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tylikYeah, they post the hazardous weather forecast *after* I leave.
Very nice hike. Five hours, at least eight miles (not really sure, didn't make it to Fisher Lake, because I was halfway out of hot chocolate, getting snowed on, and getting kind of tired of trudging over rotten snow. Up till that point rotten snow had been at a minimum.)
Wasn't sure if I was really going to hike today, but I woke up with burning desire to get out of Dodge, and convinced myself that the weather report really meant that there would be occaisional light misty showers if anything as far inland as I was going to be. Okay, I'm not really that stupid, and I dressed for the rain. (Lightweight quickdry cargos over wicking bike tights worked very well. Fancy hiking socks were warm and comfy, but my feet slipped around in my boots a surprising amount until I laced them half to death. I need to get a long sleeved wicking shirt or two... Maybe they're on clearance now since it's off season for heavier weight stuff. Added my winter weight biking gloves to the standard ensemble.)
Pretty drive up, in a grey misty sort of way. Baby horses! Aw...! Deer galavanting in front of my car like kitties for two of the last three miles. And of course, the advantage of going on a higher altitude hike early in dubious weather is you get is all to yourself.
It's early to mid- spring up there. Most of the snow has melted, but there still are patches. I only saw two salmonberry flowers the whole ways (they're ripe berries down here). The blueberries were in bloom, and the currants, but otherwise it was too early for most of the wildflowers. In another three weeks or so it should be spectacular. And then continue being spectacular through september or so. Might be another good place for easing back into backpacking.
One of the things I like about this hike is that it's far enough away from the roads that it feels remote. The things that sound like motors in the distance are really hummingbirds -- wonderful golden orange hummingbirds with bright red throats! In fact, most of the sounds were bird, with wind and rain as close seconds. I didn't see a bear this time, but I did find a fir tree with it's bark peeled away from it like a bannana, and deep scratch marks in the exposed wood.
The vacuum bottle of hot chocolate worked very well. I tend not to drink enough on cold wet hikes because when you're already cold and wet outside, why force that condition on your insides, too? And while the precipitation was light, a fair bit of the time it was light rain wixed with snow or sleet, and the wind was bitter. (Though you expect a fair bit of wind on a ridgewalk.)
It's a moderate hike at worst. Well, except for the snowy bits. Lots of moderate ups and down, so the 400ish feet of elevation gain doesn't really give you the whole picture, but nothing really gruelling.
And one morel. (The other reason I didn't get further -- spent a lot of time looking for others. Found the more amusing variety of false morels.)
This is another hike that's touted for spectacular views, but not on a misty, drizzley day. On the ridge itself mostly I could see trees fading out into white. Sometimes the visibility was down to about 30 feet, and I had to work to keep my glasses from fogging up.
But I like how the trees and mountains look (or hide) in the rain, and it was a nice walk for quieting a noisy head.
Very nice hike. Five hours, at least eight miles (not really sure, didn't make it to Fisher Lake, because I was halfway out of hot chocolate, getting snowed on, and getting kind of tired of trudging over rotten snow. Up till that point rotten snow had been at a minimum.)
Wasn't sure if I was really going to hike today, but I woke up with burning desire to get out of Dodge, and convinced myself that the weather report really meant that there would be occaisional light misty showers if anything as far inland as I was going to be. Okay, I'm not really that stupid, and I dressed for the rain. (Lightweight quickdry cargos over wicking bike tights worked very well. Fancy hiking socks were warm and comfy, but my feet slipped around in my boots a surprising amount until I laced them half to death. I need to get a long sleeved wicking shirt or two... Maybe they're on clearance now since it's off season for heavier weight stuff. Added my winter weight biking gloves to the standard ensemble.)
Pretty drive up, in a grey misty sort of way. Baby horses! Aw...! Deer galavanting in front of my car like kitties for two of the last three miles. And of course, the advantage of going on a higher altitude hike early in dubious weather is you get is all to yourself.
It's early to mid- spring up there. Most of the snow has melted, but there still are patches. I only saw two salmonberry flowers the whole ways (they're ripe berries down here). The blueberries were in bloom, and the currants, but otherwise it was too early for most of the wildflowers. In another three weeks or so it should be spectacular. And then continue being spectacular through september or so. Might be another good place for easing back into backpacking.
One of the things I like about this hike is that it's far enough away from the roads that it feels remote. The things that sound like motors in the distance are really hummingbirds -- wonderful golden orange hummingbirds with bright red throats! In fact, most of the sounds were bird, with wind and rain as close seconds. I didn't see a bear this time, but I did find a fir tree with it's bark peeled away from it like a bannana, and deep scratch marks in the exposed wood.
The vacuum bottle of hot chocolate worked very well. I tend not to drink enough on cold wet hikes because when you're already cold and wet outside, why force that condition on your insides, too? And while the precipitation was light, a fair bit of the time it was light rain wixed with snow or sleet, and the wind was bitter. (Though you expect a fair bit of wind on a ridgewalk.)
It's a moderate hike at worst. Well, except for the snowy bits. Lots of moderate ups and down, so the 400ish feet of elevation gain doesn't really give you the whole picture, but nothing really gruelling.
And one morel. (The other reason I didn't get further -- spent a lot of time looking for others. Found the more amusing variety of false morels.)
This is another hike that's touted for spectacular views, but not on a misty, drizzley day. On the ridge itself mostly I could see trees fading out into white. Sometimes the visibility was down to about 30 feet, and I had to work to keep my glasses from fogging up.
But I like how the trees and mountains look (or hide) in the rain, and it was a nice walk for quieting a noisy head.
