Thursday, January 6, 2011

Wet Cedar

There is no way a picture can adequately show how wet our hike to Cedar Lake was today. You can see a bit of mist in the trees here, and you can tell that we are all rain-coated and pack-covered. Just a little snow here and there, but when I left the apartment this morning to grey skies and light rain, I sure didn't expect twelve other intrepid hikers to show up. But indeed, the Senior Center began to fill with diehard hikers. We carpooled to the trailhead, which heads pretty much straight up for the first mile. It was a very long mile as I huffed and puffed up to the viewpoint.
Okay, there was no view, but this is where we would have had one, if the rain would have stopped and the clouds were to have lifted. (They didn't.) I asked Al to take this picture of me in my rain poncho at the viewpoint. The thing is, I know I would have paced around the apartment all day if I had not chosen to go along, and I knew we would be sheltered by the trees most of the way anyway. It was still very wet. But I got to be wet in good company.
By the time we reached Cedar Lake, carefully navigating the icy patches on the trail and looking at the non-view, the wind had started to blow and suddenly every wet hiker wondered about the wisdom of continuing along to Pine Lake. Usually we hike around Cedar Lake and cover the short distance between these lakes before heading back down to the cars. Today, we had a conference to decide what to do.
Fred is discussing the situation with Ward and Peggy, who were quite willing, along with the rest of us, to head back to the Senior Center's warmth and dryness to have our lunch, rather than continue on with the planned outing. After a short snack, off we headed to our respective cars to either head back home or over to the Center. All in all, we covered a little more than five miles and went up and down 1,700 feet of elevation on our wet Cedar Lake excursion. Now I am home, toasty warm with a piping cup of hot tea in front of me, and hopes for better weather next week. We have had amazingly good luck on several of our hikes lately, but today it was a real Pacific Northwest kind of winter day. As a parting gift, here's a picture of Mikey Poppins in full gear, conferring with the rest of us, who were dressed MUCH more conservatively. However, you can tell it's cold: he's wearing mittens and a hat!
Mike adds to the mystique that surrounds our hiking group. We have a reputation to uphold, after all, as being seniors willing to put ourselves into the elements, rain or shine. Today I was just a wee bit envious of his umbrella.
:-)

18 comments:

  1. Wow! Your last two posts....reveal quite the extremes with elevation. Both settings are so beautiful. The lush forests with moss are so intriguing.

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  2. Jut gorgeous, rain and all! I can see why you envied the umbrella.

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  3. You are totally irresistible with all your spunk. It would be fun to spend time with you rain or shine.

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  4. You are smiling! Therefore you must be happy..did you do any singing in the rain? That Mikey Poppins is some guy:)

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  5. haha! I love your take on Mike. I don't blame you for envying his umbrella. But, just between you and me, I truly think he is INSANE!

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  6. I think I'd like hanging out with you and your hiking pals. Whether or not I'd be able to keep up with you is another thing. Mike is a hoot!

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  7. mittens and a hat...i bet your group is a hoot...lovely pics...

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  8. Mike is a hoot. All the experts talk about NOT wearing corron in the rain and cold. NOBODY here goes hiking with an umbrela. Does he care? No siree.

    Our hike was in down town Seattel today at the Seattle Art Museum. It was a great Picasso show, but with too many people in my way!

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  9. Oh that must have been a grand time. I can just smell the air.

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  10. Hmm...I bet you are thrilled to be cozied up with your cup of tea. I'm betting it wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable if you hadn't trekked through the misty cold first. It's always nice to be reminded of simple pleasures. I don't know about the cold wet, but I've done my best to introduce Jordan to the joys of twirling in the rain and splashing in puddles (in the appropriate footwear, of course).

    That third picture is awesome. It's got a haunting quality. I'm always drawn to photos of water. I really think your photography, which has been great all along, has gotten even better.

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  11. Is Mike a polar bear club member -- jumping into water at the height of winter? lol Yikes!

    Sounds like another great hike. Nothing is more appreciated than a warm fire and hot drink after hours of exposure to the winter elements.

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  12. Love the moss covered trees in the first photo...the top half of the photo could pass for a summer rain view! It does look cold and wet, I don't think Mikey's mittens and hat would be enough for me.

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  13. By the time I would be wearing enough necessary gear and clothing for a hike in weather as you describe in this post, I wouldn't be able to walk under all the weight. Ha.

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  14. I thought the last hike was the last one for the season? Hmm I wonder where I got that idea - anyway it looked like a typical Pacific Northwest winter day. Brrrrr

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  15. You amaze me. I loved the first photo. For me here in dry Southern Colorado, I couldn't help but think that the juxtaposition of colors, textures, and green against snow was amazing. I've really never seen anything like it.

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  16. You continue to amaze me, girlfriend! I continue to feel like a lazy bum when I read your fantastic accounts of physical activity - and then in those elements. You must feel such a sense of accomplishment at the end of days like this.

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  17. Don't ever stop walking/hiking. I did and got both types of arthritis and am on MTX for it now to keep the pain down.

    BTW I was sick as a dog yesterday. My wife made garlic stirred chicken and I ate that and got sick and was sick all day and went to doctor. I don't ever want garlic anymore and am totally washed up on chicken unless it is fried so hard it takes like old shoe leather.

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  18. I have to laugh everytime I see Mike's umbrella. If it were me trying to hike with an umbrella I would be hitting everything with it and getting it tangled in the brush.

    It does look like a really wet day, perfect for a hike. LOL!

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