You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘animals’ tag.
Little Mountain Park Trails, Mt Vernon – Mountain Biking – October 21, 2012
If you drive on 1-5 near Mt Vernon, Washington, you might pass the “little mountain” on the east side of the highway, without even knowing what delightful trails are up there.
Our first visit to Little Mountain was in September 2009. At the time, we were still new to mountain biking. We went to LM just once, to participate in a work party for trail building along the Sidewinder trail. It was one of those perfect late summer days, when Mt Baker was especially magnificent. I included some pictures from that day in this set of photos.
Click this link to check out the– still ongoing!– work of Jim “JT” Taylor and the Mount Vernon Trail Builders. They’ve been busting their butts for years to create such a great community asset. (Thank you!) I admit that I feel a little bit guilty that we only helped out the one time. We’re still on the e-mail notification list, 3 years later.
Today we finally went back. Our ride took just 2 hours to go up and down all of the “Multi Use” trails. If you live in Mt Vernon, these trails are an ideal location for your after-work workout. Who needs those cardio machines at the gym? For bikes, the singletrack trail surface is generally smooth to somewhat rocky and not too rooty…Very nice! Today the trail offered an additional, “slickish” layer of multi-colored fall leaves.
We parked at the lot between N. Pamela Street and the Silver Arrow Bowmen Archery Range. I felt extremely unsettled there, as I empathized with the animals who fall victim to the arrow. I couldn’t help but think of a certain image that I have in my computer– of a deer shot with an arrow. The arrow entered at the center of her nose and exited at the back of her right jawbone. I shudder as I imagine the suffering endured by that animal. She is not alone.
And– as this vegan’s luck would have it, right from our parked car, I could also see the green building for Andal’s Custom Meats. Those are the folks who were hired to slaughter Barbara’s Cows. Ugh. (Breathe, Elisa.)
Let’s get back on a happy note! At the end of the ride, we stopped in for wine tasting at Carpenter Creek Winery. It’s located right across from where we parked. I recommend the 2011 Signature Series Riesling and the 2009 Viognier.
Now for the pictures. Try to find…
- Camano Island, Whidbey Island, Fidalgo Island and the San Juan Islands
- the Skagit River and Skagit Valley
- the (distant) Olympic Mountains
- the City of Mt Vernon
- Mt Baker
- Blanchard and Galbraith Mountains
[Click on an image to enlarge and view in a photo gallery]
-
- Little Mountain Map
-
- Little Mountain from I-5
-
- Silver Arrow Bowmen Archery Range
-
- The green building of Andal’s Custom Meats
-
- Eric
-
- Fall Leaves
-
- Parachute Viewpoint
-
- Eric at Parachute Viewpoint
-
- City of Mt Vernon
-
- Elisa
-
- Skagit River & San Juan Islands
-
- Parachute Viewpoint – Sept 12, 2009
-
- Mt Baker from Little Mountain – Sept 12, 2009
-
- Skagit Valley
-
- Skagit Valley – Sept 12, 2009
-
- Elisa
Canyon Creek & Damfino Lakes – Mountain Biking – September 29, 2012
Canyon Ridge Trail (#689) was our intended mountain bike ride for the day. Eric had been wanting to check it out because it’s the only trail in the Mt. Baker Ranger District open to mountain bikes. This trail is just a “stone’s throw” from Canada, immediately north of Mt Baker, in Washington State.
On our Green Trails map (#13, Mt Baker), Canyon Ridge is a dotted line trail, which can be code for “bushwhack.” As such, I started the day with an attitude of adventure, thinking that any “good” riding would be a “bonus.”
Little did we know that our adventure would start sooner rather than later. Right at the highway, the Canyon Creek Road (#31) was CLOSED. What?!
We found out from the ranger at the Glacier Public Service Center that the road had actually been closed for 2 years because of a partial road washout. (That shows you how often we frequent the Mt Baker highway!) When we got home, I found this page on the Forest Service website, showing the list of road conditions.
Instead of going elsewhere, we decided to ride up the road to see what was up there. As I have done before, I called this a “Gratitude Saturday.” To me, that means I’m open to how the day will unfold, instead of trying to make it live up to preconceived plans. It also means that I feel particularly content and appreciative of the “little” things. On this day, I loved just being on my bike, with my husband, in the mountains, under the trees, next to the creeks, and among the critters. Bliss 🙂
Canyon Creek Road (#31) leaves the Mt Baker Highway 542 at about 900 ft elevation. It terminates at 4200 ft elevation. The trailhead for Canyon Ridge Trail (#689) and Damfino Lakes Trail (#625) is located at road’s end.
We ended up biking the entire 15 mile road…a workout! About the first third was paved. The middle section alternated between pavement and gravel. The final third was gravel. By the time we got to the trailhead, we decided that the destination for the day would be Damfino Lakes rather than Canyon Ridge.
The short, 0.8 mile trail to Damfino Lakes (#625) was in surprisingly decent shape for being essentially cut off from the majority of civilization. (Although we did see motorcycle traffic that day). The trail climbed 400 ft. The lakes were small, but beautiful.
In these pictures, you will see some of the “little” things that I photographed during the day, with gratitude:
- Grey-blue glacial water flowing in the N. Fork Nooksack River
- Peek-a-boo views of the Canyon Creek Valley
- Fields of fireweed in a clearcut (I just had to imagine how intense the color must have been when it was all blooming)
- Old logging signage from the 1950’s
- Canyon Creek as it parallels the road
- Bridges, flowers, mountains, valleys, patches of snow
- Damfino Lakes
- Glimpses of Mt Baker
[Click on an image to enlarge and view in a photo gallery]
-
- Green Trails map of Canyon Creek Road
-
- Green Trails map of Damfino Lakes
-
- Glacier Public Service Center
-
- N. Fork Nooksack River
-
- N. Fork Nooksack River
-
- Canyon Creek Road Closed
-
- Canyon Creek Road partial washout at ~1 mile
-
- Eric in the clearcut
-
- Old logging sign
-
- Canyon Creek
-
- Bridge near Canyon Creek Camp
-
- Whistler Creek Valley
-
- Excelsior Ridge
-
- Bumble Bees
-
- Near the end of Canyon Creek Road
-
- Eric on Damfino Lakes Trail
-
- Damfino Lake #1
-
- Looking toward Damfino Lake #2
-
- Damfino Lake #2
-
- Damfino Lake #3
-
- Elisa at Damfino Lakes
-
- Bald Mountain
-
- Mt Baker
-
- Mt Baker
-
- Mt Baker
-
- Church Mountain
-
- Mt Baker
-
- Church Mountain
Freeheel Vegan 