Pretty but dark and gloomy

Our small group today

This was the smallest Happy Wanderers group of hikers I've experienced so far. This group is usually quite large, well over twenty, but today nobody wanted to venture out in the projected weather. We are expecting to have well over two inches of rain, and before too long, even some wind. I am not in this picture, so it surprises me to see eight people and a dog! Then I remember we ran into a couple of fellow hikers who were being accompanied by their furry companions and probably why they were already out and about.

Friend John on the bridge

We didn't have any canine companions, but it was our regular hiking day, so our leader Joe took us to Whatcom Falls park where we walked around five miles. At first it wasn't raining, but it wasn't long before sprinkles joined us. The water in Whatcom Falls was pretty impressive.

Whatcom Falls today

I didn't take many pictures in the gloomy atmosphere, but it was a very nice easy walk, except for the short section where I couldn't find my footing. It was a rather deep muddy place, and I needed the help of several people to keep from hurtling face-first into the the mud. Fortunately I managed to stay upright. Otherwise, it was an uneventful hike in a familiar place.

Ferns and water

I watched Barb angle her cellphone over the bridge, and when I checked out what she saw, it was this rather interesting juxtaposition of ferns and fast-moving water. I know you wouldn't be able to tell what it was unless I told you, so there you go. 

And then we headed back to the Senior Center and I went inside to see what the place looks like with lots of people getting ready to have lunch. I briefly considered staying myself, but since the rain was still rather light, I figured I should probably walk to the bus and get myself home.

And it's raining quite hard out there at the moment, but the wind hasn't made itself known, but it's coming. I rather like being inside when its frightful out there!

:-)

Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve

Today's leader, Joe

Joe is a regular leader on our Happy Wanderers hike, and today he brought fourteen of us to the Lookout Mountain Forest Preserve, a lovely 4,400-acre area on the west side of Lake Whatcom. He has several versions of today's hike, but this one is his shorter version, which took us about five miles up and down 1,100 feet of elevation. His much longer version, with additions at the beginning and end, covers more territory and is on his list for the near future. I hope to be on it. I sure enjoyed today's adventure, but I was not really ready for a long hike, just a good one that would give me a reasonable workout, and this just fit the bill.

Some Happy Wanderers

It was quite cold when we started out, well below freezing, and it took quite a bit of time before I felt really warm, but once we started upwards, I got warm quickly. Although it was at least a few miles before I could take off my gloves, I did finally feel exhilarated by the cold and not uncomfortable at all. We had little to no wind and kept seeing signs of hair ice, the thin strands of ice protruding from dead branches along the trail. I've written about it before, but I didn't see any that were worth removing my gloves from my cold hands.

Viewpoint and Mt Baker

We ascended to this point, where we got to see a little bit of Mt Baker along the horizon, and in a few places we saw low-lying fog that came and went for most of the day.

The viewpoint bench and time for a snack

We had climbed enough so that most of us could remove some clothing and pull out a bit of lunch. After a short break, we descended on a different trail that we went up, which is a bit steeper (but it was mostly downhill).

These signs were placed at all the junctions

It was truly a lovely way to spend our Tuesday Happy Wanderers hike, and we were all feeing pretty good by the time we returned to the starting point. We covered right around five miles, maybe a touch more, and 1,200 feet. It made for a wonderful way to get exercise with my fellow seniors. I look forward to the longer version next time.

:-)

British Columbia hike

Fort Langley hike starting point

Today seventeen Happy Wanderers set out from the Senior Center for an adventure to another country: Canada. We gathered in several cars, with the idea of driving across the border and to a very nice trail along the Fraser River which ends at the Fort Langley National Historic Site.  It was about 6 miles total with negligible elevation gain, with almost all of the walk on wide, flat, level park trails. The Fort Langley National Historic Site is a reconstruction of the old Hudson's Bay Company fort and trading post, the first British settlement in what is now British Columbia. 

