Sunny days here in the Pacific Northwest call for enjoying an activity "outdoors". This first day of November the weather was perfect for a fall day hike.
A favorite view hike of ours is North Butte, so we headed to Blanchard mtn. We usually go counterclockwise on the loop, but today we hiked clockwise.
We drove to the upper parking lot and walked down to the trailhead. We crossed over the creek and it's waterfall and the leaf strewn bridge.
As I said earlier we usually go counter clockwise so it was like we were hiking this trail with fresh eyes. Up this trail instead of down.
I'm so glad I looked up❤
Turning to Max's Shortcut.
A cute little mushroom perched in the tree.
A dark section of the forest to go through. This section is part of the PNT trail signified by the white blaze on the tree.
Our next turn at the sign. We would now be heading towards Lily lake.
A proof I was on the hike photo op strategically placed between the trail signs. I've got a couple of plastic sacks attached to my pack belt. I've decided that I'm going to pick up trash along the trail this year. I'm tired of seeing it, so I thought well I need to step up and take care of my corner of the world. I did bring home some trash, so yes I'm happy that I will be making a difference and leaving the trail a little better than it was.
Lily lake with a reflection.
Our lunch view at North Butte, it felt so nice to feel the warm sun on us as we sat at the top.
Making our way down the trail we hike to Lizard lake and saw another reflection.
Checking out the map at the "Tango" safety station.
Time to head down the last section of our trail. We are usually hiking up this incline, down was a nice change.
You never know what you'll see if you just look around.
The afternoon light dancing through the trees❤
Another interesting sight along the trail, someone had put rocks in the gaps of this stump.
I spied a crowd of mushrooms on a stump just as I was leaving the trail to begin our walk down the road.
Ah....Fall❤
Relive video of our route:
Garmin stats:
total miles hiked - 7
total ascent - 1522 feet
total descent - 1516
Sometimes it's nice to do a familiar hike from the other direction.
This is one of my favorite hikes. Thanks for all the great pictures.
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