been just a bit more than I am quite ready for. You can see from this lovely view, the day was fine, with a few clouds and cool, but otherwise just about perfect.

Trillium 

And what did we see in magnificent profusion? Hundred of trillium, some just unfurled and ready to receive our admiration. These delightful flowers only bloom for a short period, one three-petaled blossom each season. We are always happy to see them, a sure sign of spring, especially when they are just out, like this one.

Emerging fern

I love to see the ferns as they come out of the ground and open to the sky, and they have such beauty from this stage right until they become the ubiquitous ground cover we are so accustomed to seeing here. Nature showing her finest work.

Red currant blossoms

The sun caught these beautiful blossoms beside the trail, and I was hoping this picture might give you some idea of the amazing scenery we were treated to on our hike. I spent more time taking pictures than I should have. As we went from Samish Overlook to the first of our lake visits, I realized I would be asking Mel to shorten it, since I was already feeling tired and it was still early.

Lily Lake

We went first to Lily Lake, after having gone uphill for what seemed like forever to me, gaining more than a thousand feet of elevation in a couple miles. But once we got to the junction to either Oyster Dome or the lakes, we've done the majority of the uphill, so I was feeling pretty good by this point. After taking a look at the Lily Lake, we decided to hike over to Lizard Lake, a bit of up-and-down but nothing like what we'd just accomplished.

Trillium surrounded by woodland violets

Woodland violets are out in profusion also, and we saw this trillium emerging from a field of them. The colors are a little muted from what they looked like in person, but you get the idea: it was just gorgeous!

Lizard Lake

What I didn't see when I took this picture is the amazing reflection of the cloud in the lake. These two lakes, Lily and Lizard, are so similar to each other that I couldn't tell the difference between them except by their placement in my photos. We decided to have lunch here, before heading back down the trail called "Max's Shortcut" which would take us back to Samish Overlook.

Max's Shortcut

It's a nice trail, well maintained and wide enough for us to walk side by side for awhile. And this was where we saw some of the most batches of trillium. By this time we were looking for something spectacular to capture, but we made an effort to gaze at each one we saw and tell it how beautiful it is.

A plethora of trillium

So many in one place, we had to stop and take pictures. The most we saw together like this was 16, but usually they are either by themselves or hanging out with a few others. We hiked almost seven miles and 1,400 feet up and down, but for me, it felt longer. All that stopping and stooping over the flowers to photograph them took its toll. But now I'm home, happy and feeling very good to have successfully covered as much mileage as we did, and I didn't fall behind too badly, either. I also twisted my ankle a bit but by morning it should be fine. Another great day!!

:-)