Nice wide, easy trails

It was cold and foggy when we began our hike, but it was really pretty and easy hiking, other than the cold. We kept warm by continuing to move and not stopping much. John, our leader, helped us understand the significance of this area.

The site of the first trading post

The trading post was moved to another site, but this was the first place that the British built their trading post along the Fraser River. These days, you must pay a separate entrance fee to visit the present site, and John assured us it is well worth the price, but much too long for us to visit today.

Bog in the fog

We then visited the overlook showing the Langley bog, which wasn't much to look at, since we were looking at it through quite a bit of fog. It must be quite the sight when you can see all those wonderful critters.

Our first view of the mountains

As we left the bog behind, we got our first view of the wonderful mountains that had been hidden from us by the fog. From this point on, we had more sunshine and happy hiking as we made our way back to our starting point.

Walking alongside the river

We continued to hike along the river's edge, and as the fog lifted, we began finally to get warm enough to begin to take off gloves and hats. Once we got to the town of Fort Langley, and to where we had left half of our cars, the drivers made their way back to the starting point, where others of us were forced to enjoy a really nice repast. I had wild mushroom quiche and a fantastic hot soup. 

Don, me, Persis, and Bill

It was a really full and enjoyable day, with some of my favorite people. I am so happy to have discovered the Happy Wanderers segment of the Senior Trailblazers, and I continue to visit places that I previously didn't know anything about. And now I am home and ready to relax.

:-)

Stimpson Family Nature Reserve

Some of today's group

There might be people who are beginning to look familiar to you, since we seem to have a good number of returnees every week on Tuesday's Happy Wanderers group. You probably already recognize today's leader, Persis, third from left in a skirt (she almost always wears one, unless it's raining). We had seventeen people show up this morning for a short-ish four-and-a-half mile walk in Stimpson Family Reserve. We've been here many times before, but the whole place has been closed for awhile in order to install a new and improved parking lot. It now holds more than a dozen cars comfortably. Maybe even two dozen, I didn't count.

After days of rain, we had a respite today, but there was plenty of mud and slippery spots on the well-maintained trails. I didn't actually take many pictures, because that would have meant taking my gloves off and holding still, when all I really wanted to do was keep moving until I got warm. Eventually, I did feel much warmer, since the cold temperature wasn't exacerbated by wind: it was perfectly still.

Geneva Pond

There was plenty of lively conversation, and we took the two loops around the Reserve, enjoying the special nature of the area. The forest is largely undisturbed and displays characteristics of an old-growth forest, including Douglas Fir trees over 400 years old, a wide diversity of tree species, snags and decaying logs. Pets are not allowed in the Reserve.

Lovely ladies

When I first saw this picture, I thought that was me in the pink jacket. But no, I didn't wear it today. That's Kay, and I don't think I look that young, either. We didn't end up taking much clothing off as we walked, since it was right around freezing. 

Our lunch spot

We did end up stopping for a quick early lunch, although some didn't sit down (I was one of them) and eat anything, since it was still too early for me to be ready. It was not a leisurely stop, actually rather quick, but it was towards the end of the walk, and we did enjoy ourselves. By the time we got back to the cars, the sun had come out and cheered us with its warm November sunshine. Since there will be no more scheduled hikes with the Trailblazers this week because of Thanksgiving, we were very happy with our day's activities and look forward to many more wonderful hikes in the weeks and months ahead.

:-)

Little Cranberry Lake

Fifteen Happy Wanderers

One of the problems I have with my limited sight is trying to take a good picture of everybody in a situation like this one. I unfortunately lopped off half of Joe on the left, and had plenty of room on the right if I had been able to see better. Oh well, at least you can see that we had a great group of hikers who went off to Little Cranberry Lake in Anacortes, a forty-minute drive from Bellingham.

