Sunday, June 19, 2016

Day 16: Whatcom Lake to Mount Pilchunk

I didn't get to sleep until 4am; the late-night latte I had at Wood's kept me up all night long. I had too much to update and was online for over six hours, many of which I spent parked in fronht of a Starbucks watching people walk by. Some just stood around watiing for a deal. I parked on a side street and slept in my front seat, leaving Minnie to stretch out on my cot. When I got up at 7:30am I knew I had a long day ahead of me. I wasn't too exhausted despite the lack of sleep.

I didn't want to leave Bellingham, but knew I had to get going. I drove east on Lakeview drive to get to signs for the Whatcome County park. I walked the dogs for 5.28 miles along the Hertz trail, a ten-foot-wide crushed gravel trail along the north shore. It was level and easy. Lots of young couples, some with dogs, were out walking here. Minnie jumped into the lake a few times to retrieve sticks but had difficulty getting out in parts because the shore was steep.

I didn't want to leave Bellingham. It's a nice area but I had other hikes to focus on elsewhere. My next one was Mount Pilchunk further south, near Granit Falls. I took my sweet time getting there, driving through the fertile Skagit valley. I failed to gas up in time in Granite Falls and had to return to town to do so, then failed to turn off at the Mount Pilchunk turn-off. By the time I got to the trailhead it was 6:30pm. Would it be too late to venture off? I doubted myself, then turned around and when I saw so many people going uphill for a sunset hike, opted to join them. I'm glad I did.

More later.

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