Ptarmigan Ridge on a perfect day

Some of the group admiring the view

Thirteen Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center to begin our journey to Ptarmigan Ridge, one of my favorite hikes in the wilderness when the weather is sunny. And just look at it! Not a cloud in the sky. We had three new hikers with us today, Ken, Mike, and the one I called "Tripod Guy" until I learned his name is Roger. He carried a huge tripod with him the entire way and every time we stopped for more than a microsecond, he was busy snapping pictures. We decided to chance it in the wilderness, with our group one over the regulation size. We figured we could call ourselves a "Baker's Dozen," and Mt. Baker approved.

One of the wonderful views from the ridge

Fall colors are beginning to show themselves everywhere on this September day, our last summer hike of 2016. Next Thursday is the autumnal equinox, so it will begin our new season. This could not have been a more wonderful day.

Backlit red leaves

As we walked along the ridge, we saw plenty of other hikers. Not surprising, really, considering the weather and the time of year. I'm so glad we were all together, although three of the strongest hikers, Steve, Doug, and new guy Mike all left to hike all the way to the portals, while the rest of us would make it to Kiser Camp, about 4.5 miles and at an elevation of over 6,000 feet (more than 1,800 meters).

Ellen and Carol at Kiser Camp

We were all ready to stop and have our lunch, while the three guys went a bit farther to the portals. I was certainly ready to stop, with the altitude taking its toll on me, but once we had rested, I felt completely rejuvenated. You can see how close we were to Mt. Baker in this picture. While we had our lunch, we saw the other three come down the trail to join us.

Mountain goats at lower middle

We saw a herd of mountain goats on our return trip, six adults and a juvenile. They aren't easy to see unless to enlarge the picture, but hey, this was taken with my iPhone, after all. No telephoto. It's been rare that I haven't seen any goats on this hike when the weather has been so fine.

Beautiful tarns and Glacier Peak on the skyline

This is my favorite picture of the day. Glacier Peak can only be seen on hikes; it isn't visible from any highway but you see it here, and those blue-green tarns took my breath away. If you look closely, you can see two people walking on a trail towards those tarns, and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't take a dip.

Snow crossing

Even at this time of the year, we had to cross snow three or four times. Not terrible or scary, but still, it is September just before the equinox! Everyone did fine, and our three newbies enjoyed themselves enough hopefully to return.

Saying goodbye to Mt. Baker at the end of the hike

Just before we finished the hike, I turned to see Mt. Baker backlit by the sun, with a few clouds forming in the sky. Although it turned out to be a very long day (it's almost 7:30pm as I finish this post), it was a simply wonderful one, filled with lots of adventures and ice cream at Graham's at the end!
:-)

Favorite evening hangout

Lynn's front porch, taken from my own porch

One of the nicest perks of these apartments are the spacious front (and back) covered porches. The one in the front of the apartments (seen above) faces east and gives us some great views, along with being shaded after the morning sun moves overhead. The back porch faces west and gets very warm late in the day.

Lynn's from the other side, looking towards mine

When the weather is fine, we have been gathering for a nice glass of wine or a beer in the evening. We've got a new single woman who just moved in a few doors down, and a family of four right next to her. I've met them both because of Lynn. She is cultivating quite a following, and I am happy to come out with a box of wine and get to know my neighbors. Nobody has to be a designated driver, and somehow we have been managing to pass many an evening together. Since I'm an early-to-bed person, all I have to do is just say goodnight and there's my front door! I can still hear their laughter as I slip into bed: really one of the most enjoyable ways for me to end a lovely summer's day.
:-)

Magnificent Saturday

Lily at Zuanich Park

I love this picture of my neighbor Lily, who this morning joined Lynn and me for her second Saturday walk with the ladies. She had just exclaimed at the beauty and wonder of the place where we were walking, and I captured the feeling with this picture. A beautiful day, with clearing skies, and a whole bunch of cool women to share the moment.

