Here
we go again ~
Saturday,
September 21, 2002 was yet another gorgeous day in Washington
State. It didn't take us long to decide where to go - back to
Heather Meadows. There are so many roads and trails we haven't
seen in that area, and it's not often that such a perfect day
appears on the weekend. I suppose I had a forlorn hope that the
autumn colors might have burst out in a week, but that was not
to be.
By
ten thirty we were parked at Artist Point, ready to hike the Chain
Lakes Trail for a short way. We had been told that hiking the
entire trail (6.5 miles) not only required strong legs and good
endurance, but also entailed another mile or two UPHILL in order
to retrieve the car. We elected to hike as far as the split in
the trail, out towards Ptarmigan Ridge.
The
red dots show our route
Again
and again, we were treated to spectacular views of both Mount
Baker and Mount Shuksan. I have tried to restrain myself in the
number of photos I have put online. Tim thought we were about
six miles away from each mountain, at the closest point. The path
was quite rocky in places, and carved its way along a steep mountainside,
however the elevation rise and fall was gentle, and it was a lovely
hike.
After
lunch, we headed towards Nooksack Ridge, and found a couple of
very narrow roads leading into the valley behind the ridge. We
followed each as far as it went, and although the view were not
as spectacular, it was an awesome feeling to be dwarfed on either
side by the mountains rising straight out of the ground.
We
still hope, weather permitting, to return to Heather Meadows during
the next couple of weeks to catch the autumn colors, and there
are still many small roads waiting to be explored in the area.
We'll be back!
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