And it was cold: when we got to the trailhead, it was about 4°C (39-40°F). We lost one of our cars full of hikers, and by the time we found us more than a half-hour later, we were all frozen. But once we started hiking, it didn't take long for us to warm up. I was having a hard time with all the mud and slick spots on the trail, but once we got to a major junction, it got a little better. At least I didn't fall into the slimy mess, which was a major accomplishment. I was so happy to have my trusty trekking poles.

The group coming to meet me

At one point, I had to "water a tree" and took this picture of the group coming towards me. It doesn't show how awful much of the trail actually was today, but that is because when it was really bad, I had nothing left over to take pictures. I managed to stay upright!

Little Cranberry Lake

You can see how still the water was, and we also had very little breeze to deal with as we hiked. Once we got to the lake, we stopped for a bit of lunch, with picnic tables and the delightful view, along with lively conversations. We covered almosat five miles and 750 feet up and down, not a huge hike, but enough for me to get a decent number of steps for the day, and we not only had no wind, but also no rain. Apparently we have a major event headed our way, with plenty of wind and rain, so I was very happy that we had nothing like that today. It was a good way to enjoy the outdoors with some great friends.

:-)

Hike around town

Watching the salmon struggling

 Twenty-three Senior Trailblazers started out from the Senior Center on a walk to Maritime Heritage Park to see the salmon, and then off to Squalicum Harbor to visit the octopus and get a little exercise.

I wasn't sure what I was seeing when I looked over the creek's barrier at the roaring water, but I did make out a Great Blue Heron and some wiggling fish. It's hard to know what you're looking at without someone to point it out (at least to me). See the jumping and frantic little fish?

Heron and jumping fish

We watched mesmerized for awhile, and then we spoke with a few volunteers who were there to deal with the spawning fish, most of which were looking very tattered and on their last fins, so to speak. It's what happens to them after they spawn. We were amazed at how many more were heading up the spawning channel. Students from BTC (Bellingham Technical College) were working to retrieve chum and strip the fish of their roe and milt before shipping the bodies to be processed into fertilizer.  Some of the fish were huge, and the students said they are all six years old, having the instinct to return to where they started, at the end of their journey.

Really big guys

There were many dead ones among the live ones, but all of them will soon die and be turned into fertilizer. After spending quite a bit of time watching the drama, we went off to the harbor and were treated to the sight of a big seal.

Big harbor seal, posing

He was there looking quite regal, and after we had taken our fill of pictures, we headed back to the Senior Center. We walked somewhere around four or five miles, not far, and we spent a lot of time just watching the fish or the seal, rather than getting our heart rates up. No matter, it was a good day, and it didn't rain on us after all. I'm so glad I went.

:-)

Ten Ferndale parks walk

Pioneer Park buildings

One of our regular Happy Wanderers, John, took 27 of us to Ferndale, where he led us on a walk through ten different Ferndale parks that he visits regularly. We started at Pioneer Park, a place filled with old buildings from the past.

The purpose of the Ferndale Heritage Society is to educate the community on the history of Whatcom County, promote Pioneer Park and tourism in Ferndale, and bring together those people interested in preserving history and maintaining the log cabins and collections at Pioneer Park.

Once we spent time in Pioneer Park admiring all the old buildings, we started out on a circuitous route of the ten parks John introduced the group to. I know some people were very familiar with these parks, but I was not one of them. The only one I had visited previously was Hovander Park.

Beginning of Hanadori trail

John said that in all the years he has walked this trail, he has never seen any cherry flowers, but that he's seen plenty of birds. We saw some eagles and snow geese flying overhead, but alas, no cherry flowers. Along the way, visiting many other parks, we saw lots of commemorative plaques, such as this one.

Origins of Griffintown Park

We took a short trip down to the Nooksack River, and managed (for the most part) to keep such a large group together. There was one flurry of activity looking for three hikers who took a wrong turn. They were easily located, with the help of a cellphone.