A berry nice quilt

Then we finished our morning with a visit to the Farmers' Market, with abundance everywhere we looked. Lynn pointed out these raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries making a luscious quilt pattern. I'm now heading off to the movies with my friend Judy. It's hard to stop smiling at my good fortune. Wishing you the best of days, too!
:-)

Park Butte 2016

Looked like the clouds were on their way out

Only seven Senior Trailblazers showed up this morning to drive south to Schreiber's Meadow and begin our hike to Park Butte. This was partly because the weather wasn't exactly perfect (although it was supposed to get better as the day wore on), and because of a local protest against the logging of Blanchard Mountain, one of our favorite winter destinations. I think many of our usual hikers chose to go there. We drove in drizzle and low clouds to the trailhead.

Dave, Melanie, Al, Ellen, Carol

By the time we reached the junction that goes one way to Railroad Grade and the other to Park Butte, we had not seen much of that elusive sunshine. It wasn't raining, but a cold wind would come through now and then, along with sun breaks, tantalizing us. It was very pleasant hiking weather as we ascended toward Park Butte.

Pea-soup fog continues

Although most of us had been there before, both Ellen and Melanie have not seen the spectacular views on this hike. They will need to come back another day to see what they missed.

Dave, Melanie, me, Carol, Ellen

And then we made it to the historic fire lookout cabin, which is open to anyone who wishes to stay overnight, as long as you follow the rules. There was one young man who had spent three nights up there and said he would pack up and leave himself, once we finished with our lunch. He said the fog moved in yesterday and had not yet shown any signs of lifting.

Our return trip, still no views

Although the fog continued, we did have moments when the sun would break through and the wind died down, and then suddenly we would be too warm in all our clothes. I could feel that it was a little lighter, that there was a sense that soon we'd be in sunshine.

Mt. Baker peeking through

When we had descended for around an hour, we passed by the spot where you usually have a magnificent view of Mt. Baker, and this was what we saw. The sun was shining in spots, but the summit is obscured on the left. We stood around for awhile hoping it would clear, but it didn't.

Ellen at the junction to Mazama Park

Ellen is showing where the trail splits off to Mazama Park and down to the Ridley Creek trailhead we'll do in a few weeks. The sign shows which way to go to get to the Park Butte Lookout. We meandered down our return trail until we reached the meadows with lots of ripe blueberries.

Trailblazers picking berries

It was really almost impossible to keep from stopping now and then and tasting them. They were so ripe and the red leaves would fall away, exposing lots of berries. One person said he had just uncovered a horde and had to pick them, making me wonder about the word usage (hordes? passels? bunches?) for the abundance we discovered.

Crossing over the bridge almost to the parking area

When I finally got back on the trail, I heard the roaring of Sulphur Creek, the main stream draining from Easton Glacier on Mt. Baker. We crossed over the final bridge and were back at our cars, having covered around eight miles and 2,000 feet of elevation up and down. Not one of our hardest hikes, and the cool fog and breeze kept me comfortable for the entire time, delightful even without the views.

Of course, by the time we were halfway home, the skies had cleared and it was sunny. It didn't matter, though; we had just enjoyed a fine hike and an adventure with good friends. Sometimes I can't help but give thanks for the group and the beautiful places we have to hike in. Now it's time for a shower!
:-)

Kernels of truth

Corn on the cob

Many of us enjoy corn on the cob during the summer, especially now when it is fresh out of the garden. A couple of days ago my friend John gave me a bonanza of it from his garden, and I shared it with my neighbors and then came home with the rest. 

I am not a huge fan of corn at any time, but this way is probably my favorite way to eat it. As SG and I sat down to dinner to enjoy our lovely feast, we noticed immediately that we don't eat it the same way at all! I like to start from the middle, eat a nice little section around, and then start eating the rest from right to left, on one side only, then the other.

He, on the other hand, eats it like it is a typewriter, starting on the right end and eating the entire row, does a carriage return and goes to the top and eats the next row, right to left.

Well, this morning it was the topic of conversation at the coffee shop. It turns out that all my buddies are typewriter eaters, sometimes left to right, other times right to left. I have never eaten an ear of corn that way. I think the best corn is in the middle of the ear, and so I get that and then eat the rest in an orderly fashion. I don't always finish an entire ear.

I got online and found this interesting article from the LA Times, titled "Kernels of Truth Come Out When You Eat Corn." So I decided to find out what my readers do. Nowhere have I found anybody who eats it like I do. What about you?

