Sunshine and snow

On the logging road

Today nine Senior Trailblazers went on a familiar hike up what we call both Cub Creek and Smith Creek. Nobody really knows where the former name came from, but it didn't matter. When we got to the Senior Center, it was great to see Al show up, since he missed last week because of a cold. (I didn't go either.) But, alas, he was only there to give us maps of the area so we wouldn't get lost. Last week's hapless foursome did just that, and Al wanted to make sure we knew where we would be going today. Although we've done it many times, there are several decision spots that he knew we would puzzle over.

Where we first met snow

So nine of us gamely began our hike with Ward setting the pace and leading, but still we had to stop several times to make sure we were going the right way. After a couple of hours of uphill-ness, we ran into snow that stayed with us the rest of the way to our summit. I have to say I really miss Al's pace; as much as he tried, Ward is naturally a bit faster and I found myself struggling to keep up at times. He would slow down and then slowly speed up again. 

Steve, Carol, Sue, Linda, Ward, Peggy, Rich, Chris 

Finally! We reached our summit, one of the many Stewart Mountain summits, with views of Mt. Baker and the Sisters behind us. And simply glorious weather: there was a light breeze, and it wasn't exactly warm once we stopped, but nobody was complaining.

Today's lunch spot

We spent about a half hour here, and we knew that we had our return journey ahead but nobody was in any hurry; once you're here, there's nothing to do but descend the 2,700 feet we had gained to this spot. We knew that somewhere down below us we would leave the snow behind and return to springtime. We decided to make a loop, which adds about another mile on logging roads but allows us to skip some of the slow going through the snow.

There was a nurse log there once upon a time

On the way down, I saw this wonderful tree that looks a little like an alien, but the story is that long ago there was an old stump that served as nutrition for this tree until it was absorbed. The tree is still growing, and it's probably going to be a little less sturdy in a windstorm, but it seems quite happy today.

By the time the Nine returned to our cars, tired but happy, we had covered more than ten miles and more than a half mile up and down. I have a right to be a little exhausted as I sit here with my laptop and my wine, glad to have had such a great day, with the spring sunshine and the company just the best.

:-)

Looking ahead to better weather soon

Trees in blossom at the bus stop

It was another dreary morning as I walked to the bus. When I first passed these trees before dawn (because of the time change), it was raining. Again. I have to admit that I'm really ready for a change in the weather. Several of my blogging friends who live in the northeast are getting amazingly warm temperatures and emerging from their snowbanks.

But on the way home from my yoga class, the sun had come out, and if you look carefully at these lovely blossoms, you'll see that some of them are illuminated with rays of that big yellow thing in the sky. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures as I walked home.

Forsythia

The pretty yellow forsythia in this front yard caught my eye, and the sun came out just in time to light up the golden petals. They don't last long and are one of our early springtime enjoyments. By this time I was smiling and couldn't help thinking that maybe the weather forecasters are right and we are on our way to a really nice patch without rain for a few days.

Lilac buds

It won't be long now before I'll see the lilacs in bloom. They also come and go quickly, and sometimes I realize they are already past their prime before I get a chance to take any pictures. And last I checked, it's still only mid-March!

A lot of work to get this far

This weekend in between rain storms, I was able to start clearing my garden plot for planting. This small little area that I started clearing made me very glad I don't have more area to plant! I'm about a quarter of the way through, and if I didn't sit on that little green table, I couldn't do this work at all. My back and knees remind me that I'm not a kid anymore. Or that kid's mother, for that matter. But grannies and gardens were made for each other, methinks!
:-)

A wet and windy walk

Perennial clematis in bloom

Oh boy, when I woke this morning to more rain and a pretty strong wind, I almost didn't go on the morning walk with the ladies. Who would show up in this weather anyway? But since I had my downstairs neighbor going with me, I decided to brave the elements. When we walked out the door, it was sideways rain and a very brisk wind. Sigh.

