Two Great Hikes

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Julie and I spent our labor day weekend up in the mountains. Hike #1 was to Table Mountain. We left Sunday at 3:45 PM with the idea of catching a sunset up on the top of Table Mountain, from which you have an amazing view (and yes, Table Mtn. is the same place I recently built a memorial for my Mom). Problem was, the weather didn't quite cooperate. As the weather forecasters promised, it was unseasonably cold, windy, drizzly and very cloudy. It was fun in a way, being up there in the clouds as they whipped by; but it was cold and the mountains were hidden the whole time we were up there. Still, as we made it back to the car at 8:00, some of the clouds around the parking area revealed a setting sun...it was beautiful.

Hike #2 was to Skyline Divide. This hike is 3.5 miles to a beautiful wildflower meadow at 5900 feet. After we got to the meadow we laid out in the sun, er, uh, fog/clouds for awhile; and then decided to continue on to a nearby summit. The trek to the summit was worth it (summit at about 6500 feet) as we got away from all the other hikers, and there were many, and found some peace and quiet on top of a mountain. Mt. Baker made some "peek-a-boo" views through the clouds, fog and mist. Still, as you can see from the pictures, this hike was much more pleasant as the sun did come out a bit to keep us warm.


Some highlights from the hikes: the amazing wildflowers, the sunset on Sunday, and this really cool fossil that Julie found. The fossil appears to be a clam or some kind of shellfish - and yes, this was at about 6000-6100' up. The ranger station confirms that these fossils can be found...I don't know how Julie found it. Amazing. Click on the picture to see it a bit larger.



Also, check out these two: what a difference a day makes, eh? Click here to see the whole album.