Halloween in the Chuckanuts

Spooky Senior Trailblazers

Today, a beautiful fall day in our part of the world, offered our group two hikes as possible destinations: one, into the High Country once again to tackle Goat Mountain. Eight people chose to go, and considering the wonderful day that those of us who stayed in town enjoyed, I'll bet they will have a fabulous day, too. Two, the rest of us, nine Senior Trailblazers went from the North Chuckanut trailhead up to Raptor Ridge and returned.

Start of the Huckleberry trail

We headed up the Hemlock trail until we got to this junction, where we made our way uphill to the Huckleberry viewpoint. The temperature was just about perfect: no wind, and cool but rather mild temperatures. Not long after starting, we had to have a clothing adjustment almost immediately.

Carin, me, and Dianne (taken by Melanie)

You can tell by the way we are dressed that it wasn't very cold. I would have shown you the view, but there really wasn't one. We ladies were much more interesting to photograph.

Me, Carin, and Melanie (taken by Dianne)

Dianne saw this shot and shared it with me. Look at all those maple leaves that have fallen in the trail. It was so lovely, and I kept feeling such delight to be out here in the wilderness, even if it's close to home it's really beautiful.

Our lunch spot

Then we made it to our destination, Raptor Ridge. Although it was early, we decided to just go ahead and make it a lunch break. Everyone speculated that we could be back home in the early afternoon to take care of other matters, after having had a good hike.

Another view from Raptor Ridge

Looking the other direction from the ridge, we saw some high clouds that dissipated before long, with lots of evergreen gracing the view as well. And then we went back down to the cars, taking a different way so that we could have a little variety as we descended.

Bridge on the return trip

I like this little bridge we need to cross to make it back to the Hemlock trail from the ridge. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have such a fine place to hike, close to town, on Chuckanut Mountain. It is also well maintained.

Some pretty golden leaves

By the time I make it up there again, we might see snow on the trail, but for sure all the leaves will be gone from the deciduous trees. We do have so many evergreens, though, that it will still be a pleasure to see. We ended up covering around seven-and-a-half miles and 1,700 feet up and down. Not a particularly strenuous day, but a good one! Everybody was happy, and now we can get ready for the Halloween kiddie onslaught.
:-)

Learning to love getting old

Mel took this of me last week

When we were driving back home from our attempt to reach Excelsior Pass last Thursday, I saw in Melanie's phone that she had taken this picture of me. When I first looked at it, I thought I looked great, and asked her for it, which she willingly provided. But then when I got home and looked more closely at it, I realized that what I liked best about it was that I thought I looked younger than my years.

Yes, when I looked more carefully at it,  I knew that nobody is going to be able to take a picture of me as an elderly woman that will make me look twenty years younger. It's a conceit I think many seniors have: that if we just get the right angle in a picture, we'll be able to disguise our true ages. Instead of looking at the photo and conceding that it shows a very fit septuagenarian, all I saw was the wrinkles, white hair, and the veins sticking out on my arm. Vanity!

Fortunately for me, I have this blog to help keep me honest. Yes, I carry around some vanity, but I am always looking for ways to let it go and cultivate humility instead. As I get older, it gets a little easier with every passing day. A delightful quote for today:

An example I often use to illustrate the reality of vanity, is this: look at the peacock; it's beautiful if you look at it from the front. But if you look at it from behind, you discover the truth... Whoever gives in to such self-absorbed vanity has huge misery hiding inside them. —Pope Francis

:-)

Now that's red

Cordata Parkway

I found this beautiful picture on the LoveBellingham page on Facebook, with no attribution to the photographer. It was taken last week, and by now many of those leaves must have fallen, since we had a breezy day yesterday and leaves were coming off the trees like confetti. The colors this year have been spectacular.

