Marmot Peak

 I decided to hike up Marmot Mountain just with Bella this morning. Rain is certainly on its way but was only cloudy so I decided to take a chance. The trail was pretty dry but still slippery from recent rains. I did manage to slip and smack my left shin at one point. But after that, I remained on both feet. Bella charged ahead and I was happy that she did come back into view most of the times when I called her. There are markings for an upcoming race event that went pretty much straight up to the first peak. I followed them on the way up. Once on the ridge, the trail is quite obvious. Bella and I stayed mostly together until we reached the farthest spot on the ridge that I have always considered the stopping point. According to the map, it is the official Marmot Peak. When hiking with the Valley Wanderers, we always turn back at that spot since the next step looks like a vertical rock wall. However, I was curious because the race markings turn to the right before reaching the final peak where we have always stopped. I can see in the distance that the trail does continue on the extended ridge past that apparent rock wall where we always stop. It appears that the marked racecourse turns to the right because they know the way to continue to that trail. Next time I hike up there, I want to try to find that toute. The race they have marked supposedly connects to the Gold Cord Lake Trail. That would make for a very interesting traverse. I will bring it up to the Valley Wanderers and see if we might want to explore that possibility one day. After a brief break on the top of our turning around spot, Bella and I retraced our steps, following the race markers back down the ridge. We came to a trail junction that Bella chose, that turned away from the race markers. I could see the parking lot in the distance so decided to follow this trail since it seemed in much better condition than the one we had climbed. It turned out to be a much nicer route, and we easily made our way back to the car. I really love hiking up Marmot. I look forward to further exploring this ridge.