Lake Chelan, a bike ride and a hike

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Today has been a day of exercise. We met Don and Jane at the house, adjusted the bikes, and set off up the Lake to the end of the road. At Fields Point turnoff we stopped for a catchup and I managed to get my foot stuck in the pedal and fell off. Not elegantly either. Lindsay and Don continued to the road end (2 miles ahead) while I went rock hunting with Jane (willingly or not) being educated all about intrusive metamorphic rocks. There was a pile of blasted out rocks so it was easy to check out pegmatite sills and quartz veins in the gneiss, schist and amphiboles. Interesting for me anyway.

We all caught up again at Kelly's Store (Umbria Cafe) for an excellent coffee. The young woman there was most accommodating as to how we wanted it to be, so a flat white became an extra frothy latte with a double shot of coffee and Linds's Americano became an espresso. We got exactly what we'd have at home. We were back home around 1pm for lunch then off again up the road for a hike. It was a most enjoyable morning to bike and socialize with someone else.

In the afternoon we drove back up the Lake to the end of the road and turned into the mountains to wind our way up a steep valley until we came to a parking area in the National Park that Don had recommended. We took the Pots Peak track uphill from there. The track was dry and very dusty, zig zagging up the hill face through burnt out but now regenerating fir forest. It was very silent and we didn't see anything with four legs or with wings. I wondered where the wild life was. Even though we got to a ridge top in the back country we did not get high enough to see the higher mountains behind. That would have needed more time than we had for the day. Here I can comment on the major differences between our vegetation. The forest here is mainly a mono-culture of firs with some low undercover so you can see through the trees for views. At home we tend to have thick rain forest of a variety of native trees that are not easy to get views through.

Back at the house we feel exercised out. Time to relax.

The Lake has continued to be busy today because of the long weekend. There are many speed boats and jet skis around today and many campers filling the camping grounds along the lake.

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Photos

Regenerating forest
In burnt out areas it was good to see new seedling firs re-establishing the forest.