This hike ranks at the top of my list if not as my favorite hike here in the Mount Baker Wilderness.  There is no bad hike here but there is something about this one.  The first two miles are through a heavily shaded forest thick with ferns.  It invites mystery and contemplative moods as if I've stepped into a world with fairies and trolls.  Happily I climb the switchbacks hardly noticing because of how the light plays peek-a-boo with the trees and the woodpeckers drill for their breakfast.  As the forest gives way to a little meadow here and there, the heliotrope colored flowers spring forth and then all of a sudden I am on the ridge with the valleys spread out on all sides.  I take a deep breathe, feeling the vastness of the mountain range with Mount Baker standing as a sentry over all the other peaks. Usually we turn to the right following the trail that seems to have no end, but this time we explored to the left first.  Keeping in mind a future trip for us to set up camp here.  We wandered the ridge until the trail was no more and there was a drop before us.  Returning to the path we again made our way along the ridge hiking southward and up with Mount Baker looming ever larger before us, taunting us to reach it, drawing us closer.  It fills my viewfinder on my camera and begs to be photographed which I happily oblige.  The other peaks are still under a morning mist as if they haven't yet woken for the day and I am entranced by the scene before me.  There isn't a direction that I turn on this hike that I'm not falling in love.  As we turn again to leave, I again take a breath thankful for the time in the mountains.  My tired legs and feet making the return trip back to the vehicle and home, tired and refreshed at the same time.
















 

 Job, John and I were out trying the private frisbee golf course south east of Bellingham when I was invited to join Job on his cross country move from Maine to California.  He had applied to become an IT in the Coast Guard and was on the list for the Petaluma Training Center.  It was to be a seven month course which required a move since it was a significant amount of time.  He had 10 days to cross the country and we were mulling over what to do along the way.  Being Job and just a bit different we decided to forsake stopping at many of the obvious tourist sights and do try out mini golf.  He enjoys frisbee but he has a love for mini golf that has spanned years starting at the Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center.  As we frisbee golfed our way around the course we discussed various ideas of our trip.  We would need a few items:  golf gloves, golf attire, matching socks, matching visors, and a way to rate each course that we visited.  This trip would take us from Coast to Coast, 3500 miles, a whole continent, two oceans.  I started planning.  There would be a couple of stops that were a must for me; Niagara Falls, Saint Louis Arch, Atlantic Ocean, Rockport Lighthouse, my friend Linda, and the Pacific Ocean.  I started the research, we would drive an average of 350 miles a day as per stipulated by the Coast Guard.  Originally I had thought to golf upon arrival or before leaving a town however it was better to golf as we passed through the towns instead.  I had made a list of each course along the way, what city or town they were in, their phone number, their hours and their address.  We came up with a list of criteria to rate the courses.

There is a customer that comes through not daily but at least once a week and we share hikes that are open.  He informed me that Hannegan pass was open and so I knew we needed to check it out asap.  It is always exciting when the high mountain hikes open up.  When the kids were little we had tried this hike but though the road to the trail head had been open, there was too much snow for us to really follow any kind of trail.  We had to turn around.  This time however was different. The trail head was moved due to a large washout but that really wasn't that big of a deal, it just meant that the parking area was smaller.  We started up the trail which was lined with shrubs and bushes at shoulder height or taller.  We walked along the valley side until a collapsed snow bridge made us bushwhack a bit to cross the stream.  Once we started the switch backs, the bugs became heavy swirling around our faces and ears.  Coating ourselves in bug spray we continued on to Hannegan Pass.  Here there was a junction.  To the right leads up towards the arm of Ruth Mountain.  Straight ahead is the main trail to Cooper Ridge Trail and Chilliwak Trail.  To the left was our destination which was Hannegan Peak.  As soon as we stepped onto the winding and steep trail towards the peak, the biting flies seemed to melt away as if the elevation was too high for them.  It made the hike that much better.  We were now out of the tree line as we hiked along the side of the mountain.  Once on the ridge our path was laid out before us and we could see the destination.  Once on top, it was just a matter of where we wanted lunch and what view we wanted.  As usual, I took out the map and tried to identify the mountain peaks that we saw.  I think I need to take another course in map reading.  Ruth Mountain, Shuksan, Granite Peak and Goat Mountain are ones that you can see as well as Baker.  I can identify three of them for sure and the others are guesses.  This trail is a jumping off point for a longer trek in the wilderness which I hope that in the next couple of years we can make it happen.  













 

Located in the Northern Cascades along the Mount Baker Highway, Church Mountain was a delight to hike.  We took our time since no hike should be rushed.  Instead it should be savored like a fine wine so as to enjoy it.  It's an 8 mile hike with 3900 feet of elevation gain that moves through lush forests, wild flower meadows and left over snow fields.  I hadn't hiked this one before but my family has and it was long overdue for me to check this off my list.  As usual, I kept my camera within reach since each hike has one surprise after another and is one of the reasons that I feel lucky to have settled in such a beautiful area.  We started up the trail as usual and the light highlighted all the new growth making the chartreuse green glow even brighter.  Stumps of trees and roots made the trail curve hiding the next bit enticing me to keep going further.  As we hiked, we were passed by a gal running up and later on the trail she was running down.  Still later she was on her way back up the trail.  When asked she admitted that it was her third time going up and she was training for a longer run. I, on the other hand, was more than content to hike it only once.  Lunch was had at the top.  As I sat there I was told of a marmot that would poke it's head out every so often and it eventually did though from quite the distance.  As we sat, we contemplated another peak.  Could we make it there? It looked as though it was along a ridge and a trail seemed to go in that distance.  A hiker took off for it which made me want to go as well.  We abandoned our effort as the trail petered out with a scramble of rocks before us.  Turning around, we heard from distances a whoop and holler as that hiker reached the pinnacle with arms raised high.  Smiling and hollering back we started down the trail towards home only to overtaken by said hiker 30 minutes later.