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Testing the Ice

Temperatures have been cold for the last week or so with lows in the single digits. Brrr. Ice is forming on the lakes and ponds but most of it is too thin for walking. We did find a shallow area of a pond that seemed safe. The bubbles in the ice were fascinating. I wonder if they are from the decomposing wood in the water below? We could see them in the middle of the ice and also where it looked like they were at the bottom surface of the ice. We guessed that it was about three inches thick. Farther out in the deeper area, it looked cracked and we avoided it. Some folks have said they could see fish and turtles under the ice but we had no such luck.

Testing the ice
Wyatt knows there is a squirrel over there
Sky found a stick. Imagine that.
Beautiful Frida!
Me and my shadow

Shapes and Sights at Pipesteone Canyon

MA and I took the dogs to the area above Pipestone Canyon last week. It was very cold and very sunny. We didn’t stop very much and stayed in the sun as much as possible. The days are short and the sun is low in the sky so when we returned to the car, we were in deep shade. We wondered about the sanity of two joggers who were just getting started as we loaded the dogs.

Standing on the edge
Luna says, are you taking my picture again?
Cool geology
Remains
Fire-dried apples
The spring is frozen in place
Last light on the tree tops

Early Winter in the North Cascades

Last week the dogs and I managed one last trip to the mountains before the deep freeze settled in. I’d intended to just walk in the hills as usual but after many days of wet dreary weather I awoke to a glorious bluebird day with snow-capped mountains on the horizon and I could not resist one last chance to be up there before winter really arrives.

I knew it would be cold and we’d be walking on snow and ice-covered surfaces and in the shade much of the time so picking out clothes after the long warm (for November) spell was challenging. It was 29 degrees Fahrenheit at the Blue Lake trailhead – the coldest temperature I’ve seen in months. Brrrr. I must have picked out the right combination of layers because I kept comfortably warm moving briskly on the trail and only stopping in sunny spots.

The log footbridge at the lake’s outlet was snow-covered and I didn’t have the nerve to try crossing it. Heck, that thing scares me in summer. The dogs happily ran back and forth while I dithered about it. The sun had barely crept across the mountain ridge behind the lake leaving the lake mostly in the shade. We enjoyed the sunshine and met two other hikers with a pretty dog before heading down the trail and saying goodbye to the mountains for now.

It’s always worth stopping for this view of Liberty Bell.
Ice-covered ponds everywhere.
Frozen mushrooms
Snow on wild strawberries
At the outlet to Blue Lake
Sky’s new friend is half golden retriever and half Aussie. Very pretty young fellow.
I wasn’t going to throw sticks for Sky due to all the logs and the ice on the lake but the other folks were doing it so she joined their fun.
He didn’t balance on the logs as easily as Sky
Brrrr!
And then she was cold when she sat down.
What’s on her mind?
A rivulet through the ice on the trail
Reflection in a puddle full of fir needles
Reflection in a puddle full of fir needles
ice

Walking Through the Fire

Many of my favorite walking areas burned this summer so most of my images these days reflect the effects of fire. I apologize if you’re tired of them. Think how I must feel, seeing this and smelling this everyday; wiping ash from the dogs’ feet before they come in on a wet day.

It will be better when the snow falls and next spring I look forward to lots of green grasses and vibrant wildflowers.

These photos are from near the start of the Cougar Flats Fire, part of the Carlton Complex.

Eerily beautiful on a sunny fall day.
Imagine how hot it burned through here.
Some areas suffered patchy ground fires and the trees survived.
These elderberries did not survive
Guthrie
New grasses sprouted this fall from areas that didn’t burn too hot.
Fall colors contrasted with burned trees.

Bear Creek Walk

The girls (dogs) and I walked along Bear Creek earlier this week. It was the one weekday without rain in the forecast and I’m glad we took advantage of it. They were right – we’ve had rain four of five days this week. Of course, we need it and it does help me get inside tasks done but really, folks around here are unaccustomed to gray drippy weather. And it has brought much needed snow to the mountains.

This particular area of Bear Creek burned in the Cougar Flats fire in July – part of the infamous Carlton Complex, the biggest wildfire in Washington’s history. I remember at that time saying to a friend of mine “all of our favorite spring and fall walking areas are on fire”.

I was happy to find that the landscape around the trail suffered mostly a ground fire and most of the trees look like they will live! The fire stimulated new growth in plants that would have been dormant in the mid-summer heat and I saw sunflowers, yarrow and a tiny vetch in bloom. It’s nice to see their color at this time of year. And the trees are providing lots of color as well. The deciduous trees are all shades of orange, yellow and green and the pines that are partially burned are even pretty with their dark orange needles.

Ken and I walked this trail on New Years. You can photos from that day here. Sky was still a puppy then.

This area will be beautiful in the spring.

Dalmation Toadflax – and invasive, non-native weed.
Sky scampers across Bear Creek
A tiny puffball mushroom
New growth – maybe a willow?
Burned out tree root hole
I think this is a tiny buckwheat
Douglas Sunflower
Tiny vetch
Yarrow
Innovative foot bridge
Perhaps part of an old foundation
Luna looks good in yellow
Pitch
This tree bled pitch before the fire and it’s still doing it.
Beaver Creek