Thursday, July 28, 2022

Hertz trail in the heat

Lake Whatcom this morning

Melanie and I again went our own way on this very sunny and very warm Thursday. I noticed that both Senior Trailblazer groups modified their schedules to hike somewhere close to large bodies of water, as did we. With the entire Pacific Northwest trapped under really warm temperatures, it seemed like a good idea, with the heat predicted to rise into the mid-eighties to low nineties (22–32°C), we headed to the trail on the southeast shore of Lake Whatcom, also known as the Hertz trail. It follows the route of a now-defunct railroad, the Bellingham Bay and Eastern Railway. It's flat and very pretty year round. 

The first of two covered bridges along the trail

When we started out, the weather was simply delightful: shady and a light breeze kept us very comfortable for the first part of the hike. We shared the trail with bikes, other walkers, many leashed dogs, and a few runners. Obviously if anyone planned a run anywhere near us, it should be early in the day. Everyone seemed to want to get an early start, too.

Planned expansion of the trail system

Just before we came to the bridge, we saw this sign telling us of the expansion of the trail system: there will be a trail that connects the Hertz trail to the other existing trail in the area, the Chanterelle trail. You can see the red line at the bottom of the notice that explains where it will be constructed. It looks like it will be quite steep going both directions, which means I might not be doing it myself, with my old knees complaining just to look at the description.

Pretty tiny yellow flowers

The trail is beginning to show the lack of any recent rain, but I hoped these little yellow flowers would show up better than they did. I didn't manage to take very many pictures today, so this is all you get. We saw some almost-finished foxglove flowers, but there's not much left to bloom in late July.

More Lake Whatcom

Although this picture doesn't look much different from the first one, by this time it was beginning to really heat up. Much of our shade was gone, as the sun rose up over the ridge and began to make us feel ready to get out of the sun. We only walked around five nice flat miles, but I was so glad to finally get inside Mel's lovely air-conditioned car and call it a day. Well, at least a morning. We finished by noon, and for a very warm day, I think we did very well indeed.

:-)

15 comments:

  1. You did indeed do very well. On particularly hot days I do as little as possible. Enjoy your afternoon.

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  2. Nice to see them expanding the trail system!

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  3. You did well indeed. It sounds hot though the area with the covered bridge looks like it might be cooler. Shade in this heat is a life saver.

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  4. Beautiful water this morning!

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  5. I never could do heat very well, but now I have next to no tolerance for it. You did well to get your miles in today.

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  6. Very hot here and I don't like heat. Great that you were able to hike in some heat.

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  7. That first photo's a stunner alright, but I thought of you (and another blogger from your direction, Margaret) when I saw the temps in your area today. Hope you're being safe out there DJan.

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  8. GLad you were able to get out and enjoy. The flat miles are still miles. Kudos. Noticed your area is heating up. Do take care.

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  9. That is warm for the PNW, which I hear is now experiencing an intense heat wave. That Lake Whatcom is so pretty. Love those 2 photos of it.

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  10. Stay cool! Glad you got out for a hike before it got too warm:)

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  11. Must be tempting to want to go for a swim in that beautiful cool water!

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  12. Good morning DJan. Couldn't help but think of you this morning when reading an article in the publication Lion's Roar - Buddhist Wisdom for Our Time. Here is a brief summary and link to the article which can be read online for free.

    No Self, No Suffering

    Melvin McLeod breaks down the Buddha’s four noble truths and argues it’s not only the ultimate self-help formula, but the best guide to helping others and benefitting the world.

    https://www.lionsroar.com/no-self-no-suffering/

    Have a good day! John

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  13. The heat here has affected our outdoor exercise too. I love it hot though. Summer is so short. Maybe we need a fan attached to our back like the dogs I saw on the news this morning.

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  14. Dear DJan, congratulations on getting that hike in on a day that promised to get really, really warm. I'm trying to think of the name of the woman writer who at some point in the '80s maybe lived in or near Bellingham. I keep trying to remember the name of her book, which greatly influenced my whole way of thinking about nature. Do you know anyone this sounds like?????? Perhaps if can try to Google the little I know and find her. I'd like to reread that book.

    Oh, and thank you for commenting on my posting about Elisa's great news and about her daughter Ruby. I so agree with what you said about Elisa's time here--that there is a need for her to do something more. We don't know what that might be, but we can trust that the Oneness that enfolds her does! Peace, ever and always. Dee Ready

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  15. I love that you're getting such healthy exercise for your body and your well-being.

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