Adventure to Orcas Island
To take advantage of the beautiful and sunny weekend we had here, a group of us headed to Orcas Island on Saturday to hike Mount Constitution. Starting off at Mountain Lake, we hiked 7.5 miles round-trip up to the top of Mount Constitution (to the tower!) and back down past Twin Lakes. Our first viewpoint introduced a clear view of Mount Baker from a cold and windy open cliff. We saw our first bald eagle of the day there as it flew in front of us right at eye level! The rest of the hike consisted of similar view points, revealing more and more of the Salish Sea and surrounding San Juan islands each time. As we approached the top of the mountain, we noticed the change in scenery and the transition of the trees. In addition to the change of community, the elevation gain also introduced paths covered in thick ice crystals and numerous frozen pond/swamp-like areas. Every here and there, we came across bright green moss covered fields throughout the trees. On our trip back down, the trail brought us around past Twin lakes and back down to Mountain Lake. We saw some buffleheads hanging out in both lakes and by the time we reached Mountain lake again, we saw cedar trees growing along the water for the first time. The sunny weather made for an amazing hike on a beautiful island, despite the cold temperatures.
Observations
Comments
Add a Comment