Eastern shores

Looking southeast on Hertz Trail on Lake Whatcom shoreline

With the temperatures still hovering around 70, with the bluest skies you’ve ever seen, we headed out to a new hiking trail.  It was at least new to us and it shouldn’t have been, but the fact is there are more than fifty trails in Whatcom County, ranging from easy strolls to all-day expeditions.  We get in a rut with some of our nearby favorites and don’t venture out enough.

Not today.  This afternoon we made it out to Hertz Trail on the eastern shore of Lake Whatcom and experienced what many of our friends consider one of the premier vista hikes.

                                                                           
Over 6 miles in-and-out, we traversed along an old railroad grade, following the lakeshore through lush forests of old Douglas fir and sword ferns, and waterfalls along the foot of Mt Stewart. 

Toward late afternoon, with the trail becoming fairly isolated, we even let Casey off-leash occasionally to snoop around close at hand.

The winds seemed to be snapping at the water today with gusts over 25 knots, as a prelude to wet weather moving in and sticking around for a few days, so venturing out of our hiking comfort zone couldn’t have been more timely, or more picturesque.

The most plentiful genus of 'shrooms on the trail.



They look tasty...but could be the Beguiled variety that knocked off Clint Eastwood for all we know.