Winter came early this year. We were lucky to get a hike the day before the snow happened. It was mostly gray and overcast but occasionally the sun gave us a little warmth and then there would be a snow flurry too.
These hills are now covered with one to two feet of snow and we need skis or snowshoes to get around.
This is my favorite trail, I’m pretty sure. I can return to it multiple times during a hiking season. It does have the very worst road though. It’s a place where the sub alpine larches are enchanting in their early summer greens and amazing when they turn golden in the fall. Pikas are frequently heard and sometimes seen while crossing the talus slopes. Earlier in the year marmots let loose with piercing calls to frighten even the bravest dogs and people too. Now they are underground. The pikas continue to harvest greens to dry in their ‘hay’ piles and then store under the rocks for the long cold winter soon to come.
At the trailhead, the wildfire smoke was thick – we could taste it as well as smell it. But we’d driven all the way so we headed out and gradually, there was less of it but it was always present. While I am not quite ready for winter to set in, it’s the only thing that will quell the wildfires burning in the mountains throughout the northwest.
What a strange fall it’s been. Unseasonably warm and very smoky from wildfires in the mountains. I have not been hiking as much as I’d like to. A friend was driving across the North Cascades so we met at one of the busy trailheads up there to soak in a few fall colors.
Sky and I enjoyed a hike with the curly red dogs, members of the Good Girls’ Club, and Kim recently. Sky is trying to teach them to pose for group photos and after they were a little tired, they started to get the hang of it. The paintbrush and lupine were stunning in the midday sun and the views were perfect. And look at that poodle’s smile!
We got out in the mountains this past week for a really pleasant hike. The air was cool and fresh. It wasn’t windy which was a mixed blessing. In some places, the mosquitoes were quite annoying but they thinned out after we got above the trees. Clark’s Nutcrackers were everywhere and Horned Larks were singing from lots of rocky perches. Ladybugs were emerging from the rocks and once again I wonder, what do they do all winter? Sky found a stick and she posed, on her own, in front of an old growth juniper, for a portrait. And the clouds were amazing! Fog filled the valleys to the north and east, eliminating half the views but it would pour up over the ridge line making outstanding aerial displays! We found big piles of black bear poop. I wonder what it was eating? The snow only recently melted so there were few flowers. We will have to return soon! With the warm weather, they will pop out in a hurry.
My Everyday Photos 