This weekend, Catherine and I were invited by Sofi Hindmarch and Brian Coote (along with his kids Alexa and Jamie) to go down to Mt. Baker, a stratovolcano in Washington State near the Canadian border. On Sunday, we went on a trip to Lake Ann, a 13 km alpine trail. Catherine had to sit this one out due to knee issues, but I went to document our trip. This was my first outing to the alpine zone in quite a while, and it was not disappointing!
A Hericium abietis! These are great edibles, but as we were in a reserve, we did not take it. There were also numerous King Boletes nearby.
Alexa stops for a water break.
The view going up the trail, Sofi in the lead, followed by Jamie and Alexa.
Near the crest!
An American Pika, Ochotona princeps. These odd lagomorphs make a whistling alarm call when disturbed.
These animals prefer talus slopes, and spend much of the summer gathering and drying plant material for a long cold winter buried beneath the snow.
We saw these giving alarm calls in response to both Red-tailed Hawks and some kind of mustelid (possibly a marten or a mink).
At the end point of our trip, I found this wolf spider under a rock.
To prove we did it: Brian, Sofi, Jamie and Alexa in front of Lake Ann.
Of course, on the way down I could not resist more pika shots.
Awww!
Yet another pika scanning the skies.
Blueberry break on the way back.
Much needed fuel for the last leg of the trip.
Do you leave from Artist Point for that hike? I was up there in August. Neat flora and fauna. Was not expecting Tiger beetles up there. Yet another thing I’m overdue to blog about… Sigh!
Yep, that is where the trail begins. I did not see any tigers, but it is now quite a bit colder up there.