:-)

Labor Day weekend starting out great

Lynn and Lily at Boulevard Park

It was supposed to rain this morning, but it didn't. Although it's pretty cloudy and cool, that was perfect weather for our walk with the ladies this morning. Lily, who lives in our apartment complex, joined Lynn and me for the first time. I'm pretty sure she'll be back again. We had twenty of us walk what Cindy calls the campus loop: from Boulevard Park to the Farmers' Market, then up the hill to the campus, around and down Mill Street and finally returning to the start. Five miles at a fast clip, just the way to start out the long weekend.

Is there anyone who doesn't have a smartphone?

Since it was Lily's first time with us, everyone pulled out their cellphones to get her current information. I laughed when I saw this picture, which was taken with (what else?) my own cellphone! Then the three of us went to the Farmers' Market so that I could buy some bread, and we enjoyed looking at pottery and jewelry before we left. Not to mention some amazing veggies.

Rosy Bianca eggplant

I had never before seen eggplant that looks like this. Usually they are more like the ones in the background, green-black and shiny. The vendor said these are creamy and delicious. I didn't buy any, but I sure was enchanted with them. Anybody ever cook with them?

Romanesco

These are some of the most beautiful Romanesco I've seen in years. I tried to grow them last year, but they bolted almost immediately. I have since learned they need to be planted late in the season and kept in shady areas for best results. In the background you can see some yellow and purple cauliflower, too.

Heirloom tomatoes

And finally, these lovely heirloom tomatoes that were all vying for attention, from dark to light, yellow to red. This is the time of year when I most enjoy going to the market and taking pictures. Next week maybe I'll concentrate on the magnificent flowers; it's dahlia and zinnia time, after all.
:-)

A fine substitute hike

Victoria, Ellen, Kirk, Peggy, Al, Chris (waiting for Rich and Carol)

Ten intrepid Senior Trailblazers met today for our usual Thursday hike, although it rained most of the night and more rain was predicted for the day, especially in the mountains. What to do? Our scheduled hike would take us far south to walk in the rain, so after some discussion we decided to drive up the Mt. Baker Highway to the Excelsior Pass trailhead, even if it would be raining. This is the harder way to get to the pass, going ever upward on a wooded trail, but the easier way is not accessible because the road is closed.

Mist and the occasional sun break

The forest is really lovely, especially when it's glistening with raindrops, and since we are all hardy Pacific Northwesterners, we walked in light rain up the trail and didn't mind a bit. Plus it never really poured, just a light rain now and then.

Mushrooms, not flowers

I saw these pretty mushrooms that must have sprouted with the rain. I wonder what kind they are. We saw others, but these were the most interesting. Each "flower" is about the size of a small serving plate.

Our lunch spot

Finally, we broke out of the trees and by this time the rain had lessened considerably. We sat down to enjoy a nice lunch and speculate about going the rest of the way to the pass, but since there would be no view, we decided this would do just fine.

Ellen and Victoria looking out into the mist

Normally, we would be able to see Mt. Baker and it would have been very rewarding to climb the half-mile to the actual pass. Today, not so much. By this time, we had climbed almost four miles and more than 3,200 feet (1,000 meters) and were quite ready to stop.

Carol took this picture of me

I asked for a photo of me with our lovely non-view, and Carol was quite willing. I'm wearing my Snoqualmie Sombrero — my third rain hat this year and hopefully I won't be losing this one any time soon. And then after a nice lunch, it was time to turn around and head back down all that elevation.

Darth Vader—I mean Kirk—Ellen, Al

My knees did pretty well on the downhill, but I was careful to use my trekking poles to take much of the weight as I lowered myself down steep sections. Although we are still wearing our rain gear in this picture, it was mostly to keep ourselves warm after having stopped for lunch; it took awhile to warm up going downhill, but we finally did.

Moss and fern garden by Mother Nature

I saw Carol stop to take a picture of this beautiful scene on the side of the trail, so I did, too. It really does look like a master gardener decided how to arrange it so it would be perfect, doesn't it?

Our return to the cars

And finally we were all warm enough and dry enough to remove our rain gear as we made our way back down the trail. Although we had little view, it was truly a wonderful day, spent in company I always enjoy, and in a beautiful place. And it was relatively dry, too. Now that I am home and sitting in my favorite chair, I realize that my knees got a real workout but considering what they just did, they are going to be just fine!
:-)