I'm Not Carrying Your Stuff!

Son T visited for an overnight stay and a hike with the old man. The morning was unseasonably dark and cold, but we set off to explore the Chuckanuts.

It took less than half an hour to get to the trailhead, where we met some people preparing to hike with llamas. After agreeing to let me photograph them, one of the women took this photo of us. "My" llama was a little wary of me, but didn't complain.

As we gained altitude on the trail we were gradually enveloped in mist. We enjoyed the serenity of Lily and Lizard lakes, and saw several woodpeckers at Lizard. There were very few people on the trails until we neared the Oyster Dome, a very popular destination for its expansive view across the water to the San Juan islands. No islands were visible on this day -- we could barely see the water.

Our hike was supposed to have been a loop ending at our starting point, but we took a wrong turn somewhere on the return portion. I kept thinking that we were descending too far, and I was right! After climbing back up to the Samish Overlook, a couple of miles from where we began, we got a ride back to our car.

It was a good day, even though we hiked further than we intended, and I didn't have any soreness the next day!