On Sunday I left the city around 10am and headed north to take my first hike. With the sun shining, and not a cloud in the sky, I decided to prove to myself that it's worth having a car for expeditions such as these. Heading north on I-5 towards Vancouver, BC, I headed towards Cedar Lake, near Bellingham. It's about 80 miles outside of Seattle.
I drove right up to the trailhead, parked and unloaded myself with my cameras. It was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
As soon as I started on the path I felt as though I had entered the pacific northwest "tropical land" that I had daydreamed of back in Chicago. Lush, moist, and (I cannot overemphasize this enough) GREEN forest, with enough oxygen supply for a city of millions. Beauty was in every direction I looked, even the oooey gooey rocky soil. Most branches, tree stumps and trunks were mossed over. My skin felt as though it was swimming through water, wet, wet wet.
(woodpecker holes)
The incline was steep, not very different from walking up the hills in the city(Seattle), except the incline did not end. It took me a little over an hour to reach Cedar lake. It was a small lake in a forested area. It lacked large spaces to get a good view. But I did manage to see the frozen, snow covered water. A tent was set up on the shore, I guess people are allowed to camp there, it would be considered "rustic".
On the outside of the lake, boards led in pathways, leading to views of the Cascades. I headed towards them, the small marker said: 0.4 mile to views. I thought that it couldn't take that long. It took me about 30 minutes longer to reach the point. Through a forest of redwoods, I reached a large boulder clearing. At the edge of the boulder I stood, looking at the miles of forests and in the distance the Cascades. What a sight.
(Cascade Range)I feel that strenuous hikes are always worth the struggle.
You are able to catch your breath while the views take it away.
On my descent I was able to take more photographs becuase of the ease of having gravity on my side. I then got some photographs of this awesome staircase carved through a giant fallen redwood tree. Humans working WITH nature.
After about 30 minutes of descending, my knees started aching, it's rough on the knees and joints. I was happy to see the car and rest on level ground again, a great hike though.
Total Distance(roundtrip): 4.4 Miles
Elevation Gain: 1,300 feet
1 comment:
Chuckanut is a very cool place. I haven't been to Cedar Lake but even the road along it, up to Bellingham, is a great drive, isn't it? Great photos.
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