The girls and I enjoyed a very pleasant walk to a normally busy lake yesterday. We got off to any early start so had the place to ourselves for about an hour. There are still a few wildflowers and the huckleberries are getting ripe. Willow and Sky and I all had little treats along the trail. It was really lovely.
And clearly, I have a favorite rock. And a favorite Spotted Sandpiper too.
This is not one of my favorite hikes and I seldom do it anymore but it does offer great views of the valley and of the mountains to the west. It’s not a long hike but it’s steep and the trail has a lot of loose rock. It turns out, those were the least of my worries. As I was getting close to the top, a couple coming down warned me about a mountain goat at the top. Mountain goats are potentially quite dangerous. They have killed hikers in the Olympic National Park and last year, our friends’ dog, on a leash, was gored by one on a popular hiking trail near here. So I don’t like to see them when I am out hiking with my dogs.
As I approached the top, I leashed Willow, the youngster, and kept Sky by my side. Soon I saw the goat walking down the trail towards us. I leashed Sky and we got off the trail to let him pass. But no, he was curious about us and peered over the edge where we were trying to be out of his way. I yelled and pretended to throw something and he backed off and then popped up in another place. Finally, he moved on and we went back to the trail. Of course, I didn’t see where he went. It was soon obvious; he was next to the lookout and stamping his foot and huffing at us. At that point, I figured we were not going to the top so we moved over to a rock outcropping and had a break, ate our snacks and drank some water. The dogs did not get off the leash. They were very aware of the goat and he continued to watch us, stamping and huffing but he did not move away from the mountain top. After our short break, we hurried down and away from him. The close ups of the goat were made with a 600 mm lens. We were not as close as it appears.
The flowers were beautiful. I especially liked the western clematis and the buckwheat. I don’t know the species (there are lots), maybe it’s thyme-leaf.
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!
My Everyday Photos 