We drove to the meeting spot, thinking that maybe nobody would come and we could go have coffee. I was amazed to see that twenty women showed up. As we walked, the wind would let up now and then, and the rain as well, but every now and then we got hit with both. Definitely springtime in the Pacific Northwest. By the time we finished our five-mile walk, though, it had pretty much stopped raining.

Afterwards, our leader Cindy had arranged for us to see her new office space and invited us all over for homemade scones and coffee. Although we weren't exactly dry and well coiffed, we headed over to see the place anyway and enjoyed a wonderful gathering in her beautiful office space. Outside, I saw this incredible bush of white fragrant flowers and asked what it is. I didn't realize that there are several varieties of clematis that don't lose their leaves over the winter and come into bloom in the early spring. Very early this year indeed!

And as I sit here I notice that it's getting brighter outside, and I can see some blue sky! Maybe we will enjoy a short respite from all this inclement weather. I'm ready.
:-)

Stepping out of my comfort zone

Magnolia tulip tree in the wind

I didn't go hiking today. It feels VERY weird for it to be a Thursday and I'm sitting at home in the middle of the day. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is that I just didn't feel like it. Now that's quite an admission from someone who never misses a hike.

There are a few extenuating circumstances, though: Al sent around a notice that he is sick with a cold and we already did a hike last month without him, up to Oyster Dome. Only five of us showed up and we had a good time, but still, it's not the same when Al's not there. Plus today we were scheduled to hike the British Army Trail on Blanchard Mountain, which tends to get us all strung out and isn't one of my favorites. It was named after a bunch of British Army recruits who helped to construct this part of the Pacific Northwest Trail in the 1980s. A bit of history is here, if you're interested.

And then all last night the wind blew. I mean REALLY blew: we had gusts up to 80mph (129kmh), which is almost hurricane level! I figured I had a perfect excuse not to go out into the forest with winds like that. They were forecasted to diminish somewhat by noon; it's still windy but much less so. Many parts of Bellingham lost power.

Lilac buds coming along nicely

I see that the Bellingham Herald has an article today about the windstorm. (You may not be able to access that link since the Herald may want to charge you to read it.) Anyway, more than 12,000 people are still without power and several schools are closed. I went outside and took a couple of pictures of the signs of spring around here, which should make some of you very jealous. It was all I could think of to decorate today's post with.

An update on my new glasses saga: I did find a pair of nice frames and got all fitted up and then had my examination. The results were available for me to review on line, and it was rather disconcerting to read about myself described as being an "elderly female" but that's what I am. I just keep forgetting. The final cost? Almost $700 for the works and new frames. I was expecting it, but it still was a bit of a shock. My eyes are worth it, though.

My downstairs neighbor's pretty pink flowers

I did go to the Y today and took a step class so that I'll be able to keep my weekly steps up to snuff, and I might walk around Lake Padden this afternoon if I feel like it. Hope you are enjoying your day wherever you are.
:-)

Off to spend a fortune

Why do glasses and frames cost so much?

I'm going to make this post short, since I've got an appointment to get my eyes checked by an opthalmologist today. I skipped it last year; the time just got away from me. I didn't skip my retina specialist appointments, but my eyesight has gotten worse in recent months, so it was time. Plus I can go back to my regular doctor because of another change in insurance. For the past two years this guy didn't take what I had, but I've since changed back.

Although I only need to make a co-payment to the doctor, I need new frames, and we all know they are very expensive, especially when you want all the bells and whistles (transition and progressive lenses and non-glare coating). It's possible he'll tell me that I might finally qualify for cataract surgery in the eye that has deteriorated the most. I know it's easy these days, but I still am scared of it. It's great when it works, but sometimes things go wrong. I'll put it off as long as I can.

Winter kale in my garden, plus some weeds

I harvested the last of the Russian kale you see here, and we are both enjoying steamed goodies from the garden. The black kale in the middle of the picture has begun to flower, so it was time to get out there in the rain and gather it up. Now I'll turn over the soil in my little plot and begin to dream of my springtime garden.

