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Whatcom Lake Park to Stewart Mountain
Lake Whatcom Park near Bellingham, WA, must be somewhat of a secret since I just discovered it after 11 months of seeking out every good dog friendly hiking trail in the Bellingham area. All good though, the park is primarily known for its really nice and easy Hertz Trail along the lake. What I needed and the basis for this trip report is the trail that leads to Mt Stewart essentially parallel to the Wickersham Truck Road that begins at the end of P2 parking area. The road would continue but it is gated and the trail leads off from the NW corner of the parking area. You can also just hike the road but that is in high demand by the mountain bikers.
The trail winds through various densities of forest occasionally crossing the road. At the first road crossing you need to follow the road up about 100 ft to an opening on the left where you will pick up the trail again. The second road crossing is more obvious that the trail continues on the other side. That is not the case for the second half of the trip.
@Aussiebrook was very pleased with this trail
After a couple of road crossings you hit an extended stretch of trail that takes you to a smaller road spur. This section of trail is really nice offering significant flower cover. Turn right for the scenic overlook and left to find the trail again after a few 100 feet.
The overlook is essentially at the end of the offshoot spur road. You have a excellent view of both ends of Lake Whatcom as well as Bellingham and the North Puget Sound. This site appears that it has been used for some overnights.
Panoramic View of Lake Whatcom
I was going to give up assuming that this was the end of the trail, however, I did find the next section that reconnected with the road. At that point you need to climb on the road up to the next turn where you can pick up the trail again.
This last section of trail offers occasional views of the lake but again you come out on the road. 
From here on I did not find any further trail options, the land contour did not lend itself to more trail connects, however the road was more like a trail. You then merge with the power lines which is a bit concerning because of the loud static crackling from the high voltage electricity transmission taking place. Oh well, I guess we got a charge out of it. Here you have a combination of some clear cut and major power line right of way up and over Mt Stewart. 
The view is more impressive for distance, however, I rate the lower lake overlook as the prize view. The real value of this trail for me was the great exercise with approximately 2500 ft vertical. Also very little traffic on the trail since access to the lower lake trail is what dominates the available parking. This is exactly the training I need to prepare for my next career as a full time backpacker. Plus @AussieBrook loved it.
First Ski Day
That’s Me
The first ski day is always hard on the body. Generally you try to make it into the afternoon before the screaming pain in your thighs finally does you in. This is only amplified as you get older so I thought I would reflect on how my 62-year-old body with 2 artificial hips handled this awesome first day of skiing here at Mt. Baker Ski Area which is really on Mt. Shuksan. The most critical requirement for skiing at my age is believing that I can. Then I think it is critical to insure that you choose a day with optimal conditions. So when the snow began piling up on the North Cascades I started watching for that perfect ski day. Bang, Tuesday had no important meetings, it was supposed to be sunny and only 20 degrees on the mountain. The fact that there was not any wind was a pure bonus. So you commit and then float some suggestions to your friends that you plan on doing this. However, you have to balance skiing with someone who might hold you back with the advantage of someone who knows the mountain. I was totally prepared to ski it alone, but if you do that it is likely that your actual skiing experience will suffer. Luckily I scored a ski companion (one of my employees) who was also a local ski instructor which translated into the ultimate ski experience.
White Salmon Lodge
It is about an hour and half drive from Bellingham to the Mt. Baker Ski area and we arrived near opening which gained us an excellent parking spot and confirmation that skiing on a Tuesday was not going to be crowded. I have skied most of my life but I have never been a die-hard skier. Yes, I lived in Steamboat Springs for many years, but even then I only skied when conditions were perfect, maybe 5-6 times a year. That is partly because I devoted equal time to cross-country skiing. Skiing for me is not about a commitment to the craft but instead about the glorious experience of gliding on snow while observing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Dealing with cold and fatigue is just part of the price for the chance to experience yet another epic day in God’s glorious kingdom.
Awesome View
How about that view, wow, you come off the lift and take this in before every run. This was so cool because I had a tour guide who could tell the names of all those mountains and help me understand where I have been hiking through my many outings up here at the Mt Baker Wilderness earlier this Fall.
Mt Herman
I want to call attention to the photo on the right showing Mt Herman and the saddle over to Table Mountain, location of my first hikes in this area. Now, back to the skiing. Conditions were perfect and I did feel comfortable cruising along on blue runs. I did try to hit some bumps and powder, but age does create limitations. I have mentioned that I have 2 artificial hips which are wonderful, however, the muscles around those hips have never been as strong probably due to being filleted open for the surgery. Combine weaker muscles with the reality that you do not want to crash and dislocate one of those hips and I wisely avoided straying to far from the safe cruising runs. Overall, I was very pleased with my body on this first day out. My transition to hiking and backpacking and raising a dog with incredible amount of energy has prepared me well for this ski day. I really felt great and was able to push myself almost to closing. The beer in the lodge at the end of the day was perfect as well.
Perfect Ski Conditions
Great Possibilities for my New CIO Role
I just finished up a visit to Western Washington University where I will be the Interim CIO for a year starting June 20th. I pleased to say that I am very excited about the prospects for the job and the university. Once I came out of the wilderness at the end of 2015 I decided I was ready to return to higher education and the opportunity that I selected was this unique role as an Interim CIO for one year. This all began thanks to a recommendation from an external review of the WWU Information Technology organization conducted by Marty Ringle, President of the Northwest Academic Computing Consortium, NWACC. One of the recommendations offered was to consider hiring an Interim CIO who would be able to work with the TBD new President exploring how WWU might want their Information Technology organization to be structured. Well I was one of the possible candidates and the stars aligned with respect to their believing in me and my ability to commit to this interim role.
Spending 2 days in Bellingham meeting most everyone who has a vested interest in who the new Interim CIO will be was more exhausting than a typical job interview. This was because we had dispensed with the possible and commenced to the real issues that we want to consider. Think about this opportunity. We joked about how I can blame everything on my predecessor CIO and how I have an exit strategy. Translated, that means we can actually place issues on the table with the freedom to actually address them. The reality is that my predecessor, who is retiring after an impressive career, has done a great job to set the stage for moving the IT organization forward. Everyone agrees that budget cuts after the 2008 downturn hit IT especially hard and it has taken a number of years to recover to the point now where they can focus on building rather than just surviving. Yes, I am really excited about the role I will be able to play in leading the Western Washington University Information Technology organization. WWU is a great university located in the beautiful Northwest near some fabulous backpacking opportunities, imagine that. But more important, it is a university where people want to be and that is why I am excited to be one of those people.
The Adventure Continues 