Raptor Ridge hike

Today's pretty trail

Today, the Senior Trailblazers decided to head out to the High Country for one last trip before being stuck with local hikes until next spring. But I really didn't want to try Hannegan Pass, even on a lovely sunshine-y October day. I'm not feeling quite ready for another hard hike, so I called my friend Barb, who leads lots of hikes with both the Happy Wanderers and the Relaxed groups. I figured she would probably also not be going with the others, and I was right: she had made plans to go with three others to Raptor Ridge, two of whom had never done this particular hike. I asked if I could join them, and she readily agreed. So, five of us intrepid hikers met at the North Chuckanut trailhead to make our way to Raptor Ridge.

Lost Lake trail

We headed up from the parking lot to the Lost Lake trail via the Hemlock trail and went up that trail the entire way until we got to the back entrance to Raptor Ridge. This is pretty steep in many sections, but Barb took plenty of breaks, allowing us to hydrate and catch our respective breaths.

BIG mushroom

Since we have received a fair amount of rain in the last few days, the mushrooms were proliferating everywhere. This was one of the biggest I saw, but unfortunately there is nothing near it to show you its size. Take my word for it; it's huge. We saw many different varieties, some beige and some purple, and a few tiny delicate ones that looked like they belonged to fairies.

Barb pointing out a landmark

There are two approaches to Raptor Ridge; this one follows the Lost Lake trail until you come to a junction that takes you uphill towards the ridge. It is the least traveled of the approaches, and it had been awhile since I'd been there. I was reminded once again what a beautiful forest we have to enjoy year round. The sun peeked through the trees, but when we reached Raptor Ridge, we were treated to full sunshine.

View from Raptor Ridge

It's been many years since I've visited the ridge when it was almost without a breeze, and with the sun shining like that, it felt much warmer than it really was. We enjoyed our lunch and reluctantly began our return trip. We decided to make it a loop, going back the more traveled direction. We ended up getting somewhere around eight miles of hiking, with lots of elevation gain and loss, not sure how much, but it was at least 2,000 feet.

More mushrooms

I will leave you with this final shot of mushrooms that looked to me like they had been toasted to perfection. But they were out of the sun and I guess that's just what they are supposed to look like. Aren't they pretty? Another fine forest bath.

:-)