Goat Lake 06-02-19

AppleWatch Stats:  11.16 miles RT, 1767 ft of elevation gain.

What a beautiful sunny day to hike to a beautiful lake.  Apparently everyone else thought so too, and when I arrived at 8:30am the parking lot was already overflowing.  I was pretty surprised.

I really love this trail.  It can be done in like a loop, as the Upper and Lower Elliot Trails diverge shortly after the trail starts, and then rejoin a couple miles before the lake.  I like to go on Upper and return on Lower.  The Upper trail is a wider flatter trail, with groves of aspens and peek-a-boo views of the crags across the valley now and then.  The Lower trail is a narrow twisty undulating trail through the woods.  You can't go wrong with either.  Here and there you can see sections of boardwalk type planking from when this was a "paved" (with wood) road to a town and a hotel.

There are also numerous waterfalls along the trail. The biggest ones you have to leave the trail a very short distance for, but they are oh so worth it!

Today there were flowers everywhere.  The trillium were done and the bleeding hearts looked tired, but still - color everywhere.

bunchberry dogwood

beadruby

queen's cup

columbine

coral root

The lake itself, although many people were there, seemed quiet and peaceful.  Swallows were skimming the water's surface and water skeeters were skittering on top of it.  It was pretty idyllic.

I was joined by a friendly chipmunk for lunch.  No, I would never feed wildlife.  Looks like he just so happened to pack a mini PB&J too hehe.  In fact it was a nice day for a lot of small wildlife - although I didn't get a photo of all of them.

banana slug

yellow warbler

Get out into nature and soak it all in!

Heather Lake 08-18-2018

Although I had a few exciting new longer hikes in mind, I begrudgingly chose Heather Lake today for a variety of reasons.  Why do I always underrate this hike?  It is lovely and diverse, and if you go early enough to beat the crowds it is peaceful as well.

I am loving having an Apple Watch now, as I can check my distances and elevation.  It had me at exactly 2 miles from the parking lot to where the trail diverges to go around the lake, and about a mile around the lake, for a nice total (for my short legged dogs) of 5 miles and an elevation gain of just under 1300 ft.  I don't always watch it so closely, but I was curious, and it sure came in handy when people were asking me on my way down, "how far to the lake? How much farther? Am I almost there?"  haha

The lake itself is just lovely ringed by high craggy cliffs and there was still a little tiny snow pack at the far side that the dogs had fun digging and rolling on.

I was super stoked to hear a nice chorus of pikas all around the lake, but didn't see a single one, sneaky little things.  What I did see was a marmot!  I was sure surprised.  I don't recall seeing marmots here before.  I pointed it out to a couple other hikers who seemed pretty pleased to see it.  The marmot, as is typical, couldn't be bothered with its admirers as it soaked up the morning sun.

Although there are some late summer signs on the way up - berries on the devil's club, bunchberry dogwoods are at the berry stage, and blue huckleberries ripening at the top, there were also still a nice assortment of lovely wildflowers! 

Next time I need to choose a nearer, shorter hike and find myself "forced" to choose Heather Lake I'm going to remember how worthy it is. 

Happy Trails!

Lime Kiln Trail 04-29-17

It was a gray day and rain was forecast for later, so I was hoping that the popular Lime Kiln Trail would be quiet despite my late start.  No such luck.  I got one of the last spots in the parking lot and it people just kept coming.  At least they were all nice, and Cedar enjoyed meeting their dogs.

Dealing with medical issues lately including anemia and arthritis in my toes, I am trying to work back up to steeper longer hikes.  Cedar and I have been doing 3 miles along a slough of the Snohomish a few times each week, but even this relatively level hike, being longer, felt like a challenge.  

Spring flowers were blooming along the trail and it was a lovely temperature.

Bleeding hearts above the Stillaguamish

This fun part of the trail has you walking under several logs like a little tunnel

Cedar checks out some old rusty saw blades

The lime kiln itself hides under moss, ferns, lichen, and other greenery and I never see it until I'm nearly on top of it. I wonder how much longer this monument to this areas history will stand?  A long time I hope, it is always interesting to think about how this area used to be bustling with trains, the lime kiln, small settlements, etc.

The moss here is super thick and many of the tree branches look like the arms of fuzzy green muppets. It covers logs, rocks and signs.

As we wound our way back up to the dirt road portion of the trail, I saw this banana slug in the entrance of a stump cave.

Happy hiking!