In which I go riding, and nothing interesting happened (but : pretty!)

It's August, and it's HOT in the Swampland--

the perfect time to ride down to the river!

Leaving the Bracken parking lot at 9am, we are all alone.

The trail down to Pilchuck Creek is shady and cool this early in the day

In winter, these trails are deep mud.

In summer, the ground is hard and dry, but the tree roots are deep.

Later in the day when the air heats up, this section of trail will be very muggy
because of all the moisture held by the trees.

The sun has barely cleared the tree tops, so it's still cool and comfortable here.

This section of trail is steep and sandy.  A good time to slow down and walk.

The speckled light is a challenge for my little camera.

We trot whenever we're in direct sun.  Too hot to dawdle, even at 10am.

It's pretty easy to find some shade on these trails, though.

As we approach the river, I can smell the water.

The air is so damp here that moss grows on ALL sides of the tree trunks,
not just the north side.

Even in summer, the ground stays a little bit boggy at this spot.

That clear space ahead is the river.

Up to her belly in the Stillaguamish River.

She played "motorboat" with her lips for a while, and then
it was time to head back to the trailhead.

Before we leave, I throw my cooling vest and neck wrap in the water to
soak up some chill.

Back up the hill, we are both glad we got a chance to cool down in the Stilly.

No shade for almost a mile, so we trot, and I dump water from my
bottle onto both of us.

A shortcut through the trees, and we are almost back at the trailhead already.

My phone battery died, so the GPS track was lost, but I figure about 12 miles,
and a little less than 3 hours.  Just right for a Sunday morning ride!

I can't help preferring days like this, when nothing interesting happens.