Vision in Delirium

When my boss called in with the flu at the beginning of the year, I should have gone immediately for my flu shot. But I put it off. I knew it was going around. And I knew it was a nasty one.

So this past week I spent my time either in bed or on the couch. Cancelled my great weekend plans. And daydreamed about all the wonderful places I had been and places to go.

I smiled at the memories of shared adventures with friends, knowing they are the adventure buddies I can count on for future travels.

The weekend prior to my bedridden week, 3 of my buddies & I decided to snowshoe to the Big Four Ice Caves along the Mountain Loop Highway. A popular destination in the summer as it's an easy day hike for families becomes a stunning snowshoe in the winter. The cliff area of the ice caves can be very dangerous - in recent years there have been several accidents and at least one death from avalanches falling even in the later summer months. But it's the avalanches that create the ice caves. And the popularity of area has not diminished even with the dangers.

Our plan was to snowshoe from where the road is closed to just beyond the bridge over the Stillaquamish River. The snow pack for the day was pretty stable, but this area can be highly unpredictable so we decided to stay in the trees and not head up into the plateau at the base of the cliff.

The day was gorgeous. Blue skies and freezing temps. We were bundled up against the cold but wearing sun screen & sunglasses - always a great combination on a winter day. I love seeing the bright white of ice and snow against the blue Washington skies.

The road travels along the river in the trees with glimpses of the mountain peaks around the valley. We stopped often for pictures and to chat and then started again as the cold seeped through our many layers of clothing. And it was COLD! The moisture in the air had frozen along the river and coated everything in a feathery layer of hoar frost. At times it looked fantastical.

After we stopped briefly at the picnic shelter for lunch, we started out for the river through a marsh area. If we thought the hoar frost along the river was fantastical, the hoar frost here was other-worldy. It spread out like fern fronds inches from the snow & branches. It was a vision worth remembering.

The open air and views, the snow and sky, the walk and friends all worthy of reminiscing and thinking forward

Fabulous February

Lime Kiln, 2/6/10, 6 miles

In an El Nino year, weather in the Puget Sound area just isn't right. February is a time for rain in the lowlands and snow in the mountains. Either we stay at home snug in a quilt reading a book or we're out snowshoeing in the gloriousness of Washington winter. However, this year, this El Nino year, snowshoeing has been sketchy at best so we're forced to look for hikes that are rewarding in both scenery and exertion. Luckily, also in this El Nino year, we are getting far more sunny days than normal - as we did this past weekend's Mountaineers hike along the Lime Kiln Trail.

Lime Kiln Trail starts from just outside Granite Falls and meanders along the Stillaguamish River through moss dripping forest. With the sun still at a low angle, the moss was aglow with fire as the sun stretched across the sky. Every now and then we'd come across some old artifact narrating the mining and logging past of the area. A rusted saw blade here, a speckled pot there until finally we reached the old Lime Kiln used to cook lime in a time not that far in the past.

We finally settled down for lunch near the river. As the water danced over the rocks, the light of a mid-winter day danced across the ripples. I could hardly make myself sit still - all that light dancing and rippling through our little world just made my eyes sparkle. We finally hiked out, carrying on conversations we had started earlier in the day with new friends and old.

Sometimes it's just fun to hike in a group on a bright day rare in the northwest.