The Trail of Blisters

We decided to take advantage of the perfect weather and make a trip to Mt. Baker, in the Cascades about 3 hours north of Seattle. While I was planning a leisurely walk in the woods with my parents and aunt and uncle, Ryan had in mind a little more. We decided (Ryan was gung ho to do it, and I wanted to be able call 911 when he potentially fell off a cliff) to do the Chain Lakes Trail, a 7 mile trail with some gorgeous views. The only problem was that I was wearing 2-day old Chaco's and we had 2 hours to complete it. With a little bit of speedwalking, some sustenance from wild blueberries along the trail, and just a small amount of whining on my part, we made it with 15 minutes to spare! ....only to find out that there was another 2-mile trail we had to take to get back to the parking lot where the car was parked, and where we were meeting the rest of the family. By this point, I had learned why the hiking boot industry exists, so wonderful Ryan volunteered/was forced to RUN up the mountain to the car and come back and pick me up. Ultimately, my blisters healed, and in retrospect, a good time was had by all!
-Betsy