The mighty Nooksack

By the time we reached this spot, it was time to make an excursion across town to visit the Edaleen Dairy, where many of us enjoyed a spot of ice cream. Fortunately, it had warmed up considerably from our early start, and it was a delicious treat. From there, we headed back through VanderYacht Park for a second time, went over and under the Nooksack bridge and ended up on the Riverwalk, which took us back to our cars.

Golden tree in Bellingham

 Once we made it back, we had covered around five miles and even a bit of uphill and downhill. It was a really wonderful and informative day. I took this picture of a tree in town that still has most of its leaves, even after yesterday's windstorm. One participant said they lost power for nine hours after a huge tree fell onto power lines. We didn't have anything much to speak of, other than a whole lot of newly fallen leaves.

I really enjoyed the day, and you can see the skies opened up from grey and overcast to mostly blue. No wind and sunshine almost always makes me happy. I do hope you are having a great day, too.

:-)

Fraser River Heritage Park

Some of today's group at Fraser River Heritage Park

On a day between rain, 25 Happy Wanderers went all the way into British Columbia to visit the Fraser River Heritage Park, a beautiful place about an hour's drive from Bellingham. There is the problem of getting across the border, but we had no problem and no wait passing through the Sumas crossing. You can see that there were quite a few dark clouds overhead, but we had little rain until we got back to outr cars. I think we are quite lucky on the rain front. 

It had rained quite a lot recently, and you could see lots of standing water and wet leaves on the trails. We decided to take a leisurely trip around the grounds, and then most of us went up the Heritage Mountain Loop, although once we got to the top, we turned around and returned the way we had come. All in all, we covered more than five miles, maybe closer to six. 

Bill, today's leader mapping our route

We did enjoy a quick lunch at the summit, but the views were limited and since we returned the same way we ascended the mountain, we saw a few great vistas, but mostly it was traversing the wet trail as we climbed around 700 feet of elevation.

Great view of the Fraser River

I knew that there was quite a bit of controversy over the Mission school that was located on the property, so I looked up a little of the history, which is available at this link. I knew a small amount of information about what happened at these schools before, but I found this quite interesting and informative.

Interpretive signs were installed in the park prior to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The original interpretive signs were removed by the District of Mission as they did not adequately reflect the story of St. Mary’s or our deeper understanding of the long-term impacts of the residential school system enacted by the Government of Canada. A small group of First Nations representatives are engaging with the City of Mission and have commenced discussions to develop new signs or interpretive elements to further educate the community and reflect on the devastating impact of the residential school systems and the long-term harm caused to so many.

Frasier River and me

I had a great time and got a good workout as well, and I learned about a new place I had never been before. We climbed down from the mountain and made our way back to our cars, and then home in the United States. It was very restorative to be in another country, even if only for a day. I'm feeling quite happy right now, knowing how fortunate I am to have such good friends in such a great place to live. 

:-)

Semiahmoo Spit

Today's Happy Wanderers

You may count seventeen of us who traveled today to the Semiahmoo Park for a nice five- or six-mile walk in delightful mostly sunny weather. We did have a few sprinkles at the beginning, but they cleared, for the most part, giving us plenty of sunbreaks. I had never visited this part of Whatcom County before, which is located in Birch Bay, just across the Semiahmoo Bay from White Rock, Canada. The name, Semiahmoo, belongs to a Salish Sea subgroup of indigenous peoples, the Semiahmoo First Nation. I have grown accustomed to the strange names of several of the tribes, but this one is a new one for me. The local Chamber of Commerce offered some information:

The Semiahmoo county park offers one of the best paved walking trails in Whatcom county. The trails runs from the park entrance all the way to the end of the spit of land and the marina/resort. The park has vast stretches of beach on both Semiahmoo Bay and Drayton Harbor. There are picnic tables scattered throughout the park and a bird viewing station with scope.

Our leader today, Don, volunteers time at the cannery museum, which offers a look back in time to when Semiahmoo was busy processing and packing salmon from Alaska. Don spends a fair amount of time in the area, and he showed us the interesting area today and gave us a special tour of the museum as well.