This morning we ladies walked a five-mile loop around the college campus and enjoyed the colors, as well as swishing through the fallen leaves. We've just been through a rather wet period, but for the next few days it should be sunny, cool, and just plain lovely. Every part of the globe experiences moments when you wish you could stop the clock and simply gaze, enjoying the beauty. This is ours, right here right now.
:-)

Excelsior Pass attempt

Today's group hike towards Excelsior Pass

This picture was taken by a new hiker, Steve, who joined us on the Relaxed Group's attempt to make it to Excelsior Pass. First, we tried to gain access to Church Mountain, where we expected to make it to the meadows, but the road was in bad shape where it crosses the creek.

This is where we turned around

A couple of guys were in the process of assessing the viability of making it across this spot on the Church Mountain access road. After studying it ourselves, with three cars needing to make it across, we decided instead to turn around and hike up the Excelsior Pass trailhead, just a few miles down the road.

Trail shot

This hike is 4.5 miles long to the pass, with more than 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Although we didn't know if we could make it the entire way, it was a nice way to spend the day. We had no snow for the first part as we ascended towards the pass.

Recently cut log

The Forest Service has been out trying to clear the trail, and I saw this log with sap coming out of the recently cut bark. These trees fell, probably in a recent windstorm, and now the trail is in very good condition.

Snow made its appearance on the trail

We ran into snow at about 4,200 feet elevation and realized it would be much slower going from this point to the pass. Just before 1:00pm, we decided to stop for lunch and, afterwareds, to turn around and head back down. Because of the short days, we didn't want to be caught out in darkness.

Pretty mushroom in the snow

Dianne caught this lovely picture of an unidentified mushroom in the snow. Our new friend, Steve, knows mushrooms and probably identified this one, but I have already forgotten its name.

Some of our group heading back down

I asked those hikers ahead of me to stop for a minute so I could get their picture. Steve, our newest member, is third from the left. This group was led very capably by Donna, the woman at the front. Although I have hiked with the Relaxed Group before, most of the people were new to me.

Hikers surrounded by green and gold

It was only 3:00pm when we returned to the trailhead. (It was much faster going down.) We probably only hiked around just under or just over seven miles, but we did ascend and descend around 2,900 feet on the way to the pass. It just keeps going up. It didn't rain but was overcast the entire day, but until you reach the high meadows just below the pass, there isn't much of a view. No matter, everyone was happy to have had such a good day in the High Country, probably our final one for the season.
:-)

Meet Dirty Dan

"Dirty Dan" Harris sculpture

I promised I'd let you know a little bit about this character and his life when I wrote about the other two sculptures in the vicinity. I didn't know much about him before I looked up his biography today, other than that he was the founder of the town of Fairhaven.

The link I found has some interesting facts about this guy. He arrived here from the East Coast between 1826 and 1833, after having sailed the seas as a whaler. He finished a log cabin begun by an earlier settler who died, and obtained legal title to 146 acres, which became the main part of Fairhaven's downtown. Fairhaven, Sehome, Whatcom, and Bellingham combined to become one town in 1903. But Fairhaven was the place where Dirty Dan began to make his fortune. He was, according to the article, "a shabby looking guy, hence the nickname Dirty Dan." From HistoryLink.org:

He typically wore a well-worn hat, greasy coat, unbuttoned red flannel undershirt, and pants that were ripped and occasionally held up with rope. Shoes and socks were something of a novelty for him in his younger years, though he did wear them when he was on the road. He loved his liquor and could hold it as well as any man.

But as he gained his first wealth, mostly from the sale of bootleg liquor, he cleaned up and then began to sell property in the new town of Fairhaven.  By 1883, he had amassed close to a half million dollars (in 2014 dollars). And he began to clean up his appearance:

He bought a new wardrobe — a silk hat, fine black cutaway coat, and matching pants, real pants, sans ropes, and a white vest. Yet he didn't pull it off entirely. He still wore his red flannel undershirt, no tie, cowhide shoes (still an improvement from no shoes at all), and his coat and pants were often dotted with spots and stains. 