Maybe I'll be surprised at the eye doctor's office and I won't end up spending as much as I think I will. New glasses are always fun in any event. I'm going to pick out the frames before my appointment, since my eyes will be dilated afterwards and there's no telling what I might end up with.
:-)

A walk in the park

Whatcom Falls this morning

When I woke at 3:00am to the sound of serious wind and rain, I was not optimistic about our chances of a nice walk in Whatcom Falls Park with the ladies this morning. By the time I left the apartment, the rain and wind had lessened and nothing much showed up on the radar. But after last week when I wasn't prepared for the rain, I grabbed all my gear and headed out to our meeting place. The skies were dark and forbidding as I drove east.

But it was simply beautiful! As you can see from the above picture, there was plenty of sunshine on all of our shoulders, as well as a fine spray from the roaring falls. It was a lovely walk, and we even had a (gasp!) man in our midst.

On our return trip

This walk takes us up more than a hundred stairs, the hardest part of the five-mile jaunt through the park, but the weather just kept getting nicer and nicer as we walked. Our man Ray has now joined us three or four times with his wife Amy, and I do hope he continues so I can label us "the walkers" rather than "the ladies." Now I'm going to have lunch and then spend some of this sunshine out in my garden, which is woefully behind many of the other plots in terms of getting ready for spring!

:-)

Gates Overlook to Raptor Ridge

Ward, Sue, Peggy, Steve, Chris, Lisa, Linda, Al, Rich

Ten Senior Trailblazers met on a rainy morning to begin another hike in the Chuckanuts, this time starting from Gates Overlook and hiking down the Rock Trail, to the Lost Lake trail, to Raptor Ridge and back the way we had come. I think I can finally use a saying I heard awhile back: "it was a DRY rain" because we didn't get any, again! Although it rained all night and we had lots of muddy sloppy trail to navigate, none of it came out of the sky on us.

Leaving the Lost Lake Trail for Raptor Ridge

There weren't a whole lot of possibilities for pictures today, since it was dark and overcast most of the day, and I ended up taking fewer than usual. It was also quite windy in spots, and when we reached the ridge, it was blowing and dark and very unappealing as a spot to stop for lunch.

Raptor Ridge today in 20-mph winds

Nope, that's just not going to do. We got down out of the wind a little and decided that maybe we could head to Lost Lake for lunch, but since that would have added a good distance to the hike, we decided to make the best of it and simply find a place out of the wind.

Our not-so-scenic lunch spot

As we were hiking down from Raptor Ridge, we ran into a young man, Daniel Probst, who stopped to chat with us for a bit. He's excited about his work on a trail that goes from Bellingham all the way to the top of Mt. Baker. I found an article about him and the trail on the Mt. Baker Experience Magazine. It turns out last year this young man and two others ran the entire distance from Bellingham to the Mt. Baker summit in 48 hours and 17 minutes! I thought he looked very fit, but that is an understatement. He also took a picture of us, which he shared with me on Facebook:

Look at those bent trees: am I hallucinating?

And then we returned to Gates Overlook, and by this time we had some sun breaks. It looked like Bellingham was also enjoying some sunshine. The temperature was mild and the day was fine. We covered just under nine miles and really enjoyed the dry rain.

Gates Overlook in the afternoon

As you can see, the sky had changed to more benign clouds than we had at Raptor Ridge, and as we made our way back to the Senior Center, we saw plenty of sunshine. A fine day with just the right blend of adventure and companionship. I am including the following picture of the sign at the Overlook for my friend Stew, who likes maps. This one at least tells you what is out there in Bellingham Bay.

A little information about our park

And this concludes another Thursday hiking around in the beautiful mountains where the Trailblazers spend our winter months. Today felt like spring, with everything budding out, reminding me that it won't be long before we head back up to the High Country!
:-)