Looking across the bay at White Rock

We spent some time walking along the beach at the spit but the tide was high, so we found a place a bit off the beach that was easier walking. We were enjoying ourselves, not walking very fast or caring much about getting our heart rates up, but still it was delightful.

A handy sign that explains the area

There was much to see and enjoy before we reached the end of the marina and started our trip back, this time on the road, which was much easier walking. But first, a quick look at White Rock in Canada from our vantage point.

The large downtown building in sunlight

The Semiahmoo are both Canadian and American by birth, and I am not at all sure how that works, but I think I'll be coming back to this area again, and hopefully I will have a chance to learn more about the area and its people.

Our group again, this time with me in the photo

As we made our way back to the beginning of our excursion, I saw a couple of eagles sitting on a branch, making themselves look a bit like a heart, so I figured that might be a good way to finish the post. Do you see it?

Eagle love

And I could go on and on, but for now that's enough. I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I did.

:-)

Barkley to Big Rock Garden

Terry and sculpture named "Hope"

Today fourteen Senior Trailblazers gathered to walk around five or six miles from Barkley Village to the Big Rock Garden and return. We are so fortunate to have this wonderful sculpture garden, with so many wonderful trees and bushes from all over the world to enjoy as well. We were last here in the spring, and today we saw beautiful maple leaves turning every possible color.

Brilliant maple

We all expected rain to keep us from completing the entire walk, but we were graced instead with dry weather and mild temperatures. We walked up and down around a thousand feet in our six miles, but it wasn't difficult and seemed quite perfect, actually, as we chatted and enjoyed the scenery as well as the company.

The group, plus me behind the camera

Here we all are, having a wonderful time in the beautiful lush environment of our trail, and at this time we are all nice and dry and happy to be out and about. By the time we started back towards our starting point, we felt a few sprinkles, but nothing much. However, just like last week, by the time we got to the cars, there was more rain coming down, making me wonder if we are just lucky or if somebody Up There is looking out for us. Whatever the reason for our dry walk, I'll take it! We enjoyed being out and about for yet another beautiful day in Bellingham.

:-)

Lovely day on Hertz/Connector trail

Today's Happy Wanderers

Only seven Happy Wanderers showed up today, when our original hike was changed because of construction, and instead we headed over to the Hertz trail and took a rather challenging trip up the Connector trail to the new overlook and back. The entire trip was somewhere over six and under seven miles, but there is quite a bit of elevation gain in a short distance.

Mushrooms along the trail

One of our hikers was happy to see these mushrooms, which she decided to harvest on the way back down. And she did indeed do that. Most of us are afraid of wild mushrooms, but not Leann. She loves these parasol mushrooms and never misses a chance to take them home.

The new connector trail beginning

We hiked for two miles along the Hertz trail, until we came to this connector trail, which most of us have been on before. It goes up to the Chanterelle trail, making an 11-mile loop now available to those of us who enjoy these trails. 

On the stairs

One of the interesting features of this new trail is a series of 347 steps taking us up, ever up, towards the overlook. A passerby took this of the group on the way up to the overlook. We did count the steps, and once before I got this total, so I think it might be accurate. I know my legs felt a little bit stressed by the time we got to the overlook.

At the top of the steps, our leader Persis

We walked the .1 mile to the overlook, and enjoyed a quick early lunch while we rested before beginning our descent. I got this wonderful photo of Whatcom Lake below us.

A glorious view

One of the reasons we didn't have more takers for today's hike was, I believe, that the day was supposed to bring a fair amount of rain. However, we didn't have so much as a raindrop as we went on our out-and-back excursion.

We even saw a bit of filtered sun

However, once we reached the cars and piled in for our return trip home, the rain began, first as a sprinkle, and then before we got to the Senior Center, a deluge. Once again, we lucked completely out with the rain. I am sorry we didn't have a larger group, but for my part it was simply perfect. I was very glad I went out with the Trailblazers today.

;-)