There is much more information about this interesting man on that link. He died in 1890, I guess somewhere in his seventies. I enjoyed learning about him and now will walk down Harris Avenue in Fairhaven with renewed respect.
:-)

Reflections

Lake Padden this morning

We ladies met this morning to walk twice around the lake. It rained and rained last night, and was expected to continue all day today. The forecast made it look like we might be able to get an early morning walk in without too much rain, and instead, we had none at all!

The clouds cleared a little, and the lake was as still as glass, as you can see in this picture, giving a wonderful reflection of the golden leaves on the far shore. Because of all our recent rain, the grass is green and lush, too. This is the time of year when the golden leaves look translucent, as if the light might be emanating from within. The dark trunks, saturated with moisture, add to the illusion.

I had a rather strenuous yoga class yesterday, which is when I began to realize that my right hip was in a bit of distress from Thursday's hike. Last night I wondered if it would be prudent to stay home and rest, but by the time I'd made one lap of the lake this morning, all the pain was gone. I'm convinced that working through pain can be beneficial, at least sometimes. The trick is deciding when. Today I made the right decision and am feeling happy and rather pleased with myself.
:-)

Half Fast group gets Relaxed

Starting point for today's hike

The title of this post is because our two Senior Trailblazer hiking groups combined into one: the Half-Fast (my usual cohorts) and the Relaxed group went out together today. The weather forecast could hardly have been worse: rain all day and wind to boot. Although both groups were scheduled to head into the High Country, it obviously wasn't a good idea. Only three people showed up for the Relaxed hikers, so the combination of our groups put our heads together and decided to start at the Two Dollar trail and head up the Rock trail to Gates Overlook and back. If the weather got bad, we could turn around at any point.

Lots of golden leaves

Our day started out dry, but we were ready for the expected weather. Starting out at 8:47am, it didn't begin to rain until after 10:00am, and it wasn't more than a few sprinkles at first. The wind was gusty, but I think yesterday's wind was worse than what we faced today. At times, it was calm, and then we'd hear the roar of the wind and rain as it came toward us.

Rain and wind

By the time we reached the South Lost Lake trail on our way to the Rock trail, the rain had found us. It wasn't all that cold, but the wind gusts made it feel that way, once we got rained on.

A carpet of leaves

The trees are losing their leaves quickly, as you can see here. We walked along a carpet of color, and one could easily see where the wind blew and swirled the leaves into deep eddies. It was quite lovely, actually. And then we got to Gates Overlook and decided to hunker down in the trees just before it, so that we would be protected from the fierce wind.

Joy and Dave settling in for lunch

You can see the mist behind Joy and Dave, and since there was no view at the Overlook, it was much nicer just to find a nice place under a tree and enjoy a nice break together. When I took this picture of them, Joy snapped one of me.

Snug and warm, surrounded by friends

We were able to share pictures with each other using AirDrop on our iPhones. Melanie and I do this all the the time, so it was fun to show Joy how it works. Once we packed up and headed back, we ventured out to see if there was any view for us from the Overlook. Nope.

Time to head back

Instead of returning the way we had come, we walked down Cleator Road until we got to the turnoff to Fragrance Lake, which would take us back to the Two Dollar trail. By the time we started back, the rain had pretty much stopped, and the wind had died down to practically nothing.

Fragrance Lake

As we passed by Fragrance Lake, I was able to capture this pretty picture, showing a few little raindrops on the lake, but nothing much to speak of. It's only 1.7 miles from the lake to the trailhead, so off we went, happy to have been able to enjoy such a lovely day.

View of the bay

Although when we were on Gates Overlook, we should have been able to see this view, at least it did appear before we got all the way back down. You can see the weather is beginning to improve. We were so fortunate today, lucking out with the weather, in spite of the forecast, and enjoying a simply lovely hike of almost  nine miles and around 2,100 feet of elevation gain and loss.

For me, it was especially delightful, because I feel all the way back to being fit for hiking after many months of injuries. Yes, I have age-related changes, but for now I am hopeful that I've got some good hiking days ahead of me. I am beyond grateful.
:-)