Foxgloves and more

Foxgloves from the viewpoint

Melanie and I discussed where we wanted to go this Thursday. We are both curious as to how the Senior Trailblazer hike went, up in the High Country, but we decided to stay around town once again and enjoy the partly cloudy but dry weather. (There's still plenty of snow up there but not in town.) Always a favorite, we chose the Chanterelle trail, just a short half-hour drive from home. We knew we could make this a short (five mile) or long (ten mile) hike, depending on how we felt when we got there. We went just under six miles, with 1,400 feet of elevation gain and loss, making it a pretty nice but not too taxing day.

Sun-dappled trail

As you can see here, it's a lovely and well-maintained trail. There are several places on this trail where a service road gives workers truck access, and we saw a young man chopping back plenty of foliage along the trail to keep things from getting out of hand. Foxgloves are everywhere, and they certainly made it look like a party.

White foxglove

They come in white, like this one, and pink that varies from pale to vibrant magenta. They are in their early stages and everywhere we looked we saw them gracing the side of the trail.

Hairy berry

We also saw that the salmonberries are ripening. Why this one has a black crown of fuzzy hair isn't clear, but it sure makes for an amusing picture, don't you think?

Today's view from the overlook

I always need to show you the lovely view we have from the viewpoint, which we reached after 2.5 miles. There were plenty of clouds and a light breeze to make the climb very pleasant. I suggested that we start up the second part of the trip and figured we'd turn around after a half-mile or so.

Intriguing trail

Here's the beginning of the second half of the trail, made quite enticing with all that foxglove along the side. We did make it almost a half-mile before I asked if we could turn around and head back down. My knees felt pretty good, but we would have had to climb another 500 feet or so if we wanted to make it to the terminus. I didn't feel the need, and Mel was, as always, very accommodating.

Nature's garden

There were so many pretty flowers everywhere, but this lovely little natural garden caught my eye as we headed back down the way we had come. It was a wonderful day, with just enough challenge to make me feel like I'd actually done something good for myself, but not enough to make anything hurt. And considering the fine company, I couldn't be happier to have had such a lovely day. I think I might have earned a small glass of wine. A day well spent.

:-)