Walks, Hikes and Wanders #4: Along the Centennial Trail

 About a year-and-a-half ago, Mr. D and I walked on the Centennial Trail from the Pilchuck Trailhead to Machias Station and back, a distance of about 6.4 miles. It was a pleasant, sunny day, and we have talked about that walk quite a bit since then, and have wanted to go back. On February 3, a day that was also very sunny, but cold, we did just that. This time, we started at Machias Staion and walked to Lake Stevens and back, 6.5 miles.

Did I mention cold? It was very cold—in the low 30s Fahrenheit—when we started. It was so cold that the puddles on the side of the trail looked like this:

As we walked, we warmed up, and the temperature rose, too, so at the end of our walk it was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. What had been frozen earlier was now steaming:

As we followed the course of the meandering Pilchuck River, we enjoyed the sights and sounds along the way. (I wish I could share the sounds of the roosters crowing that we heard more than once.) Even though I don't have the sounds, I can share some of what we saw on the trail.

There were intriguing shadows:

A falling-down house that must have been beautiful in its better days:

Lichen beauty in the woods along the trail:

And finally, a glimpse of the mountains.